Tag: ax.25

LHS Show Notes #064

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Introduction:

  • Apologies for being late with this episode.

Announcements:

  • LHS had planned on attending the Ohio LinuxFest on September 9-11 in Columbus,OH, and the Huntsville, AL hamfest Aug 21-22, but it's just too expensive. To address that, LHS has started the LHS Ambassadors program where listeners of the show act as representatives for LHS at events. If you're interested, please contact us at ambassadors@lhspodcast.info
  • When you make a donation to LHS, you can choose to appear on the Sponsors page on the LHS website.
  • Linux Format magazine, the producers of the Tux Radar podcast, recently reviewed various Linux-related podcasts, and LHS wasn't even mentioned! Ouch!
  • Richard announces the demise of Resonant Frequency: The Amateur Radio Podcast. Richard is looking for a place to post the articles and other content. The podcast episodes are saved at the Internet Archive, and the videos will remain on YouTube.

Topics:

  • WinLink and AX.25
  • Richard describes his trials and tribulations getting a WinLink packet gateway working under Ubuntu Linux.
  • For the most part, Richard followed the instructions provided by Charles, K4GBB: How to install RMS Gate.
  • Richard and Russ describe the steps in the Howto and possible pitfalls. Richard notes that you'll probably want to run the commands as the root user, either by logging in as root or using sudo.
  • (Note, near the end of Section 4 of the Howto, it appears the author left out the "wget" in the command to retrieve the script. On the page it reads: 
    Get Script – Bernard has written a little Housekeeping script...
    https://f6bvp.free.fr/logiciels/ax25/rc.init.script && ...
  • I think that command should be: 
    wget https://f6bvp.free.fr/logiciels/ax25/rc.init.script && ...

    Note that I've shortened the lines with ellipses here. -Ed.)

  • Other useful links:

Feedback:

  • Andy, KB1OIQ, tells us of his Ham Radio Linux CD, based on Ubuntu Linux 10.10, and includes many ham radio programs.
  • Rich, KD0BJT, of the LowSWR podcast, is working on a ham radio-related Linux distribution, too.

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:

  • "Mendes" by Assembly Line Gods from the album "Control: Volume 1."
  • "Pound of Flesh" by Assembly Line Gods from the album "Control: Volume 1."

Please note that the music in this episode is neither Creative Commons nor podsafe. To support the artist, please visit Assembly Line Gods on Facebook, iTunes or at https://www.assemblylinegods.com.

LHS Show Notes #046

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Announcements:

  • The eighth annual Ohio LinuxFest will be held on September 10-12, 2010 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Linux in the Ham Shack will be there; will you?
  • Russ is in a bad mood, tonight. Send him lots of feedback!
  • Black Sparrow Media was intended to be similar to Hacker Public Radio, a clearing house for several podcasts, and Russ has ressurected it. Currently, we have LHS, Resonant Frequency, and Russ' latest venture, the QSK Netcast.
  • Another all feedback episode.

Donations:

  • Paul, KE5WMA, sent a donation. Thanks, Paul!

Feedback:

  • We had several listeners comment about the possibility of releasing LHS only in OGG format:
    • Email from Frasier say that he votes for keeping the MP3 feed as he relies on his iPod to listen. We'll be keeping both formats for the foreseeable future. There is the RockBox OS for most iPod models, which would allow you to play OGG files, but that would replace the existing OS on the iPod and break iTunes.
    • David, KG4GIY and the ham radio editor for Linux Journal, comments on the web site that he also votes for the MP3 version, again because he subscribes with iTunes. However, in about a month, he'll be converting to Fedora and will no longer use iTunes.
    • Matt, KC8BEW, has a couple of thoughts about the MP3 vs OGG debate: if you're a Linux user, you should be able to convert to whatever format you want. However, MP3 is probably more convenient for most people. Our hosts note that xiph.org has components that make it possible to play OGG in Quicktime and iTunes, but once you take a file out of the feed, then it ends up in the iTunes music library, and not in the podcast category.
    • Charles, KJ4VEB, comments on the web site that he would be more than willing to try the OGG format. We agree that there are benefits to OGG, but there are too many listeners that rely on the MP3 feed to abandon it at this time.
  • Ross, WI0N, says he's writing a Windows TCP/IP client application that uses AGWPE (SV2AGW Packet Engine) winsock layer to get digitized packet data and satellite telemetry through a RigBlaster plug and play device, but would like a Linux solution. Does Fldigi have the lower level layer that works with the sound card to digitize and format KISS data, or does it sit on top of that layer like Ham Radio Deluxe does? Our hosts suggest reviewing the Fldigi documentation and source code and the AX.25 website.
  • Following up in a voicemail, Ross thinks the Linux soundmodem driver might provide the ASCII stream he's looking for from the /dev/soundmodem0 device. Russ agrees that it looks like the AX.25 kernel module does support getting the data stream from the soundmodem device. Richard suggests contacting Phil, KA9Q, as he's involved with this type of work.
  • WW (Bill), KB9TMP, replies to Russ' comments in episode 42 about Field Day sites not being handicapped accessible. The Hoosier Hills Ham Club in Bedford, IN does make an effort to make their activities wheelchair friendly. Thanks, Bill!
  • Paul, KE5WMA, wrote in via the live support link on the web site asking about a good Koch Morse Code trainer in Linux. There is a SourceForge project, that does both Farnsworth and Koch. There may be others. (Ed. note: Paul, you may find other CW programs via the Hamsoft Linux Software index.) Ross, in the chat room, also provides a link to the CWirc site that provides "an X-Chat plugin for sending and receiving raw Morse code over IRC". Thanks, Ross.
  • Rich, KD0BJT, from the Low SWR podcast, and Dan, KG4JCL, said they have had problems getting LHS episodes with gpodder. Firefox, too, failed to get the feed. Russ suggested deleting and re-adding the feed in gpodder, and Rich said that worked for him.
  • Randall, KC4WZE, writes a long email about episode 39: He thinks that for Linux to gain widespread acceptance, we need to create a new perception of Linux much like the difference between a PC and a Mac. Right now, most people identify PCs with Windows, so we need to create a new device name for computers running Linux, like "Tux". Most people understand the difference between a Mac and a PC, so the difference between a PC and a Tux would be similar, as long as all Tux applications can run on all Tux computers. Our hosts discuss this topic, and mention such companies as System76 and Penguin Computing, that already provide machines designed with Linux in mind and with Linux pre-installed.
  • Randall continues with a discussion of embedded Linux appliances. He suggests the possibility, for example, of the same media playing application running on your cell phone, portable video player, desktop computer, car radio, and television. Our hosts discuss the practicality of this concept.
  • Finally, Randall comments that a Linux "Tux" netbook might be the next "killer" device. Our hosts discuss this. There are already a variety of devices running Linux, such as the Android smart phone, the Archos 5 internet tablet, Archos 7 home tablet, TiVo DVR, Boxee Box media center, and Roku digital video player. (The TomTom line of GPS units also run embedded Linux. -Ed.)
  • Thanks for the thought-provoking email, Randall.

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 888-455-0305 or 417-200-4811, or record an introduction to the podcast.
  • Sign up for the LHS mailing list.
  • Thanks to Dave from Gamma Leonis for the theme music and promo.

Music:

LHS Episode #046: The TuxTel Conglomerate

Posted on by Russ Woodman

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

LHS Show Notes #036

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Contributors:

  • Lord Drachenblut, one-time ham radio operator, IRC denizen and podcaster of Ten Buck Review. Lord D has appeared on several other podcasts, including:

    and has been a Linux user for seven or eight years. He uses Linux for everything except for one application that he runs in a virtual Windows machine (Grapevine, the LARP admin utility).

  • Jonathan, KB1KIX. Jonathan holds a General class license and has been a ham for a bit over 6 years. He got started with shortwave listening. He's been using Linux for 10 years and uses it for about 80% of what he does.

Announcements:

  • Southeast Linux Fest is June 12-13, 2010, at the Marriott at Renaissance Park hotel in Spartanburg, SC.
  • Texas Linux Fest is Saturday, April 10, 2010 at the Marchesa Event Center in Austin, Texas.
  • OggCamp will take place will take place at The Black-E in Liverpool, England, on May 1-2, 2010.
  • Format change: We're trying a new format. We'll still have three segments, but rearranged into housekeeping, feature, then feedback. Let us know what you think.
  • Russ is trying to organize a Mid-America Linux Fest in Missouri.
  • We received a donation from Craig toward a noise gate for Richard. Thanks, Craig.
  • LHS will be at the 2010 Dayton Hamvention in booth 265 in the North Hall (NH0265). See hamvention.org for more information.
  • The other podcast, Resonant Frequency, is on hiatus for a while.

Contact info:

  • Russ: k5tux@blacksparrowmedia.com
  • Richard: kb5jbv@blacksparrowmedia.com
  • Phone: 888-455-0305 (toll free) or +1-417-429-4069.

Contests:

  • Logo contest: Send your logo for Linux in the Ham Shack as a product and as a podcast, preferably in scalable vector graphic or tiff format, or a large-sized image in a lossy format such as jpeg. We'd like to use it for T-shirts, banners, etc., and have it available before the Dayton Hamvention. The winner will receive $100! Send your submission to one or both of the email addresses above.
  • Intro contest: Record your introduction to the show. We'll use them all. You can record it yourself and email the file, or call us on the phone and record the introduction there. Entries received via the telephone will have two chances to win. We will choose one of them at random to receive $25.

Links and Notes:

  • OpenSolaris
  • Debian
  • openSUSE
  • Harve's Hamshack Hack
  • Linux Mint
  • Ubuntu
  • Lord D prefers Debian and Kubuntu, but has recently begun exploring Fedora 12, and found it to support the Broadcom wifi chips without having to install a proprietary driver. Russ says Linux Mint also supports the Broadcom network chips.
  • Russ has a thumbprint scanner from Thomson Microelectronics that he has not been able to get working under any operating system. Lord D suggests a goat sacrifice may be necessary.
  • Richard opines that Linux has progressed to the point where it's better for a new computer user than the other OSs. The panel discusses.
  • Our panel talks about feature bloat in browsers and performance issues. Everyone seems to like the xmarks add-on to Firefox.
  • Modular vs monolithic kernels. AX.25 kernel support is available as a module under recent versions of Linux Mint, and appears to be available under Fedora, too.
  • Jonathan would like to see a Linux application similar to the Windows program Outpost for packet messaging.
  • Jim, E2ENN, sent an email in response to Episode 31 and raised several issues about Linux drivers. Our panel discusses this message at length.
  • Nouveau: Accelerated Open Source driver for nVidia cards
  • The Cathedral and the Bazaar by Eric S. Raymond.
  • Open FirmWare for WiFi networks
  • XFree86 vs. Xorg
  • Knoppix

Music: