1. Prerequisites

Ensure your Raspberry Pi 5 is connected to the internet. If you are using the USB-C Gadget Mode (have a look to my blogpost about), make sure your host PC is sharing its internet connection, or temporarily connect the Pi to Wi-Fi.

2. Install Build Dependencies

We need to install the essential libraries required to build the software. We do this carefully to avoid unnecessary system-wide upgrades that could jeopardize our stable environment.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential libfltk1.3-dev libjpeg-dev libpng-dev \
libxft-dev libxinerama-dev libxcursor-dev libsndfile1-dev libsamplerate0-dev \
libpulse-dev portaudio19-dev libusb-1.0-0-dev libudev-dev pkg-config

3. Download the Source Files

Visit the official W1HKJ website and download the latest .tar.gz archives for both programs. Using the latest source ensures you aren’t stuck with outdated repository versions.

• FLRig: http://www.w1hkj.com/files/flrig/
• FLDigi: http://www.w1hkj.com/files/fldigi/

Place these files in your ~/Downloads folder on the Pi.

4. Prepare the Work Environment

We will create a dedicated source folder and extract the archives there. This keeps our workspace organized.

# Create the source directory
mkdir -p ~/src

# Extract the files from Downloads to the source folder
tar -xvzf ~/Downloads/flrig-*.tar.gz -C ~/src/
tar -xvzf ~/Downloads/fldigi-*.tar.gz -C ~/src/

5. Compile and Install FLRig

FLRig should be installed first. On the Raspberry Pi 5, we avoid specific x86 optimization flags (like SSE) to ensure a stable build on the ARM architecture.

cd ~/src/flrig-*/
./configure --prefix=/usr/local
make -j$(nproc)
sudo make install

6. Compile and Install FLDigi

Now we build the digital modem suite using the same clean configuration process.

cd ~/src/fldigi-*/
./configure --prefix=/usr/local
make -j$(nproc)
sudo make install
sudo ldconfig

7. Create Desktop Shortcuts

To make the programs accessible without the terminal, we’ll create desktop starters. Run these commands to generate the icons on your desktop.

FLRig Starter:

cat <<EOF > ~/Desktop/flrig.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Name=FLRig
GenericName=Rig Control
Comment=Amateur Radio Rig Control
Exec=/usr/local/bin/flrig
Icon=flrig
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Network;HamRadio;
EOF
chmod +x ~/Desktop/flrig.desktop

FLDigi Starter:

cat <<EOF > ~/Desktop/fldigi.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Name=FLDigi
GenericName=Digital Modem
Comment=Amateur Radio Digital Modem Suite
Exec=/usr/local/bin/fldigi
Icon=fldigi
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Network;HamRadio;
EOF
chmod +x ~/Desktop/fldigi.desktop

Digital Nerd Tips for Success

• Permissions: Ensure your user is part of the dialout group: sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER. You might need to log out and back in.
• System Integrity: By installing to /usr/local/, we guarantee that your existing Wine/Vara/Pat setup remains untouched.
• Customizing: You can rename the desktop icons by right-clicking them. Once you launch them for the first time, select “Mark as Executable” to show the proper icon and name.