This was a nice little first project to get something useful on my node. I have a couple of suggestions that may help others like me; total Linux newbs who really do need step by step hand-holding to get something even this simple working.

First, if you're installing from a Windows machine onto a node, SCP from within Putty won't work. (didn't for me, anyway) I would suggest that rev 2 of the docs should include this information explicitly. The program I used was pscp, which came in a package with putty, and will transfer files to a linux machine. The command line entry I used was:

scp -scp -P 2222 hamchat.pl root@192.168.nnn.mmm:/www/cgi-bin/hamchat.pl

Where the -scp option forces scp protocol (BBHN won't do SFTP or whatever the default is) and in the above example the hamchat.pl file is in the same directory as pscp. And of course, use the proper ip for the target machine.

Second, it isn't clear in the docs that the lock file is supposed to be created in the data directory. Common sense, sure, but in following the step by step directions, I ended up with it in the Hamchat directory instead. I would suggest modifying the lock file creation step a bit to make that a bit clearer. This error presented me with the same symptoms described in early posts; entered messages wouldn't appear in the main window.

All in all, a good experience. I learned a bit setting the thing up, and it's a very useful way to quickly set up a message exchange that works with anything that can connect with the node. Thanks.

Oh, and the last thing I learned, don't forget to add the .pl extension when you build the 'advertised services' link.

Is it normal behaviour for HamChat to retain data from previous sessions?  Can that be easily deleted? Each time I open it, past discussions are still there.

Dick

KB3TAC:

I am very interested in running a chat server. Can't find a way to pm you for assistance. Pm me please n1ahh at ARRL.net Thanks Ron, N1AHH

Andre, I did read that article. In it he says . "The package that has been built is now available via the Broadband-Hamnet™ repository." I am confused about which repository and how to access it. Is the Linksys capable of interacting with an online repository? I know it is Linux, but have no idea how to access a repository. What am missing????

Ron, N1AHH

Ron,

The IRC package that I built is for the WRT54G's and it will not work on the Ubiquiti gear.
 
By repository I mean the servers to access and group of files downloadable via pressing the [Setup] button (on the mesh node's Main/Status page) then click on the link for the Administration page on the WRT54G's webpages.  It's in the "Package Management" section.  There's no need for knowing which repository and how to access it since that is all done automagically for you via the aforementioned webpage.  If there are no packages in the pulldown list next to "Download Package" then hit the [Refresh] button and check the pulldown list again after the refresh is done.

Gimme a holler if you need any help!

        -Rusty- 

 I'm having issues setting up Hamchat also, if possible, I'd appreciate any assistance.All files have been created , but I'm having problems installing the hamchat.pl file.

Thanks

Ted KK4LXY

ted dot kruger at gmail dot com

I have just installed hamchat on bbhn 3.0.0. I needed to make a few minor tweaks, but it works just fine. The changes are in the sections where html is sent back to the browser.  It appears the v3 html server behaves somewhat differently so made the following change in 3 places.

From:

print "HTTP/1.0 200 OK\r\nContent-type: text/html\r\n";

To:

print "Content-type: text/html\r\n";

I also updated the timestamp suggestion to use the system date function:

$now_string = `date +"%m/%d %H:%M"`;

printf FILE '<p><span class="date">' . $now_string . '</span><span class="callsign">' . $name . ':</span><span class="message">' . special_chars($msg) . '</span></p>' . "\r\n";

 Which prints a timestamp of the form 01/01 19:59

I am not familiar with convers, so I can't comment on that. However, comparing hatchet to irc is like comparing a little red wagon to a Mack truck. Hatchet is a single channel ("room") and uses a standard browser window for the interface. Irc is, well, infinite and requites a special client (GUI or text). 

If all you want is an open comm channel between a small number of meshnet users, hamchat will probably work just fine. If you need the granularity of multiple chat rooms, file transfer, extensibility, etc. etc. then use irc.  

Or, just install both.

I would like to clear up some confusion people are having with how HamChat compares to IRC and other similar solutions.

Yes, HamChat is very basic in functionality and, yes, it is very small and compact. However, the main advantage of HamChat and the only reason it was developed is to help communicate on Broadband-Hamnet without any prearrangements.

Imaging, you are mobile and enetered an area where your router connected to some established mesh network. You have no idea what ways of communication to use, what additional software you need to install, etc. However, HamChat running on your router will be visible in the resource link related to your station. And this is a simple http link which can be clicked on in any regular Web browser. As soon as your station is noticed and someone clicks on the link they will be in your small chat room and you could "talk" to each other.

You don't need a special client to work with HamChat, almost any modern browser could be used for this purpose. This means that you can assume that the client software is already installed on every computer connected to the mesh.

73, Nikolai (VE3NKL)

So, if I understand correctly, this creates a chat room on each node that it's installed on, correct?
That is correct. Each node becomes its own "chat room." Only one person needs it installed and then you just direct everyone to a specific room.

You could also setup a single IRC server with multiple channels, but that is beyond the scope of this thread.