MESSAGE
| DATE | 2017-08-06 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
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| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] SMS through Linux
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https://www.20papercups.net/programming/sending-receiving-sms-on-linux/
Sending & Receiving SMS on Linux
A little while ago I worked on a mixed media theatre production called
If There Was A Colour Darker Than Black I’d Wear It. As part of this
production I needed to build a system that could send and receive SMS
messages from audience members. Today we’re looking at the technical
aspects of how to do that using SMS Server Tools.
There are actually a couple of ways to obtain incoming text messages:
Using an SMS gateway and software API
Using a GSM modem plugged into the computer, and a prepaid SIM
The API route is the easiest way to go from a programming aspect. It
costs money, but most gateways provide a nice API to interface with, and
you’ll be able to send larger volumes of messages.
BLACK had a few specific requirements that made the gateway unsuitable.
We were projecting out of a van in regional South Australia. We had
terrible phone reception, and mobile data was really flakey.
We were going to be sending text messages to audience members later,
and needed to have the same phone number.
So, we got hold of a USB GSM modem and used a prepaid phone SIM. This
allowed us to receive unlimited messages for free. However, we couldn’t
send messages as quickly as we would have liked.
Modem Selection
There are quite a few GSM modems to choose from. You are looking for one
with a USB interface and a removable SIM. GSM modems that use wifi to
connect to computers won’t work. You need to be able to remove the SIM
because most mobile data SIMs won’t allow you to send or receive SMS
messages. The other big requirement is Linux drivers, and Google is
really your friend here. The main thing to watch out for is
manufacturers changing the chipsets in minor product revisions.
We ended up going with an old Vodafone modem using a Huawei chipset. The
exact model I used is HUAWEi Mobile Connect Model E169 It shows up in
Linux like this:
ID 12d1:1001 Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. E169/E620/E800 HSDPA Modem
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ID 12d1:1001 Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. E169/E620/E800 HSDPA Modem
SMS Tools
SMS Tools is an open source software package for interfacing with GSM
modems on Linux. It includes a daemon, SMSD, which receives messages.
SMSD is configured to run your own scripts when messages are received,
allowing you to do pretty much anything you want with them.
Installation is straight forward on Ubuntu et al:
sudo apt-get install smstools
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sudo apt-get install smstools
Next you’ll need to configure the software for your modem and scripts.
Configuration File
The configuration file is a bit unwieldy, but thankfully it comes with
some sane default settings. Edit the file in your favourite text editor:
sudo vim /etc/smsd.conf
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sudo vim /etc/smsd.conf
Modem Configuration
First up you will need to configure your modem. The modem configuration
is at the end of the config file, and the exact parameters will vary
depending on what modem you have. Let’s have a look at what I needed:
[GSM1]
device = /dev/ttyUSB0
init = AT^CURC=0
incoming = yes
baudrate = 115200
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[GSM1]
device = /dev/ttyUSB0
init = AT^CURC=0
incoming = yes
baudrate = 115200
device is where you specify the file descriptor for your modem. If
you’re using a USB modem, this will almost allways be /dev/ttyUSB0.
init specifies AT commands needed for your modem. Some modems require
initialisation commands before they start doing anything. There are two
strategies here, either find the manual for your modem, or take
advantage of the SMSTools Forums to find a working configuration from
someone else.
incoming is there to tell SMSTools you want to use this device to
receive messages.
baudrate is, well, the baud rate needed for talking to the device.
Like I said, there are many options to pick from, but this is the bare
minimum I needed. Check the SMSTools website and forum for help!
Event Handler
The other big important part of the config file is the event handler.
Here you can specify a script/program that is run every time a message
is sent or received. From this script you can do any processing you
need, and could even reply to incoming messages.
eventhandler = /home/michael/smstools/sql_insert
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eventhandler = /home/michael/smstools/sql_insert
My script is some simple Bash which inserts a message into a database,
but more on that in a moment.
Sending Messages
Sending SMS messages is super easy. Smsd looks in a folder, specified in
the config file, for outgoing messages. Any files that appear in this
folder get sent automatically. By default this folder is
/var/spool/sms/outgoing.
An SMS file contains a phone number to send to (including country code,
but with out the +) and the body of the message. For example:
To: 61412345678
This is a text message sent by smstools. Awesome!
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To: 61412345678
This is a text message sent by smstools. Awesome!
Easy! Just put files that look like this into the folder and you’re
sending messages.
Receiving Messages
Let’s have a better look at the event handler. Remember, this script is
called every time a message is sent or received. The information about
the message is given to your program as command line arguments:
The event type. This will be either SENT, RECEIVED, FAILED, REPORT,
or CALL. We’re only interested in RECEIVED here.
The path to the SMS file. You read this file to do whatever you need
with the message
You can use any programming language to work with the message. However,
it is very easy to use formail and Bash. For example:
#!/bin/bash
#run this script only when a message was received.
if [ "$1" != "RECEIVED" ]; then exit; fi;
#Extract data from the SMS file
SENDER=`formail -zx From: < $2`
TEXT=`formail -I "" <$2 | sed -e"1d"`
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#!/bin/bash
#run this script only when a message was received.
if [ "$1" != "RECEIVED" ]; then exit; fi;
#Extract data from the SMS file
SENDER=`formail -zx From: < $2`
TEXT=`formail -I "" <$2 | sed -e"1d"`
From there you can do whatever you want. I put the message into a MySQL
database.
Troubleshooting
That’s all you need to write programs that can send and receive SMS
messages on Linux. Once you have smsd actually talking to your modem
it’s pretty easy. However, in practice it’s also fragile.
The smsd log file is incredibly useful here. It lives in
/var/log/smstools/smsd.log
Here are some of the errors I encountered and what to do about them:
Modem Not Registered
You’ll see an error that looks like this:
GSM1: MODEM IS NOT REGISTERED, WAITING 1 SEC. BEFORE RETRYING
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GSM1: MODEM IS NOT REGISTERED, WAITING 1 SEC. BEFORE RETRYING
This means the modem has lost reception, and is trying to re-establish a
connection. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do here but wait or,
using a USB extension cable, trying to find a spot with better reception.
Write To Modem Error
An error like this:
GSM1: write_to_modem: error 5: Input/output error
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GSM1: write_to_modem: error 5: Input/output error
means the software can no longer communicate with the modem. This is
usually caused by the modem being accidentally unplugged, the modem
being plugged in after the system has powered up, or by an intermittent
glitch in the USB driver. To fix this, do the following:
Stop smsd (sudo service smstools stop)
Unplug the modem
Wait 10 seconds or so
Plug the modem back in
Start smsd (sudo service smstools start)
Cannot Open Serial Port
You may see this error:
Couldn’t open serial port /dev/ttyUSB0, error: No such file or directory
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Couldn’t open serial port /dev/ttyUSB0, error: No such file or directory
This occurs if you started the computer (and therefore smsd) before
plugging in the modem. Follow the steps above to fix it.
Conclusion
So there you have it. Follow these steps and you can send and receive
SMS messages on Linux, using a cheap prepaid SIM and GSM modem.
In the next post we’ll be looking at exactly what I used this setup for.
Published by
Michael Marner
My name is Michael, and this is my website. I am currently working as a
Research Fellow at the University of South Australia's Wearable Computer
Lab. I am also the chair of the board and an announcer at Adelaide based
community radio station Three D Radio 93.7FM. View all posts by Michael
Marner
Posted on April 23, 2015Author Michael MarnerCategories ProgrammingTags
Linux, mysql, sms, smstools
11 thoughts on “Sending & Receiving SMS on Linux”
RJ Timtiman says:
September 25, 2015 at 5:04 am
“In the next post we’ll be looking at exactly what I used this setup
for.”
Hi Michael, I’m interested in the above. Can you show me this setup?
Thanks.
Olivier M. Mukadi says:
November 28, 2015 at 2:13 am
Hi Michael !
thanks you for that goods article.
I’m tring to make a SMS Gateway, i’ve a RaspberryPi 2, the same
huawei modem as you, and i use gammu to handle Incoming SMSs, so i’m
facing a problem: my gateway receive SMS for about 20 minutes before
hanging,i mean modem always receive message but did not notify gammu.
I want to switch to smstools,and i want to know if you have the same
problem with SMSTools3?
Thanks.
(p.s: excuse my english if i make some fault, i’m not an english
speaking)
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Michael Marner says:
January 15, 2016 at 6:39 am
Hi Olivier
We had our system running for hours on end using SMS Tools and
didn’t experience any hanging.
Cheers
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Dr Shailesh says:
January 20, 2016 at 5:36 am
Helped me to setup in 10 min
Thanks
benozir says:
April 27, 2016 at 5:58 am
Please help me to troubleshppt… here is log file
[root-at-mrtg sms]# smssend 8801712045854 ‘test sms from Nagios’
[root-at-mrtg sms]# cat /var/log/smsd.log
2016-04-27 01:54:51,3, GSM1: Modem is not clear to send
2016-04-27 01:54:52,6, smsd: Moved file
/var/spool/sms/outgoing/send_CC5134 to /var/spool/sms/checked
2016-04-27 01:55:05,3, GSM1: Modem is not clear to send
2016-04-27 01:55:18,3, GSM1: Modem is not clear to send
2016-04-27 01:55:30,2, smsd: Smsd main program received termination
signal.
2016-04-27 01:55:30,2, smsd: Smsd main program is awaiting the
termination of all modem handlers.
2016-04-27 01:55:30,2, GSM1: Modem handler 0 has received
termination signal, will terminate after current task has been finished.
2016-04-27 01:55:31,3, GSM1: Modem is not clear to send
2016-04-27 01:55:31,2, GSM1: Modem handler 0 terminated.
2016-04-27 01:55:31,2, smsd: Smsd main program terminated.
2016-04-27 01:55:39,2, smsd: Smsd v3.0.10 started.
2016-04-27 01:55:39,2, smsd: Running as root:root.
2016-04-27 01:55:39,6, smsd: File mode creation mask: 022 (0644,
rw-r–r–).
2016-04-27 01:55:39,6, smsd: outgoing file checker has started.
2016-04-27 01:55:39,6, GSM1: Modem handler 0 has started.
2016-04-27 01:55:40,6, GSM1: I have to send 1 short message for
/var/spool/sms/checked/send_X28231
2016-04-27 01:55:40,6, GSM1: Sending SMS from to 8801833104095
2016-04-27 01:55:40,6, GSM1: Checking if modem is ready
2016-04-27 01:55:43,3, GSM1: Modem is not clear to send
Horacio Miranda says:
May 18, 2016 at 7:13 pm
I think the problem of the USB modems is the dual functionality
(Drive/Modem), a few years to avoid this problem I unloaded the drive to
void this issue, I remember I manage with a udev rule to change the mode
of the USB modem from drive to Modem if the Drive was enabled ( they are
a flip-flop devices ). I think I follow this instructions ( or perhaps a
similar ones ).
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/19984956/udev-rule-for-symlinking-usb-device
Matan says:
February 26, 2017 at 7:01 pm
Does this tool support on receiving binary sms
--
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town
that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological
proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998
http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002
http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive
http://www.coinhangout.com - coins!
http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and and extermination camps,
but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
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