LHS Episode #031: Linux Journal Invasion

Posted on by Russ Woodman

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

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LHS Episode #030: Whispers and Warnings

Posted on by Russ Woodman

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)

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WSPR2 on Ubuntu 9.04 and 9.10

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Written by Eddie, G3ZJO. Used with permission.

Well from the talk on the WWWeb I was hoping for better things I must admit. I have been away from Linux for a time. There are things in Ham Radio still that you just can only do with Windows. I did install Ubuntu 9.04 and ran WSJT that is in the repository it worked fine all be it an old version..

I have done plenty to promote the use of Linux in the Ham shack and with Fldidgi you have a wonderful piece of stable software that does everything just as well on Ubuntu etc. as it does on Windows.

I have compiled and modified WSPR to run on Linux very well so when the WSRP2 version for Linux was released I was so pleased to hear that Mr Average Ham in his shack with Linux on his machine could now fetch and run WSPR easily.

Last night I tried WSPR2.00 rev1714 on my Ubuntu 9.04. All went well, this is just what we have been looking for I thought. Then the annoying flickering of the green RECEIVING box caught my eye, obviously as processing is going on in the machine that display gets starved or something. I have seen this before it makes the software look unstable, shame that.

Decodes went ahead fine, however, those Labels are still miss aligned UTC dB DT Freq Drift, I was decoding my own beacon on 500Khz this software plainly indicated Drift - G3ZJO, no that is my Call Sign, not a drift value, if I were to run this version on Linux I would have to go in and modify the labels as before, such things just annoy me to death. But hey it works doesn't it, 'though you don't have to accept these things with Fldigi.

Then Ubuntu 9.04 informed me of the software update to 9.10, they say that WSPR runs fine on 9.10 so I went ahead with the install. Time to take a look at WSPR2 on Ubuntu 9.10, ERROR access denied. Oh yes, well it worked before, lets try WSJT, no go, try Fldigi all is fine, works great.

I know what has happened Ubuntu update has thrown out some of the libraries needed by WSPR, we are back to 'old days', I have done it all a hundred times, do I want to bother now, will Mr Average Ham in his shack want to bother? Still, Linux and WSPR has further to go before it is as easy and as acceptable as Windows, shame.

LHS Episode #029: Evil Empires

Posted on by Russ Woodman

deathstarIt 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

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