[IGSMAIL-3334]: Sharc downloading software

[Keith F. Stark]

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IGS Electronic Mail      17 May 22:18:57 PDT 2001      Message Number 3334
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Author: Keith F. Stark

Sharc -- SHarc Acquires Receiver Contents

Available from http://sharc.sourceforge.net/

Sharc is an open source command line interface to download and
delete files directly from commonly used geodetic quality GPS
receivers. It has been extensively tested in the Southern California
Integrated GPS Network (SCIGN) which is predominately composed of
Ashtech Z-12 receivers.

Sharc is extremely portable and is known to compile on several
different operating systems and hardware platforms. It supports high
speed (115200bps) direct transfers, remote modem connections, and
remote freewave connections. It also supports several different
receiver types. XModem and ZModem protocols are implemented without
calling external programs.

This is currently _BETA_ level software. 

GPS Receiver Support:
   Ashtech Z-12
   Ashtech Micro-Z (using ZModem) 
   TurboRogue
   Leica CRS-1000
   Trimble(1)

Operating System Compatibility(2): 
   Linux 2.2-2.4 glibc2 based
   Sun Solaris
   Windows NT with Cygnus tools (www.cygnus.com)
   Other versions of UNIX using the GCC compiler (untested)


Sharc is also capable of doing session programming on the Ashtech
Z-12 receiver. Support for session programming can be added in
for the other receiver types.

Used in conjunction with teqc, Sharc provides the ability to
download and rinex data with minimal user interaction. A perl script
is supplied with the distribution which uses Sharc and TEQC to mimic
the functionality of Ashcan(3).  The ability to call teqc directly
from Sharc (ie. Download and Rinex in one command) is planned.

Sharc/teqc is now the recommended backend for the EGADS downloading
system. Using the ashcan.exe perl script provided, it is possible to
replace the current ashcan.exe binary without any changes to system
configuration files.

Sharc has been released under the GNU General Public License. We
encourage anyone with an interest in supporting future development
to submit bug reports, patches, and enhancements directly to the
author.


Primary Developer: 
	Keith F. Stark 
	US Geological Survey
	stark at dukester.com
	626-583-6729

Thanks to Sergei Podshivalov (Ashtech) for making the remote33 perl
utilities available.

Thanks to Dana Caccamise (University of Hawaii) for making a Leica
available for testing.


(1)A framework for the Trimble receiver support has been added to
Sharc, but I am unable to complete the support without access to a
Trimble receiver.

(2)Not all systems have been tested with all receiver types.

(3)Ashcan has been deprecated by the Sharc/teqc combination.


--Keith

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Keith F. Stark           Phone: (h)818 343 6226 (w)818 634-0339
Stark Consulting, LLC    FAX:   (h)             (w)818 755-4655
4936 Matula Drive        USGS:  (v)626-583-6729 (f)626 583-7827
Tarzana, CA 91356        Email: stark at dukester.com
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