Found on the web: "You may find you need to add your user to the dialout group
(or another group which owns the serial ports.)"

To do this, you need to install install gnome-system-tools, which includes Users
and Groups.

Thanks, is there a way to tell who owns the serial ports?

In regards to my last on adding to the group, don't forget to
log out and back in again to make the changes take.

Bring up a terminal, under Applications, Accessories click on terminal.
In the terminal window enter the command "cd /dev" with the quote marks.
Now enter the command "ls -l tty*" if you have a serial port.
I may look something like this:
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 4, 64 2012-06-07 17:13 ttyS0
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 4, 65 2012-06-07 17:13 ttyS1
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 4, 74 2012-06-07 17:13 ttyS10
.
.
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 4, 86 2012-06-07 17:13 ttyS22
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 4, 87 2012-06-07 17:13 ttyS23
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 4, 88 2012-06-07 17:13 ttyS24


The way to read this is looking at the left side it tells us it
is a character device with read write and no execute privileges for
the owner of root and group of dialout for the devices ttyS0 through
ttyS31 on my Mint system which is a Ubuntu spin off and nearly the same.
There are commands to add yourself to the group dialout to give you
permission to use the ttyS* ports. In my home directory if I do the
ls -l command I see my owner as marty and group marty so I would have
to add marty to the dialout group. This is what part of my group
file under the /etc directory looks like:

kmem:x:15:
dialout:x:20:marty
fax:x:21:
voice:x:22:

In my terminal window I would enter commands like.
sudo vi /etc/group

Then go the the line with dialout and go the end of the line and add
you id after the colon. Then save the file. Use you favourite editor
if you are not use to using vi.
There is a command tool you can use too but I am more comfortable using
the manual editor myself.

I tried it but it said no file or directory found. I can see the dev directory
under file system and there is a serial directory under that. The only 2 items
in the seial directory are USB sevices.

I checked my username and looked at groups and I'm in all the groups such as
dial-out etc.

I just checked my /dev area and do not have a serial entry of any kind
there. If your ID listed in all of the groups then this should not be
the problem you asked about. I just reread you email at the end of this
email, and you said you couldn't run you ham radio software. I sounds
like you can run the software but you don't seem to be communicating
with the rig, and indeed on one or two versions of Linux I had run
across the group issue, but not on any of the latest version I have
been running lately. Are you using a true serial cable or a USB adapter
then a serial cable, or a USB cable direct, I have that and my port is
listed as /dev/ttyUSB0, that is a zero on the end, then make sure the
speed is the same on the rig and the software.

Shouldn't Marty's original advice have said:

enter the command "cd /dev" withOUT the quotes?

Easy typo to make; but I just tried it with the quotes and got exactly
"No such file or directory"

Correct good catch, just goes to show even if you proofread the
post it can get past.

Since I installed 12.04 I have not been able to access the serial ports eithe
built in or USB to serial. My Amateur radio program CQRlog could not control the
radio via the built in serial port. I could not query the serial port without
getting access denied despite the fact I was in all the correct groups.

As of tonight everythig is working correctly. What was the solution, I haven't a
clue. I updated my software as I routinley do and when I was done all was
working correctly.