| Introduction |
WU2WAVWU2WAV converts SETI@home workunits into wav sound files. Of all the converters available that I know of, I dare say WU2WAV is the most accurate. WU2WAV also has a small RFI detector, which attempts to tell the user if the WU contains strong (very strong) signals or not. I use this myself for trying to identify quick WU's in time, so that my WU-cache wouldn't become empty prematurely. The RFI factor scale is, from weakest to strongest: Nope, Nah, Maybe, YEP, WHOA! WU2WAV is available for Linux and Win32. The Linux version is statically linked and should work on almost all Linux distributions. Download WU2WAV version 0.5.7W for Win32wu2wav.exe
Use WU2WAV at your own risk. The author takes no responsibility for any damages that might be caused by WU2WAV.
Frequently expected questions about WU2WAV Q: How did you find out how to convert the workunits into sound? Answer: A little information about the format has been posted to alt.sci.seti and sci.astro.seti by SETI@home staff members. The rest was up to me to guess. To test whether I had found the right format or not, I converted workunits with strong RFI at first, but then moved on to reverse the process, make workunits and see from the graphics produced by the GUI SETI@home clients if I had found the correct format. Eventually, my guesses got better and better, I was able to see the signals from RFI workunits in the converted wav.Q: Why isn't the sourcecode released? Answer: It is my understanding, that it is the wish of the SETI@home team, that anyone who stumbles on to the right format used in the WU's would keep it to himelf. Obvisouly for security reasons.Q: What are the system requirements for WU2WAV? Answer: Well, if you're running Windows or Linux, and the SETI@home client, then your system should be able to run WU2wav.Q: WU2WAV doesn't work, why? Answer: I don't know. You could try sending me an email describing what you did, any error messages you got from WU2WAV (run from ms-dos prompt (not real dos) to see any error messages under windows), what happened and what you expected would happen.Q: Why is the Linux version so much bigger? Answer: The Linux version is statically linked, while the Windows version is not.Q: What processor is WU2WAV optimized for? Answer: The Linux version is optimized for Pentium, but runs on every i386 compatible processor (I hope).Q: Does WU2WAV decode the workunits 'properly'? Answer: I hope so. Workunits with strong RFI tend to prove this, the narrowband interference seems to be at the same frequency (when viewing work_unit.wav) as reported by SETISpy, for example.Q: Then why do I not hear the signals? Answer: Perhaps it is too weak to be heard, or too high or too low in frequency for your ears? The SETI@home clients is atleast a thousand times more sensitive than your ears.Feel free to contact me with any further questions about WU2WAV. |
| (C) 2000 Jan Knutar |