Astraweb & Pan

I've just switched to Linux again(Ubuntu specifically). And just subscribed to the unlimited $11 Astraweb service, and I'm using Pan.

Usually I used Alt.Binz on Windows, and that's the reader I'm most used to. But since I'm on Linux I thought I would try a client native to Linux. So, when I started Pan it asks me for my server address, port, and connections. So I added all that. But...Pan will only accept 4 connections.

I'm using Astraweb's General server(news.astraweb.com), and I'm suppose to get up to 20 connections. But when I input 10 connections into Pan, it automatically goes back to 4. So for the ones that are familiar with Pan, how can I get it to use over 4 connections?

I think I'm going to just install Wine and go back to Alt.Binz. It's the one I'm the used to. But I thought I would give Pan a try for a couple days. What are some other good Linux clients? I can't even get HellaNZB to install since it's not in the Synaptic Package Manager. So are there any other good ones besides Pan and HellaNZB?

Thanks for any info.

EDIT: Yeah, so I just installed Wine and alt.binz, and set alt.binz to 10 connections. And all 10 work. So I wonder why 10 won't work in Pan. I guess it really doesn't matter since I still get my full speed with 4 connections in Pan.

I use sabnzbd, it works well. Quick search found this instruction for ubuntu: http://sabnzbd.wikidot.com/quick-setup#toc1

Edit: the instruction doesn't grab the latest version, make sure you do that with the wget command.

You can also try Lottanzb, it is a GUI frontend to Hellanzb. Very easy to set up and use. It has all the basic features such as par check/repair and unrar. I am not 100% but you may have to install hellanzb from the repos before you install lottanzb but it has been awhile so I am not sure. If you get a dependency error then you know :P

You can grab the deb file at:
http://www.lottanzb.org/downloads

Thank you very much for the recommendations guys. I appreciate that. :)

You want to use the minimum number of connections that gives you full speed anyway. So if you get it with 4 then don't use 10.

Forgot to mention. If you want to stay with pan all you have to do to get it to use all 20 connections is add your server info 5 times. It will set it up as 5 separate servers but use all 20 connections at once. :D

Pan is a very good client as it uses so very little CPU and Memory. But if you like the features of Alt.Binz then HellaNzb is the way to go used with LottaNzb GUI. Plus the hellafox firefox extension works a treat with it.

Ah, didn't know there was a hellafox extension. And yeah I've got to go with the Lottanzb gui. I just can not get the hellanzb config right. I have followed numerous tutorials, and I just can't get it to work. I would rather use hellanzb all through terminal like it's suppose to be used, but I just am not good with terminal yet.

And by the way, I couldn't get sabnzbd to run either. What is up with these readers having to run or be installed through terminal? Why can't they just be installed through a .deb, and then be started just by clicking a button. Lottanzb doesn't tell me when a download is finished, or any of the stuff that I'm used to. So I guess I'll just be sticking with alt.binz or pan.

There is no need to configure the 'hellanzb.conf' file if you are using the LottaNzb GUI.

First grab lottanzb deb file from:
http://www.lottanzb.org/releases/dis..._0.3.1_all.deb

Once you have that file and it is saved to a location of your choice like 'Desktop' or whatever

Then open the terminal VIA: Applications> Accessories>Terminal

From there copy and paste command:

Code:

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sudo apt-get install hellanzb

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*Enter your password when prompted*

NOTE: Your password will not show up, it will be Blank.

Once Hellanzb is installed then double click the 'lottanzb_0.3.1_all.deb' file and follow the prompts to install the GUI

From there it is only a matter of setting up your addy, username, and amount of connections.

Select 'Standalone Usage mode' and enter your server info and passes.

http://i38.tinypic.com/dyupg1.png

After all of that you can start the program from 'Applications>Internet>Lottanzb'

To change the amount of connections or if you want it to unrar and par check automatically all you have to do is go to 'Edit>preferences'

The 'Servers tab' will allow you to change the amount of connections up to 25 per server , with or without SSL.

The 'general Tab' allows you to change download folders and set it to "download par files only when necessary to repair" , limit speed (useful if you share a connection and do not want to bog down the whole network.), minimize to system tray, and a few other things. But all in all if you want a nice, easy to use client this is it. But I have had a bit to much of the sauce and a few to many VK ES, so either way enjoy :01: :naughty::sorcerer:

http://i37.tinypic.com/2s16p3t.png

Lol, thank you rippinitup. You're always very helpful.

Actually, I got hellanzb and lottanzb working with no problem. All that is easy because I don't have to configure hellanzb at all, and lottanzb comes in a .deb.

It's hellanzb alone is what I'm trying to get working, but I just can't seem to do it. It's a pain in the ass. Tomorrow when I get back to my computer I'll pm you(if you don't mind) the link to the tutorial that I'm using, and also show you the specific spots in the tutorial where I'm having problems. I'm sure you'll be able to see what I'm doing wrong.

So until I can get hellanzb going, I think I'm going to stick with Pan. I was doing some comparisons, and Pan is using less CPU on my computer than hellanzb+lottanzb, or alt.binz. So I really like that. But I'm sure hellanzb alone(without lottanzb) uses even less than Pan since it's running from Terminal.

Enjoy your nite. ;)

EDIT: I have FINALLY found a tutorial that worked for me. And I now have HellaNZB working through Terminal. This tutorial here is what I used to get it running. It seems like a very basic tutorial compared to this one. This second tutorial I was getting hung up with the script install, and the cd command. Which the first tutorial didn't have any of that. So am I missing out on some hellanzb features by not follwing the second tutorial?

Ya that first tut. Is overly complicated. Glad to hear you got it set up and working. Little tip for you. If you want an easy way to start hellanzb then make a Launcher on your desktop or top panel. Just right click anywhere on desktop and 'create launcher' then under 'type' change it to 'application in terminal' under command enter 'hellanzb' and give it a name. Viola you got a desktop icon of sorts for quick launch. For the panel just right click anywhere on panel and 'add to panel' then 'custom app launcher'. If you need any linux help at all feel free to PM me any time. Oh before I forget, sometimes when you close the hellanzb terminal it does not kill the hellanzb process, easy way to make sure it does is just 'Ctrl+C' and it will kill it. then close terminal window.

Hella even being ran in terminal can be a CPU hog so if you find that it is an issue there is always NNTPGrab. It is a bit like grabit and has all the main features like par check, etc... and it uses about the same amount of system resources as pan.

http://nntpgrab.nl/wiki/index.php/Ubuntu

Screens:
http://nntpgrab.nl/screenshots/nntpg...osx_slazh1.png
http://nntpgrab.nl/screenshots/nntpgrab_nzb_import.png
http://nntpgrab.nl/screenshots/nntpg...er_columns.png

You can change language to english during setup.

Thank you rippinitup. I like that making hellanzb an icon suggestion. Never thought of that. And that's easier than opening terminal and typing hellanzb.

And yeah, when I got hellanzb running last night, I ran two nzb's just to see how the program was. And you're right, it is kind of a resource hog considering it's running from terminal. Hellanzb is using roughly twice the cpu than Pan does on my computer. So that kind of sucks. But...I like how Hellanzb shows each of my connections running and what they're doing. Something that Pan doesn't. So for this reason I might stick with hellanzb.

Another thing I noticed, is that when hellanzb starts going, all of my connections will be downloading. But then a couple minutes into the download only one of the connections is downloading(the first one). I don't think it's Astraweb since I started the same download in alt.binz, and every connection will be downloading all the way through.

You ever come across that with hellanzb?

Hmmm...I'll defintely check out NTTPGrab. Sounds pretty nice. I'll try it out after I finally get SabNZBd up and running. I found someone that actually made and miantains a .deb package of Sabnzbd. So I'm going to try that and see how the resources are. It should be a lot easier for me to setup since it's a .deb. Here is the link if you're interested.

Thanks for the help. I'll give you a pm since I have more Linux questions. ;)

EDIT: After looking at those screens for NTTPGrab(thanks for including all that), it looks like what I've been wanting under Linux. As long as it's as light as Pan, then this may be my new newsreader. I like how it looks like GrabIt. Something I'm very familiar with. I'll get it all tested out after Sabnzbd.

But thanks for letting me know about that. It looks great.

Thank you Ripinitup, I been looking for a good binary download client for Linux for some time. I never really liked Pan that much. LottaNZB and NNTPGrab are just what I was looking for. I like how simple LottaNZB is and how it saves and organizes downloads. The GUI in NNTPGrab displays more info and is pretty simple as well. Thanks again.

@Funkin. No I have not had the connection issue with hellanzb, but I am still using Ubuntu 8.04 this could just be a bug with hella and 8.10.

@Rott3n. Your welcome.

Yeah, that could be. NNTPGrab is a great looking newsreader. The best looking one I've came across on Linux so far. I have gotten Sabnzbd running though, and I am loving it. When I first got it working earlier today, it was slowing my browsing down in FF. But now I've tried it again, and my browsing is just as fast as it was without Sabnzbd running. Perhaps maybe because I set the refresh rate from 5 seconds to 1 minute.

As long as my browsing continues to keep being fast when Sabnzbd is running(the staff on Sabnzbd forums says that it shouldn't interfere with the browsing at all), then I think I might have found my new Linux news reader. It's pretty much non-exsistant in the resources dept. It uses even less than Pan does. And I love how you control everything right from your browser. And there are some nice skins for it too.

So as long as Sabnzbd hold up well, then I'm going to keep using it. If not, I'm going to switch to NNTPGrab.

Thanks for your help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Funkin'

Yeah, that could be. NNTPGrab is a great looking newsreader. The best looking one I've came across on Linux so far. I have gotten Sabnzbd running though, and I am loving it. When I first got it working earlier today, it was slowing my browsing down in FF. But now I've tried it again, and my browsing is just as fast as it was without Sabnzbd running. Perhaps maybe because I set the refresh rate from 5 seconds to 1 minute.

As long as my browsing continues to keep being fast when Sabnzbd is running(the staff on Sabnzbd forums says that it shouldn't interfere with the browsing at all), then I think I might have found my new Linux news reader. It's pretty much non-exsistant in the resources dept. It uses even less than Pan does. And I love how you control everything right from your browser. And there are some nice skins for it too.

So as long as Sabnzbd hold up well, then I'm going to keep using it. If not, I'm going to switch to NNTPGrab.

Thanks for your help.

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Been awhile since I messed around with Sabnzbd, maybe I will give it another try. I have just gotten comfortable with hellanzb.

On another note the only gripe I had with linux newsreaders was that none of them had true bandwidth throttling. Hellanzb just stops and starts instead of an actual throttle like Alt.Binz does. Until I found out about 'trickle' So if you share your connection with others it can be handy to have that way they don't bitch at you for using all the speed or if you wanna be able to browse the web without it feeling like dial up. It is in the repos.

Then all you have to do is create a little bash script for easy running. right click desktop>create document>empty file

Code:

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#!/bin/bash
trickle -s -d 'speed in KB/s' 'Program'

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Give it a name then right click>properties>permissions>tick the execute box and hit apply

the -s tells it to run in standalone mode, -d is the rate limit in KB/s, followed by the terminal command to start your newsreader.

From there all you have to do is double click the script and run or run in terminal

Sabnzbd has bandwidth throttling. I haven't tried most of the other newsreaders mentioned in this thread, but Sabnzbd just works very conveniently. I set it up to monitor a folder, and it picks up both nzbs and zip files. Once in the queue, it won't download the par files unless necessary. Then, files are extracted and deleted without a hitch.

I'll keep trickle in my mind rippinitup for when I use hellanzb. Right now I'm just switching back and forth between readers since I can`t decide on which one to stay with. :)

And naq, with monitoring folders with Sabnzb. Does Sabnzbd have to already be running and in your browser for it to start downloading the nzb you drop into a folder? Or would it automatically start when you drag and drop an nzb into a monitored folder?

I thought I read somewhere that hellanzb can do that.

Sabnzbd needs to be running to monitor a folder. It is still running in the background (or in a terminal depending on how you start it) when you close the web interface (unless you click the shutdown button).

I just started using Sabnzbd+ again and found a great Firefox plugin for it. I guess I never really gave SAB a try, I just got to comfortable with Hellanzb.

@Funkin': You are right it uses such little CPU & Ram that if I did not know i was running it and downloading I would never guess it was running in the first place it truly is that 'light weight' for a newsreader :drunk:

@naq: bandwidth throttling works great with it. LOL I have been using 'trickle' to limit this whole time VIA Hellanzb. I really did almost give up hope that "True" bandwidth throttling VIA usenet downloading in linux was just almost non existent . Guess not, cheers fellas, I got my new reader :drunk:

Perfect FF plugin for all that are interested:
https://nzbdstatus.bountysource.com/

EDIT:
For those using 'Ubuntu 7.10 - 8.10' here is a nice source you can add to your repository listings this way you get Install, Uninstall, Updates and all that straight through Synaptic or terminal...Nice, clean, and effective http://filesharingtalk.com/vb3/../.....lies/smile.gif

http://forums.sabnzbd.org/index.php?topic=387.0

Yeah, I've really been testing Sabnzbd these past few days, and I have defintely found my new newsreader. I can't believe I never tried it on a Windows, guess I was just too hooked on alt.binz. I like it more than alt.binz now.

I wonder how the devs got it to use such low resources. I also wonder if it's as lite on Windows.

Thanks for that FF plugin. I'llgive it a shot and see how it is. And Repository, that is different than the one you helped me with in pm isn't? The one that I couldn't find because it was hiding in Origins?

It must be different since I think the one I'm talking about doesn't update itself in Synaptics like this one.

Cool that you guys both like sabnzbd now. It really is a great cross platform software. I use it on my laptop on all 3 operating systems. Just checked CPU usage, it uses less than 15% of my CPU downloading 4 threads, and the CPU is throttled at minimum (0.8Ghz).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Funkin'

Yeah, I've really been testing Sabnzbd these past few days, and I have defintely found my new newsreader. I can't believe I never tried it on a Windows, guess I was just too hooked on alt.binz. I like it more than alt.binz now.

I wonder how the devs got it to use such low resources. I also wonder if it's as lite on Windows.

Thanks for that FF plugin. I'llgive it a shot and see how it is. And Repository, that is different than the one you helped me with in pm isn't? The one that I couldn't find because it was hiding in Origins?

It must be different since I think the one I'm talking about doesn't update itself in Synaptics like this one.

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Yes this is a different source all together. After you add it and update the list sabnzbdplus and 3 skins will be added to synaptic., from there you can install, uninstall and when sab is updated it will let you know so you can upgrade.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by naq

Cool that you guys both like sabnzbd now. It really is a great cross platform software. I use it on my laptop on all 3 operating systems. Just checked CPU usage, it uses less than 15% of my CPU downloading 4 threads, and the CPU is throttled at minimum (0.8Ghz).

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It uses anywhere from 10-20 % cpu downloading 20 threads on my machine, and about 15 meg of ram or less. Truly the lightest reader I have found yet for Ubuntu.