Linux in the Ham Shack » MP3 Feed

LHS Episode #108: Mumble in the Jungle

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:00:06 +0000

Hello and welcome to the first episode to be released on schedule in quite some time! It looks like our contest to award a Beaglebone Black to some lucky listener is going well. Make sure to get your entries in before 10:00pm Central on June 16th, either by becoming a member or completing the thought “I deserve a Beaglebone Black because…” on our voice line at 1-909-LHS-SHOW (547-7469). The drawing will be held during our live recording of Episode #109 on June 18th.

In this installment, your hosts travel the world of Linux and Ham Radio, discussing the latest release of ArchLinux, hurricane and disaster preparedness, the free-software Mumble project, computers in education and more. We even have voice feed back from Lord D, addressing a philosophical topic discussed in Episode #101. Sit down with a drink and get comfortable. This episode will make you think–we hope.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #107: Sorry for Party Bedrocking

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:37:41 +0000

This is the first episode to be recorded since Hamvention back in mid-May. Russ gives his thoughts on the event and tells everyone about the contest that was held there, and also the new one that is being held for all of our listeners. Please get your entries in. You don’t want to miss out on winning a Beaglebone Black! An interesting new Linux project that Russ heard about, called Bedrock Linux, came to his attention at Hamvention. The hosts interview the lead developer in the main segment of the program. On top of that, they discuss topics from milk shakes to retirement, announce the show’s most famous listener to date and bring back The Badger. You don’t want to miss any of this goodness.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #106: The Aussie Contingent

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:13:53 +0000

Greetings, listeners! May we entice you with another episode of Linux in the Ham Shack? We sure hope so. In this installment, we have a special guest, Peter64, ubiquitous podcaster of Kernel Panic Oggcast fame. He gives us a decidedly downunda perspective on our topics for the evening. Speaking of topics, we have several: new releases, including Debian “Wheezy” and KDE, updates on previous topics including the Tucnak logging application and the Hamux live distro, based on CentOS. Finally, we take a look at a clever and addictive airplane tracker that uses FAA and ADS-B transponders to let you know where your loved ones are when they’re at 35,000 feet. G’day from the team. We’ll keep a shrimp on the barbie for ya.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #105: Linux on the HamStack

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:57:16 +0000

That’s right, we’ve got yet another interview in this show. Is anyone screaming “UNCLE!” yet? George from Sierra Radio Systems and Nick from Pignology are our guests tonight, talking about several of their ham radio related products. They have a product launch they’re doing at the Dayton Hamvention this year and wanted to let everyone know what they have in store so it’s out there before the chaos in Ohio. Don’t despair, howver. This is not a sales pitch. Instead, our fine feathered guests get down into the nitty gritty of their product, explaining what it does, how it does it, what hardware it uses and what software as well. You’ll be happy to know it’s all Free Software based and an incredible find for anyone looking for comprehensive remote station control. George and Nick also happen to be responsible for a significant chunk of the donation money LHS needed to be a part of Dayton this year so we are eternally grateful to them for that. The best part of all this: That’s only HALF of the show. This one’s so packed full of information it might just explode.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #104: Propagation 101 with G0KYA

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 05:23:07 +0000

We sometimes on this show attempt to bring you interesting interviews with people who are both computer literate and ham radio literate at the same time. In this case, we bring a scholar, physics buff, aerospace engineer and brilliant guy, Steve Nichols (G0KYA), to discuss the science of radio wave propagation. No need to turn the show off before it even begins. Steve makes understanding the Earth’s atmosphere, its magnetic field, and a ton of stuff about the sun simple and approachable. No mind-bending equations, no physics lectures, just some great information for anyone interested in learning how a radio signal gets from here to there. A bunch of follow-up information in the form of books and Web sites are provided as well, links to which will be in the show notes, for anyone who wants to further their education. Thank you as always to our loyal listeners. Make sure to tell a friend next time you’re out for a cold one. The more the merrier.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #103: Indoorsman Meets Outdoorsman

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 05:21:20 +0000

Thanks for tuning into Episode #103 of Linux in the Ham Shack. With this episode we welcome in our quasi-permanent replacement for the on-hiatus Richard. Pete, VE2XPL, hails from somewhere near Montreal in Quebec, Canada, and you can read more about him on the About Us page on this very site. In this information-filled installment, Pete and Russ discuss the FCC and other licensing bodies getting interested (perhaps too interested) in VoIP technology. They also talk about several software packages related to running ham radio loggers and an Echolink client under Linux. And then they trudge through a super, super, super, super, super long e-mail from Brad. Thanks, Brad! Keep listening, folks, you’re not going to believe what the next few episodes have in store.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #102: Run, It’s George Lucas!

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 03:48:19 +0000

Here we are, two episodes past the Richardocalypse and the calendar hasn’t run out yet! This time around, I’d like to thank Rob from MintCast for once again stepping in to be a co-host on the show, filling in the left big toe of the shoes once worn by The Richard himself. Since I barely fill a pinky toe, myself, that’s really saying something. In this episode we go a little ham nutty with Linux thrown in. Topics range from slow-scan television to licensing requirements to Rob asking, “What do I need another damned hobby for??” That question and many others answered in this fabulous installment of Linux in the Ham Shack.

73 de Russ, K5TUX

LHS Episode #101: O Sole Mio

Russ K5TUX — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 04:36:04 +0000

Welcome to the first episode of Linux in the Ham Shack that doesn’t have Richard it in, on purpose. I can personally say that I feel his absence rather heavily in this program, but overall I think the show went rather well. Harrison, VE2HKW, was kind enough to be a guest host to help me out. Episode #102 will also have a couple of guest hosts, rather likeable ones at that, and so it will go until a permanent(?) replacement is found for Richard. We can only hope he comes back one day to grace us with tales of strippers on scooters and discharging firearms indoors. Until then, I soldier on. Thanks for listening and remember, you can send feedback to info@lhspodcast.info, or by voice mail at 1-909-LHS-SHOW (547-7469).

73 de Russ, K5TUX

LHS Episode #100: The Centennial

Russ K5TUX — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 05:02:14 +0000

Hello, everyone. This is the 100th installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. Some may have doubted that we would ever get this far. Some may be delighted. Some may be dismayed. Whatever feelings you may have on the matter, we have arrived. Please be advised that there is little in the way of Linux and/or Ham Radio content in this episode. It’s a bit more of a gab fest. That being said, we did have a couple of listeners on with us as guests, and everyone who joined us for the live event had a great time. The recording of this episode also coincided with Richard’s birthday, so if you haven’t already, feel free to wish him a happy belated birthday. Also in this episode is THE BIG BOMBSHELL. Word may have leaked out, but to some it will still be a surprise. Please take a moment to reminisce with us about our last 100 episodes, and we can’t wait to see what the next 100 will bring.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #099: Thorpe Your Octo

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 17:54:55 +0000

We are one episode away from the century mark. It’s with a great deal of pride that we, the hosts of Linux in the Ham Shack, present to you our 99tieth episode. We would love to have some audio feedback from as many of our listeners as we can get that we can air on our 100th Episode Extravaganza. If you have the time and inclination, please submit a sound bite telling us how much you love the show, or hate it, or whether a weasel stole your chickens. It doesn’t matter; we just want to hear from you! In the meantime, since Russ actually sat down and did some research for the episode, please take a listen and try to glean from it whatever nuggets of wisdom you might find. We’re not saying they’re in there, but the journey to discovery has been fun so far.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #098: Feudal Exercise

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:04:14 +0000

Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don’t. Luckily, Richard’s miraculous recovery from the Creeping Death outweighed Russ’s totally miserable Ides of January, resulting in a listenable episode with a bunch of content–mostly thanks to elcaset, a listener of the show, via IRC. There’s also a bit about svxlink using a Raspberry Pi (yes, it is possible and completely functional) and lots of information about upcoming events. We’d like to thank everyone you who submitted feedback, including The Radio Gangsta, who we also hope will get some much-needed psychological attention soon.

If you think about it, make sure to download the Black Sparrow Media app for your iPhone, iPad or Android device. And please tell your friends about the show. Have them sign up for the mailing list, episodes via RSS, the Google+ community and all the other ways they can keep up with what’s going on in LHS Land.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #097: Sheer Hamshackedness

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 22:33:27 +0000

Welcome once again to the Wonderful World of Linux in the Ham Shack. As indicated in the title, this episode is full of Sheer Hamshackedness. If you’re unsure what that is, we encourage you to pour yourself a nice glass of dark beer or a 100-proof spirit of your choice, put on your headphones and immerse yourself in the pure hedonism that is LHS. And if you believe any of that, we have a large vehicular conveyance over the East River in New York City up for sale as well. Anyway, we talk a little bit about Raspberry Pi computing, APRS, WSPR, Echolink, svxlink, Qtel and a bunch of other stuff in this episode. Hope you enjoy, as always.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #096: Worst. Episode. Ever.

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 17:13:41 +0000

Sometimes an episode comes along that defies description. This is one of those times. Richard was exhausted from his job. Russ was exhausted from life in general. Topics were a bit thin. Both hosts found their way into the sauce for the evening. Everything conspired to make Episode #096 one of the worst on record. We’re writing this summary in the hopes that you’ll look at it, ask yourself, “How bad can it be?” and listen anyway. Despite the less than ideal circumstances, the content is still relevant, informative and even fun. Hm. Maybe this isn’t the worst episode after all. You be the judge.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #095: I Has the Dumb

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 07:30:08 +0000

Richard called this one of our best efforts to date, which means there must be some kind of worthwhile contained buried in all the tomfoolery somewhere. If you can find it, you’ll be that much wiser for whatever it is we discussed. Silliness aside, we discuss some proposed FCC rule changes for the amateur radio community, the difference between hard and soft (symbolic) linking for our Linux segment, and answer questions and receive praise from several members of our audience. On the whole it turned out to be a pretty good episode, and we sure had a lot of fun doing it. Thanks to all our listeners for your support and for keeping us motivated to bring you ever more episodes of Linux in the Ham Shack.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #094: Arsenic and Old Pi

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 08:06:04 +0000

The latest episode of LHS is upon you! Prepare to be astounded, mesmerized, blown away and flabbergasted. If none of that happens, perhaps you’ll be entertained and informed. In a music-less episode, we somehow manage to get through without stumbling–more or less. Our foray begins in the world of Linux and computing with some tips on how to make your desktop and your blog look better, at only the cost of your immortal soul. In the middle we touch on Hurricane Sandy and emcomm and follow that up with some Echolink: native on Linux Echolink, yeah! Feedback winds up the episode and then we go back to our respective holes in the wall. Send us feedback, if you get a chance. We’d like to hear from you.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #093: Eating Crackers in Bed

Russ K5TUX — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 02:00:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to a very late release of LHS Episode #093. Recorded about a month ago, I finally found the time to get this one edited and put out so the world can experience it. I’d like to thank our loyal listeners for their patience, and I sincerely hope that this episode stands up to the fine quality (*snicker*) that you’re used to from LHS. We get a visit from one of the show’s ambassadors in this episode who tells us all about his experience ambassadoring for a Linux event in Ohio. You know the one. Surrounding that are some interesting Linux topics, a ham radio discussion or two and a very informative bit of feedback from the Old Texas Engineer. You don’t want to miss it.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #092: Yardfuls of Cooked Squab

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 03:27:13 +0000

Welcome, everyone to Episode #092 of Linux in the Ham Shack. In order to bring some more Linux users into the fold, we spend some time addressing issues pertinent to them. The first segment discusses some useful video and photo editing software that might be of interest to anyone, ham radio operator or not. The second segment discusses the ease of getting into the amateur radio hobby and how computer enthusiasts can use that shiny new license to expand their computing horizons. Third and finally, we respond to listener feedback. Catch you in a couple of weeks for the next go-around.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #091: Messed Up in the Head

Russ K5TUX — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 22:02:47 +0000

Good mushroom, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. This time around, we get a little bit ham geeky. That’s not a bad thing for those of you who are computer enthusiasts. We all delve into some scientific topics like electro-magnetic radiation, skywave propagation, atmospheric layers and other topics that are sure to tickle a few neurons and axons. We manage to keep everything at a level even non-geek-weenies will be able to understand. Somehwere in the middle, Russ goes on a tirade so you don’t want to miss that either. While you’re listening, take a moment to click on a link or two, sign up for the mailing list or maybe donate a couple of bucks to the show. We will love you long time if you do. Promise.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #090: Purple Hays

Russ K5TUX — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 18:35:20 +0000

Here we are at Episode #090, just 10 away from the century mark. Things have been rolling along fairly smoothly, and except for Russ being deathly ill for the last eight days, there’s not even a lot to complain about. In this episode, we have yet another interview. This time it’s with John Hays, K7VE, of Northwest Digital Radio. These guys are producing an entirely new purpose-built radio platform called the UDR56K. This technology promises to be a great advance in the amateur radio arena as well as in the computing arena. It’s a bit of kit that’s going to find a use in almost every radio amateur’s shack. If you want to find out why, please sit down and take a listen to this episode of LHS. We promise you will not be disappointed.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #089: Minty Fresh

Russ K5TUX — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 17:45:45 +0000

On this episode of Linux in the Ham Shack, your hosts had the very great pleasure or talking with Rob Hawkins from The MintCast. In a discussion which could have gone on for a much longer time, had they let it, the topics range from software patents and intellectual property to Windows 8 to the future of tablets and mobile devices. There’s even a little peek into Rob’s personal life, which Rob may or may not regret once this episode reaches the public. So stick it in your ear, as the saying goes, and enjoy this latest installment of the rowdiest tech and ham radio podcast on the Internet.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #088: Total Breakdown

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 02:28:10 +0000

Hello, esteemed listeners. Welcome to the latest installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. Tonight, Richard and Russ take the first third of the podcast to get a few topics off their minds that they’ve been thinking about over the past several weeks, whether or not those topics have anything to do with amateur radio or Linux. Wedged in the middle, discussion of wireless networking comes up, using HSMM and inexpensive Linksys hardware to provide Part 15 and Part 97 based communications for local, regional and EMCOMM use. Then our cagey hosts finish up with a mad dash through feedback, giving useful advice to those listeners with enough mettle to write in. Thanks as always to our loyal followers. We appreciate each and every one of you, each and every fortnight.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #087: King Jeremy the Wicked

Russ K5TUX — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 21:57:18 +0000

Hello, listeners! Welcome to the 87th installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. The past couple of episodes have been full of interviews, logic, and information. In short, we’ve totally jumped off our normal bandwagon. In order to fix that, we’ve put together an episode that contains a lot of banter, insight, musing, laughing, music and good times. Somewhere in the middle you’ll find information on Linux, Open Source software, ham radio logging applications, answers to listener feedback, compile instructions for source builds and mention of a secret recording where Russ takes over another podcast and rules the world. Make sure to listen from beginning to end. You’re not going to want to miss a single second.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #086: W9YA on YFKTest

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 20:46:24 +0000

A lot of interest has been focused on contest logging of late. We’ve had several comments and questions on the topic. With the recent passage of Field Day and Hamvention, many hams wanted to know what options there were for Linux. As it happens, YFKTest has been on our radar for some time. In order to get the full scoop, we invited Bob, W9YA, the current lead developer of YFKTest to come on the program and let us know what’s going on with YFKTest, what Russ has been doing wrong with it, and where it’s headed in the future.

It turns out that while simple, YFKTest is a competent and fully featured contest logger for many different contests. It works for CW and SSB logging, has rig control built in, and in the future may support network capable logging. There are many more features too numerous to name here. So sit back and let W9YA give you all the ins and outs. And stay tuned to the end of the show where our intrepid hosts tackle feedback from you, the listener. Best of luck in all your upcoming radio ventures.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #085: David Rowe on Codec2

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 04:00:09 +0000

Please join us for a special episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. In Episode #085, the hosts interview a vibrant and brilliant engineer from Adelaide, South Australia, named David Rowe. He is the mastermind behind the codec2 open voice codec among several other worthy and equally brilliant open source projects. He dabbles in VoIP, hardware, Open Source advocacy, engineering, voice compression, amateur radio and other endeavors far too numerous to name. David Rowe is definitely one of the more special people occupying our planet and our interview with him is nothing short of amazing. Please tune in and have your mind blown. We look forward to the overspray.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #084: GNU Radio

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 08:00:31 +0000

The 84th installment of your most favoritest podcast is now in the wild. As you may have noticed, we make a lot of assumptions about our listeners on this show; for example: You all love us. We have a good show in store for you today, including antennas made from electric fencing, a question about whether GPL software can be profitable, and most importantly a look at software defined radio and the GNU Radio project. Towards the end we address some feedback, solve a technical problem in Italian and try to stage an intervention for one of our more peculiar fans. ALL THIS WEEK on Linux in the Ham Shack!

LHS Episode #083: Smokey & The First Lady

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 31 May 2012 05:40:57 +0000

Welcome to the 83rdest episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. Freshly back from the Dayton Hamvention, Russ jumps in by telling everyone his experience at the show this year. The short version: It was great! From there, things move on to a question of FCC rules, at least in the mind of one ham.

One of the topics that kept repeating at Hamvention was: What is a good contest logger for Linux? Up until recently, it was hard to think of one. The ncurses-based application yfktest is out there, but thanks to IZ3NVR, our hosts discuss a new option. Tune in to find out what. There’s also some feedback, occasional rambling and hardcore lunacy. Everything you’ve come to expect from an episode of LHS.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #082: Hamroids

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 15 May 2012 08:00:41 +0000

In a world first, or maybe just podcast first, the guys throw caution to the wind and actually product an episode with some real Linux and ham radio content. We know it’s shocking, but sometimes–just sometimes–a miracle happens and you get the belly laughs along with something to stimulate your gray matter. We can’t promise this will happen in the future, but this time you’re safe.

On the Linux side, Richard found an article on the ARRL Web site which leads to a discussion of OpenOffice (Libre Office) and Scribus, two excellent document preparation suites. On the ham radio side, Russ discusses some useful Android applications which might be helpful to those operators who want to use their devices for logging, CW training, PSK31 digital mode communications and more.

Thank you for all the donations to the Hamvention fund. Russ hopes to see as many folks as possible during his time at the show. LHS will be in the North Hall, booth 131.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #081: Chicken Licker Bumpy Bumpy

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:56:41 +0000

Welcome to the latest installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. It’s almost time for Hamvention 2012! We hope that we’ll be able to see our listeners and friends at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio from May 18th through the 20th. With your donations, the thermometer at left has almost exploded. If you can spare a dollar or two, we’ll be at our goal in no time.

In this episode, our trusty [sic] hosts talk with an Ambassdor. Richard’s interview with Ronny is so good it would make Anderson Cooper–well, throw up probably. They also discuss Linux topics like Mint-based distributions and irssi, an IRC chat client, as well as ham radio topics from HSMM to Winlink to contest loggers. The guys respond to a bunch of listener feedback and talk about some new features of the show.

A quick heads up: The interview audio is a little rough with some weird background anomaly. It won’t drive you mad, just make you wonder what was going on on Ronny’s side of the line. We suspect dinner and a seance.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #080: Fitch Best

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 04:45:26 +0000

Ever had something you wanted to get off your chest? Richard did on this episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. Somewhere along the line, Russ got sucked in as well and suddenly it was all about stuff the hosts didn’t like. There’s plenty of comic relief in the middle, though, and there is a happy ending when one of the show’s ambassadors calls in to talk about his adventure at a recent hamfest. All in all, a fun ride down Birch Street–uh, you know what we mean.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #079: Absolutely FABulous

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:20:50 +0000

Welcome everyone to a very special episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. This week we had the immense pleasure of talking with Fabian “Fab” Scherschel of the Linux Outlaws podcast fame. We tried not to let our man crushes get in the way of the podcast and I think we succeeded for the most part. Fab is a very gracious guest and we had a fantastic time recording the show. When my (K5TUX) Audacity crashed, it was also Fab who came to the rescue and resurrected the show with his backup audio recording. So for lots of reasons, we are indebted to him. We do have to warn you though, our discussion ranges from Debian to software patent issues to pollution in northern New Jersey. It’s a fun journey, but it’s not exactly via the shortest path. Thanks again, Fab. It was a blast.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #078: Kubuntu is Bloodthirsty

Russ K5TUX — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 05:42:52 +0000

In this episode of Linux in the Ham Shack, our intrepid hosts put aside idle banter, childish meandering and silly stories in favor of true content, both ham radio and Linux related. All right, that doesn’t happen even a little bit. Instead, Richard has a lot of fun telling you all the trouble he has with Linux Mint Debian Edition, all the while mentioning a bunch of other operating systems he’s tried recently including Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Crunchbang among others–letting you know what’s wrong with all of them.

Then there’s some discussion of svxlink, an Echolink client and server application for native Linux environments, Allstar Link, Open Media Vault, contest loggers and a whole bunch of other stuff besides. Ahh, perhaps there is some content here after all. Hope everyone enjoys this episode and can perhaps contribute a dollar or two towards the Hamvention fund. It’s coming up soon and we hope to see you all there.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #077: North of the Border

Russ K5TUX — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 23:51:16 +0000

Today Linux in the Ham Shack is graced with the appearance of an additional co-host: Harrison, VE2HKW, an amateur radio operator from Canada and sometimes host of the Mintcast, a podcast for Linux users from members of the Linux Mint community.

In the first segment, our hosts discuss three very useful Linux utilities for analyzing system performance on your desktop or server: iftop, ifstat and iotop. Get in-depth knowledge of how to use these tools in order to make your machine run better with fewer bottlenecks. And since Harrison is from a whole other country, it was decided he should tell all of us about amateur radio from a Canadian perspective, including licensing, regulations and operating practices.

Hamvention 2012 is coming up very soon. Please donate to the fund if you can. We hope to see everyone there!

73 de The LHS Guys (and Harrison, too)

LHS Episode #076: BIG PAPA

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 07:31:42 +0000

After our quick renumbering, we come now to Episode #076. It didn’t start out as an all-feedback episode, but that’s how it wound up. The best part is, we had such good feedback from our listeners it made an entire show. As it also happens, most of our discussion revolves around digital mode communication for amateur radio using Linux. We touch on D-Star, Echolink, IRLP, Allstar Link and more. If you’re interested in using computers to connect to your radios and talk around the world using a multitude of digital technologies, including VoIP, this is the episode for you.

Please keep those donations coming in for our Hamvention Fund, if you’re able. We want to be a part of Hamvention and we hope you will be, too. Thank you for all you do.

LHS Episode #075: Cinnamon Kool-Aid & WINE

Russ K5TUX — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:28:33 +0000

This episode we left up to the listeners because we hadn’t had enough time to prepare some content for ourselves. While waiting for some input, Richard decided to give an impromptu review of the improvements in Gnome 3 and his assessment of the technology, and where he thinks it’s going from here. You might be surprised by his analysis.

After that, we had a request to discuss WINE in a little more depth than perhaps we had touched on in previous episodes. So we take a fairly broad view of the WINE project, how to use it for your applications, what its can and can’t do, and how it can benefit you.

As a quick reminder, Hamvention in Dayton is coming up quickly, from May 18-20. As always, if you can spare a few bucks, quid, euros, drachmas, or whatever currency you currently use to help send LHS out to Ohio for the weekend, we’d love to see everyone there. Any little bit will help.

Thank you to all of our listeners, as always. We couldn’t and wouldn’t do it without you!

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #074: The Great Hobo Migration

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:49:42 +0000

2012 is rolling along nicely and Linux in the Ham Shack is rolling along with it, bringing you new ways to use your computer with amateur radio, and sometimes just technology for fun (and maybe profit). This time around, the guys break into politics — just slightly — and get a few grievances of their chests. In the middle segment, Richard and Russ discuss terminal emulation, something a radio amateur might need for accessing modems built into rigs or running packet TNCs. Finally, our intrepid co-hosts open up the mail bag and respond to listener feedback. If you would like to contribute feedback, please do so by sending us e-mail at info@lhspodcast.info or calling in on our voice line at +1-909-547-7469.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #073: Advanced Networking Topics

Russ K5TUX — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:04:23 +0000

Today the guys delve deep into their geek pockets and come up with a couple of fairly advanced networking topics. One is ham radio related, the other is everything related. Don’t be scared off, however, as the discussion is a 10,000-foot overview of these technologies and how they will be important in YOUR future. Russ tackles IPv6 in a generic way, discussing using it with Linux, and gets on his soapbox about how everyone should already be using it.

Richard discusses a wireless technology called HSMM or High-Speed Multimedia. This is a networking technique that blurs the line between FCC Part 15 and FCC Part 97, but gives ham radio operators some new and exciting things to try with their off the shelf wireless gear. HSMM has some nice features and will definitely earn you your Boy Scout Geek Cred Badge if you decide to dive in.

Thanks as always to our listeners, present and future. Comments and questions, make sure to send them our way. Donations are also appreciated. If you want to promote yourself, your ideas or your projects, leave us an intro to the show at 1-909-LHS-SHOW. Stay geeky!

LHS Episode #072: We Need Cache

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:04:42 +0000

Welcome to another fine and dandy episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. The end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012 have been very busy for your stalwart co-hosts, but we press on. Shows are being recorded, content is being disseminated and our listeners are being educated–sort of. We hope everyone has had a wonderful start to the new year and best of luck in all your endeavors, present and future. Oh, and if you find a free moment or two, please tell a friend about LHS. The publicity will do us all good.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #071: Nudge, Nudge

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:30:21 +0000

In Linux in the Ham Shack’s sexiest episode ever, the guys take on some sensuous applications from the Python world. Dan, KK7DS, has been writing cross-platform software for D-STAR and rig programming for some time. Richard and Russ take on a couple of his more prominent works: d-rats and chirp. On the purely Linux and Open Source side of the program, there are some valuable nuggets that we’ll let you all listen to find out about. And they try not to get too excited, but with this being Episode #071, it’s hard not to. Thanks to everyone for downloading the show and have a Merry Christmas and bountiful New Year.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #070: The Stroke

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 04:55:39 +0000

Welcome to another installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, our mostly unprepared hosts discuss a couple of interesting topics. Yes, really, they are interesting. In the Ham Geeky™ section, Richard plows the fertile fields of contest loggers for Linux, as well as cross-platform solutions, including running your own favorites under WINE. In our Linux Geeky™ area, Russ discusses the VLC media player among other things you’ll just have to listen to find out about. Several pieces of feedback are discussed and there is the usual assortment of witty banter, mindless rambling and quasi drunkenness. No, that’s not right–I meant quasi drunkenness. So sit back, strap in, and enjoy the ride.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #069: Our CUPS Runneth Over

Russ K5TUX — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:09:29 +0000

In this episode of Linux in the Ham Shack, our heroes manage to stay more or less on topic, which means there might be some actual content for the listeners. Hooray for small miracles. In segment one, Richard discusses his adventure at the Texoma Hamarama in Ardmore, Oklahoma. In segment two, the boys get all Ham Geeky™ about hamqth.com and all the neat things one can do with it. In the third and final segment, the Linux Geeky™ topic is CUPS and how to making printing easier for those who wish to do it using Linux.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #068: Hell Sheep

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:51:56 +0000

And finally the podcast is caught up. All the back episodes have been edited and released and now Russ is taking a break, breathing a little easier and hiding from the hell sheep. In this episode, the hosts talk about the new release of Ubuntu (formal review coming later), the KDE desktop, doing noise cancellation with Audacity and much more. They address feedback from listeners and encourage everyone to support the show by calling in some voice comments, making a donation, becoming a member or purchasing show-related merchandise. Sorry for the advertisement, but sometimes it just has to be done. Thank you for being a listener. Peace, love, ham radio and Linux. Good times.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #067: The Left Hand of ARES

Russ K5TUX — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 05:03:09 +0000

And we are back. In this installment, Richard tells us all about his renewed interest in emergency communications and his dealings with ARES in the Texas county where he now lives. On the Linux side of things, Russ talks about some security issues: the hacking of kernel.org, emacs violates the GPL and how to get cheap certificates for your Web sites. Throw in a dash of humor, some general screwing around and you have the formula for pretty much every episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. Thanks for sticking it out with us, everyone. We love each and every one of you.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #066: His Name is Ted

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:41:25 +0000

It’s no mystery that we at Linux in the Ham Shack are big fans of the application known as fldigi. We’ve even had the author of the program, W1HKJ, on the program to talk about it. We consider it one of the best Linux-native programs for ham radio ever written. That being said, one of our longtime listeners has also written some small, efficient and easy to use ham radio programs for operating PSK, logging, learning and transmitting CW and more. His name is Ted, WA0EIR. We’ve mentioned Ted in the past, but this time we decided to take a real gander at his applications. There’s plenty of Linux and ham radio goodness sandwiching the main segment as well so no one will go away disappointed. Thanks for listening, and keep fighting the good fight!

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #065: Bottoms Up

Russ K5TUX — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 14:23:48 +0000

In today’s long-awaited episode of LHS, we tackle a topic from a few episodes back, that of Open Hatch, the Open Source collaboration project. In another segment, Richard explores what it’s like to go through the process of getting your first amateur radio license. Among these topics we also mention the ICQ Podcast from the UK, Windows 7, AT&T Uverse, wget and a bunch of other topics of interest to ham radio and Linux operators alike. If you like our episodes, or even if you don’t, please send us along some feedback via the web or via our call-in hotline. Thanks for listening!

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #064: Winlink and AX.25

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:50:19 +0000

Welcome to Episode #062 of Linux in the Ham Shack. Today Richard has decided he’s going to talk a bit (OK, a lot) about Winlink, AX.25 and packet radio under Linux. In the meantime, I get to discuss some useful Linux utilities like modprobe, wget and the SysV init script system. So get comfortable in your easy chair, put on your headphones and relax for a deep dive into packet radio with Linux. Captain Nemo has nothing on us.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #063: South of the Border

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 05:05:49 +0000

Hello, new and faithful listeners. Welcome to the sixty-first-eth installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. If anyone has been paying attention lately, a lot of podcasters are packing up their gear and moving on to other things. Many more have moved into much more irregular release cycles. We on the other hand are coming back stronger than ever. New releases are on the way. We’ll be back to every two weeks starting with Episode #062 and we’re hitting our stride again. We may not be the best or most listened to podcast out there but at least we still are a podcast. So thanks for tuning in, as always, and please let your ham radio and Linux enthusiast friends know about us. Linux in the Ham Shack lives on. ¡Vámonos!

LHS Episode #062: The Sound of Linux

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 03:33:23 +0000

Okay, so we managed to take a two month hiatus and we didn’t even know it was going to happen. Happen it did, though. Because of that, Episode #062 and #063 will have some dated information but most of it has been edited out and the stuff contained within that will be timeless has been left in.

I (Russ) will admit to shirking my duties to some degree. Many things are going on in my life right now and I just didn’t want to deal with editing or recording of late. Richard has also had his share of life problems and we’ve both been out of pocket a few times between Episode #061 and now. I suspect our absence is coming to an end and regular production of LHS will soon resume.

Thanks to everyone for hanging in there with us. We now return you to your irregularly scheduled podcast.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #061: I Am Cornholio

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 18 May 2011 01:00:21 +0000

One final notice before Hamvention is here. We’d sure like to visit with all of our listeners out in Dayton if you can make it. Hopefully we’ll be able to turn a bunch more ham radio enthusiasts onto the benefits of Linux while we’re there.

In this episode, your fearless hosts tackle some of the hard questions concerning Open Source, namely: 1) Can anyone in free software agree on a set of standards for documentation and development in order to help newer users join the community, and 2) If it is possible, would anyone want to do it? When we’re all done philosophizing, send us your thoughts. We want to know what YOU think.

LHS Episode #060: apt-get install make-pr0n-work

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 17 May 2011 07:01:55 +0000

Hello, faithful listeners and newcomers alike. A couple of big events are coming up. The first is the Dayton Hamvention, this weekend from May 20th through the 22nd. The other is the Southeast Linux Fest, from June 10th through the 12th. Linux in the Ham Shack will have a presence at both events and we hope to see everyone there. We will be having raffles for “quite good” prizes so you don’t want to miss that either.

In this episode of our show, we catch up on almost all of our (very old) feedback and even manage to discuss a couple of items which may interest ham radio and Linux enthusiasts alike: JT65, a weak-signal digital mode, and codec2, a new audio codec designed for low bandwidth, telephone quality, error correction and to be free of patents or encumbrances of any kind. Enjoy.

LHS Episode #059: Orca and Outtakes

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 05:08:55 +0000

Welcome to Episode #059 of Linux in the Ham Shack. On this edition, we talk with Jonathan Nadeau of Frostbite Systems about Linux for the sight impaired. Jonathan, being a blind Linux user, has overcome many challenges when it comes to using his favorite operating system and he shares with us the ins and outs of accessibility on Linux systems. There is a Linux distribution dedicated to blind users called Vinux, along with an accessible version of Arch called Talking Arch. Even newer versions of Slackware are jumping on the bandwagon with a Speakup enabled installation kernel.

This is also the first episode of LHS with a blooper reel left in at the end. Listen all the way to the last so you don’t miss out on any of the fun. Many thanks to Jonathan for his time and expertise, and many thanks to our listeners for making our show so fun to do.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #058: Nothing But Edits

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 06:27:06 +0000

I have to say this was probably the hardest episode to put together so far. I managed to not record the first 20 minutes of my side of the episode. Then there were bits from Episode #057 that needed to be put in. I recorded secondary items that didn’t match up with the original first take. And somehow I think I managed to get it all put together and make it make sense.

Hopefully we will see everyone at Indiana Linux Fest this weekend in Indianapolis. If you can’t make it, be with us in spirit. Thank you to our listeners for all your support. Please continue to help us get to Dayton if you can, and remember to tell a few of your friends about us.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #057: Fumbling Your Foo Dog

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 23:19:17 +0000

In this very late episode, Linux in the Ham Shack gets back to some basics. For those listeners who haven’t been around ham radio that much, we take a look at some of the basic concepts of radio communication. Then, we get all up in arms about how long our…antennas are. Explore with us some of the concepts of antenna modeling, different types of antenna design and what they’re good for, and some software that might help you make sense of Smith Charts. As if that isn’t enough, we through in some good-natured ribbing, feedback from our listeners and a whole heap of fun. Tune in and let your worries disappear. LHS Top Tip: Don’t fumble your foo dog too hard, it might go off prematurely.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #056: The Squeal of Feedback

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 07:55:35 +0000

Hi, folks. Episode #054 of Linux in the Ham Shack is an all-feedback episode. We cover a lot of ground in this one, from how to run Linux using WUBI, via dual boot, from a flash drive and more. There’s a bit about PIC controllers, feed problems, sticks in the mud, a sprinkling of badgers and a whole lot more. Keep that feedback coming. We love it!

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #055: FLDIGI In Depth

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 20:06:26 +0000

Welcome to the first Linux in the Ham Shack for the new year! 2011 is upon us and we wanted to present our listeners with a fantabulous new show. That’s what you’re going to get. We were able to entice the lead developer of FLDIGI, W1HKJ, to come on the program and give us his personal insights into this best-of-class Open Source amateur radio software.

Yes, we know we talk about FLDIGI a lot in our program. We try not to beat it to death. But if you use this program, there is so much information packed into this interview, you’re going to learn at least a dozen things you didn’t know about FLDIGI, even if you use it every day. So sit back, strap in, and join us on this thrill-packed ride into the dark and seedy innards of your favorite digital mode app. We were impressed; you will be too.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #054: Unity Ucks

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 08:52:55 +0000

It’s the holiday season and we had time for one more podcast this year. We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a prosperous New Year in 2011. Linux in the Ham Shack has undergone a few changes and weathered a few challenges in the last 2+ years, but we’re still going and expect to be going for a long time to come. We want to thank everyone for their continuing support and continuing listenership. We would not have a podcast without you, and we wouldn’t know what to do if you weren’t there.

So spend time with your families and enjoy all of the wonderful things that life brings at this time of year, and hopefully all the year through. And if you find the time, curl up on the sofa with year headphones next to the roaring fire, crank up LHS and sit back and enjoy our gift of holiday cheer.

73 and Happy Holidays de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #053: Windows in the Ham Shack?

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 06:21:10 +0000

Hello, everyone. We’re coming to the end of another year and the world is aglow with holiday spirit. With that in mind, we bring you the second-to-last episode of Linux in the Ham Shack for 2010. We will have one more recording and release before the end of the year, so don’t miss out on our holiday extravaganza.

We no longer broadcast video via Ustream, but we do have a live audio feed. Just point your streaming audio player at http://stream.lhspodcast.info:8008/lhslive starting about 30 minutes prior to air time (8:15pm CT). You can join in the chat room scene as well with your favorite IRC client. We are at irc.freenode.net in channel #lhspodcast. The channel is available 24/7, even when we’re not doing a live show. Join in when you can and chat with other LHS listeners. During the live show, #lhspodcast becomes our chat room and our live connection with YOU.

Cheers and 73 from the LHS Guys

LHS Episode #052: Amateur Fantasies

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 05:17:03 +0000

Hello, podcast listeners! It has been an extra week that you’ve had to wait for our landmark episode 50 to be released. I (Russ) had planned to do an episode from his hotel room in San Jose. Unfortunately, the network there was so bad it was impossible to record so everything was pushed back.

In this episode, we talk about life, love and amateur radio. OK, not really. But we touch on a number of interesting topics including the necessity of logging in amateur radio, theoretical nonsense like Internet via Moonbounce and, thanks to a couple of missives from AD7MI, we wax philosophical on our ideal ham shacks–computers running Linux included of course.

Thank you for being a listener of our show. If you’re new: Welcome! Please tell everyone you know where they can find us. And keep fighting the good fight.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #051: Careless WSPR

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 06:04:18 +0000

A short while ago, Canonical released the latest version of Ubuntu: the fabled Maverick Meerkat, 10.10. This is the latest in Ubuntu’s normal release cycle and is not LTS. I had occasion to upgrade a couple of my personal computers running Ubuntu to the wily Meerkat. Find out what’s new in 10.10, and what’s old, in the first segment of LHS #049.

After that, Richard and I tackle the WSPR protocol for ham radio again. When it was discussed the first time around, neither of us had much of an idea what it was or how it worked. Armed with a broader understanding and a lot more experience, we talk about what works and what doesn’t work with WSPR, how to get it up and running on your system and what we like and don’t like about it.

Following that it’s on to witty banter, a passel of badgers, some hijinks, censorship, feedback and more entertainment than you can shake a wet hedgehog at. Thanks for tuning in. We love you all.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #050: Ham Radio is Dead

Russ K5TUX — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 05:58:04 +0000

As I was roaming around the Intertubes, I came across an article at AmateurRadio.com written by Jeff, KE9V. I had been an avid listener of Jeff’s “Cornbread Road” podcast while he was publishing it as a podcast. The format was different enough to keep me interested. When it went away, I was highly disappointed.

As it turns out, his recent article disappointed me quite a bit as well. I don’t want to give much away, but suffice it to say the outlook Jeff paints is fairly bleak. At the same time, some of the points are valid and overall the essay was fairly thought provoking. Because of that, Richard, Bill (KA9WKA) and myself decided to discuss Jeff’s recent article. We also have our usual assortment of announcements, banter, gripes and response to feedback. So settle in for an interesting episode. We all had a good time. We hope you do, too.

73 de The LHS Guys (and Bill)

LHS Episode #049: CQRlog Revisited

Russ K5TUX — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:56:44 +0000

Hello, everyone! Due to Cheryl having some hand surgery and my being a telecommuter for the last month or so, I haven’t been able to keep up with the podcast release cycle. We’ve been recording episodes like we’re supposed to. It’s just been impossible to get them released on time. That means that #047 and #048 are going to be released in rapid succession so you’ll get twice the LHS yummy goodness.

This time around, Richard has been looking a little deeper into CQRlog, a great logging program for Linux created by OK2CQR. We talked about this program in a past episode and we’ve mentioned it a few more times in passing. This time we’re getting down deep into the features and all of the integrations CQRlog has with other ham radio applications. We also address our usual announcements, feedback, other technical topics and throw in a bunch of witty banter just to keep things interesting. Thanks, all, for staying with us while we try and get back to a regular podcasting cycle. Keep listening and keep spreading the word.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #048: Better Late Than Never

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 20:44:18 +0000

Linux in the Ham Shack took a bit of an unintended hiatus over the last month. We’re in the process of trying to catch back up to where we’re supposed to be. The current episode recording schedule has been posted and is accurate. We’re going to do a couple of broadcasts two weeks in a row and then the next three releases will be coming out in rapid succession so we’re back on track.

After the Dayton Hamvention, Southeast Linux Fest, Joplin ARC Hamfest and Ohio Linux Fest, things have slowed down a bit on the event front, but we’re just starting up again when it comes to the show. So please stay tuned, tell your friends about us, and make sure to pick up a shirt or a ball cap. These are high quality items, and the only way you can get them is online or when we’re at an event close to you. Also, check out the new BADGER WEAR! You can find a link to all of our merchandise at the top of this Web site. Have a good week, everyone, and thanks for listening!

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #047: OLF 2010

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:34:05 +0000

In a rare promotional episode of Linux in the Ham Shack, we talk to four folks from the upcoming Ohio Linux Fest. Bear, Rob, Moose and Beth Lynn give our listeners the low down on everything that’s going to happen at this year’s event. Make no mistake, this time around it sounds like it’s going to be a lot of fun, even more fun than last year. Linux in the Ham Shack is going to be there, too, with new equipment, new demos and a lot more to make it worth stopping by. So if you’re going to be around Columbus, Ohio on September 10-12 or you have some free time and a little bit of extra cash, make sure to come by the show. It’s going to be KILLA.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #046: The TuxTel Conglomerate

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:56:33 +0000

Episode #044 of Linux in the Ham Shack makes its debut, and even on time. We’re still trying to catch up on a little bit of a backlog so this episode is mostly feedback from listeners. We touch on a variety of topics including packet radio, the AX.25 kernel driver for TNCs, the importance of Linux and Open Source, Android and emerging Linux markets, and much, much more.

Thanks for taking the time to download us and being an ever-faithful listener. We would be nothing without you and we want to let you know that we appreciate each and every pair of ears that hears us every fortnight. Don’t forget to send us your feedback, whether it be as a comment on the Web site, a voice mail submitted via our toll-free hot-line or an e-mail to one or both of us. Also, please don’t forget about making donations or buying some of our LHS merchandise if you have the wherewithal to do so. Enjoy our current offering and we’ll be back live in a week for more rowdy fun.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #045: Logbook of the World

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 09:07:05 +0000

Episode #043 of Linux in the Ham Shack almost didn’t exist. In the process of trying to edit the audio for the program, I managed to delete everything that I had recorded. By some miracle of coincidence, I actually remembered to record the entire episode at Ustream.TV. I almost never remember to do that but it happened this time. The audio was recovered from the live video stream and I put it back together. There are a couple of minor flaws and the quality might not be as good as normal but at least it exists. Since the edited version came out to over 100 minutes, I’d sure have hated to try and record this all over again. And that’s why this episode almost didn’t exist: Because if the audio had truly gone away, I would have thrown up my hands and said forget it. We’ll try again in two weeks.

But since we got lucky, you can now listen to us talk about our newest features and endeavors, our problems with the ARRL, the status of Logbook of the World, listener feedback, live chat room discussion, installing Linux Mint on an ancient laptop, ham radio software for [that other OS] and much, much more. And hey: Go buy a shirt. Please?

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #044: SELFish and Far Afield

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:56:38 +0000

It’s time for a new episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. I can hear everyone cheering in unison from here. Richard’s Internet service was down for the recording so he had to bring some portable computers over to his father’s house and attempt to get everything done from there. Unfortunately, all did not go well. I was able to cobble together the broken bits of audio into something that sounds like a podcast. There’s even music, some production value and–most amazing of all–actual content. Thank you to everyone who stopped by for the live recording. Because I’ve been so busy over the last couple of weeks, we’re going to be doing it all again tomorrow night, July 27th. Hope to see everyone in the chat room and please enjoy this latest installment of the program. There are lots of new things in the works that I can’t mention right now, but it will all be a lot of fun and it all means more stuff for you out there to listen to. As if you already didn’t have enough to do. Don’t forget to send in that feedback, especially audio feedback. We want to hear from you. Until then, keep it real.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #043: My Own Private Ohio

Russ K5TUX — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:50:05 +0000

The Dayton Hamvention was a little while ago and we’ve just now been able to get around to talking about it. In this episode, we bring in Bill, KA9WKA, our right-hand man, to help us out with discussion of the event and a number of other topics as well.

Don’t be alarmed, however. We keep the dated material to a minimum and move directly into things that are much more current and much more interesting, including questions about the “lightness” of distributions, how to install Ubuntu on a USB stick, a super geeky radio question and much more. Not only that, this may have been the most fun episode we’ve recorded so far. For those who want to brave the unedited version of this one, there are belly laughs aplenty. Check out the stream feed in the right column for that. Just remember, unedited means just what it says.

We haven’t been pushing donations lately so here’s a small tug on your subconscious: If you have a spare few dollars, please consider helping us with our hosting expenses so we can continue to bring you the show long into the future.

73 de The LHS Guys and Bill

LHS Episode #042: 1.21 Gigahertz Badgers

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 06:34:37 +0000

Yes, we’re running behind AGAIN. It’s the story of Linux in the Ham Shack lately. Because of that, this episode turned into an expose on our backlog of feedback. As it turns out, feedback is a good thing. We were able to address several questions and comments from listeners to the show. Hopefully the information we give out as answers to questions will also answer the questions and fulfill the needs of other listeners who are hoping someone will ask their questions for them. We’d like to encourage everyone to send in feedback and we will address it as soon as we’re able. You can send an e-mail to the show, call our hotline at +1-888-455-0305 or +1-417-200-4811, or leave us a comment on the Web site. We encourage all our listeners to tell us what you like, tell us what you don’t like, tell KA9WKA he’s awesome, ask a question, or just tell us whatever’s on your mind. Also, if you happen to have a few extra dollars kicking around, send us a donation to help with our expenses. Keep Linux in the Ham Shack moving into the future and we’ll give you proper recognition! And if you buy some of our cool swag, you’ll also be helping out the show. Thanks so much for being a part of our world. We love you. It’s a big ol’ love fest.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #041: Deep Thoughts

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 05:01:16 +0000

If life would stop conspiring to halt production of Linux in the Ham Shack, everything would be just fine. Instead, because of problems in both our lives, the Dayton Hamvention and the Southeast Linux Fest, everything has been pushed back so far we feel like we’re going back in time.

Richard was unable to record for Episode #039, but luckily I was able to find a worthy surrogate for this particular show. Chris and Bryan over at The Linux Action Show had prior obligations and didn’t respond quick enough, respectively, but we hope to have them on a future episode. However, ClaudioM decided he didn’t have anything better to do and was able to swing by and offer his thoughts on a couple of intriquing concepts suggested by visitors to the Dayton Hamvention: 1) How do we promote Linux and Open Source and should it be promoted, and 2) Why does the perception that Linux is harder to use than Windows persist?

I found this to be a rather insightful episode and I hope you do as well. Thank you to everyone who visited Linux in the Ham Shack in Dayton and in Spartanburg, and please enjoy this latest installment of the program.

73 de The LHS Guys (and ClaudioM)

LHS Episode #040: HF in the Mobile Shack

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 20 May 2010 03:41:06 +0000

It’s a couple of days since the end of the 2010 Dayton Hamvention. Cheryl and I would like to send out a special thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth while we were there. We met a lot of interesting folks and had a great many thought provoking conversations. It was our first time so we didn’t know we’d be out in the sticks, so to speak, but we still had a lot of traffic and a lot of fun.

Now that I’m home and most of the work that piled up on me while I was away has been tackled, I got the podcast we recorded before the event finished and here it is. There’s no Dayton content this time around. That will come next time. The drawing for the Alinco radio and the other Linux in the Ham Shack swag will happen on Friday and we’ll announce all the winners in the next show and on the Web site so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, enjoy some interesting feedback from listeners and some insight into Richard’s latest mobile rig install. Keep the feedback coming, visit our Printfection and Cafe Press stores and pick up an item or two, and get ready for next year in Dayton. Linux in the Ham Shack will be back.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #039: Best. Episode. Ever.

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 04 May 2010 14:43:50 +0000

Lately it seems like if there were an extra day in the week it still wouldn’t be enough to get everything done. That being said, Episode #037 is here and it’s even released on time. We’d like to especially thank Dan and Gary for leaving us audio comments via our call-in numbers. If you’d like to participate by leaving us audio feedback, the number to call can be found at the top of the left column of this site. We really do like to “hear” from our listeners.

This has also already been announced, but I’d like to promote our merchandise shops once again. If you’d like T-shirts, tote bags and lots of drinkware items with the cool new Linux in the Ham Shack logo on them, take a trip over to http://www.printfection.com/lhs and pick up an item or two. You’ll be helping us out with a small donation and advertising the show to your friends, family and colleagues. If caps or wall clocks are your thing, http://www.cafepress.com/lhspodcast has exactly what you need. They make great gifts, too. And every purchase helps Linux in the Ham Shack out with our hosting expenses.

Hopefully we’ll see a lot of our listeners at the Dayton Hamvention this month, and hopefully we’ll have many more faithful followers by the end of the event. Thanks as always for downloading the show, and make sure to leave us a comment. Don’t be a stranger.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #038: XDX ‘n Stuff

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 04:36:15 +0000

The season of Linux fests is now under way. The Texas Linux Fest took place a couple of weeks ago. By all accounts, the turnout was excellent, the educational opportunities were plentiful and fun was had by all.

Oggcamp in the UK is next on the list. Then there will be ham fests and Linux fests all over the country and the rest of the world for the rest of the spring, summer and early fall. Linux in the Ham Shack will be represented at the Dayton Hamvention in May and at the Southeast Linux Fest in June. I’m also trying to start a new Linux fest called the Mid-America Linux Fest which will be held in early November. It’s possible that could be November of 2010, but it’s more likely to be November 2011. If you want more information about the Mid-America Linux Fest or are willing to volunteer your time or services, please check out the Web site at http://midamericalinuxfest.org.

And yes, I know this episode of Linux in the Ham Shack is late. Life has been very busy of late and I think all of our listeners for your eternal patience. We hope to see you at the live recording of Episode #037 on April 27th at 8:00pm.

LHS Episode #037: Riders on the Storm

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 08:45:04 +0000

There are good things coming up in the world of GNOME and Linux in the Ham Shack has some of the scoop. In this episode we had the good fortune to interview Stormy Peters, the executive director over at the GNOME Foundation. We’d love to tell you all the stuff she told us, but that’s what downloading the episode is all about. We wouldn’t want to spoil any surprises.

We are currently in migration from Hostican to our new hosting, which includes a mix of BlueCows Technical Services and GoDaddy. During this process, some of the Web site features may come and go, but rest assured everything will be back online eventually. I believe most everything is working now except for the OGG feed and I am working on that. It is very important that everyone switch over to the new RSS feeds in your podcatcher of choice. We wouldn’t want you to miss a single episode. Click or hover over the RSS Feed links on the left-hand side of the main Web page for the correct new URLs. And remember, our new e-mail address is info at lhspodcast dot info. That will go to both of us.

Don’t forget about the current contests. Don’t forget to show up at the Texas Linux Fest in April, the Southeast Linux Fest in June and the Ohio Linux Fest in September. Don’t forget to tell 200 of your closest friends about the podcast. Don’t forget to donate to the noise gate fund. And don’t forget to have fun listening to the show!

73,

The LHS Guys

LHS Episode #036: Are We There Yet?

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 04:19:38 +0000

We’ve managed to cobble together another round table discussion for Episode #034 of Linux in the HAM Shack. Thanks to Lord Drachenblut of Ten Buck Review and our party crasher, Jonathan, KB1KIX, for helping us out with this episode.

The format is a little bit different this time based on some feedback from listeners. If you like what you hear or would rather have us go back to the way things were, let us know. We’re interested in what you think. Our topic tonight is a thought provoking e-mail that we received before last episode from Jim, N2ENN. Hopefully we’ve given it an honest appraisal.

Please send us your feedback, your questions and your donations to obtain a noise gate for Richard. Also, enter our two contests for a chance to win real money! And stay tuned for our next recording. We have a very special guest interview coming up. You won’t want to miss it.

73 from the LHS Guys

LHS Episode #035: Soylent Green is Bad Apples

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:40:03 +0000

Last week in the Linux in the HAM Shack chat room, we had a lot of participation from our listeners. It was so great to see everyone there. We hope that in the future, more people will get a chance to check out the live show. Check back here on the web site for the schedule of live recordings.

This episode of Linux in the Ham Shack is jam-packed with content. We have a special guest from around the Interwebs that you will likely know if you listen to other podcasts about Linux. The show did run a bit longer than usual, but there is just so much in it I couldn’t begin to tell you everything you’re going to hear. I do hope that you’ll stick around for the entire episode because there are some goodies near the end that you will not want to miss out on, including how you can win significant cold, hard cash.

Thanks to our special guest, our live participants and to everyone who listens to the show. PLEASE, tell everyone you know about us, and that we’re not just for amateur radio enthusiasts. Technofiles, geeks, Linux and FOSS addicts and just about everyone will gain something from the podcast. Oh, and due to a couple of technical problems, the audio quality in this episode is poor in a few places. I did the best I could. Next time it’ll be better. Have a great week!

73 de Russ and Richard

LHS Episode #034: Orbital Decay

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:20:42 +0000

Richard is back and everything is right with the world–except Russ. Plans are in the works for setting up at the Dayton Hamvention. Many thanks to all of our listeners who donated to the cause. Our next donation goal, is $150 to get a noise gate for Richard. We know at least a couple listeners who should be happy about this, and we suspect there may be a few others out there. Of course, we’re committed to improving the quality of the program whenever and wherever possible.

This episode is a little heavy on the radio side of things. However, don’t be deterred. Richard gives us a lot of great information about satellite technology, concepts such as Doppler shift, transponders, antenna polarization, the science of orbits and much more which will appeal to your inner geek whether you’re into ham radio, computers or just science and technology in general. Have a great week, and we look forward to seeing everyone in the chat for the next live recording on Tuesday, March 2nd.

LHS Episode #033: Bill and Ted’s Excellent Episode

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 03:25:08 +0000

Episode #031 of Linux in the HAM Shack is now available, and nearly on time. Due to myriad circumstances in our lives, we had to put off recording of this episode until February 9th. It is therefore almost astonishing that I can announced that it is being released on February 10th. After this, everything should return to its normal bi-weekly cycle.

I would very much like to thank Bill, KA9WKA, Ted, WA0EIR and Andy (Integgroll on IRC) for filling in as co-hosts for Richard on this episode. Sadly I must report that Richard lost his mother to a battle with cancer yesterday morning. I know the thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies of myself and our listeners are with Richard and his family during this time. Unfortunately, I do not have any further details on events in Balch Springs at this time. If you would like to send your condolences, please address them to kb5jbv@blacksparrowmedia.com. Richard may feel like joining me to record again in a week’s time, but if his circumstances do not permit, we will certainly carry on and offer him all of the time and space he may need to recover.

In this episode, our esteemed round table guests touch on a variety of topics. In usual fashion, I address feedback at the start. Beyond that, topics range from MicroHam digital rig interfaces, a rant about Yaesu, Linux Mint 8, cloud storage, e-readers and much, much more. Thank you for your faithful listenership.

73 de Russ

LHS Episode #032: Screen-Doored Submarines

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:00:08 +0000

Well, January has pretty much come and gone. I sure hope the rest of the year sticks around a bit longer. Now that it’s 2010, though, Linux in the HAM Shack has a lot of things planned for the future: contests, interviews with fascinating and influential people, trips to live events throughout the year and, as always, scintillating content about Linux and ham shacks.

As of Episode #029, we have achieved more than 50,000 downloads. Episode #029 also turned out to be one of our most popular. When Richard and I started this endeavor back in October 2008 we didn’t really know what to expect out of the podcast, but I think it’s safe to say that whatever expectations we may have had, we’re certainly reaching or exceeding them. I only hope that we only have more room to go up from here. Thank you to everyone who listens to, participates in, or otherwise helps out with the podcast–especially Bill, KA9WKA, our beloved Show Notes compiler, and everyone who has made a donation to the program. We are only about $100 in donations away from our booth at the 2010 Dayton Hamvention and we hope that we’ll be able to set up there and say hello to all of our fans, old, new and undiscovered, when it finally rolls around.

But for now, we wish you a speedy download and an enjoyable listen.

73 de Russ and Richard

LHS Episode #031: Linux Journal Invasion

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:00:55 +0000

Linux in the HAM Shack has arrived in 2010! It’s hard to believe that 2009 is over already. We’ve have so much fun putting together the podcast for everyone, the time has literally flown by. Soon it will be time for the snow to melt, the world to turn green once again, and for LHS to travel to Dayton, OH for the 2010 Hamvention in May. We’re so ready we can almost taste it.

In this episode, we had the honor of interviewing two prominent figures from Linux Journal magazine. David Lane, KG4GIY, is the magazine’s eminent blogger and ham radio advocate. He is a large part of the reason the January 2010 issue of LJ is all about amateur radio. Shawn Powers is the magazine’s associate editor, which gives him the dubious honor of being a guest on our show. He’s the go-to guy when the editor, publisher and just about everyone else needs something done. We have to say we were greatly honored to have the LJ folks join us, and we sure hope we haven’t scared them off so they’ll come back and talk with us in the future.

Hope everyone is having a fantastic 2010 so far, and thanks for downloading LHS in the new year. And if you have a couple of dollars leftover from holiday binging, please drop us a donation as the deadline for acquiring a booth in Dayton is coming up fast. And remember, we appreciate our listeners, each and every one. Thank you!

73 de Russ and Richard

LHS Episode #030: Whispers and Warnings

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 08:52:45 +0000

We’ve reached the end of the decade. 2009 is just about over and 2010 is just about to swoop in and overwhelm us all. It’s been a fantastic year here at Linux in the HAM Shack, and we’d like to thank all of our listeners and sponsors who make the show possible. Without you, we would literally be nothing.

Hopefully everyone has enjoyed their holidays, spent time with families, given and received all of the gifts you’ve hope to give or receive. Warmest wishes from our homes to yours during this time of friendship and togetherness, and please accept our gift of a new podcast to take you through the rest of this special time and into the upcoming new year. May it be more prosperous and fulfilling than the ones that have come before.

73 and Happy Holidays,

Russ (K5TUX) and Richard (KB5JBV)

LHS Episode #029: Evil Empires

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 09:52:58 +0000

It occurs to me that having an episode discussing evil empires during a celebration- and holiday-filled time of year might be a bit ironic but that’s just how things turned out.

Thank you to everyone who has so generously donated to the podcast so that we might have a presence at the upcoming Dayton Hamvention in May, 2010. It was an idea spawned at Ohio Linux Fest in September, 2009 and we’ve come a long way since then. Every contribution helps and we hope you’ll continue to support Linux in the HAM Shack in the future. We also hope to provide timely and essential information to amateur radio enthusiasts and computer users for a long time to come.

From our world to yours, have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Joyous Saturnalia, or just a good ol’ time–whatever your “thing” might be. We hope you enjoy our latest installment of the podcast, and please: Keep spreading the word. Every month our audience grows, and we predict world takeover by 2014. Well, maybe not, but we are talking about evil empires after all…

73 de Russ, K5TUX

LHS Episode #028: The Art of Listening

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 04:54:00 +0000

It’s the holiday season, and our gift to our listeners is a brand new podcast. During my time at Ohio Linux Fest back in September, several of the participants who visited the Linux in the HAM Shack booth provided topic ideas for the program. I recently dug those topics up and Richard and I will be tackling them over the next few episodes. In Episode #026, the topic we decide to visit is shortwave listening, including hardware and Open Source software for that very purpose. SWL is a way for non-hams to approach the hobby without encountering mic fright, and a way for existing hams and non-hams alike to explore the world of radio frequency communication, whether it be foreign broadcasts, pirate radio, amateur radio or time beacons. With several manufacturers of equipment still in business, SWL is by no means a lost art, and may be an interesting extension to the amateur radio hobby for those who don’t currently participate in it.

Several thank yous go out to those who donated to the Dayton Hamvention 2010 fund. With my upcoming matching contributions we’ll be about halfway to our goal. Please keep those donations coming, even after we’ve met our goal, so we can continue to improve our equipment, our hosting and our program. As always, thank you for downloading Linux in the HAM Shack. Please send us your feedback and questions, and please tell everyone you know about us–through word of mouth, blogging, social networking, whatever it takes. Our listenership continues to grow, and we hope that trend continues for years to come.

73 de Russ, K5TUX

LHS Episode #027: Where Are My Meds?

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:32:10 +0000

We have topped 40,000 downloads! Thanks go out to all of our listeners and live webcast attendees for making Linux in the HAM Shack as popular as it is. Give yourselves a huge round of applause. We’re also well on our way to our donation goal of $750 so we can buy booth space and Internet access at the Dayton Hamvention in Dayton, Ohio, in May of 2010. Thank you for all of your donations. Please keep them coming as you’re able to send them in!

In this episode, we address listener feedback and comments, and then in a burst of inspiration invite listeners from the chat room to come onto the program for a lively and very fun roundtable discussion. Topics were varied, from portable antenna design, to life without Red Bull; from the HAARP VLF array in Alaska to D-STAR, PACTOR and other digital ham radio communication modes. And since I was on meds and Richard was off his, things got a little crazy towards the end.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Linux in the HAM Shack. Please leave us comments or questions on the web site or via voice mail at 888-455-0305. And send your best wishes to Bill, KA9WKA, who has taken on the responsibility of getting LHS’s show notes out in a timely fashion. Thanks, Bill. You’re a lifesaver!

73 de Russ, K5TUX

LHS Episode #026: Junk in the Trunk

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:59:39 +0000

Back from Baltimore and ready for more ham radio, Linux and Linux in the HAM Shack. I had originally planned to get this episode out before I left for the Large Installation System Administration conference in Maryland, but it didn’t work out that way. I even brought all the audio with me to assemble the podcast during my off time at the conference. It turned out there wasn’t any off time, so I wound up having to finish up when I got home. That being said, I have to admit this is my favorite episode so far.Â It seems like Richard and I are finally getting the hang of this podcast thing. We truly appreciate all our listeners. It makes the time, effort and money of putting out this program worth it.

In Episode #024, we bring you some final wrap-up from Ohio Linux Fest, including interviews with ham radio operators, Linux users, Beth Lynn Eicher from OLF, members of the Drupal project and more. We answer listener comments and questions, of which there are many, and I talk about my getting back on the air and include my new experiences with digital communication via ham radio, from PSK to IRLP. Grab a drink, sit back and enjoy this episode of Linux in the HAM Shack. And if you have a spare couple of dollars, drop them in the can so we can bring our show to the national ham radio convention in 2010: The Dayton Hamvention.

73 de Russ, K5TUX

LHS Episode #025: APRS and Xastir

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:13:06 +0000

Richard and I have been busy over the last couple of weeks. He spent a day at the Belton Hamfest near Waco, Texas on October 3rd. The weekend before that, I spent a few days in Columbus, Ohio at Ohio Linux Fest. This is our first episode back from those events. I have a few hours of audio I need to sift through, but I managed to get a couple of clips from my interviews and commentary from OLF included in the second segment of this episode of the podcast. Because I had a visit from my parents and my brother and sister-in-law from New Hampshire, I haven’t been able to get the podcast out in a timely manner. I suppose after 25 releases, I should probably stop apologizing for being late but I do like it when we release on time. Anyway, enjoy our interviews and Richard’s discourse on APRS and Xastir, and stay tuned for a lot of great audio from our live endeavors coming up in future episodes. Thanks for downloading, and have a great couple of weeks.

LHS Episode #024: Darth Hideous

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:44:38 +0000

In this latest installment of Linux in the HAM Shack, we air the second half of our interview with Bill, KA9WKA, from Episode #022. While the first part of the interview focused on Linux Mint and EeePC netbooks, this part is mostly about amateur radio, answering questions from the chat room and generally having a good time. In fact, it’s like a good old fashioned ragchew.

Not ones to leave out actual content and learning, we address questions from listener feedback, and Richard talks about using rig control software under WINE for Icom, Yaesu and Kenwood radios. And of course there are other topics thrown into the mix as well. Thank you to all of our listeners, old and new, for downloading this latest episode. Please tell all your friends about us and send us feedback, whether by e-mail, forum or voice mail. Hope to see everyone in Belton, TX on October 3rd or in Columbus, OH from September 25-27.

And may the force be with you.

LHS Episode #023: Teen Radio Journey

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 07:25:28 +0000

Welcome to Episode #021 of Linux in the HAM Shack. As always, feedback for the program has been abundant and entertaining. We address several listener questions and comments. We also have new features on the web site. Please check them out after listening to the show. Russ will be at the Ohio Linux Fest and Richard and Jerry from The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast will be in Denton at a hamfest there. Check out the podcast for more information on times and locations.

For the main segment of our program we talk with Paul Shirey of Teen Radio Journey, a podcast chronicling the pursuits of a young man from Illinois on a quest to get his ham radio license. It was a lot of fun to talk with Paul and we’re glad to have him on the show. As always, send us feedback on the program and leave us voice comments at (888) 455-0305. And if you have a few extra dollars kicking around and you find the podcast useful, why not make a charitable donation to the program? All funds go directly toward improving our show. Thanks for listening!

LHS Episode #022: Ohio Linux Fest

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 06:00:05 +0000

In this episode we tackle user questions and comments and then talk with Beth Lynn Eicher of the Ohio Linux Fest. Linux in the HAM Shack will be there. Will you? Hope to see everyone who can make it to Columbus from Friday, September 25 through Sunday, September 27.

LHS Episode #021: OSCON 2009 Update 2

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 05:27:12 +0000

Here is the second and final installment of the special OSCON update for Linux in the HAM Shack. In this episode I examine the second half of my trip to San Jose, California, and the O’Reilly Open Source Convention. I talk about sessions I attended dealing with subjects as diverse as patents and legal issues, processor speed, cloud computing, users as Open Source advocates and, yes, evening programming in Klingon. I also take a trip through The Tech Museum of Innovation, an institution run entirely using Open Source. So sit back and enjoy this special report from OSCON and as always, thanks for being a loyal listener to the program.

Don’t forget to leave us voice feedback or questions. We’d love to put you on the air. And we know how ham radio operators often have the gift for gab. So let it out. Don’t be shy. Linux in the HAM shack wants YOU.

73 de Russ, K5TUX

LHS Episode #020

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 08:00:28 +0000

Linux in the HAM Shack #020 has arrived. This one ran a little bit long so it’s been cut into two parts. The second part will wind up being the first half of Episode #022. For this show, we brought in a friend of the show to help us with a discussion of Linux Mint and several amateur radio topics. Thanks to Bill, KA9WKA, for sitting in with us. The amateur radio portion of the discussion is being pushed over to the next show, so be on the lookout for that in a couple of weeks. This time we answer feedback, talk with the live participants in the chatroom and give all the ins and outs of Linux Mint on various platforms, from laptops to desktops to netbooks.

Thanks to all of our listeners for downloading the podcast and sending us your comments and other feedback. We hope it’s as much fun for you as it is for us. And remember, leave us an audio comment at +1-888-455-0305 and we’ll get you on the podcast. And if you want to participate as KA9WKA did, let us know and we’ll set you up.

73 de Russ and Richard

LHS Episode #019: OSCON 2009 Update 1

Russ K5TUX — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:02:39 +0000

Hey, everyone. I’m spending the week in San Jose, California at the O’Reilly OSCON conference. Since OSCON is an Open Source convention and has a lot of information about Linux and Open Source, I thought I would bring our listeners a couple of updates from the con. We’ll call these supplemental episodes of Linux in the HAM Shack. The second one will be along in a couple of days. Hopefully this will provide a little insight into the conference experience, and I’m going to share as much useful information as I pick up with our listeners. Thanks for downloading, and look for our next live podcast on Tuesday, 7/28 at 8:00pm CDT.

73 de Russ, K5TUX

LHS Episode #018

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 04:56:48 +0000

While Richard is back home in Texas, I came out to San Jose, California for a week of “geeking out.” I’m attending the O’Reilly Open Source Convention, learning all I can about Ubuntu, Open Source licensing and patents, cloud computing, system tuning and monitoring and a whole lot more. I hope to put out a couple of short supplemental podcasts for Linux in the HAM Shack giving a little insite into my experiences here and tell a little bit about what I’ve learned.

As far as Episode #018 is concerned, Richard and I tackled a few questions from listeners. We spent a few minutes trying to keep our thoughts to ourselves about spam e-mail, managing to fail miserably. After that, we talk about some useful ham radio and other miscellaneous add-ons for Firefox that we hope our listeners will find useful. And when no other topics present themselves, our well-oiled machine moves onto an in-depth look at the virtual keyboard and mouse controller called Synergy.

We hope everyone enjoys this edition of the podcast and feels compelled to send in their comments, questions and suggestions for future episodes. Also, don’t forget to follow us individually and as a podcast on Twitter, and make sure to leave your audio comments at +1-888-455-0305 so we can include them in upcoming shows.

73 de Russ and Richard

LHS Episode #017

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 06:43:19 +0000

Thanks to our wonderful listeners, we have some great feedback to go through in Episode #017 of Linux in the HAM Shack. After we attempt to address everyone’s comments and questions while trying to seem moderately intelligent doing it, I give a short informative segment on Java, Adobe Air and other virtual runtime environments. Then Richard gets down to it, giving a nice description of d-rats, a cross-platform D*STAR application written in Python by KK7DS.

Many thanks as always for subscribing to and downloading the podcast. Feel free to send us any feedback you may have, through e-mail and now through voice mail at +1-888-455-0305 or using the Skype IDs “LeadCrayon” or “KB5JBV”. We’d like to put your voice on the air. And most of you are hams out there, so we know you can do it. So until the next live ~~fiasco~~ episode, best regards and 73.

Russ and Richard

LHS Episode #016

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:25:07 +0000

Because Episode #015 was a bit late, this one is going to seem a bit early but actually it’s right on time. All it takes is a little perserverance and perspiration on my part and I can actually get these podcasts edited and released when they’re supposed to be. Imagine that.

As usual, we start out Episode #016 talking about feedback from listeners. We always love to hear what people are saying about us, and we especially like feeling useful when we can answer the questions that come from you. A comment from a listener leads us to our rather unusual topic for this episode: Windows. Now, before you tune out–we don’t actually talk about Windows directly. What we do instead is present all the ways in which we believe Linux is Windows’s equal, from ease of installing applications to productivity out of the box to support and development.

So as always we hope you enjoy this latest episode of Linux in the HAM Shack. Thanks for listening and 73 to all.

Russ (K5TUX)

LHS Episode #015

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:25:17 +0000

Linux in the HAM Shack #015 is here! I still believe that I can get these out on a regular basis but lately I find that life is very, very busy. However, I think Episode #015 is worth the little extra wait. We’ve got lots of feedback from listeners, our first donation (!) and two informative segments.

In the first of our informational segments, Richard describes his installation of Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) and gives his thoughts and general appreciation for the system. In the second segment, I ramble on about SSH (secure shell) and all of its various uses, from logging into remote systems to copying files to forwarding X applications to a local machine. I’d say it even turned out pretty coherent thanks to some extensive editing. Just kidding. Maybe.

Enjoy the episode, and don’t forget to flood us with that feedback.

LHS Episode #014

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:16:41 +0000

Greetings to all of our listeners! Episode #014 is here. Thanks to our fans, the feedback segment has turned into a couple of questions we spend the rest of the episode answering. It’s so nice when the topics present themselves with no help from us. Richard and I discuss why a ham radio operator, or anyone for that matter, might want to choose Linux as their preferred operating system. Then we discuss WINE and how it can be used to install and run Windows appliactions under Linux. And then we close with Slow-Scan TV using qsstv, a Linux client, and mmsstv, a Windows client under WINE. Finally we get the word out about our fellow great podcasters and their podcasts.

Thanks as always to everyone for downloading the podcast. Please tell everyone you know about us, and if you have a couple of bucks burning a hole in your pocket, feel free to donate to LHS so we can improve the program. In the next couple of episodes we’ll have our first formal interview segment so stay tuned for that.

LHS Episode #013

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 07:39:11 +0000

We come to Episode #013 of Linux in the HAM Shack. This one is not for the faint of heart or the triskadecaphobic. Our last couple of episodes have generated a lot of feedback so we spend the first and last segments of the show talking about everyone who sent us comments and answering questions wherever possible. In the middle, we manage to squeeze in some information ham radio and Linux information about getting your radios connecting to your computer for rig control, testing with grig and integrating logging and rig access with fldigi.

We’d like to thank the multitudes we had in the chat room for the live broadcast of Episode #013. It was our best turnout yet with more than 25 participants from all over the world. We’d like to encourage everyone to jump in on the next broadcast, which will be on May 13th at 0100Z. The LHS release schedule is being pushed back a week because I will be out of town at a conference during the first week of May. Thanks again to all our downloaders and everyone who takes the time to send us feedback and questions. There would be no podcast without you.

Note: We had several audio problems attempting to record this episode due to erratic network connectivity. Everything is cleaned up and organized nicely except for one brief audio dropout that could not be recovered. You’ll know it when you hear it.

73 de Russ (K5TUX)

LHS Episode #012

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 05:50:04 +0000

Logging applications are finally on tap for Episode #012. We take a look at a three interesting QSO logging applications, one graphical and the other two console based. And while we know that could have been a show all on its own, we packed in three different perspectives on CrunchBang Linux. Yes, that’s right, three perspectives. We’ve invited a special guest to give us his impressions of CrunchBang Linux on the Acer Eee PC netbook platform. Richard explores CrunchBang on a standard PC using the Live CD image, and I talk about running the Live CD and installing CrunchBang in a virtual machine.

And that’s not all. We address listener comments, feedback, questions and talk with the live guests in our chatroom. It’s the longest and most action-packed Linux in the HAM Shack yet, and we’re just getting started. Thanks for listening, and don’t forget to keep the feedback coming.

73 de K5TUX

LHS Episode #011

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 08:04:19 +0000

Today we present Linux in the HAM Shack for the eleventh time. Because of a topic snafu we switched to a completely untested and radically different format for the program. However, in the words of esteemed author Douglas Adams: “Don’t panic.” We simply rolled the live feed into something resembling a roundtable discussion of Linux and ham radio related topics that we think listeners will find rather interesting and engaging.

That being said, because of the unusual format of the program some of the dialogue may seem a little strange. In most cases it can be explained as one of the hosts reading questions or reciting information provided by the live participants in the chat room at the time of recording. We also managed to wrangle a special third co-host for the middle portion of the program.

All in all it’s a wild and crazy ride. Thank you as always for downloading the podcast, and special thanks to those who helped us out by joining us for the live recording of the program. Please check the web site for the next time you can hear us record live and participate in the program yourself.

Enjoy this special edition of Linux in the HAM Shack and we’ll be back in a couple of weeks with a program on logging software, a review or two of CrunchBang Linux and much, much more.

73 de K5TUX and KB5JBV

LHS Episode #010

Russ K5TUX — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:14:47 +0000

That’s right, everyone. We’ve hit Episode 10. I know it’s hard to believe. We can hardly believe it ourselves. This one has been sitting in the editing room for a while due to life conflicts once again. It also spent a lot of time going through the editing machine. All that said, it’s finally produced, mostly coherent, and occasionally informative.

As always, thank you so much for listening to the program. Please help spread the word about Linux in the HAM shack by tweeting about us, posting on your blogs, telling your fellow hams and just getting the word out. We appreciate it, and we’ll do the same for you if you send us your information.

Tons of feedback in this episode and then we tackle digital modes from RTTY to Throb. Enjoy.

73 de Russ

LHS Episode #009

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:30:25 +0000

Hello, everyone. Welcome to Linux in the HAM Shack, Episode #009. I am enjoying my time in sunny and warm Orlando, Florida as this episode is published. Richard and I would like to thank everyone for downloading and listening to the podcast. We’ve been getting encouraging pingbacks from other bloggers and amateurs and much good feedback as well. We’d like to encourage everyone who listens to the show to spread the word about us. The more amateur radio folks we can help with Linux and Open Source the happier we’ll be.

In this episode, we start out with listener feedback, answering questions and responding to feedback that has come in since the last episode. We also give a shoutout to some guys, because we’re some guys too. We then jump into a thorough examination and review of F0FAK’s promising new amateur radio Linux distribution called Shackbox. And in the final segment, we talk about serial bus communication and USB-to-serial adapters for fun and profit–and rig control.

Please send us your comments, feedback, questions and remember to spread the word to everyone you know. We can’t take over the world without your help. Show notes will follow soon. All hate mail should be directed to Richard.

73 de Russ, K5TUX

LHS Episode #008

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:55:43 +0000

Here it is, Episode #008. All the fault for how late this is lies squarely on my shoulders. We’ve had some difficult weather, which lead to my being sick for almost two weeks. After that, it took a few days to get my motivation back. Now that everything is in sync again, the latest episode of Linux in the HAM Shack has been edited and uploaded and is ready for your waiting ears. As always, Richard and I would like to thank everyone who listens to the podcast and participates in the forums, web site comments and the live recording feed. We wouldn’t be anything without our listeners, and we know it. Please send us your comments, your feedback, and use the links on the web site to follow us on Twitter.

I know I’ve already broken my New Year’s resolution to make sure the podcast gets out on time. But I’m going to start again with the Chinese New Year. May the Ox bring us good fortune and an actual two-week interval between shows.

73 de Russ (K5TUX)

LHS Episode #007

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:09:54 +0000

Episode #007 is out! Due to popular demand, this is an install episode. After running through comments and questions from listeners via the web site, e-mail and forums, we take a look at the procedure of installing Debian and Ubuntu Linux on a computer from start to finish. The show notes from this episode will include video footage of the Debian install so those of you who are interested in installing Debian on your own machines will be able to follow along with the video and audio of the install procedure. We will be posting screen shots of an Ubuntu install later on as well.

This is also the first episode that features interaction with participants of the live feed that made it into the edited version of the podcast. We’d like to encourage everyone to listen to (and sometimes watch) us live when Linux in the HAM Shack gets recorded. Get all the juicy tidbits, bloopers and anecdotes that don’t make the final cut. And your contribution could easily wind up in the show! Check the web site regularly for the broadcast schedule.

Thanks again to all who download and listen to Linux in the HAM Shack. We’re nothing without you. And please keep the e-mail and feedback coming.

LHS Episode #006

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:13:47 +0000

After putting this off some because of the holidays and other obligations, Episode #006 is now hot off the press. This is the second in our two-part series on PSK31. In the first part, we looked at sound cards, rig control interfaces and the basics of getting a PSK31 software package installed on your Linux operating system.

In part two, we take a much closer look at two popular programs for operating PSK31 mode on Linux: gmFSK and fldigi. On top of that, we respond to listener comments and questions, talk about updates to the web site, and explain how you can be involved in the recording of Linux in the HAM Shack by listening to the live feed and interacting with us in the chat room.

Next up in Episode #007: Install episode! We’ll guide you step by step through the entire process of installing Debian or Ubuntu Linux on a machine to use in your HAM shack. If you join us for the live feed, we’ll even be able to answer your questions in real time.

Stay tuned, and please, keep the feedback coming.

LHS Episode #005

Russ K5TUX — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:32:55 +0000

Episode #005 is here. This is the first in a two-part series where we begin to discuss using Linux with your ham radio to participate in digital modes. We outline the software and hardware you might use to enjoy PSK31, a very popular digital mode in amateur radio. We take a look at sound cards, serial ports, rig control interfaces and prepare you for part two, which will get into the specifics of using Linux software to operate your radio in PSK31 mode. Thank you for downloading our latest episode, and please send us your feedback.

Also, we now broadcast the recording of Linux in the HAM Shack using Ustream TV. Follow Richard or Russ on Twitter to find out when the recording goes live, or check on the web site. An event calendar will be available shortly which will let you know when we will be recording. Your comments may even be included in the podcast!

73 de Russ, K5TUX

LHS Episode #004

Russ K5TUX — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 08:15:09 +0000

Episode #004 is finally here! I need to make two apologies. The first is a re-apology for the crackling in the audio for this episode. It appears to have been a problem with the machine that recorded the episode. My studio was in disarray and I didn’t have a place for my laptop so I used an older desktop. The crackling that appears on the recording was not evident from my mixing console or to Richard over the Skype connection. Rest assured that it will not happen in Episode #005. Second, I apologize for this being late. We really would like to keep things on schedule at Linux in the HAM Shack, but the last two weeks have been very busy for both Richard and I.

In this episode, we go through our feedback from between the last release and this one. Then we get down to the heart of the matter: What software is available under Linux for amateur radio enthusiasts? We answer that question, respond to your questions and comments, talk about virtualization and techniques for getting the most from whatever software you decide to use. We even try to have a little fun here and there. So thank you for downloading this episode and thank you for listening. Please send us feedback, good or bad, and any comments or questions you may have. We’d love to hear from you.

73 de Russ, K5TUX

LHS Episode #003

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:23:05 +0000

Richard and I had a lot going on in our lives over the past two weeks. Most of it had nothing to do with amateur radio or Linux. Luckily we managed to get Episode #003 recorded and as I write this it’s about 3:15am. But the podcast is going to be released on time. Please remember to send us that feedback, whether it’s by e-mail, comment on the LHS web site or the Black Sparrow Media forums.

In this episode, we discuss downloading and installing amateur radio software from remote repositories using the various commands provided by Debian-based Linux distributions. We also mention a few other kinds of package managers, those used by Red Hat, OpenSuSE, Gentoo and more. And we touch on installing applications from source code, among other juicy tidbits. Enjoy.

73 de Russ – K5TUX

LHS Episode #002

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 05:05:46 +0000

Welcome to the second episode of Linux in the HAM Shack. In this edition, we respond to listener feedback from the introductory episode. Everyone has been very positive and encouraging, and we’ve been looking forward to getting the second podcast done.

We take a fairly in-depth look at Linux distributions that will get you up and running with ham radio applications and rig control quickly and easily. From Debian to Digipup and other ham-radio-based distributions in between, we look at methods of installation, software repositories and desktop environments.

Thanks for listening, and please remember that feedback. We read every word!

Russ – K5TUX

LHS Episode #001

Russ K5TUX — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:00:49 +0000

Welcome to the first episode of Linux in the HAM Shack. In this episode, we give you a brief introduction to the podcast, explain who we are and what our backgrounds in Linux and Amateur Radio are. And we give a brief overview of what topics weâ€™ll hope to cover in future episodes.

We sincerely hope you enjoy our opening episode and we look forward to hearing from you, the listener, about anything youâ€™d like to say. Weâ€™ll be posting these episodes every two weeks on Tuesday morning. Thereâ€™s a link to the RSS feed on the left hand navigation of our site, and youâ€™ll be able to subscribe to our feed at iTunes, Feedburner and other popular feed management sites.

Anyway, enough rambling. On to the podcast.

73 de Russ and Richard