Pharos Installation Manual - PharosLinux

Poseidon Pharos GMDSS Simulator
Installation Manual
Pharos 7.9 – PharosLinux
Installation Manual - PharosLinux
Poseidon Simulation AS - http://poseidon.no
Poseidon Simulation AS Pharos 7.9 Page 2/27

Table of Contents
Recommended Requirements (HW/PCs) 5
Install the USB license key (dongle) 6
PharosLinux Installation 7
Installing on the Linux platform 8
Choosing network setup 12
Initial Setup and Information 16

Set up the sound card 16
Native Sound Preferences 16
Sound settings 18
Recording Test 19
GMDSS Target 19
Playback Test 19
Noise 19
Sample Frequency 19
One or two screens? 20
Log Files 22
Upgrade Pharos Linux GMDSS 22
Back up your exercise data 22
Configuration 23
Network 24
Graphics 24
Screen layout 25
Keyboard 25
Various 26
Instruments 26
Fixed instruments placement 26
Addition SW user interfaces for hardware instruments 26
Mini instruments order 26
Debriefing 26
Dot matrix printer 26
Use parallel printer port 26
Left margin spaces 27

Maintenance 27
About 27
Keyboard shortcuts 28
USB magic 28

Recommended Requirements (HW/PCs)

Operating system
● 1 additional USB slot for each
● PharosLinux by Poseidon Simulation ○ Tipro Handset
● Windows 7 – Windows 10
○ Tipro Gooseneck
(own installation manual)
○ VHF RT-5022 HW unit
PC platform ○ MF-HF CU-5100 HW unit
○ Poseidon/Sailor 5001 Handset
● CPU: Intel Core i5 - 7th gen. (Kaby Lake), box
AMD equivalent, or better. ○ Poseidon Battery Panel HW unit
● Memory: 8GB RAM. ○ Poseidon Gooseneck
● Network: 1Gbps Ethernet. ● 1 additional sound card interface (PCI
● HDD: SSD recommended interface or USB soundcard) for each
● Free disk space: 500MB ○ VHF 6222 HW unit
o 1-2 GB should be available at any PC ○ VHF RT-5022 HW unit
running Debrief Server
○ MF/HF CU-5100 HW unit
● USB: All related hardware using a
○ Poseidon/Sailor 5001 Handset
USB-interface, including instruments,
box
sound cards etc must be connected to
● USB hubs may be used for some units
USB inputs with ver. 2.0 or higher.
● Sound cards: Number of cards depends
Printer
on attached hardware units with audio
o Recommended: Creative
SoundBlaster Audigy cards ● For line by line printing, choose the OKI
o Minimum: Any sound card recognized Microline 280 Elite 9-pin matrix printer
and supported by the OS with parallel and USB interface (or
▪ PharosLinux is based on Ubuntu compatible). For convenience, use a
Linux 14.04 LTS. matrix printer with fan-fold paper.
o Note that OS supported sound cards ● For system/network printers, any printers
may vary a lot in quality, and may
recognized by your OS.
largely affect simulator performance.
● Graphics card:
o OpenGL compatible. Switch
o Nvidia cards recommended.
o Minimum 1GB RAM ● Must support IEEE 802.3x Flow Control
● Monitor - Recommendation for each ● Recommended POE: Netgear JGS516PE
Student/Instructor station:
● Recommended non-POE: HP ProCurve
o 2 monitors of size 22” or higher
o 2610-24 J9085A or equivalent/similar
o 1 monitor is possible, but 2 provides
specifications
more simultaneous info and overview
● Ports for each Pharos station +
o If 2 monitors are used, they should
preferably be the same model o Each VHF 6222 HW unit
o Aspect ratio: 16:10 or 16:9 monitors. o Each Alarm Panel 6103 HW unit
o Resolution: Recommended o Each MF-HF CU-5100 HW unit
1920x1200 or higher
● WoL: BIOS should allow Wake-on-LAN
If you have any question about the
hardware specifications, please contact
Additional interfaces/slots
support@poseidono.no

Install the USB license key (dongle)

The license key check is only done by the Server program. The following does only apply
to the server, or server/instructor PC if they are installed in the same computer. For the
same reason, the simulator can very well be installed without having a license key
available, as it is only needed when running the server.
Please note that the physical key will show a small red/orange light when connection is
established with the driver.
Figure 1: Various versions of the USB license keys
Beware that if you forget to insert the dongle, the server program won’t work. The same
applies if the dongle is restricted due to USB protection software.
If the license will expire within a short period of time (2-3 weeks), you will get a warning
and you should contact Poseidon (sales@poseidon.no) in order to get a new license file.

PharosLinux Installation
To install Pharos GMDSS simulator on Linux system, please make sure that the computer
is specified according to our recommended specifications. Especially note that there must
be a DVD player in the computer.
Installing on the Linux platform

You may have got a DVD with the Pharos GMDSS software – or you may have
downloaded an .iso file from Poseidon website.
If you have attained a copy of the DVD iso image, this file may be called something like
gmdss-linux.iso. Please burn this image to a writable DVD which can be used to install the
simulator on the PCs. We recommend the freeware program imgburn software to do this.
Visit www.imgburn.com to get the software. Alternatively, you can use the .iso file to create
a bootable USB stick. We recommend using UNetbootin, also free, available from
https://unetbootin.github.io/.
When you have an installation DVD, enter the BIOS to set the boot sequence for the PC
you are going to install the software onto, and adjust these so that booting from CD/DVD is
attempted before booting from disk.
Now it's time to start installing. Insert the installation DVD in the DVD tray and boot the
computer from the DVD. Then you will be welcomed by an image like this:

PharosLinux installer
Choose Install Simulator
Installation
Press YES for installing the simulator

Disk choice
Choose a disk drive for installing the Poseidon Pharos simulator on.
Please note that the DVD-ROM is usually listed here (always about 1Gb in size), so avoid
choosing this!
Erasing disk
You will be warned that you are about to erase all content on the disk in question. Please
observe this!

Progress bar for installation
Setting up the harddrive

Configuring hardware, takes about a minute
Instructor Station Student Station

Choosing network setup

The network may be set up using fixed IP addresses on all computers or by using a DHCP
(Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server which is a program run on one of the
computers (usually the instructor/server machine). This program will hand out IP
addresses to the other computers during their startup process.
However, if your switch is connected to a DHCP server already, or you are using a router
having DHCP capabilities activated, then you must of course skip the setup of DHCP
server functionality. Two DHCP servers in one LAN is no good idea.
The end of the setup procedure is all about this functionality.
DHCP
For a network without DHCP server press NO
Figure 2: DHCP

Press No for a network without DHCP Server
Example of IP address
Instructor uses 192.168.160.100
Student 1 is 192.168.160.101
Student X is 192.168.160.(100 + X)
Netmask

Default Gateway
Default Gateway: leave empty
Instructor name Student name
At the end of the Pharos installation process you will be asked to choose a host name
(computer name) for the PC.
For Instructor station, use the name Instructor
For students we recommend you to match this with unique names of the ships in the ship
database.
Aries Jena Sassy

Bella Kinja Thor
Cora Leia Uma
Dula Melita Virana
Emilie Nautilus Wren
Freya Olympus Xandra
Gembre Poseidon Yres
Harriet Quest Zandra

Isabel Rose
When you insert a ship that fits one of the host names into an exercise, the simulator will
automatically assign the instruments on that ship to the student station (computer) with the
same host name.
Installation complete
Simulator is now installed, press ENTER to reboot. Remember to remove bootable device
(DVD or USB) before rebooting.
When starting the server, remember that the USB license key must be connected. See
own chapter in this document “Install USB License Key (dongle)”

Initial Setup and Information

Set up the sound card
We will here give some hints on how to set up the sound card driver.
Note:
First of all it is crucial that the audio devices (headset, loudspeaker and microphone) are
connected before you start up the simulator. If you disconnect the microphone after
startup, you should reconnect and then restart the client program.
If you press Native Sound Preferences in the Sound Preferences window, you may adjust
the sound on operating system level. For Linux, we have included a program QasMixer
from SourceForge.net. For Windows, we use the built in sound dialogues.
Native Sound Preferences

There are mainly three things that need to be adjusted. These will be valid both for
Terratec and for other types of sound cards:
● The input must be unmuted if muted pr. default
● The input must be set to microphone or headset, not line in
● The volume should be turned to maximum on both microphone and speaker
● You may want to switch on the microphone boost if you experience low volume on
the VoIP transmits.
Below we show some screenshots on what these settings may look like. This may look
different for other types of sound cards.
The blue sliders are for sound out (loudspeaker settings), the red ones are for sound in
(mic settings)

QasMixer settings

Sound settings
Start the simulator on each computer; do not start any exercise yet.
Press SHIFT + ALT + S to enter sound settings. The sound preferences dialogue window
will pop up.
Sound Preferences, Instructor station with one sound device
In this dialogue you may select which instruments are directed to which sound device. On
the above figure there is only one sound device, called PCH. I/O for all instruments will be
directed to this device (all instruments are tagged).
You may control the volume level for each audio device. Please press the Playback test
button. This will play some music through the loudspeakers connected to the selected
audio device and you will be able to adjust the volume level.
Likewise you may do a Recording test in order to test the volume of the microphone
connected. When you talk, you will hear yourself in the loudspeakers and you will be able
to set the microphone volume.
The above screenshot is from the Instructor station. Only the Instructor may set noise and
sampling frequency.

Sound Preferences, student station with three sound devices
Recording Test
Run the Recording test to test the microphone, press Test button and talk, you will now
hear yourself from the headset
GMDSS Target
Choose targets for the sound card, normally choose all for you soundcard if you have no
hardware connected.
Hardware devices needs its own soundcard, sound configuration will be described in the
manual belonging to the hardware.
Playback Test
A song is played
Noise
Enable background noise for the instruments in order to train the students in using the
squelch.
Sample Frequency
Previously we were experimenting using lower frequency in order to reduce the LAN
traffic. We recommend using 44 kHz as standard.

One or two screens?

The simulator has support for dual screen setup which will give the instructor/student more
space for displaying instruments and other components.
Especially for the instructor it is a nice feature that CRS, RCC, MSI and traffic ship
instruments can be displayed on one screen and the exercise map on the other. If only
one screen is present, the Instructor will use tabs to switch between the map view and the
other views.
If the student station is set up with dual screens, one instrument may be shown on one
screen, another instrument on the other. Left click one mini instrument in order to display
that particular instrument on the left screen, right click to display it on the right screen.
To activate dual screen support for Pharos GMDSS simulator, press Shift + Alt + Del and
a “Shutdown station and PC” window is displayed.
Press System and navigate to the Graphics tab.
Configuration
Press Launch Nvidia Settings and a ”NVIDIA X Server Settings” window is displayed.

NVIDIA X Server Settings
Press on the “X Server Display Configuration”.
Press Configure button and a “Configure Display Device” window is displayed.
Select TwinView mode for dual screen.
Press OK, Save to X Configuration File and Apply!
Reboot computer.

Log Files
Log files are automatically collected if you insert a USB flashdrive into the USB port of the
computer. You may then inspect the log files or send them to be analyzed by Poseidon.
Upgrade Pharos Linux GMDSS

The Pharos software will be upgraded on regular intervals, and dependent of which
service agreement you have with Poseidon, you will have access to various
patches/upgrades.
On Pharos Linux we have developed a system where you simply acquire a file called
patch.tar.gz that is an archive of the files that we want to exchange on your GMDSS lab
to make the upgrade. Simply copy this file to an USB stick, and then insert it into the PCs
in the lab, one by one. When the stick is inserted, a dialog will appear informing you about
the progress in the upgrade process. When the PC reboots, you may remove the stick.
Back up your exercise data

If you however want to install the whole simulator from scratch, we have developed a
system for taking care of your edited ship database/exercises/messages. These may be
collected from the system by adding a file called get with arbitrary content (may even be
empty) to the root directory of a USB stick. Then insert it into the server computer where
the exercise library and ship database is placed, and all files will be archived in a file called
persistence.tar.gz and copied to the stick. Wait until the information dialog explains that
the operation is finished. The get file has now been deleted.
Then, after you have installed Pharos Linux from scratch with the installation device, you
may insert the stick into the PC, and the databases will be restored.

Configuration
Press Shift + Alt + Del and the “Shutdown station and PC” window is displayed.
This menu may also be reached from the System preferences button on the startup
screen. Select System…
Restart station means restart the program (instructor or student). For Linux installations
the program will load again, for Windows installations you have to restart the program
manually.
Shutdown the station means close all programs and power off.
Reboot the station means reboot and load the operating system just like if the station was
powered off and on again.
Press the System button and the “Configuration” window is displayed. This window has got
7 tabs which we will explain below.

Network
The first tab shows the network settings. If you are running Linux, you may change the IP
address, Subnet mask and the default Gateway for the computer. The host name and
MAC address cannot be changed here. If you want to change the hostname, this must be
done in the operating system.
The lower part of the window (only at the instructor station) makes it possible to turn on
one, some or all the computers in the simulator by sending a Wake on LAN (WOL)
package to the computers.
In order to make WOL work, you have to enter the BIOS settings of the computer and
enable WOL. Then the LAN card will be able to receive a wakeup signal and power on the
PC. Shortcut to the client programs may be copied to the startup folder.
Graphics

Here you may start an external program for controlling the monitor(s). See Dual Screen
Configuration
Screen layout
In this tab you may choose to show the simulator in full screen or in a window. If you have
got two monitors (the picture to the right), you may swap the monitors and you may select
to show the picture on only one monitor.
Keyboard
Choose Keyboard Model and Keyboard layout

Various
Instruments
Fixed instruments placement

For user with touch screens, this disables the possibilities to move the instruments on the
screen.
Addition SW user interfaces for hardware instruments

If there is a hardware VHF and/or a hardware MFHF, usually these won’t show in the mini
instruments. Tick this option in order to show software instruments. Then you may use the
instrument on screen or the hardware instrument.
Mini instruments order

Mini instrument order gives the possibility to rearrange the sequence the mini
instruments are displayed in.
Debriefing
Not shown in image above, but when available, this setting lets you choose where to store
debrief data (which can become quite large). Useful for cases where Linux and Pharos
runs on a smaller SSD disk, and another disk is used for storage.
Dot matrix printer

NB: For line printing, use OKI Microline 280 Elite 9-pin matrix printer (or similar). The
printer must have a USB interface if the installation is on Linux. Windows users use a
parallel cable between the printer and the computer.
Use parallel printer port

For Windows user with a printer connected, tick for “Use parallel printer port”

Left margin spaces

You may increase the left margin if it is too narrow by a number of spaces.
Maintenance
In this window, the instructor may clean up log files or Inmarsat files. This may be done for
all stations or for a selected station.
About
The About tab will give information about the system.

Keyboard shortcuts
Pharos Linux and Windows

Ctrl + F1 – F9 Select instrument on ship
Shift-Alt-Delete Shutdown alternatives or access
sound settings/System configuration
Shift-Alt-S Sound Preferences
Shift-Alt-H Hardware Configuration
Shift-Alt-P System Configuration
Shift-Alt-X Make screenshot of current window and save it in the
file /opt/gmdss/logs/screenshot[date_and_time].png
Shift-Alt-G Open web browser (Google Chrome)
USB magic
In Pharos Linux, the operating system is surveying the USB ports. If you insert a USB
memo stick into a USB port, the following will happen, depending on the contents on the
stick:
Task How to make it happen

Patch (upgrade) Pharos Put the file with the name patch.tar.gz on the USB stick
Back up/collect log files Insert empty USB stick
and screenshots
Back up/collect Put a file named get on the USB stick
persistence data
Copy persistence data Insert the USB stick with the file persistence.tar.gz
back to the computer made with the get task above into a USB port of the
server/instructor PC.
Persistence data includes saved exercises/messages, Pharos settings/configuration and CRS/RCC

modifications (if any)
Please use a USB memory stick formatted as FAT32 or NTFS.

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Poseidon Pharos GMDSS Simulator

Poseidon Simulation AS Pharos 7.9 Page 2/27

Recommended Requirements (HW/PCs) 5

Install the USB license key (dongle) 6

Initial Setup and Information 16

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Recommended Requirements (HW/PCs)

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Install the USB license key (dongle)

Figure 1: Various versions of the USB license keys

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Installing on the Linux platform

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Choose Install Simulator

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Progress bar for installation

Setting up the harddrive

Instructor Station Student Station

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Choosing network setup

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Press No for a network without DHCP Server

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Instructor name Student name

Aries Jena Sassy

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Initial Setup and Information

Native Sound Preferences

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Sound Preferences, Instructor station with one sound device

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Sound Preferences, student station with three sound devices

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One or two screens?

Press System and navigate to the Graphics tab.

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NVIDIA X Server Settings

Press on the “X Server Display Configuration”.

Press Configure button and a “Configure Display Device” window is displayed.

Select TwinView mode for dual screen.

Press OK, Save to X Configuration File and Apply!

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Upgrade Pharos Linux GMDSS

Back up your exercise data

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Choose Keyboard Model and Keyboard layout

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Fixed instruments placement

Addition SW user interfaces for hardware instruments

Mini instruments order

Dot matrix printer

Use parallel printer port

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