Linux in the Ham Shack

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**Linux in the Ham Shack**

Linux in the Ham Shack Podcast in MP3 Format

Latest Episodes:

LHS Episode #045: Logbook of the World Aug 05, 2010

Show notes

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 Geckotribeand 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 asCQRLOG.
There is a SourceForge projectthat 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

Install the required libraries: sudo apt-get install libssl-dev libexpat1-dev zlib1g-dev g++ build-essential
Download and extract the tqsllib and TrustedQSL software from SourceForge
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.
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 pagesays “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 LXDEon 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:

“3 Ghosts I” by Nine Inch Nails from the album “Ghosts I”.
“Discipline” by Nine Inch Nails from the album “The Slip”.

LHS Episode #044: SELFish and Far Afield Jul 27, 2010

Show notes

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”.

LHS Episode #043: My Own Private Ohio Jul 09, 2010

Show notes

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:
Kenwood TS-590S
Yaesu FT DX 5000 HF/6m transciever.
Icom IC-9100 HF/VHF/UHF/D-Star transciever
Wouxun KG-UVD1P, an inexpensive 2m handytalk from China.
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:

“When Will It End” by Even Further
“Cold Blood in the Night” by Guta

LHS Episode #042: 1.21 Gigahertz Badgers Jun 29, 2010

Show notes

Feedback:

This will be an all-feedback episode, ala the Going Linux show.
Warren, N0XLT, wrote to Russ back in May. He’s catching up on the podcasts, and wonders what programs are available for Linux with similar features to Ham Radio Deluxe or DX Labs,, such as rig control, logging, digital modes, etc. Fldigi, xdx, xlog, gpredict, Hamlib and more have been mentioned on previous episodes. Our hosts discuss.
Google alert: LHS was mentioned at K7JM’s web site. Thanks, John.
Google alert: LinuxPR press release for Southeast LinuxFest, and Russ was a presenter.
Bob, no call, enjoys the podcast. He wonders why the Ogg version of the podcast doesn’t play on VLC under Windows. Russ has tested the Ogg files with VLC on Windows 7, Mac OS-X and Linux. Maybe a newer version of VLC will help. Let us know what you discover, Bob.
Danny, KJ4UHI, is a new linux user and uses Orca as a screen reader for the visually impaired. A future episode will cover Linux accessibility tools for the handicapped. Any listeners with experience with Orca or other accessibility software, contact us!
Jonathan, no call, recently listened to Episode 38. He is a daily Orca user, and offers his assistance. Thanks, Jonathan.
John, KF6EFG, wrote asking for a small section of the show that covers changes to the licensing and privileges regulations over the years, and trends in the hobby. He also notes that the web site has been slow. (The ARRL has a nice band plan map on their site.)
Doug, KB3TOA, met Russ at the Dayton Hamvention, and is catching up on old episodes. He’s trying to follow the show on Twitter. Follow the podcast on Twitter with the user name “lhspodcast”. Doug also sent a donation. Thanks, Doug! Listen to a future episode for the results of the drawing.
Danny asks how he might hear the unedited podcast. Click on the LHS Up All Night link under the Streaming Audio heading on the right side of the page. You’ll need an application that will play an Ogg stream, like Totem or VLC, etc. Or join us on UStream for the live show.
Danny also asks if Richard is kidding about wearing a kilt, and if not, is it from Utilikilts?
The Northwest Tasmania ATV Group has been running episodes of LHS on Tuesday evenings. Thanks, guys! They operate on a linked repeater system and IRLP nodes 6616 and 6124.
Lynn, K5AVJ, asks what people use for calendaring. Paper? Phone app? Web app? Program? Smart phone? Mozilla Sunbird, Apple iCal, Mozilla Lightning, Google Calendar, and Scalix are some possibilities.
Listeners William and Frasier made donations to the show. Thanks!
Larry Bushey of the Going Linux podcast commented on the web site that he listens to the podcast and loves us, too.
Don, WS4E, writes that he’s been a long-time listener to LHS and Resonant Frequency. He’s tried many ham radio applications under Linux. What are the current favorite programs for rig control, logging, digital modes, award tracking, etc. That will likely be an entire episode. (And see the links earlier in this show notes page.)
“xPureEvilx” in the chat room asks what is the best Linux distribution for an older, slower machine? Richard recommends Crunchbang Linux Lite. He uses it on his 133MHz Dell Latitude with 128MB of memory. There are others, like Damn Small Linux and Puppy Linux. Check out Ted’s site, https://wa0eir.ham.org, and look at his applications, too.

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 1-888-455-0305 or 1-417-200-4811. Note the new number!

Music:

“Hey Allright” by The Cool Waters Band from the album “One More One”.
“Good Life” by Souldier of Fortune

LHS Episode #041: Deep Thoughts Jun 16, 2010

Show notes

Feature:

No Richard this time due to other commitments. In his stead, our special guest host is Claudio M, co-host of Linux Basement.
Claudio describes his background, history with Linux, and his role at Linux Basement.
Russ comments that many people at the Dayton Hamvention wondered what he was selling, and were shocked to discover that Linux was free. In fact, Russ was giving away Ubuntu 10.04 CDs, courtesy of Ohio Linux Fest. This observation leads to a discussion about the perceived value of Linux is proportional to it’s cost. In other words, the fact that open software often costs nothing leads many to think it is somehow less useful than software that must be purchased.
Russ suggests that the fact that Linux has no budget for marketing may be one of the reasons that many people are not aware of Linux. A discussion of the role of marketing and Linux advocacy ensues. Claudio mentions the Fedora Ambassador program.
Sheldon (of The Big Bang Theory) prefers Ubuntu!
IBM did air some Linux commercials. Perhaps they were too abstract or too focused on the enterprise?
Should Linux and free/open-source software attempt to be the dominant software, or should it remain a niche platform?
Linux still has a reputation for being harder to install and harder to use.
If Linux is to grow it’s market share, isn’t marketing necessary and how would it be funded?
Claudio notes that it’s rare for anyone to install an operating system from scratch, as most people purchase a computer with the OS already installed, and that operating system is usually Windows. When ASUS introduced the Linux-based netbook, it did not make it clear that it would not run Windows programs.
So how do we market Linux? Russ thinks Linux has been most successful when people are not aware that it’s Linux, as in many commercially successful embedded Linux products.
Claudio suggests that the Linux distributions tailored to the new user, such as Linux Mint or Ubuntu, will ultimately spread the awareness of Linux and free software. He also thinks that world-domination is not necessary or even consistent with the core values free choice and free software.
Look for Chad on Twitter at @chadwollenberg, Claudio on identi.ca at @claudiom, and look for #linuxbasement on IRC on freenode.net. There is also a Facebook fan page, search for Linux Basement. Email Claudio at claudio@linuxbasment.com or Chad Wollenberg at chad@linuxbasement.com.

Contact Info:

Contact Richard at kb5jbv@gmail.com, Russ at k5tux@lhspodcast.info, or both at the same time at info@lhspodcast.info.

LHS Episode #040: HF in the Mobile Shack May 20, 2010

Show notes

Announcements:

Resonant Frequency is back in production! Check out rfpodcast.info for more information and look for the latest episode, #41, in the usual places.
Look for LHS merchandise at https://cafepress.com/lhspodcast and at https://www.printfection.com/lhs. A little bit of each purchase goes to help with the podcast expenses.
We’re planning a future episode about Orca - a text-to-speech application for Linux. If you or someone you know is using Orca or another text-to-speech Linux application, share your experience! Contact Russ or Richard with any information you might have.
Visit the LHS channel on IRC at irc.freenode.net, channel #lhspodcast.
Look for random LHS episodes and music on the streaming audio links on the LHS web site.
Russ will be speaking at 2:00pm on Saturday, June 12th, at the SouthEast LinuxFest, June 11-13, 2010, at the Marriott at Renaissance Park hotel in Spartanburg, SC. He will be giving a talk on Linux and Ham Radio.
Russ will be starting up a mailing list for LHS show information. Watch the LHS web site for information on signing up.
Thanks to Rich, KD0BJT and Brady, KD0BJS of the Low SWR Podcast for recording an introduction to this episode.

Feature:

Richard discusses installing an HF rig in his vehicle.
Always connect the radio directly to the battery. You’ll have more current available and less noise.
Look for rubber grommets in the firewall to pass your wires into the passenger compartment.
Warning! Not all Powerpole connectors are Anderson Powerpole connectors! Some hamfest specials look the same, but don’t work as well.
Most mobile 40m and 75m antennas are not very broadbanded, so you will probably need an antenna tuner to cover the whole band.
Richard digresses into a brief discussion of Ubuntu 10.04. Russ was in a recent episode of the Fresh Ubuntu podcast.
Russ likes the looks of the Scorpion Black Widow HF antenna.
Welcome to K5AVJ who is running Linux Mint, and to VE2XPL, running Ubuntu 10.04.

Feedback:

Gary, KE2YK, writes about the discussion of ebook readers in Episode 31 and suggests this link to an old Radio Shack catalog as an example of a compromise between electronic and paper media. Visit Gary’s Random Oscillations blog, and his online store at https://www.ehamstore.com/.
Andy, OE4DNS, recently became a ham, is an avid Linux user, and just discovered the podcast. He’s a member of of the Metalab hacker space in Vienna, Austria. Andy responds to a question in Episode 37 from KJ4UHI about Morse code programs for Linux, and Andy suggests the Learn CW Online website provided by DJ1YFK. You can even export practice sessions to .mp3 files. Andy also recommends finding a hacker space in your area at the Hackerspaces web site. Fabian Kurz, DJ1YFK, is also the author of YFK Log. VE2XPL in the chat room also likes the Learn CW Online web site.
Tom is a first-time listener to the podcast with Episode 37, and thinks we spent too much time promoting merchandise.
Bruce, VE2GZI, writes to say thanks for the podcast and looks forward to seeing us at Dayton.
Albert commented on the web site that we should let The Linux Link site know about the new LHS web site and feeds.
Darryl, VK5HZ, just caught up to Episode 33. He’d love to have LHS visit the linux.conf.au conference held in January each year. In 2011 it will be in Brisbane, Queensland.

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 417-429-4069, or record an introduction to the podcast and have a chance at winning $25.

Music:

“Music is His Mistress” by The Savannah Leigh Band from the album “City of Grey”
“Hey Mr.” by Matt Ellis from the album “Tell the People”

LHS Episode #039: Best. Episode. Ever. May 04, 2010

Show notes

Announcements:

Listen to The Bad Apples GNU/Linux Oggcast.
LHS has a presence on identi.ca at identi.ca/lhspodcast.
LHS will be at the 2010 Dayton Hamvention, May 14-16, in booth 265 in the North Hall (NH0265). See hamvention.org for more information.
Russ will also be at the SouthEast LinuxFest, June 11-13, 2010, at the Marriott at Renaissance Park hotel in Spartanburg, SC. He will be giving a talk on Linux and Ham Radio.

Donations:

We received donations from Peter, Walter and Maddie (daughter of Bill, KA9WKA). Thank you! Donations help defray the hosting expenses.
Jim, W9GNG, sent Richard a noise gate! Thank you, Jim!
LHS merchandise is now available at https://www.printfection.com/lhs. There are a variety of shirts, mugs and other items. Every item purchased will help the podcast. If you’re interested in caps, wall clocks, or hoodies with the LHS logo, visit our store at https://www.cafepress.com/lhspodcast. A portion of each sale goes to the podcast. If you visit Dayton wearing or carrying an LHS item, you could win a prize!

Feature:

Resonant Frequency is still on hiatus as Richard is still in the process of moving the site to a new host. Watch the LHS web page for more information as it develops.
Ubuntu 10.04 will be released on April 30. Russ has the second beta test version running and discusses the new theme and other changes. It boots much faster, but once running, it seems slower than the previous release, at least on his hardware.
Pete, VE2XPL, in the chat room asks which version of Linux would run best on his 500MHz Pentium II machine. Richard recommends trying Crunchbang Linux Lite. Russ agrees, and suggests that just about any distribution might work with one of the light-weight window managers, such as FVWM or XFCE. Other possibilies are Damn Small Linux, or one of the netbook remix distributions.

Feedback:

Danny, KJ4UHI, writes and leaves an audio message about Frostbite Systems and passing his Technicians license test. He asks where he might get recordings to study Morse code. Richard discusses various options. There are some Linux applications, like cwcp.
Gary, KE2YK, also left an audio message. Visit his Random Oscillations blog, and his online store at https://www.ehamstore.com/.
Mark, KC4GIA, wonders about Linux support for syncing his Zune audio player. Our hosts discuss this. One possible source of information is the Zuneboards site.

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 417-429-4069, or record an introduction to the podcast and have a chance at winning $25.

Music:

“Company Graveyard” by BB Chung King and the Buddaheads from the album “Howlin’ at the Moon”
“Free Love” by Derek James from the album “Stray”

LHS Episode #038: XDX ‘n Stuff Apr 27, 2010

Show notes

Announcements:

OGGCamp will take place at The Black-E in Liverpool on the 1st and 2nd of May.
The 2010 Southeast LinuxFest is set for June 12-13 at the Marriott at Renaissance Park hotel in Spartanburg, SC.
Look for Russ on Shortcast #0003 of the Fresh Ubuntu Podcast.
LHS has a new audio promo for the show! So far, it’s only been played by the Working in the Open podcast.
Jerry, KD0BIK, again mentioned LHS as a good Linux podcast on a recent episode of The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast. Thanks, Jerry!
We received no entries for our logo contest, so Russ bought one! Check out the new website design and logo and let us know what you think. LHS merchandise is coming soon!
Russ and Richard will be at the 2010 Dayton Hamvention, May 14-16, in booth 265 in the North Hall (NH0265). We hope to see you there!
Russ will also be at the SouthEast LinuxFest, June 12-13, 2010, at the Marriott at Renaissance Park hotel in Spartanburg, SC. Russ will be delivering a talk on ham radio and Linux.
Richard has a noise gate! It was a gift from Jim, W9GNG. Thanks very much, Jim!
Due to problems with the existing service provider, the LHS website has moved to lhspodcast.info. If you have a web page with a link to Linux in the Ham Shack at blacksparrowmedia.com/lhs, please change it to lhspodcast.info. Blacksparrowmedia.com will be going away in the near future.
The other show, Resonant Frequency, is still on hiatus, but those links will be changing, too. Watch this space for more information.
Look for LHS in IRC at irc.freenode.net, channel #lhspodcast. Join us!
LHS, along with other podcasts on the Tech Podcasts Network are now available on the Boxee and Roku media players.

Feature:

Richard and Russ discuss XDX, an X-windows client to connect to a DX-cluster, written by Joop Stakenborg, PG4I.
In Linux Mint, Ubuntu, or Debian, you can use apt-get install xdx

to install the program. Setup is simple:

Click Settings, then Preferences. Enter your call sign, and if you have your radio connected to the computer and it can be controlled by the hamlib utilities, click the “Enable hamlib” checkbox. Click OK.
Click Host, Connect… and enter the information for your favorite DX cluster. Visit the AR-Cluster Node List web page to find one near you. Russ used k2can.net, port 4000. Click Connect. (If a port is not specified, try 23.)
Type your call sign and press enter to log in. The cluster may ask a few questions to confirm your name and location.
Spots appear in the upper window pane. Prompts from the host appear in the middle pane, and your entry goes in the bottom pane.
If you wish to send a spot, look in the help file for examples such as: dx 28002.2 xz7a worked with 80m dipole!!
In general, it’s “dx” followed by the frequency, the station you’ve spotted, and a comment.
Other commands are documented in the help file.
Another web page that lists cluster nodes is www.ng3k.com/Misc/cluster.html.

Feedback:

Along with the noise gate, Jim, W9GNG, sent a letter expressing his appreciation for the podcast and tells us a bit about his background.
Jim, N2ENN, writes a response to our discussion of his email back in Episode 034, again condemning the state of drivers in Linux. Thanks for the response and discussion points, Jim.
Thanks to Gary, KE2YK, for mentioning the podcast at every opportunity, and his donation! Donations will be applied to hosting costs.
William (Bill?), KB9TMP, recently discovered the podcast via Resonant Frequency. He’s also a new Linux user, but is having trouble finding help, and he comments about “old” hams and “new” hams. Our hosts respond.
Danny, not currently a ham, is blind and studying for his license test. He’d like to use Linux with Orca and wonders what hardware is best and what other Linux programs for ham radio are suitable for the blind user. Check out the Courage Center Handiham System and Frostbite Sytems. There is a version of Ubuntu for the visually impaired called Vinux, and a version of Arch Linux for the blind. Ask around your local amateur radio club, too.

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 417-429-4069. Record an introduction to the podcast and have a chance at winning $25!

Music:

“Dead Penguin by 3 Blind Mice from the album “Good Grief”
“Sahara” by Lochinvar from the album “Fire Eyes”

LHS Episode #037: Riders on the Storm Apr 06, 2010

Show notes

Announcements:

Texas LinuxFest is Saturday, April 10, 2010 at the Marchesa Event Center in Austin, Texas.
OGGCamp will take place at The Black-E in Liverpool on the 1st and 2nd of May.
The 2010 Southeast LinuxFest is set for June 12-13 at the Marriott at Renaissance Park hotel in Spartanburg, SC.
Due to problems with the existing service provider, the LHS website has moved to lhspodcast.info.
iTunes will be okay, but all other RSS feeds will need to update as the content is moved.
The new email address is info@lhspodcast.info. Messages will go to both Russ and Richard.
The last four episodes are in the RSS feed, but older episodes are unavailable at the moment. They will be there eventually.
Russ is working on making all the episodes available via BitTorrent.
Look for Richard at Texas Linux Fest on Saturday, April 10, 2010 at the Marchesa Event Center in Austin, Texas.
Russ and Richard will be at the 2010 Dayton Hamvention, May 14-16, in booth 265 in the North Hall (NH0265). We hope to see you there!
Russ will also be at the SouthEast LinuxFest, June 12-13, 2010, at the Marriott at Renaissance Park hotel in Spartanburg, SC. Richard may be there, too!
Peter and Paul, who run hamtests.org, hamtests.net, and hamtests.co.uk are consolidating the websites. Please use hamtests.co.uk for everything. Tell them you heard it here, first.
Wayne, aka Azimuth, KB7CFD, reminds us of the Idaho State Convention 2010, April 23rd through 25th, 2010 at the Holiday Inn at Boise Airport, 3300 S. Vista Avenue, Boise, ID.
Resonant Frequency is on hiatus.

Feature:

Our guest tonight is Stormy Peters, executive director of the GNOME Foundation.
By the way, GNOME is pronounced “guh-nome”.
Stormy discusses the purpose of the foundation, her role in it, and the GNOME project.
The Ubuntu 10.04 release will change the default location of the window controls in the “Light” theme.
GNOME 3 is expected in September, 2010. New features include the GNOME Shell and the Activity Journal using the Zeitgeist engine. It should be available as a beta test option in Ubuntu 10.04.
Stormy and our hosts discuss some of the new features in GNOME 3, scheduled for release in September, 2010.
Check out Episode 011 of the Today in Tech Radio podcast for GNOME 3 installation tips.
There will be, in GNOME 3, a “dock-like” area on the desktop to receive notifications without changing the focus of your active application.
To become involved in the GNOME Project, visit the GNOME Project website. GNOME will also have a presence at the Texas LinuxFest.

Feedback:

John, EI7IG, writes about the music in the show, and likes it. He also thinks the show has become too long. Russ responds.
We received a donation from Carlie toward the noise gate for Richard. Thanks, Carlie.
Gary, KE2YK, gives a glowing review of LHS in his blog KE2YK’s Random Oscillations. Thanks, Gary!
Gary also writes about CrunchBang Linux and S******x Air.
Dave, M0DCM, writes he is a new Ubuntu user. He runs xastir, too. He recently found the podcast and has nearly caught up on all the episodes. He’s introduced Linux and LHS to his father and his local radio club, Charlie Delta Amateur Radio Club. Thanks, Dave!
Mark, KC4GIA, is a long-time Linux user and expresses his appreciation for the podcast. He recently found WebSDR.org, which is a Software-Defined Radio receiver connected to the Internet, allowing many listeners to listen and tune it simultaneously. He wants to know if there are any Linux programs to allow him to use his Zune. (Look for more on these subjects in the next episode.)
MonsterB mentions LHS on monsterb.org. Thanks!
Audio feedback from Travis, KD5UND. He’s recently switched to S******x Linux. He’s also promoted the LHS podcast on his local net, too. Thanks, Travis!

Contests:

$100 for the winning Linux in the Ham Shack logo submission.
$25 to a random audio introduction to the podcast recorded on one of the phone lines.
See the website for more details.

Music:

“When We’re Old” by Beautifully Mad from “Moonlight Cactus”
“In the Storm” by Big Softy from “Big Softy”

LHS Episode #036: Are We There Yet? Mar 25, 2010

Show notes

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:
The Linux Link Tech Show
Lotta Linux Links
Something Kinda Techy
Linux Cranks

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