Tag: digital

LHS Show Notes #053

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Announcements:

  • Thanks, again, to Gamma Leonis for the opening and closing music for the show.
  • LHS Merchandise is available at PrintFection and Cafe Press. LHS items make great Christmas gifts! Or, make a donation by clicking the Donate link on the website. Donations cover such things as the telephone lines, server fees, and more. Thank you!

Topics:

  • Articles seem to be popping up at www.amateurradio.com designed to get us talking about Linux and Amateur Radio. The latest one is by Anthony, K3NG, self-proclaimed radio artisan. Our hosts discuss his assertions that:
    • Ham Radio Deluxe, DXLab, and N1MM software all beat any Linux offerings. (Note: Russ has found that both Ham Radio Deluxe and N1MM logger will run under WINE in Linux. DXLab, on the other hand, will not.)
    • There is more amateur radio software available for Windows than Linux.
    • CQRLOG is an adequate Linux program for casual logging, but not great for contesters.
    • "Quite simply, if one intends on using Linux exclusively in the hamshack they have to lower their expectations and requirements for logging and are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to contesting."
    • He does praise fldigi, but still claims Windows software is better.
    • In summary, he thinks hard-core contesters may wish to stay with Windows. Our suggestion: run Linux and write a program that works better!
  • Russ talks about his success with WSPR and Echolink.
  • He found that instead of using "dpkg -i" to install the latest Debian WSPR package, use "dpkg -x". You'll extract the files to the current directory. You then run the program from a terminal session in your home directory using "./wspr". If you run it that way, instead of letting it install, it seems to work a lot better. The Gnome launcher doesn't seem to work with that sort of installation, but running it from a terminal works well.
  • Russ has Echolink running under WINE v1.13. This version of WINE was chosen for it's native support of PulseAudio, which made configuring EchoLink much easier. Russ' node is on 146.225MHz simplex, Echolink node 54711.
  • Russ then tells us why Echolink and IRLP are different and why IRLP might be "better." (Hint: Echolink may not have an amateur radio anywhere in the link, while IRLP definitely uses a radio somewhere in the link.)

Feedback:

  • Scott, HL2/AD7MI, sends his appreciation for the discussion in Episode 50 of his blog entry about his Ubuntu installation, and adds a note about problems with running CQRLOG under 64-bit Linux. He says you can install CQRLOG on a 64-bit machine, but it will only work with the 32-bit version of hamlib. Unfortunately, that breaks 64-bit fldigi, which expects the 64-bit version of hamlib. This issue has been reported on both the linuxham Yahoo group and the CQRLOG forum. Scott has also successfully installed Xastir, and is looking forward to receiving a MicroHAM III interface.
  • Matt, KC8BEW, asks "What is a good and easy Linux distribution for a web server?" Russ recommends a plain vanilla installation of Debian server, without the X-windows environment, and either Apache or nginx (a light-weight web server).
  • Dave, M0DCM, tells us of his success running fldigi and CQRLOG under Ubuntu 9.10 on an Acer Aspire A0751h netbook. Well done, Dave!

Donations:

  • A very generous donation was received from Gerrit R. Thanks, Gerrit!

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

Music:

  • "Steel Concrete" by Mad Mav from the album "Black Sheep II", courtesy of Jamendo.

LHS Show Notes #044

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Announcements:

  • Richard is at his father's place due to problems with his Suddenlink connection at home.
  • Ohio LinuxFest 2010 is on the horizon. Russ hopes to be a speaker this year. It will be held September 10-12, 2010 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, OH.
  • Mid-America GNU/Linux Networkers Conference (MAGNet Con). Russ and Cheryl are organizing this event, which is tentatively scheduled to be held May 6-7, 2011, at the St. Louis Union Station Marriott in St. Louis, MO.
    They're looking for speakers, sponsors, organizers, and attendees. If you're interested or can help, please visit the web site.

Donations:

  • Please consider making a donation to Linux in the Ham Shack to help defray the costs of producing the show, attending shows, file hosting, etc. There's a convenient Donate link on the web site, and you can use a credit card or PayPal.
  • You can also support the show by purchasing LHS merchandise at cafepress.com/lhspodcast or printfection.com/lhs.
  • Thank you!

Feature:

  • Russ discusses his trip to Southeast Linuxfest June 11-13, 2010.
  • Russ gave a talk on Open Source and Amateur Radio. The talk was recorded and will be available at some point.
  • Thanks to everyone involved for their efforts in organizing SELF:

    Foundation Officers

    • President: David Yates
    • Vice President: David Nalley
    • Treasurer: John Yeary
    • Secretary: Mike Major

    Board Members

    • Speaker Coordinator: Jeremy Sands
    • Community Coordinator: Amber Graner
    • Volunteer Coordinator: Jas Eckard
  • Field Day, 2010, was held June 26-27. Russ and Richard discuss the event and how it combines an emergency preparedness exercise and a contest.
  • Russ used to attend Field Day in Maine with the Aroostook Amateur Radio Association (K1FS).
    This year, he visited the Nixa Amateur Radio Club (operating as N0A) and the
    Southwest Missouri Amateur Radio Club sites.
  • One suggestion: make your Field Day sites wheelchair accessible!
  • Send us your Field Day stories!

Feedback:

  • Don, WS4E, sent us a picture of him standing outside the Red Hat Summit in Boston wearing his LHS T-shirt. Thanks, Don!
  • Jan, PA9QV, linked to us in his blog, Varying Frequencies. Thanks, Jan!
  • Eldon, WA0UWH, also linked to us on his blog. Thanks, Eldon!
  • Dave, M0DCM, in the UK writes that he enjoyed Episode 40, and comments about Fldigi, xdx, gpredict, and wsjt.  He uses Xastir, too. He wonders if there is an HD SSTV application for Linux.  His club has asked him to find a good Linux alternative to WinPack. Richard discusses. These could be topics for future shows.(Ed. note: Jean-Paul, F6FBB, has written a packet BBS application for Windows and Linux.)

Contact Info:

  • Contact Richard at kb5jbv@gmail.com, Russ at k5tux@lhspodcast.info, or both at the same time at info@lhspodcast.info.
  • 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.
  • Send hate mail to Bill at ka9wka@lhspodcast.info. 🙂
  • Thanks to Dave from Gamma Leonis for the theme music and promo.

Music:

  • "Paper King" by Noxious from the album "Revilutia", courtesy of garageband.com.
  • "Enslaved by Pain" by Severed Fifth (Jono Bacon), from the album "Denied by Reign".