LHS Episode #051: Careless WSPR

A short while ago, Canonical released the latest version of Ubuntu:  the fabled Maverick Meerkat, 10.10. This is the latest in Ubuntu's normal release cycle and is not LTS. I had occasion to upgrade a couple of my personal computers running Ubuntu to the wily Meerkat. Find out what's new in 10.10, and what's old, in the first segment of LHS #049.

After that, Richard and I tackle the WSPR protocol for ham radio again. When it was discussed the first time around, neither of us had much of an idea what it was or how it worked. Armed with a broader understanding and a lot more experience, we talk about what works and what doesn't work with WSPR, how to get it up and running on your system and what we like and don't like about it.

Following that it's on to witty banter, a passel of badgers, some hijinks, censorship, feedback and more entertainment than you can shake a wet hedgehog at. Thanks for tuning in. We love you all.

73 de The LHS Guys

LHS Show Notes #045

Announcements:

  • The drawing for the Southeast Linuxfest prizes will be next episode.
  • Problems with GoDaddy prevented the download of the last episode for a time. It seems to be fixed now, but we may be moving to another hosting company.
  • Visit https://wiki.edubuntu.org/UbuntuHamsNets for a list and schedule of ham radio nets for Ubuntu users. Everyone is welcome!
  • Some listeners reported problems playing the OGG file of the show with VLC. All episodes through #35 worked, but #36 and later did not play in VLC.  The problem was that the cover art image was too large for the OGG file metadata specification (64KB), which caused VLC to choke. The Totem player was not respecting the specification and would play the file anyway. The cover art image was reduced to less than 64KB, and the OGG version of episodes 36 onward have been repaired and should now play properly in VLC.
  • Would you object if LHS was only available in OGG format? Let us know!
  • LHS has an online assistance feature! There's a Live Support button on the right-hand side of the LHS web page that will initiate an interactive chat session with the hosts of the show, if they're online.
  • The "Thesis" WordPress theme has caused controversy as it's not GPL, but because WordPress is open source, and the theme is a derivative of the WordPress program, then Thesis should be GPL, too. See the articles on Geckotribe and Mixergy for more on this topic.

Donations:

  • We received donations from Jonas and Ross, both in the chat room tonight. Thank you!

Feature:

  • Richard and Russ discuss Logbook of the World, TQSL, and support for Linux.
  • Dave, KG4GIY, sent along some information about TQSL support for Linux being dropped by ARRL, which would cause problems for applications such as CQRLOG.
  • There is a SourceForge project that provides software to build the TQSL libraries under Linux. Russ came up with the following procedure to build the software under Ubuntu, or you could just try executing:
sudo apt-get install trustedqsl
  • Building TrustedQSL under Ubuntu

    1. Install the required libraries:
      sudo apt-get install libssl-dev libexpat1-dev zlib1g-dev g++ build-essential
    2. Download and extract the tqsllib and TrustedQSL software from SourceForge
    3. A minor change is required in the openssl_cert.cpp file from the tqsllib package to add an if statement allowing it build on recent versions of Linux with openssl 0.9.8. In patch format, the code for this update is at the bottom of this section.
    4. Execute the following commands to build the library:
              # ./configure
              # make
              # make install
  • Again, if you're using Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, or similar Debian-based Linux, you can simply type
    sudo apt-get install trustedqsl

    and not bother building the library yourself. In the end, your Accessories menu will contain tqslcert, used to get the certificate from ARRL, and TrustedQSL, used to encrypt your ADIF log data and submit it to LoTW.

  • Applications like CQRLOG will then work with LoTW.
  • Russ describes the process for obtaining a certificate from the ARRL.
  • The ARRL also seems to contradict itself in its support of Linux. On the Resources page, under the entry for CQRLOG for Linux, it says "Please note that ARRL does not support Trusted QSL for Linux." However, the FAQ page says "At present one needs to use a computer with Windows or Linux operating systems to use TQSL and TQSL Cert."
  • Richard suggests we all should send a letter to the ARRL demanding Linux support in LoTW.
  • Paul, KE5WMA, in the chat room points us to the Ubuntu Linux for Hams article posted July 26, 2010 at ARRL.
        --- openssl_cert.cpp.orig    2010-08-05 12:14:50.382465127 -0500
        +++ openssl_cert.cpp    2010-07-27 19:18:45.728049007 -0500
        @@ -1290,6 +1290,8 @@
                                     attrib->set = 1;
         #elif (OPENSSL_VERSION_NUMBER & 0xfffff000) == 0x00907000
                                     attrib->single = 0;
        +#elif (OPENSSL_VERSION_NUMBER & 0xfffff000) == 0x00908000
        +                            attrib->single = 0;
         #else
         #error "Unexpected OpenSSL version; check X509_ATTRIBUTE struct compatibility"
         #endif

Feedback:

  • Scott, N9LJX commented on the web site about his desire for a decent logging program for Linux that interfaces with LoTW. CQLog is close, he says, but lacks in the award tracking area. So, unless we can offer an alternative, he's staying with Windows and the DXLab suite. Russ and Richard discuss CQLog (a Windows program) and CQRLOG (a Linux program). Perhaps, at the moment, Windows and the DXLab suite is the best solution for you, or you might try running Windows in a VirtualBox session under Linux.
  • Jason, KB9LAF, asks if we know of any Linux software that will run his Icom ICPCR-1000 receiver. Russ found this article in the Ubuntu forums. (Ed. note: Here are a couple possibilities: A Python application that will run under Windows or Linux, and IcomLib.)
    He also mentions Pendrive Linux as a means of running Linux from a USB drive.
    Thanks, Jason. We talked about that in Episode 19.
  • Kallie asks if the New Logo contest would reopen and asks why it was cancelled. There were no entries, so Russ paid for a new logo. But feel free to submit your art, if you wish.
  • Tim, KI6BGE, writes about his trouble with PCMCIA wired and wireless network cards under Linux Mint 9 LXDE on his IBM T21 laptop. They used to work with SUSE. Any suggestions? Russ and Richard discuss. They suggest running lsmod under Ubuntu to determine which drivers are loaded when the network cards work, then check what lsmod shows under Linux Mint, determine what's missing, and modprobe the missing drivers.

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 Show Notes #043

Feature:

  • Russ, Richard and Bill discuss the 2010 Dayton Hamvention.
  • Thanks to Rob of the Ohio Linux Fest who provided 100 copies of the Ubuntu Live CD to give away to anyone interested.
  • Some of the new equipment shown at Dayton:
  • Russ and Cheryl recorded some audio at Dayton.  Several fans of the show stopped by, including Bill KA9WKA, Rich KD0BJT and Brady KD0BJS from the Low SWR Podcast, and Matt KC8BEW.  An avid listener, G3ZTB from Leeds, England, chatted with us a few times, as well as several others from around the world.
  • Aluma Towers
  • DX Engineering
  • Luso Towers
  • Begali keys
  • Elecraft P3 Panadapter
  • LHS Dayton Raffle winners:
    • Linux in the Ham Shack caps: KC9OLI and W8PJW
    • Linux in the Ham Shack T-shirts: K9LNX and WD8E
    • Grand prize, an Alinco DJ-175T 2m HT: N4KMC

Feedback:

  • Hal left a voice mail after his visit to the booth at Dayton and asks about installing Ubuntu to a flash drive. Russ describes the process. Also see: Ubuntu Installatoin to USB Stick or from Windows, see UNetbootin.
  • Randall, KC4WZE, writes to Russ that appreciates that Richard now has a noise gate, but says it needs adjusting, because he can still hear Richard rant and rave. 🙂
  • LHS got a mention on Episode 57 of The Linux Basement. Thanks, Claudio! Claudio was our guest on Episode 39.
  • LHS was also mentioned in the Gear Diary blog post about SouthEast LinuxFest 2010.
  • Eldon, WA0UWH, mentions us on his blog.
  • Stephen Spector, a member of the Xen project team, mentions LHS in his blog at NetworkWorld.com.
  • Don, WS4E, comments on the web site: what happened to LHS episodes on ustream.tv? Not all get recorded over there.
  • Scott, AD7MI, mentions us on his blog entry about his visit to Dayton.
  • Randall, KC4WZE, also asks Richard about FSK on HF... what are the tones or the frequency shift of FSK? Richard discusses.
  • Randall asks Russ about the relative sizes of one distribution over another, in terms of disk space and memory. He can see there would be differences if all the drivers were statically linked, but believes they are now dynamically loaded. What makes one distro different from another? He then lists a bunch of services he'd like to have running. Russ responds.
  • Randall, again, writes about yanking Richard's badger.

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.
  • Thanks, too, to Dave from Gamma Leonis for the theme music and promo.
  • Bill is looking for a job as an IT manager in the NE Illinois area. Please send leads to billgrzanich@gmail.com. Thanks!
  • Next time, SouthEast LinuxFest, Field Day, and more.

Music:

LHS Episode #043: My Own Private Ohio

The Dayton Hamvention was a little while ago and we've just now been able to get around to talking about it. In this episode, we bring in Bill, KA9WKA, our right-hand man, to help us out with discussion of the event and a number of other topics as well.

Don't be alarmed, however. We keep the dated material to a minimum and move directly into things that are much more current and much more interesting, including questions about the "lightness" of distributions, how to install Ubuntu on a USB stick, a super geeky radio question and much more. Not only that, this may have been the most fun episode we've recorded so far. For those who want to brave the unedited version of this one, there are belly laughs aplenty. Check out the stream feed in the right column for that. Just remember, unedited means just what it says.

We haven't been pushing donations lately so here's a small tug on your subconscious: If you have a spare few dollars, please consider helping us with our hosting expenses so we can continue to bring you the show long into the future.

73 de The LHS Guys and Bill

LHS Episode #041: Deep Thoughts

Deep ThoughtsIf life would stop conspiring to halt production of Linux in the Ham Shack, everything would be just fine. Instead, because of problems in both our lives, the Dayton Hamvention and the Southeast Linux Fest, everything has been pushed back so far we feel like we're going back in time.

Richard was unable to record for Episode #039, but luckily I was able to find a worthy surrogate for this particular show. Chris and Bryan over at The Linux Action Show had prior obligations and didn't respond quick enough, respectively, but we hope to have them on a future episode. However, ClaudioM decided he didn't have anything better to do and was able to swing by and offer his thoughts on a couple of intriquing concepts suggested by visitors to the Dayton Hamvention: 1) How do we promote Linux and Open Source and should it be promoted, and 2) Why does the perception that Linux is harder to use than Windows persist?

I found this to be a rather insightful episode and I hope you do as well. Thank you to everyone who visited Linux in the Ham Shack in Dayton and in Spartanburg, and please enjoy this latest installment of the program.

73 de The LHS Guys (and ClaudioM)