SparkFun Swarm M138 GUI

The Swarm M138 GUI is a simple, easy to use GUI for the Swarm M138 satellite modem. Available on all major platforms, as well as a Python package, the GUI will get you up and running with Swarm satellite communication.

If you need to install the application, see the Installation Section of this page.

Using the GUI

Connect the modem to your computer using a USB-C cable.

Click in the COM Port combo box and select the port for the modem. (The SparkFun Breakout will appear as a CH340).

Click Open Port.

Click any of the pre-defined message buttons to send that message to the modem.

You can also enter your own message in the Message window and click Send Message to send it. The $, * and checksum are added automatically. You do not need to include those.

Installation

Installation binaries are available for all major platforms (macOS, Window, and Linux) on the release page of the GUI repository:

Swarm M138 GUI Release Page

Click the arrow next to Assets if required to see the installers.

Windows

• Download the github release zip file - SwarmM138GUI.win.zip
• Unzip the release file - SwarmM138GUI.win.zip
• This results in the application executable, SwarmM138GUI.exe
• Double-click SwarmM138GUI.exe to start the application

macOS

• Download the github release file - SwarmM138GUI.dmg
• Double click on the file to unzip the file to SwarmM138GUI.dmg
• Double click the SwarmM138GUI.dmg file to mount the disk image.
• A Finder window, with the contents of the file will open
• Install the SwarmM138GUI.app by dragging it on the Applications in the Finder Window, or copying the file to a desired location.
• Once complete, unmount the disk image by right-clicking on the mounted disk in Finder and ejecting it.
• You may need to install drivers for the CH340 USB interface chip. Full instructions can be found in our CH340 Tutorial

To launch the GUI:

• Double-click SwarmM138GUI.app to launch the application
• The app isn't signed, so macOS won't run the application, and will display a warning dialog. Dismiss this dialog.
• To approve app execution bring up the macOS System Preferences and navigate to: Security & Privacy > General.
• On this page, select the Open Anyway button to launch the application.
• Once selected, macOS will present one last dialog. Select Open to run the application. The GUI will now start.

Linux

• Download the github release zip file - SwarmM138GUI.linux.gz
• Unzip the release file - SwarmM138GUI.linux.gz
• Un-gzip the file, either by double-clicking in on the desktop, or using the gunzip command in a terminal window. This results in the file SwarmM138GUI
• To run the application, the file must have execute permission. This is performed by selecting Properties from the file right-click menu, and then selecting permissions. You can also change permissions using the chmod command in a terminal window.
• Once the application has execute permission, you can start the application a terminal window. Change directory's to the application location and issue ./SwarmM138GUI
• You may need to install drivers for the CH340 USB interface chip. Full instructions can be found in our CH340 Tutorial

Python Package

The GUI is also provided as an installable Python package. This is advantageous for platforms that lack a pre-compiled application.

To install the Python package:

• Download the package file - SwarmM138GUI-2.0.0.tar.gz (note - the version number might vary)

At a command line - issue the package install command:

• pip install SwarmM138GUI-2.0.0.tar.gz
• Once installed, you can start the GUI by issuing the command ./Swarm_M138 at the command line. (To see the command, you might need to start a new terminal, or issue a command like rehash depending on your platform/shell)

Notes:

• A path might be needed to specify the install file location.
• Depending on your platform, this command might need to be run as admin/root.
• Depending on your system, you might need to use the command pip3

Raspberry Pi

We've tested the GUI on 64-bit Raspberry Pi Debian. You will need to use the Python Package to install it.

Notes:

• On 32-bit Raspberry Pi, with both Python 2 and Python 3 installed, use sudo pip3 install SwarmM138GUI-2.0.0.tar.gz
• On 64-bit Raspberry Pi, use sudo pip install SwarmM138GUI-2.0.0.tar.gz
• By default, the executable will be placed in /usr/local/bin
• The sudo is required to let setup.py install python3-pyqt5 and python3-pyqt5.qtserialport using sudo apt-get install