Starbase

Starbase 2.1.1 (Nov 2011) Installation Notes.

1. Minimum Hardware Requirement.

• 1.3 gigahertz (GHz) 32-bit (x86,i386) or 64-bit (x64,amd64) processor.
• 1.5 gigabyte (GB) of system memory.
• Hard drive with at least 110MB of available space.

2. Installer Types.

The installer comes in five different versions.  You need to select the correct version for your system.

Use this version for 32bit Windows machines that haven't got Java installed.

• Starbase-2.1.1-win32-Java-Bundle-Setup.exe

The following versions all require Java to be installed.  Sections 3 below shows how to install Java.

• Starbase-2.1.1-Windows-x86-Setup.jar.  32bit Windows installer.
• Starbase-2.1.1-Windows-x64-Setup.jar.  64bit Windows installer.

• Starbase-2.1.1-Linux-x86-Installer.jar.    32bit Linux installer.
• Starbase-2.1.1-Linux-x64-Installer.jar.    64bit Linux installer.

We provide MD5 checksums for you to test file integrity.  Please read one of the following links for further information on MD5.

• MS Windows - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841290
• Linux - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Md5sum

MD5 Checksums.

• MD5 (Starbase-2.1.1-win32-Java-Bundle-Setup.exe) = 8dabb7c6ac5c5da61d48ee8ff1bc13c3
• MD5 (Starbase-2.1.1-Windows-x86-Setup.jar) = 62ecbaef2829f82aa3aa4ee02e11e4c3
• MD5 (Starbase-2.1.1-Linux-x86-Installer.jar) = dec750579dc31961ddc3f9ff38bf2b06
• MD5 (Starbase-2.1.1-Windows-x64-Setup.jar) = e6d5678a12961fed0f335c219e38e730
• MD5 (Starbase-2.1.1-Linux-x64-Installer.jar) = fb53e7eea941e273ec046a44478fb301

3. Java JRE Installation.

3.1 Microsoft Windows (All)

The MS Windows installation of requires Java 1.6 or later.  Obtain the latest release from the URL below.

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html

Select either the "offline" or x64 version.

3.2 Linux Ubuntu 10.6

Ubuntu includes Java 1.6 in its default repositories.  Please use a package manager of your choice to install, or using the following command in a terminal.

sudo apt-get install openjdk-6-jre

3.3 Linux Fedora 15

Fedora includes Java 1.6 in its default repositories.  Please use a package manager of your choice to install, or using the following command in a terminal as the root user.

yum install java-1.6.0-openjdk-i686

4. Starting jar file installations.

MS Windows users need to double click on the downloaded jar file for your platform. Please consult your system documentation for the correct platform type.

Linux users need to use one of these two ways to the start the installer.

Option one.  Open a terminal and execute the following command in the directory containing the Starbase installer jar file.

java -jar Starbase-2.1.1-Linux-x86-Installer.jar

Option two.   We've encountered the following method with Ubuntu.  Right-click on jar file and select 'open with openjdk java 6 runtime'.

5. Installer Configuration Panels.

Please mind your syntax when completing input fields, the installer is case sensitive, examples are given where applicable.

5.1 Pack Selection.

The pack selection panel lets you add or remove software packs from the overall installation.  The default packs will suit most situations and includes sample data, mapping support as well as the Starbase documentation.

5.2 Framework Metadata Configuration.

The Framework metadata data must be present for Starbase to be able to load.  Starbase uses the information provided in the Framework metadata to ensure the Starmaps and Ephemerides are correct for your location.  You can obtain your longitude and latitude from the following website.  http://f6fvy.free.re/qthLocator

Please leave the defaults unless you know the correct data to enter.

You can enable GPS updates if you have a Starbase compliant NMEA 0183 device.

5.3 Staribus Serial Port Configuration.

You will need to know the name of your serial port to configure the Staribus port correctly.  Normally COM1 on Windows machines, check in control panel for the correct port name.  Linux users can simply look in /dev/ for configured serial devices.   Linux users must use the full path to the serial device they wish to use. e.g. /dev/ttyUSB0

5.4 Observatory Metadata

The first Observatory metadata panel has three mandatory fields boxed in blue below.

Observatory Metadata Continued.

You can obtain your Maidenhead locator at the following website. 

http://f6fvy.free.fr/qthLocator

Please note the data obtained from the above site will need to be formatted for Starbase. The Maidenhead locator is shown all upper-case this will also need to be changed to the format shown. e.g. IO91PL becomes IO91pl

5.5 Observer Metadata

The Observer metadata has two mandatory fields boxed in blue below.