Author: James C. Ahlstrom
Keywords: quisk, sdr, software defined radio, ham radio

### Help with Quisk Configuration

##### Quick Start

Quisk can now manage its settings (sound devices, sample rates, etc.) internally, and a configuration file is no longer required. Multiple radios are supported as multiple named blocks of settings. Take a look at the tabs after this tab. The "Radios" tab shows the available radios. Each radio has its own tab after the "Radios" tab.

When you first start Quisk, it starts with the radio named "ConfigFileRadio". This radio takes its settings only from your configuration file. If you have no configuration file, Quisk uses defaults. If you select the ConfigFileRadio tab, you can see your settings but not change them, because Quisk will not change your config file. To change settings, you must name them; that is, create a name for the radio using that block of settings.

When you first install Quisk, you will not have any settings for your radio. Press the Config button and go to the Radios screen. Then create a radio by specifying the general hardware type and give it a name of your choosing. For a Hermes-Lite, specify "Hermes" as the hardware type and call it "HL2" (or some other name). Press "Add" and a new tab for your radio will appear. Look through the various settings on the HL2 tab.

Suppose you just purchased a HiQSDR, but have no config file for it. When you start Quisk, ConfigFileRadio has no use, because it was not designed for a HiQSDR. Instead, go to the radios tab and create a new radio of general type HiQSDR and give it a name. The Radios tab can create, rename and delete radios.

When you change settings for any radio, the changes do not apply until Quisk restarts. To restart Quisk, press the Restart button on the Radios tab. If PulseAudio is running, you must exit and restart Quisk yourself.

##### History

Quisk was written in 2008, and since that time it has used a configuration file to control its operation. Setting sound devices or changing sample rates required editing the configuration file and restarting. But many users object to config files. And advanced users now have multiple different hardwares, and so must use multiple configuration files. So Quisk now can manage its settings internally and no longer needs a configuration file. And multiple radios are supported with multiple named settings.

##### FAQ

What is a "Radio"?
  A Radio means a named block of settings Quisk uses to control a specific kind of hardware.
What settings are used when Quisk starts?
  Quisk uses the settings specified on the "Radios" tab. This is a list of all named radios, plus ConfigFileRadio, plus "Ask me" to cause Quisk to request the radio name at startup. When making changes to settings, it is wise to use "Ask me". If things go wrong and your new radio won't start, you can select ConfigFileRadio at startup and continue to make changes to your new radio.
I have multiple custom config files and multiple hardwares.
  Specify ConfigFileRadio as the startup radio on the Radios tab. Then start Quisk with each of your config files. For each config file, rename ConfigFileRadio to a suitable name.
Should I delete my old config file?
  Maybe. When Quisk starts it still reads your config file. It then overwrites the settings in the config file with the settings for the named radio. So it doesn't really hurt to have a config file. See below for continuing uses for config files.
I only have one kind of hardware, but I sometimes use it with a transverter.
  Just create two radios for your single hardware. Create different settings for the two cases.
I made some changes and now Quisk will not start. Since Quisk will not start, I can't change things back.
  Start quisk with the -a or --ask command line option to cause it to ask for the startup radio. That is, start quisk with "python quisk.py --ask" or "C:\python27\python.exe quisk.py --ask". Then specify ConfigFileRadio as the startup radio. Change the startup radio to "Ask me" until you get things fixed.
Why do I have to restart Quisk to make the new settings happen?
  Some of the settings could happen immediately, such as CW tone. But many settings control which buttons Quisk displays or other basic features that are awkward to change if Quisk is running. Thus the need to restart.

##### Uses for Config Files

There are still some advantages to config files. If you run Quisk on a single board computer with an attached 7 inch screen, you may find the screen too small to conveniently make changes to the settings. And the settings are fixed anyway. So a config file might be a superior solution.

There are settings in the config file that are not yet available on the radio settings screens. These are mainly the colors used by Quisk, the colors used for the band plans and the hot keys. If you want to change any of these, you still need a config file with just these items. Some of these setting are lengthy, and apply to multiple radios. It is not clear they belong on radio screens.

##### Dual-Boot Systems

Quisk stores the radio settings in the file quisk_settings.json in the default location of your config file. You can change the settings path by specifying settings_file_path="/my/path" in your config file. If you have a computer that can dual boot Windows or Linux, and you don't do anything else, you will have two settings files. That is fine if the settings are different on Windows and Linux, but probably most are the same. To use a single settings file, specfify settings_file_path to be the same file in your Windows and Linux config files. For example:

      # In Windows quisk_conf.py
      settings_file_path = "C:\\pub\\quisk_settings.json"

      # In Linux .quisk_conf.py
      settings_file_path = "/home/jim/pub/quisk_settings.json"

The above assumes that these files are really the same file, perhaps because they are on a shared drive, or because the Linux file maps the Windows partition, or because the files are subject to a sync.

You will also need a hardware file name and widget file name that are the same on Windows and Linux. For example, "./hermes/quisk_hardware.py" is the same on Windows (except for the forward slashes and backslashes). Even though you have a single settings file, Quisk will maintain separate values for the audio device names (different for Windows and Linux) and for data_poll_usec and latency_millisecs.