C++ SDRTrunk Transcriber

A C++ application designed to monitor directories for SDRTrunk P25 MP3 recordings, transcribe them using either local faster-whisper or OpenAI's API, and organize the results with talkgroup categorization and terminology translation.

Features at a Glance

• Dual Transcription Modes: Local processing with faster-whisper or cloud-based with OpenAI API
• File Processing: Parsing of SDRTrunk filename metadata
• Database Management: SQLite3 storage for transcriptions and metadata
• Terminology Translation: Automatic tencode, signal, and callsign translation
• Cross-Platform: Supports Linux and Windows (experimental)
• Rate Limiting: Built-in API rate limiting and error handling
• Configurable: Comprehensive YAML-based configuration system

Related Projects

• sdrtrunk-transcriber (Python version of this repo)
• sdrtrunk-transcribed-web (Node.JS website for displaying mp3/txt files processed by this project)

Table of Contents

• Quick Start
• Features
• Installation
  • Prerequisites
  • Building from Source
  • Platform-Specific Instructions
• Configuration
• Usage
  • Basic Usage
  • Command Line Options
  • Examples
• Transcription Modes
  • OpenAI API Mode
  • Local Mode (faster-whisper)
• System Integration
  • System Service
  • Web Interface
• Documentation
• Troubleshooting
• Contributing
• License

Quick Start

# 1. Install dependencies (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo apt-get install ffmpeg libavcodec-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev libsqlite3-dev pkg-config libyaml-cpp-dev

# 2. Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/swiftraccoon/cpp-sdrtrunk-transcriber.git
cd cpp-sdrtrunk-transcriber
git clone https://github.com/jbeder/yaml-cpp.git external/yaml-cpp
git clone https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11.git external/CLI11
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build

# 3. Configure
cp sample-config.yaml config.yaml
# Edit config.yaml with your settings

# 4. Run
./build/sdrtrunk-transcriber

Features

Core Functionality

• Directory Monitoring: Continuously monitors specified directories for new SDRTrunk P25 MP3 files
• Metadata Extraction: Automatically parses filename metadata (timestamp, talkgroup ID, radio ID)
• Duration Filtering: Configurable minimum duration threshold to skip brief recordings
• Dual Transcription: Choose between OpenAI API or local faster-whisper processing

Advanced Features

• Intelligent Translation: Searches transcriptions for tencodes, signals, and callsigns with automatic translation lookup
• Database Management: Comprehensive SQLite3 storage with full metadata tracking
• Rate Limiting: Built-in API rate limiting with configurable thresholds
• Error Handling: Robust retry logic with automatic failure recovery
• Performance Monitoring: Configurable debug output for all major components
• Cross-Platform: Native support for Linux, experimental Windows support

Installation

Prerequisites

System Requirements:

• C++17 compatible compiler (GCC 7+, Clang 7+, MSVC 2019+)
• CMake 3.16 or higher
• Git

Core Dependencies:

• FFmpeg (audio processing)
• SQLite3 (database)
• libcurl (HTTP client)
• yaml-cpp (configuration)
• CLI11 (command line parsing)
• nlohmann/json (JSON processing)

Platform-Specific Instructions

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential cmake git pkg-config \
    ffmpeg libavcodec-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev \
    libsqlite3-dev libyaml-cpp-dev

Fedora/RHEL/CentOS

sudo dnf install gcc-c++ cmake git pkg-config \
    ffmpeg ffmpeg-devel libcurl-devel \
    sqlite-devel yaml-cpp-devel

macOS (via Homebrew)

brew install cmake ffmpeg sqlite3 curl yaml-cpp

Windows

For Windows users, we recommend using vcpkg for dependency management:

# Install vcpkg if not already installed
git clone https://github.com/Microsoft/vcpkg.git
.\vcpkg\bootstrap-vcpkg.bat

# Install dependencies
.\vcpkg\vcpkg install curl sqlite3 yaml-cpp --triplet x64-windows

Also ensure FFmpeg is available in your system PATH.

Building from Source

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/swiftraccoon/cpp-sdrtrunk-transcriber.git
   cd cpp-sdrtrunk-transcriber

2. Initialize external dependencies:

   git clone https://github.com/jbeder/yaml-cpp.git external/yaml-cpp
   git clone https://github.com/CLIUtils/CLI11.git external/CLI11

3. Configure and build:

   # Release build (recommended)
   cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
   cmake --build build --config Release
   
   # Debug build (for development)
   cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DBUILD_TESTS=ON
   cmake --build build --config Debug

4. Install (optional):

   sudo cmake --install build

Configuration

The application uses a YAML configuration file for all settings. Start with the provided sample:

cp sample-config.yaml config.yaml
vim config.yaml  # or your preferred editor

Essential Configuration

Basic Setup:

# Directory containing SDRTrunk MP3 files
DirectoryToMonitor: "/path/to/sdrtrunk/recordings"

# SQLite database for storing transcriptions
DATABASE_PATH: "/path/to/recordings.db"

# Polling frequency in milliseconds
LoopWaitSeconds: 200

# Skip files shorter than this (seconds)
MIN_DURATION_SECONDS: 9

OpenAI API Configuration:

OPENAI_API_KEY: "your_api_key_here"
MAX_REQUESTS_PER_MINUTE: 50
MAX_RETRIES: 3

Talkgroup-Specific Glossaries:

TALKGROUP_FILES:
  52197-52201:  # Range of talkgroup IDs
    GLOSSARY:
      - "/path/to/tencode_glossary.json"
      - "/path/to/signals_glossary.json"
  28513,41003,41004:  # Specific talkgroup IDs
    GLOSSARY: ["/path/to/tencode_glossary.json"]

See docs/CONFIGURATION.md for complete configuration reference.

Usage

Basic Usage

After building and configuring, run the transcriber:

# Default mode (OpenAI API)
./build/sdrtrunk-transcriber

# Local transcription mode
./build/sdrtrunk-transcriber --local

# Custom configuration file
./build/sdrtrunk-transcriber -c /path/to/custom-config.yaml

Command Line Options

Option	Description	Default
-c, --config <path>	Configuration file path	./config.yaml
-l, --local	Enable local transcription (faster-whisper)	Off (uses OpenAI API)
-h, --help	Display help message and exit	-
-v, --version	Display version information	-

Examples

Monitor with custom polling interval:

# In config.yaml
LoopWaitSeconds: 5000  # Check every 5 seconds

Process only longer recordings:

# In config.yaml
MIN_DURATION_SECONDS: 30  # Skip files under 30 seconds

Enable debug output:

# In config.yaml
DEBUG_MAIN: true
DEBUG_FILE_PROCESSOR: true

Transcription Modes

OpenAI API Mode

Default mode using OpenAI's Whisper API for transcription:

Prerequisites:

• OpenAI API key with Whisper access
• Internet connection

Configuration:

OPENAI_API_KEY: "your_api_key_here"
MAX_REQUESTS_PER_MINUTE: 50
MAX_RETRIES: 3
RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_SECONDS: 60

Local Mode (faster-whisper)

Use local processing for offline transcription or enhanced privacy:

Prerequisites:

1. Install faster-whisper:

   pip install faster-whisper

2. Ensure fasterWhisper.py is in the same directory as the binary

3. GPU support (optional but recommended):

   # For NVIDIA GPU support
   pip install faster-whisper[gpu]

Usage:

./build/sdrtrunk-transcriber --local

Benefits:

• No API costs or rate limits
• Works offline
• Enhanced privacy (no data sent to third parties)
• Customizable model parameters

System Integration

System Service

Run as a systemd service for continuous operation:

1. Edit the service template:

   cp scripts/install-systemd-service.sh install-service.sh
   vim install-service.sh  # Update paths and user

2. Install the service:

   sudo ./install-service.sh

3. Manage the service:

   sudo systemctl start sdrtrunk-transcriber
   sudo systemctl enable sdrtrunk-transcriber
   sudo systemctl status sdrtrunk-transcriber

Web Interface

Display processed recordings using sdrtrunk-transcribed-web:

1. Set up the web interface:

   git clone https://github.com/swiftraccoon/sdrtrunk-transcribed-web.git
   cd sdrtrunk-transcribed-web
   npm install

2. Sync files automatically:

   # Use the provided sync script
   cp scripts/rsync_local_to_server.sh sync-to-web.sh
   vim sync-to-web.sh  # Update paths
   ./sync-to-web.sh

3. Or set up automated sync:

   # Add to crontab for automatic syncing
   */5 * * * * /path/to/sync-to-web.sh

Documentation

• API Documentation - Classes, functions, and integration points
• Build Guide - Detailed build instructions and troubleshooting
• Configuration Reference - Complete configuration documentation
• Contributing Guide - Development setup and guidelines
• Changelog - Version history and changes

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Build Errors:

• Ensure all dependencies are installed
• Try cleaning the build directory: rm -rf build && mkdir build
• Check CMake version: cmake --version (requires 3.16+)

Runtime Issues:

• Verify config.yaml syntax with yamllint config.yaml
• Check file permissions on monitored directory
• Enable debug output for detailed logging

Transcription Problems:

• For OpenAI API: verify API key and network connectivity
• For local mode: ensure fasterWhisper.py is in the correct location
• Check minimum duration settings

Performance Issues:

• Adjust polling frequency (LoopWaitSeconds)
• Consider local mode for high-volume processing
• Monitor system resources during operation

For more detailed troubleshooting, see docs/BUILD.md#troubleshooting.

Getting Help

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions
• Wiki: Project Wiki

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for:

• Development environment setup
• Code style guidelines
• Testing requirements
• Pull request process
• Issue reporting guidelines

Quick Start for Contributors

# First, fork the repository on GitHub (click the Fork button on the repo page)
# Then clone YOUR fork (replace YOUR_USERNAME with your actual GitHub username)
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/cpp-sdrtrunk-transcriber.git
cd cpp-sdrtrunk-transcriber

# Add the original repository as upstream
git remote add upstream https://github.com/swiftraccoon/cpp-sdrtrunk-transcriber.git

# Set up development environment
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DBUILD_TESTS=ON
cmake --build build

# Run tests
cd build && ctest

License

This project is licensed under the GPL-3.0 license. See the LICENSE file for details.