CXADC Capture & Preview GUI

A robust, cross-platform (Windows & Linux) GUI application for controlling CXADC raw RF capture devices. This tool integrates raw data dumping with real-time video monitoring via FFmpeg and Libmpv, wrapped in a modern dark-themed interface.

It is designed to run silently as a windowed application (.pyw) without persistent console windows, making it ideal for dedicated capture stations.

Features

• Raw RF Capture: Direct binary dumping from CXADC devices (/dev/cxadc0 or \\.\cxadc0) with configurable timeouts.
• Real-time Preview: Uses FFmpeg to stream the capture card's video/audio to a local UDP stream, playable inside the GUI via Libmpv.
• Simultaneous Recording:
  • Dump raw RF (for software decoding/VHS-decode).
  • Record conventional Video+Audio (.mkv) from the preview stream.
  • Record Audio-only from preview stream (.flac) for high quality audio capture.
• Cross-Platform: Works on Windows (DirectShow + WMI) and Linux (V4L2 + ALSA + Sysfs).
• Device Management: Auto-detects video/audio devices and specific CXADC hardware paths.
• Crash Safety: Includes custom exception hooks and logging to catch errors even when running in "No Console" mode.

Installation

• python3 -m pip install PyQt6 python-mpv wmi requests (Windows)
• pip install PyQt6 python-mpv requests (Linux) (Note: wmi is only required on Windows)

FFmpeg: Must be installed and added to your system PATH.

• choco install ffmpeg flac mpv (Windows)
• sudo apt install ffmpeg flac mpv libmpv-dev (Ubuntu)

note on Windows: You need the mpv-1.dll (or libmpv-2.dll). Place it in the same folder as this script.

Installation

• Clone this repository.
• Ensure you have the CXADC drivers installed for your specific OS.
• Place mpv-1.dll in the script directory (Windows only).
• Run the script.

Usage

• Running the Application
• To run without a console window (Windowed Mode):
• Rename the script to .pyw extension (e.g., cxadc_gui.pyw).
• Double-click the file.

To run with a console (for debugging):

• python cxadc_gui.py

Workflow

• Left Panel (Device Control):
• Select your CXADC device.
• Set the output path for the raw RF dump (.u8 file).
• Set the capture timeout.
• Check Start preview if you want to see the video while capturing.
• Click Start CX Capture Sequence.

Right Panel (Monitor):

• Select the conventional Video/Audio source (e.g., the composite video input of the card).
• This is used for the "Preview" stream.
• You can change Aspect Ratio or Codec settings here.

Configuration

• The app automatically saves your settings to config.json in the application directory upon closing.
• Crash Logs: If the application fails to start or crashes silently, check crash_log.txt in the script folder.
• Application Logs: General runtime info is saved to cxgui.log.

Troubleshooting

• "MPV library not found" Windows: Ensure mpv-1.dll is in the same folder as the script. You may need to add the folder to your user PATH variable or install the mpv python package carefully. Linux: Ensure libmpv.so is available (sudo apt install libmpv1).

• "Permission Denied" on Linux Accessing /dev/cxadc0 requires root privileges or adding your user to the video group. Try: sudo usermod -a -G video $USER (requires logout/login).