Show Notes #087

Introduction:

  • Promo: Ohio LinuxFest 2012 will be held September 28-30, 2012, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in downtown Columbus, Ohio.
  • LHS community sends their good wishes to the victims and their families in Aurora, CO.
  • Our hosts recommend Etherpad for collaborative document editing.

Announcements:

  • Ham Holiday Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, July 27-28, 2012, Biltmore Hotel.
  • Texas Linux Fest, San Antonio, Texas, August 3-4, 2012, Norris Conference Center.
  • Texoma Hamarama Ardmore, Oklahoma, October 26-27, 2012, Exit 33 - I-35: Ardmore Convention Center.
  • Watch the Events Schedule on the LHS website for more events!
  • Click the Amabassadors link on the website and volunteer to be an LHS Amabassador at a Linux or ham-related event.
  • 20th annual Gainesville Hamfest Gainesville, Texas, Saturday, August 25, 2012, Civic Center.
  • Joplin Hamfest, Joplin, Missouri, August 24-25, 2012, Holiday Inn Convention Center. Look for Russ and Cheryl!
  • Russ is anxiously waiting for delivery of two (okay, three) Raspberry Pi computers. Call the LHS voice line 909-547-7469, or send an email to info@lhspodcast.info, and tell Russ what to do with his Rasperry Pis. Wait, that doesn't sound quite right, but you get the drift.

Feedback:

  • Bruce, VE2GZI, writes to express his appreciation for the episode about GNU-Radio (Episode 84). It inspired him to try getting it to work under Linux Mint 11, but it's been a struggle, and he asks for help. Russ managed to compile it on Linux Mint Debian Edition. Jlindsay in the chat room said he ignored the build script, and just did a cmake and make. Also make sure you have the proper version of portaudio installed. Bruce also tells us he's waiting for his Hong Kong Dongle. 'nuff said.
  • Scott, N9LJX, says he's always had trouble with rig control, via Hamlib, and his FT-900, and wonders if that's been improved. He's happy to hear that yfktest works with Winkey USB. Russ looked at the Hamlib website about Yaesu radios, and saw the status listed as ".1 untested", which indicates poor, if any, support for that radio. Richard suggests avoiding the USB or USB-to-serial adapter. Instead, buy an inexpensive serial port card for the computer and connect the radio to a real serial port.
  • Someone in the chat room asked about a good personal cloud storage solution. Russ likes ownCloud. and has described it in episode 9 of his QSK Netcast.
  • Jeremy, KB7QOA, sends a long email thanking us for the show, discussing his gradual move toward Linux, and wonders if he could have a version of the podcast without the music. Well, Jeremy, if you're willing to subscribe to the show, you'll soon have the option of a music-free feed.
  • Grant, AA9LC, has embarked on a project to establish a Linux computer in his hamshack. He met Russ at the recent Dayton Hamvention, and has been trying to boot the LHS disc he received there, but it wants a username and password. He's also tried Linux Mint 11 and is "mostly impressed." As the disc contains nothing more than Linux Mint Debian Edition, Russ suggests the username may be one of "root", "mint", or "linuxmint", and no password. However, it should boot directly into a "live" mode desktop without ever asking for a username or password. If that doesn't help, Grant, let us know and provide a few more details about when you're asked for the username and password. Russ and Richard also provide some hints about managing sound card audio.
  • Look for Russ on Episode 124 of the Mintcast.

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 Episode #087: King Jeremy the Wicked

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

Show Notes #083

Introduction:

  • Back from Dayton and ready to go.

Topics:

  • Dayton Hamvention 2012
    • LHS had the same booth as last year at North Hall #131. Estimated attendance was 25,000 individuals. Russ recounts the experience. Thanks to Matt, KC8BEW, who stopped by and helped out at the booth. The LowSWR podcasters stopped by, too.
  • FCC Dismisses Texas Ham’s Fourth Petition, Calls it "Repetitive"
    • Our hosts discuss.
  • Contest logging for Linux.
    • Several people at Hamvention asked about contest logging software for Linux, but Russ was at a loss for a recommendation. Upon his return, he discovered...
    • SO2SDR Contest Logging Software
    • Stefano, IZ3NVR/KD2BGM was trying to get so2sdr to work under Linux Mint and while it would compile, it did not run, so Russ set about trying to get it going.
    • It's not packaged for Debian or Fedora, so it must be built from source, available at the link above.
    • The program is written in Qt, so it can be run on devices which support that environment, including Linux and Windows. Of course, Qt must be installed in order to compile so2sdr.
    • Russ also had to install the following packages on his Linux Mint machine: portaudio19-dev (NOT libportaudio-dev; apparently, libportaudio-dev is too old), fftw3 and fftw3-dev
    • The compilation procedure consists of:
                    qmake
                    make
                    sudo make install
    • so2sdr compiled and ran fine. It did complain that it wanted a parallel port for switching between radios, but you can ignore that if you don't need to do that.
    • Russ gives an overview of the features and capabilities.
    • There are a few drawbacks:
      • An apparent lack of SSB support? It seems to be CW-only.
      • Frequency input checking is broken.
      • Keystrokes are not intuitive, but are well-documented.
    • However, the built-in help file is quite useful.

Feedback:

  • E-mail from Larry, KG4Q, extolling fldigi and JT65-HF. He wishes there was a version of JT65-HF for Linux. Well, Larry, there is! You can download the source here. Also, WSJT does JT65, too.
  • Chris, K4FH, caught up with Russ at Hamvention and talked about his Linux in the Ham Shack presentation. He managed to put together a fine bunch of slides completely without our help. Sorry, Chris!

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 #070

Promo:

Introduction:

  • Welcome to another installment of Linux in the Ham Shack.
  • After the holidays, consider attending a Skywarn training class so you'll be prepared for the next storm season.

Topics:

  • Contesting software for Linux
    • Ian, KM4IK, wrote that he's now using Ubuntu 11.04 in his ham shack, but wants suggestions for a native Linux contest logging program. Good question, Ian, and we have a few suggestions. However, as neither Russ nor Richard are contesters, these may or may not be suitable for you.
    • JL Logger is a Java application that supports all of the major contests.
    • YFKlog and YFKtest are curses-based programs that run in a terminal session. YFKtest uses the hamlib libraries for rig control.
    • TLF also runs in a terminal session and uses hamlib for rig control.
    • KB is still in development. It runs in the Gnome window manager. Radio control for the Yaesu FT-1000 only.
    • Fldigi has a built-in logger, and will also work with CQRLog.
    • N1MM Logger has been reported to work under Wine. Others have had problems.
    • Russ tried installing N1MM under Wine, and while the installer ran fine, N1MM didn't run properly when launched. Apparently, you must have the ALSA libraries installed. Note that the N1MM website warns that you should perform the Full Install, then install the latest update. Do not run the Full Install without first installing the update. Russ also tried the JL Logger, but it crashed. After realizing that it requires that the Java Development Kit, he installed that, but it still crashed. Look for an update in a future episode.
  • VLC media player
    • Richard was having an issue with the VLC plugin for Firefox 7.0.1; the LHS music stream would play one song then stop. The VLC Media Player should work.
    • Our hosts briefly digress into a discussion of the DEFCON system; DEFCON 1 is the most serious, while 5 is the least. Hollywood often gets it wrong.

Feedback:

  • Burt, K1OIK: please contact us about recent emails we've received from you. It may be that your email account may have been compromised.
  • Leif, KC8RWR, wrote us regarding the discussion of EchoLink clients in episode 66. He tried QTEL and it worked fine. Thanks, Leif. (Also look at SvxLink.)
  • Tom, KA2D, who is on the committee for Ham Radio University in New York, asks if there are any LHS Ambassadors in the Long Island, NY area. No, Tom, so you're it!
  • Andy, KC2ZWR, of the Suffolk County Radio Club, will also be at Ham Radio University on January 8, 2012, and offers his services as ambassador for that event.
  • Tony, K7ISS, wrote to say he was happy that Richard had a good time at the Texoma Hamarama. Richard blogged about his visit to the event.
  • Mike S., sent a VERY generous donation to the podcast. Thank you, Mike!
  • The second annual Indiana Linuxfest will be April 13-15, 2012 at the Wyndham Indianapolis West Hotel. Russ is planning to be there, and so should you.

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.