Category: Show Notes

LHS Show Notes #069

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Introduction:

  • Welcome back to another episode of LHS.

Topics:

  • Texoma Hamarama
    Richard attended Texoma Hamarama at the Ardmore Convention Center in Ardmore, OK. He had a great time and describes his adventures. He took a few pictures and wrote a blog entry for the web site.
  • HamQTH
    HamQTH is a callsign lookup service that is free and does not require a subscription. Russ gives his review. By registering, you can edit some of your information or use the search results in your logging program. Thanks to Ted, WA0EIR, for telling us about it.
  • Adventures in Printing
    • Richard recently installed Linux Mint on his wife's machine as she was becoming increasingly frustrated with the speed of Windows. He did run into an issue with getting her Lexmark all-in-one printer working, which leads him to a discussion of printing in Linux.
    • CUPS, Common Unix Printing System, originally developed by Apple for OS X, has become the standard printing system for Linux. You can administer CUPS by pointing your web browser to https://localhost:631
    • Most distributions install the Foomatic driver database. Another source of drivers is Gutenprint.
    • If your printer is not listed specifically, you may have success using a generic PCL5, PCL6 or Postscript driver.
    • Also check the Linux Foundation OpenPrinting project to see how well a given printer is supported in Linux. It's a good idea to visit this site before you buy the printer.
    • Most network printers will be recognized and configured automatically by CUPS.

Contact Info:

  • Contact Richard at kb5jbv@gmail.com, Russ at k5tux@lhspodcast.info, or both at the same time at info@lhspodcast.info.
  • Listen to the live stream every other Tuesday at 8:00pm Central time. Check the LHS web site for dates.
  • Leave us a voice mail at 1-909-LHS-SHOW (1-909-547-7469), or record an introduction to the podcast.
  • Sign up for the LHS mailing list.
  • Sign up for the MAGNetcon mailing list.
  • LHS merchandise is available at the Merch link on Web site. Check out the Badgerwear or buy one of the other LHS-branded items at PrintFection.com/lhs or Cafe Press. Thanks!
  • Thanks to Dave from Gamma Leonis for the theme music.

Music:

  • To be added.

LHS Show Notes #068

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Introduction:

  • Who has a drawl?

Announcements:

  • Richard has been reading about Ubuntu 11.10, "Oneiric Ocelot", due to be released on October 13th. Our hosts hope to have some sort of review in the near future. Richard is also considering trying KDE. (The version of Ubuntu with KDE as default is Kubuntu.)
  • Look for another episode of Richard's Radio Adventures in the near future. It's recorded mobile, and Richard wonders how to reduce the road noise with Audacity. Russ offers some advice on training the noise removal plug-in for Audacity.
  • Richard did not make it to the Belton hamfest this year, but maybe next spring. He's looking forward to attending the Texoma Hamarama, October 21 - 22, 2011 at the Ardmore Convention Center, 2401 North Rockford Road, Ardmore, OK.
  • Richard is recruiting hams for the Kaufman County (TX) ARES group. Please visit the KCARES website for more information.
  • Richard re-tells the infamous badger story. Speaking of badgers, you can find the Kiss My Badger tee-shirt, and a lot of other good stuff, at the LHS store.

Feedback:

  • Danny inquires about an easy-to-use distribution for a senior and computer novice, perhaps Linux Mint. Our hosts suggest Linux Mint and PCLinuxOS. Note that the Mint live CD does not include the codecs, but the DVD does. If you install from the CD, you can install the codecs later.
  • Danny also asks if there is a way to ask the Mumble developers to support screen-reading software. Since Mumble isn't a GTK-based application, it's probably not well supported under Orca. You may wish to raise your concerns on the Mumble forum, or on IRC at irc.freenode.net, #mumble, or click the Live Chat Now button on the www.mumble.com website.
  • Burt, K1OIK, left a comment regarding Episode 61 entitled "South of the Border": "I'd like to go south of your borders!" We're a little worried about you, Burt.
  • Michael, KD8GIJ, asks for instructions on removing a dual-boot installation of Linux Mint if he decides he doesn't like it. You can, of course, just wipe the whole drive and reinstall Windows. You may be able to boot the Windows install media and let it "repair" your installation. However, you don't really need to remove grub; just make Windows the default and remove Linux from the grub menu. If that's not acceptable, you'll likely have to wipe and reinstall Windows to return it to the pre-Linux state.Other suggestions include:
    • install Mint as a virtual machine with Virtual Box.
    • use the Windows Ubuntu Installer (wubi) which will also allow you to uninstall Linux after testing.
    • install Linux to a flash drive and boot and run from that to try it out
    • make an image of the Windows drive before installing Linux, perhaps with PartImage or Clonezilla, and you'll have an easy means of returning to the pre-Linux-install state.
  • John "The Nice Guy" Spriggs, G7VRI, asks about a live Linux distribution reviewed in Episode 62 that contained software to run EchoLink. (I think he's referring to Andy's Ham Radio Linux CD). svxlink is the Linux-native EchoLink client, but it is CLI-driven. The Windows client does run well under Wine. You may want to look at qtel, another Echolink client. It's an older application. In fact, svxlink is based on Qtel.
  • John also wonders if the music played on the show is Creative Commons licensed. While most of the music is Creative Commons or podsafe, the music in Episode 62 is not CC or podsafe, but Russ did have permission from the artists to play them.
  • John pointed out that the description tags in the podcast audio files were empty. Thanks, John, and rest assured that Russ will be adding descriptions as time permits.
  • By the way John, please contact Richard at the email address below as you may be able to help him with some music for another project.

Contact Info:

  • Contact Richard at kb5jbv@gmail.com, Russ at k5tux@lhspodcast.info, or both at the same time at info@lhspodcast.info.
  • Listen to the live stream every other Tuesday at 8:00pm Central time. Check the LHS web site for dates.
  • Leave us a voice mail at 1-909-LHS-SHOW (1-909-547-7469), or record an introduction to the podcast.
  • Sign up for the LHS mailing list.
  • Sign up for the MAGNetcon mailing list.
  • LHS merchandise is available at the Merch link on Web site. Check out the Badgerwear or buy one of the other LHS-branded items at PrintFection.com/lhs or Cafe Press. Thanks!
  • Thanks to Dave from Gamma Leonis for the theme music.

Music:

LHS Show Notes #067

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Introduction:

  • It's a ramblin' show tonight.

Announcements:

  • Texoma Hamarama 2011 will be October 21-22, 2011 at the Ardmore Convention Center, 2401 North Rockford Road, Ardmore, OK. Richard hopes to be there.
  • If you attended the Huntsville, AL hamfest in August, let us know if you think it would be a good venue for LHS.
  • Thanks, as always, to Gamma Leonis for the theme music.

Topics:

  • Russ talks about the antenna feedline window passthrough panel he bought at Dayton. He's also hoping to get a radio in his truck. Richard describes the window passthrough methods he's used in the past, with foam pipe insulation or air conditioning insulation foam.
  • Richard talks about the lack of ham radio activity in his area (Kaufman County, TX): no club, no RACES group, no ARES, etc. He called his ARRL SEC (Section Emergency Coordinator), Walt, KG5SOO, and learned that the local groups weren't happy with the current ARES manager. The SEC says paperwork is being processed and the new emergency coordinator of Kaufman County, TX is Richard, KB5JBV! Currently, there are just two ARES members, Richard and the Emergency Manager, so if you're in Kaufman County, TX, get in touch with Richard! (Congratulations, Richard!)
  • There's a new podcast out there: Richard's Radio Adventures. Look for it on the Resonant Frequency feed.
  • In Linux-related news, Russ lets us know that kernel.org was hacked a few weeks ago. Because the code was in an encrypted git repository, it was safe, but they moved it to github, anyway.
  • Russ also says there was a brief period that GNU Emacs was packaged and distributed with a binary blob in it, which violates the GPL. It's since been fixed.
  • A security hole in SSL/TLS has been reported.
  • Simon, HB9DRV, has sold the rights to his Ham Radio Deluxe software. Our hosts discuss the possible ramifications.
  • Richard wanders into a discussion of Arch Linux. It seems there was an issue with Arch not being free (as in speech). However, Parabola GNU/Linux is Arch, but free of all the entanglements.
  • If anyone out there is an Emergency Coordinator or Assistant Emergency Coordinator, send an email to Richard about how your EC is going. Richard is looking for advice on how to best set up the ARES EC organization in his county.
  • Russ admits that his other podcast, QSK Netcast, has stalled, mostly due to a lack of his available time.
  • Since some parts of the LHS website are now subscription only, Russ began researching SSL certificates. He found a couple of places that issue inexpensive or free browser-compatible certificates: CheapSSLs , under $10 per year, and StartSSL will issue personal certificates for free.
  • Russ and Richard discuss their love for the Sansa Clips. Russ likes DoggCatcher for listening to podcasts on his Android phone.
  • Richard talks about his secret antenna project. He's now in an area with Codes, Covenents and Restrictions (CCRs) which preclude outside antennas. Years ago, he bought an Arrow dual-band J-pole antenna, and used it for packet and other stuff. Using some military surplus olive-drab fiberglass tent poles, he strapped the J-pole to the top of the tent poles and the poles to the top of an 8' fence. He assures the neighbors that it's just a flower pot hanger. 😉

Contact Info:

  • Contact Richard at kb5jbv@gmail.com, Russ at k5tux@lhspodcast.info, or both at the same time at info@lhspodcast.info.
  • Listen to the live stream every other Tuesday at 8:00pm Central time. Check the LHS web site for dates.
  • Leave us a voice mail at 1-909-LHS-SHOW (1-909-547-7469), or record an introduction to the podcast.
  • Sign up for the LHS mailing list.
  • Sign up for the MAGNetcon mailing list.
  • LHS merchandise is available at the Merch link on Web site. Check out the Badgerwear or buy one of the other LHS-branded items at PrintFection.com/lhs or Cafe Press. Thanks!
  • Thanks to Dave from Gamma Leonis for the theme music.

LHS Show Notes #066

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Introduction:

  • Richard is still in the process of moving, but did get his WinLink rms gateway running as described in a previous episode.

Announcements:

  • Jay Forrest has lauched The Linux News Podcast. The podcast will focus on topics such as software freedom, Linux development, Open Source software, Android and mobile devises, security issues, and Linux distribution releases. Our hosts offer their opinions.
  • Ohio LinuxFest will be held in Columbus, Ohio on September 9-11, 2011. (Note: Russ will not be there, but maybe YOU can represent LHS. Visit the web site and look at the Ambassadors page to learn how.)
  • Texoma Hamarama will be October 21-22, 2011 in Ardmore, OK. Richard might be there, so if you're in the area, look for him!

Topics:

  • Our hosts discuss the ARRL statement regarding HR 607, "Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011". This bill provides for the re-allocation of the 420-440 MHz band, calling it part of the "Public Safety" spectrum. This is not the case, and we should contact our representatives and voice our opposition to this bill. The ARRL offers sample letters you can send to your representatives.
  • Richard and Russ talk about various amateur radio programsfor Linux offered by Ted, WA0EIR.Russ built them all from the available source code on his Linux Mint Debian Edition 10 computer. In order to do so, he installed a number of development libraries:
    • libmotif-dev
    • libxmu-dev
    • libxpm-dev
    • libxbae-dev

    These are header files necessary for the compiler to properly build the programs.

  • Each program requires the following commands to compile and install. Change to the directory containing the program and type: 
      ./configure
  ./make
  ./make-install

    (You may wish to be root to perform the make-install command.)

  • TWLOG - A basic QSO logging program. Useful for day-to-day logging, but not recommended for contest logs. It will export to ADIF. It requires the Xbae Matrix Widget.
  • TWPSK - A simple bpsk/qpsk program. Co-written with Hansi, DL9RDZ
  • TWCW - A Morse Code trainer that also allows keyboard CW operation.
  • TWCLOCK - A world clock application that will also automatically send a CW identifier every 10 minutes.
  • Check the /etc/X11/app-defaults directory for the "X resource" files to change the configuration options for these programs. For example, in that directory is a file called twclock that contains the callsign transmitted by TWClock.
  • PSK31LX - A curses-based PSK31 program, so it runs in a terminal window or directly in a terminal session. For help, a man page is included. (Type "man psk31lx".) It makes use of the arrow, control, and function keys. You can choose the audio and serial devices with command line parameters at start. Configuration parameters are stored in your home directory in the file .psk31lx.ini.

Feedback:

  • Don, WS4E, asks for Internet resources for handicapped amateur radio operators. He's familiar with the Handiham  organization, but wonders if there are others.There are many newsgroups and mailing lists dedicated to hams with disabilities. A Google search should return several. The Canadian National Amateur Radio Society site Amateur Radio for the Disabled, has several useful links. Richard mentions Lighthouse for the Blind. The ARRL has a page listing several articles. There's also a Facebook group, Blind Amateur Radio Operators.
  • Petr, OK2CQR, the author of CQRLOG, responds to Torsten's (K5TOR) problems installing CQRLOG on a 64-bit machine: CQRLOG already has native 64-bit version. There is no need to install the 32-bit version. You can use the ppa at launchpad.net with packages for Lucid, Maverick, Natty and Oneirc. Version 1.2.1 will be part of the Oneiric release as well. More information is here.
  • Donation from Paul G. Thank you! If you'd like to donate, please visit the website and click on the Donate link.

Contact Info:

  • Contact Richard at kb5jbv@gmail.com, Russ at k5tux@lhspodcast.info, or both at the same time at info@lhspodcast.info.
  • Listen to the live stream every other Tuesday at 8:00pm Central time. Check the LHS web site for dates.
  • Leave us a voice mail at 1-909-LHS-SHOW (1-909-547-7469), or record an introduction to the podcast.
  • Sign up for the LHS mailing list.
  • Sign up for the MAGNetcon mailing list.
  • LHS merchandise is available at the Merch link on Web site. Check out the Badgerwear or buy one of the other LHS-branded items at PrintFection.com/lhs or Cafe Press. Thanks!
  • Thanks to Dave from Gamma Leonis for the theme music.

Music:

  • "Rise" by Rob Warren from the album "Rise," courtesy of Jamendo.
  • "Mechanical Butterfly" by Mechanical Butterfly from the album "Mechanical Butterfly," courtesy of Jamendo.