Tag: svxlink

Show Notes #094

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Introduction:

  • No music this episode.
  • It's the night before Halloween and we're off to another spooky episode of LHS with our hosts starting with a ramble about horror movies. It's a trick AND a treat!

Announcements:

  • Please consider donating to the podcast or subscribing for #20/year. Also, the free Black Sparrow Media app is at risk of disappearing unless our listeners are willing to provide $15/month to keep the download site alive. Please contact us if you can help.

Topics:

  • Creating a desktop wallpaper slideshow in GNOME:

    It's actually a built-in feature of GNOME. Briefly, here are the steps:

    • As root, create a new directory in /usr/share/backgrounds (any name you want).
    • In that directory, place your desired background images (or links to them).
    • There's already a directory in /usr/share/backgrounds called cosmos which you can use as a guide.
    • Copy background-1.xml from the cosmos directory into your new directory and edit it to specify your images.

    More information can be found in this askubuntu thread. Be sure to read through all the comments.

  • Richard points us to one of many articles about ham radio operators helping out during and after Hurricane Sandy. Our sympathies to the victims of hurricane.
  • More about EchoLink and Linux: Richard found the CQiNet project, which includes two applications, Echolinux (an EchoLink client for Linux) and The Bridge, an iLink/EchoLink compatable conference bridge. Of course, there is still the svxlink package, which includes the Qtel Echolink client.
  • C'mon, people, where are my Raspberry Pi suggestions? Russ is still looking for good uses for his Raspberry Pis. Send your suggestions!
  • Google Webfonts are open source fonts that can be embedded in Joomla, WordPress and others, embedded in CSS, or with Javascript. Visit Russ' blog page for an example of Google Webfonts in action.

Feedback:

  • David, KE0AZ, sent an email about our discussion of antennas in Episode #091. He's opting for a used 4BTV vertical.
  • Tim, KI6BGE, in response to Richard's computer power supply repair in Episode #092, shares his success story involving a printer repair he attempted.
  • Scott, N8VSI, sent this audio report on his experience as the LHS ambassador at the Ohio Linux Fest. (We talked to Scott in Episode 93.)
  • Harrison, VE2HKW, made a donation to the Black Sparrow Media app server fund. Thanks, Harrison!

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 Episode #078: Kubuntu is Bloodthirsty

Posted on by Russ Woodman

In this episode of Linux in the Ham Shack, our intrepid hosts put aside idle banter, childish meandering and silly stories in favor of true content, both ham radio and Linux related. All right, that doesn't happen even a little bit. Instead, Richard has a lot of fun telling you all the trouble he has with Linux Mint Debian Edition, all the while mentioning a bunch of other operating systems he's tried recently including Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Crunchbang among others--letting you know what's wrong with all of them.

Then there's some discussion of svxlink, an Echolink client and server application for native Linux environments, Allstar Link, Open Media Vault, contest loggers and a whole bunch of other stuff besides. Ahh, perhaps there is some content here after all. Hope everyone enjoys this episode and can perhaps contribute a dollar or two towards the Hamvention fund. It's coming up soon and we hope to see you all there.

73 de The LHS Guys

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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 Episode #068: Hell Sheep

Posted on by Russ Woodman

And finally the podcast is caught up. All the back episodes have been edited and released and now Russ is taking a break, breathing a little easier and hiding from the hell sheep. In this episode, the hosts talk about the new release of Ubuntu (formal review coming later), the KDE desktop, doing noise cancellation with Audacity and much more. They address feedback from listeners and encourage everyone to support the show by calling in some voice comments, making a donation, becoming a member or purchasing show-related merchandise. Sorry for the advertisement, but sometimes it just has to be done. Thank you for being a listener. Peace, love, ham radio and Linux. Good times.

73 de The LHS Guys

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

LHS Show Notes #065

Posted on by Russ Woodman

Introduction:

  • Welcome to another episode of Linux in the Ham Shack.
  • Richard has moved to another QTH, and that's provided some challenges.

Announcements:

  • The LHS Ambassador Program needs your help. Russ explains what the LHS Ambassador program is all about and how you can get involved. If you're interested, please contact us at ambassadors@lhspodcast.info
  • Richard gives an update on the archiving of Resonant Frequency, The Amateur Radio Podcast.
  • Richard complains about the Internet service at his new location, and Russ offers a tip about using wget -c for downloading large files.

Topics:

  • Richard updates us on his AX25 project and moving to a new location.
  • The Linux kernel goes 3.0: So what? Russ talks about the new Linux kernel, v. 3.0, recently released, and what you can expect.
  • Your first license: What should you expect? Richard describes the process for getting your first amateur radio license. At one time, proficiency with Morse code was a requirement, but no longer. Richard used the Gordon West training materials to prepare. Having a local radio club or another ham can be a great help. There are two volunteer examiner groups: ARRL and W5YI. Both offer training materials for their examinations. When you go to a testing session, be sure to bring the required materials. After you pass the test, check the FCC website for your callsign. It often shows up just a few days after taking the test. Most importantly, after you get your callsign, get on the air!
  • Revisiting OpenHatch (see episode 059). Russ discusses the OpenHatch project and how you can contribute to the open source community. There is a simple sign-up process to join OpenHatch. You can use OpenID or several other authentication services. OpenID can be used with several web applications. Once you join, you can specify the various skills you have, and the type of assistance you'd like to provide, such as development, bug fixing, documentation, etc. You can also start a new project or link your own project to OpenHatch. You'll find development, testing and documentation opportunities.
  • Russ gives an update on getting SvxLink to work. He had the build of version 11.05 blow up with an error about missing include files. He Googled the error message and found the answer. So he now has a working EchoLink server using SvxLink on 146.225 MHz. So, while it may be a bit challenging to build, it can work and provides a native Linux EchoLink program. (Thanks to Rick, K9AO, who sent an email that gave Russ the push to finish his SvxLink project.)

Feedback:

  • We received a donation from Oscar, N6PAZ. Thank you! If you'd like to donate to the podcast, please click the Donate button on the website. Oscar also visited the LHS booth at Dayton, and left a comment on website expressing his appreciation for the LHS website.
  • F8ARR conducted a poll on his website asking what operating system his visitors used in their ham shacks. He found 23% were using Linux! He also linked back to the LHS site. Thanks!
  • David, N1EA, tells us that the new website for Vinux is vinuxproject.org. Vinux is a remastered version of Ubuntu, optimized for visually impaired users. It includes several ham radio applications, including TLF (The Left Foot), a console-mode logging and contest program.
  • AmiZed (KB2MOB) wrote a very nice review of LHS. Thank you for the kind words!

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

  • “Complicated Man” by Lejo Harmeson & Essence from the album “Complicated Man,” courtesy of Jamendo.
  • “Don’t Be Harshin’ My Mellow” by Lejo Harmeson & Essence from the album “Complicated Man,” courtesy of Jamendo.