Merge pull request 'Update SDR guides, Getting Started Guide and fix Sphinx warnings for release' (#29) from docs/sdr-guides-update into main

Reviewed-on: #29
Reviewed-by: muq <muq@noreply.localhost>

docs/source/conf.py

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ sys.path.insert(0, os.path.abspath(os.path.join('..', '..')))
 # https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/configuration.html#project-information
 
 project = 'ria-toolkit-oss'
-copyright = '2025, Qoherent Inc'
+copyright = '2026, Qoherent Inc'
 author = 'Qoherent Inc.'
 release = '0.1.5'
 

docs/source/examples/sdr/index.rst

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-.. _examples:
+.. _sdr_examples:
 
 ############
 SDR Examples

docs/source/sdr_guides/blade.rst

@@ -40,26 +40,36 @@ Limitations
 - USB 3.0 connectivity is required for optimal performance; using USB 2.0 will significantly limit data
   transfer rates.
 
-Set up instructions (Linux, Radioconda)
----------------------------------------
+Set up instructions (Linux)
+---------------------------
 
-1. Activate your Radioconda environment.
+No additional Python packages are required for BladeRF beyond the base RIA Toolkit OSS installation.
+
+1. Install the system library:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
-     conda activate <your-env-name>
+    sudo apt install libbladerf-dev
 
-2. Install the base dependencies and drivers (*Easy method*):
+  For a more complete installation including CLI tools and FPGA images, use the Nuand PPA:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
     sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nuandllc/bladerf
     sudo apt-get update
-    sudo apt-get install bladerf
-    sudo apt-get install libbladerf-dev
-    sudo apt-get install bladerf-fpga-hostedxa4  # Necessary for installation of bladeRF 2.0 Micro A4.
+    sudo apt-get install bladerf libbladerf-dev
+    sudo apt-get install bladerf-fpga-hostedxa4  # Necessary for BladeRF 2.0 Micro xA4
 
-3. Install a ``udev`` rule by creating a link into your Radioconda installation:
+2. Install udev rules:
+
+  For most users:
+
+  .. code-block:: bash
+
+    sudo udevadm control --reload
+    sudo udevadm trigger
+
+  For **Radioconda** users, create symlinks from your conda environment instead:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 

docs/source/sdr_guides/hackrf.rst

@@ -39,23 +39,28 @@ Limitations
 - Bandwidth is limited to 20 MHz.
 - USB 2.0 connectivity might limit data transfer rates compared to USB 3.0 or Ethernet-based SDRs.
 
-Set up instructions (Linux, Radioconda)
----------------------------------------
+Set up instructions (Linux)
+---------------------------
 
-1. Activate your Radioconda environment:
+HackRF is supported out of the box after installing RIA Toolkit OSS.
+
+1. Ensure ``libhackrf`` is installed at the system level. On most Ubuntu installations this is already
+   present. If not:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
-     conda activate <your-env-name>
+    sudo apt install libhackrf-dev
 
-2. Install the System Package (Ubuntu / Debian):
+2. Install udev rules to allow non-root device access:
+
+  For most users:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
-     sudo apt-get update
-     sudo apt-get install hackrf
+    sudo udevadm control --reload
+    sudo udevadm trigger
 
-3. Install a ``udev`` rule by creating a link into your Radioconda installation:
+  For **Radioconda** users, create a symlink from your conda environment instead:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
@@ -63,7 +68,7 @@ Set up instructions (Linux, Radioconda)
     sudo udevadm control --reload
     sudo udevadm trigger
 
-  Make sure your user account belongs to the plugdev group in order to access your device:
+  Make sure your user account belongs to the ``plugdev`` group in order to access your device:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
@@ -71,7 +76,7 @@ Set up instructions (Linux, Radioconda)
 
 .. note::
 
-   You may have to restart your system for changes to take effect.
+   You may have to restart your system for group membership changes to take effect.
 
 Further information
 -------------------

docs/source/sdr_guides/pluto.rst

@@ -43,34 +43,34 @@ Limitations
   affect stability.
 - USB 2.0 connectivity might limit data transfer rates compared to USB 3.0 or Ethernet-based SDRs.
 
-Set up instructions (Linux, Radioconda)
----------------------------------------
+Set up instructions (Linux)
+---------------------------
 
-1. Activate your Radioconda environment:
+The PlutoSDR is supported out of the box after installing RIA Toolkit OSS. The required Python package
+(``pyadi-iio``) is included in the toolkit's dependencies.
+
+1. Ensure ``libiio`` is installed at the system level. On most Ubuntu installations this is already present.
+   If not:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
-    conda activate <your-env-name>
+    sudo apt install libiio-dev libiio-utils libiio0
 
-2. Install system dependencies:
+.. note::
+
+   PlutoSDR devices are discoverable over both USB and network (mDNS). Network discovery uses Avahi — if
+   ``avahi-daemon`` is not running, network discovery will be skipped but USB discovery still works.
+
+2. Install a ``udev`` rule to allow non-root device access:
+
+  For most users:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
-    sudo apt-get update
-    sudo apt-get install -y \
-          build-essential \
-          git \
-          libxml2-dev \
-          bison \
-          flex \
-          libcdk5-dev \
-          cmake \
-          libusb-1.0-0-dev \
-          libavahi-client-dev \
-          libavahi-common-dev \
-          libaio-dev
+    sudo udevadm control --reload
+    sudo udevadm trigger
 
-3. Install a ``udev`` rule by creating a link into your Radioconda installation:
+  For **Radioconda** users, create a symlink from your conda environment instead:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
@@ -78,11 +78,18 @@ Set up instructions (Linux, Radioconda)
     sudo udevadm control --reload
     sudo udevadm trigger
 
-  Once you can talk to the hardware, you may want to perform the post-install steps detailed on the `PlutoSDR Documentation <https://wiki.analog.com/university/tools/pluto>`_.
+  Once you can communicate with the hardware, you may want to perform the post-install steps detailed on
+  the `PlutoSDR Documentation <https://wiki.analog.com/university/tools/pluto>`_.
 
-4. (Optional) Building ``libiio`` or ``libad9361-iio`` from source:
+3. (Optional) Building ``libiio`` or ``libad9361-iio`` from source:
 
-  This step is only required if you want the latest version of these libraries not provided in Radioconda.
+  This step is only required if you need a version not available via ``apt``. First install build
+  dependencies:
+
+  .. code-block:: bash
+
+    sudo apt-get install -y build-essential git libxml2-dev bison flex libcdk5-dev cmake \
+      libusb-1.0-0-dev libavahi-client-dev libavahi-common-dev libaio-dev
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 

docs/source/sdr_guides/rtlsdr.rst

@@ -30,18 +30,10 @@ Limitations
     - Sensitivity and performance can vary depending on the specific model and components.
     - Requires external software for signal processing and analysis.
 
-Set up instructions (Linux, Radioconda)
----------------------------------------
+Set up instructions (Linux)
+---------------------------
 
-1. Activate your Radioconda environment:
-
-  .. code-block:: bash
-
-    conda activate <your-env-name>
-
-2. Purge drivers:
-
-If you already have other drivers installed, purge them from your system.
+1. If you previously had RTL-SDR drivers installed, purge them first:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
@@ -53,47 +45,95 @@ If you already have other drivers installed, purge them from your system.
     sudo rm -rvf /usr/local/include/rtl_*
     sudo rm -rvf /usr/local/bin/rtl_*
 
-3. Install RTL-SDR Blog drivers:
+2. Install build dependencies:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
-    sudo apt-get install libusb-1.0-0-dev git cmake pkg-config build-essential
-    git clone https://github.com/osmocom/rtl-sdr 
-    cd rtl-sdr
-    mkdir build
-    cd build
-    cmake ../ -DINSTALL_UDEV_RULES=ON
+    sudo apt install libusb-1.0-0-dev git cmake pkg-config build-essential
+
+3. Build ``librtlsdr`` from source:
+
+  The standard ``librtlsdr`` package available via ``apt`` is missing symbols required by the Python
+  bindings. Build from the **rtl-sdr-blog fork**:
+
+  .. code-block:: bash
+
+    git clone https://github.com/rtlsdrblog/rtl-sdr-blog.git
+    cd rtl-sdr-blog
+    mkdir build && cd build
+    cmake .. -DINSTALL_UDEV_RULES=ON
     make
     sudo make install
     sudo cp ../rtl-sdr.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/
     sudo ldconfig
 
-4. Blacklist the DVB-T modules that would otherwise claim the device:
+  .. important::
+
+     Do not use the osmocom ``rtl-sdr`` repository or the Ubuntu ``librtlsdr-dev`` apt package. Neither
+     provides the ``rtlsdr_set_dithering`` symbol that the Python bindings require.
+
+4. Blacklist the kernel DVB driver:
+
+  The kernel DVB-T driver (``dvb_usb_rtl28xxu``) claims the RTL-SDR device and prevents ``librtlsdr``
+  from accessing it.
+
+  For most users:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
+
+    echo 'blacklist dvb_usb_rtl28xxu' | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-rtlsdr.conf
+    sudo modprobe -r dvb_usb_rtl28xxu
+
+  For **Radioconda** users, a blacklist configuration is already provided in your conda environment:
+
+  .. code-block:: bash
+
     sudo ln -s $CONDA_PREFIX/etc/modprobe.d/rtl-sdr-blacklist.conf /etc/modprobe.d/radioconda-rtl-sdr-blacklist.conf
     sudo modprobe -r $(cat $CONDA_PREFIX/etc/modprobe.d/rtl-sdr-blacklist.conf | sed -n -e 's/^blacklist //p')
 
-.. note::
+  If ``modprobe -r`` fails with "Module is in use", unplug the RTL-SDR dongle, run the command again,
+  then plug it back in. Alternatively, reboot — the blacklist takes effect on next boot.
 
-   In addition to the Radioconda blacklist file, some systems also require
-   manually blacklisting the following DVB-T modules to prevent them from
-   claiming the device:
+  .. note::
+
+     Some systems also require blacklisting additional DVB-T modules. Add these entries to your
+     blacklist configuration if needed:
 
-     - ``dvb_usb_rtl28xxu``
        - ``rtl2832``
        - ``rtl2830``
 
-   Add these entries to ``rtlsdr.conf`` (or create the file at
-   ``/etc/modprobe.d/rtlsdr.conf``) if they are not already present.
+5. Reload udev rules:
 
-5. Install a udev rule by creating a link into your radioconda installation:
+  For most users (rules are installed by the build step above):
 
   .. code-block:: bash
+
+    sudo udevadm control --reload
+    sudo udevadm trigger
+
+  For **Radioconda** users, create a symlink from your conda environment instead:
+
+  .. code-block:: bash
+
     sudo ln -s $CONDA_PREFIX/lib/udev/rules.d/rtl-sdr.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/radioconda-rtl-sdr.rules
     sudo udevadm control --reload
     sudo udevadm trigger
 
+6. Install Python packages:
+
+  .. code-block:: bash
+
+    pip install pyrtlsdr==0.3.0
+    pip install setuptools==69.5.1
+
+  .. note::
+
+     ``pyrtlsdr`` 0.4.0 references a ``rtlsdr_set_dithering`` symbol not present in standard
+     ``librtlsdr`` builds. Version 0.3.0 works correctly.
+
+     ``pyrtlsdr`` 0.3.0 depends on ``pkg_resources``, which was removed in ``setuptools`` >= 82.
+     Pinning to 69.5.1 ensures ``pkg_resources`` is available.
+
 Further Information
 -------------------
     - `RTL-SDR Official Website <https://www.rtl-sdr.com/>`_

docs/source/sdr_guides/thinkrf.rst

@@ -39,18 +39,48 @@ Limitations
 Set up instructions (Linux)
 ---------------------------------
 
-Install PyRF
+ThinkRF devices require the ``pyrf`` package, which is written in Python 2 syntax and must be patched
+after installation to work with Python 3.
+
+.. note::
+
+   ``lib2to3`` was fully removed in Python 3.13. ThinkRF support is currently limited to
+   **Python 3.12 and below**.
+
+1. Install ``lib2to3``:
+
+  On some distributions (including Ubuntu 24.04+), ``lib2to3`` is not included by default:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
-    pip install 'pyrf>=2.8.0'
+    sudo apt install python3-lib2to3
 
-Convert PyRF scripts to Python 3
+2. Install ``pyrf``:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
-    cd ../scripts
-    ./convert_pyrf_to_python3.sh
+    pip install pyrf
+
+3. Patch ``pyrf`` for Python 3:
+
+  The ``pyrf`` package contains Python 2 syntax throughout (e.g., ``dict.iteritems()``, ``print``
+  statements). Run the following to automatically convert the entire package to Python 3:
+
+  .. code-block:: bash
+
+    python -c "
+    from lib2to3.refactor import RefactoringTool, get_fixers_from_package
+    import pyrf, os
+    pyrf_path = os.path.dirname(pyrf.__file__)
+    fixers = get_fixers_from_package('lib2to3.fixes')
+    tool = RefactoringTool(fixers)
+    tool.refactor_dir(pyrf_path, write=True)
+    print('Done')
+    "
+
+  .. note::
+
+     This patches the entire ``pyrf`` package in place, which is required for the driver to fully load.
 
 Further Information
 -------------------

docs/source/sdr_guides/usrp.rst

@@ -41,34 +41,97 @@ Limitations
 - Compatibility with certain software tools may vary depending on the version of the UHD.
 - Price range can be a consideration, especially for high-end models.
 
-Set up instructions (Linux, Radioconda)
----------------------------------------
+Set up instructions (Linux)
+---------------------------
 
-1. Activate your Radioconda environment:
+USRP devices require the UHD (USRP Hardware Driver) library with Python bindings. There is no pip-installable
+UHD package — it must either be installed via conda or built from source.
 
-  .. code-block:: bash
-
-     conda activate <your-env-name>
-
-2. Install UHD and Python bindings:
+**Option A: Install via conda (recommended for conda environments)**
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
     conda install conda-forge::uhd
 
-3. Download UHD images:
+**Option B: Build from source (required for pip/venv environments)**
+
+  The Python bindings must target the same Python version used in your virtual environment.
+
+  1. Install build dependencies:
+
+    .. code-block:: bash
+
+      sudo apt install cmake build-essential libboost-all-dev libusb-1.0-0-dev \
+        python3-dev python3-numpy libncurses-dev
+
+  2. Install the Mako template library into your virtual environment (used by UHD's build system):
+
+    .. code-block:: bash
+
+      pip install mako
+
+  3. Clone and build UHD with your virtual environment activated:
+
+    .. code-block:: bash
+
+      git clone https://github.com/EttusResearch/uhd.git
+      cd uhd
+      git checkout v4.7.0.0
+      cd host
+      mkdir build && cd build
+      cmake -DENABLE_PYTHON_API=ON -DPYTHON_EXECUTABLE=$(which python3) ..
+      make -j$(nproc)
+      sudo make install
+      sudo ldconfig
+
+    .. important::
+
+       Run the ``cmake`` command with your virtual environment activated so ``$(which python3)`` points
+       to the correct interpreter. Before running ``make``, verify the cmake output includes::
+
+         --   * LibUHD - Python API          → must say "Enabling"
+         -- Python interpreter: .../your-venv/bin/python3
+
+       If "LibUHD - Python API" is not listed under enabled components, the Python bindings will not be
+       built. The build typically takes 10–30 minutes.
+
+  4. Copy the Python bindings into your virtual environment if ``import uhd`` fails after installation:
+
+    .. code-block:: bash
+
+      cp -r ~/uhd/host/build/python/uhd ~/.venv/lib/python3.XX/site-packages/
+
+    Replace ``python3.XX`` with your Python version (e.g., ``python3.12``).
+
+    .. note::
+
+       If you have a pre-existing UHD installation built against a different Python version, you will see
+       a circular import error. The bindings must match the Python version in your virtual environment exactly.
+
+**After either installation method:**
+
+1. Download UHD FPGA/firmware images:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
     uhd_images_downloader
 
-4. Verify access to your device:
+2. Verify device access:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
     uhd_find_devices
 
-   For USB devices only (e.g. B series), install a ``udev`` rule by creating a link into your Radioconda installation.
+  For USB devices (e.g. B-series), install a ``udev`` rule.
+
+  For most users:
+
+  .. code-block:: bash
+
+    sudo udevadm control --reload
+    sudo udevadm trigger
+
+  For **Radioconda** users, create a symlink from your conda environment instead:
 
   .. code-block:: bash
 
@@ -76,7 +139,7 @@ Set up instructions (Linux, Radioconda)
     sudo udevadm control --reload
     sudo udevadm trigger
 
-5. (Optional) Update firmware/FPGA images:
+3. (Optional) Update firmware/FPGA images:
 
   .. code-block:: bash