AmateurRadio.com

Greetings, listeners! May we entice you with another episode of Linux in the Ham Shack? We sure hope so. In this installment, we have a special guest, Peter64, ubiquitous podcaster of Kernel Panic Oggcast fame. He gives us a decidedly downunda perspective on our topics for the evening. Speaking of topics, we have several: new releases, including Debian "Wheezy" and KDE, updates on previous topics including the Tucnak logging application and the Hamux live distro, based on CentOS. Finally, we take a look at a clever and addictive airplane tracker that uses FAA and ADS-B transponders to let you know where your loved ones are when they're at 35,000 feet. G'day from the team. We'll keep a shrimp on the barbie for ya.

73 de The LHS Guys

Episode #105 Audio (Listen Now):

Introduction:

• Our thoughts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. We hope that the perpetrators or caught quickly and dealt with appropriately.

Announcements:

• The Tin Foil Hat show, a new member of the Black Sparrow Media network, is currently on hiatus. The podcaster, CafeNinja, is busy with life issues and will return to podcast as soon as he is able.
• Development of the LHS mobile application is likely to cease, though the application in its current form will be available for the forseeable future. If you have an iPod, iPad, iPhone or Android device, get the app FOR FREE in the relevant app stores.

Topics:

• Happy (Belated) Earth Day – 4/22/2013
  • http://www.earthday.org
  • http://www.earthday.ca/pub
• Potential US Border Crossing Fee that will affect Canadians entering the United States if implemented.
  • http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/04/22/us-border-crossing-fee-homeland-security_n_3131960.html
  • http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/04/22/us_proposes_border_crossing_fee_for_travellers_from_canada.html
• Interview with George Zafiropoulos, KJ6NU, of Sierra Radio Systems and Nick, N3WG, of Pignology
  • http://www.sierraradio.net
  • http://pignology.net
  • The hosts discuss several topics with the guests, including:
    • Building ham projects with new embedded Linux boards (Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone)
    • Remote station control hardware (rig control, audio, environment control)
    • The role of embedded Linux vs. traditional microcontrollers
    • Creating iOS and Android apps to talk to an embedded Linux system.
• A JavaScript exploit can usurp browsers with a bit of simple code. It can alter the destination of links on the fly. Later versions of certain browsers have fixed the issue but Chrome may be affected for some time because Google actually uses this “trick” as part of their suite of functions.
  • http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/The-trick-behind-camouflaged-links-1828927.html

Feedback:

• New Twitter follower: @LinuxLeech. Thanks!
• New yearly subscriber to the show: Brian S. Thank you!
• No listener feedback this week. See the contact info below to let us know how you feel about anything you like.

Contact Info:

• Contact Russ at [email protected] or [email protected].
• 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 (547-7469), or record an introduction to the podcast.
• Sign up for the LHS 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 or Cafe Press. Thanks!
• Thanks to Dave from Gamma Leonis for the theme music.

Music:

• “Carpe Diem” by Antarhes from the album Silaelin, courtesy of Jamendo.
• “Pain of Life” by Drunken Souls from the album On Verra Plus Tard, courtesy of Jamendo.

Would you like to win a Beaglebone Black? Of course you would! Check out our Contests page for details on how to enter to win. No purchase is required. Good luck!

Episode #104 Audio (Listen Now):

Introduction:

• Pete is back on the show along with Russ

Announcements:

• Hamvention 2013 is happening May 17-19, 2013 in Dayton, Ohio. LHS reached the donation goal and thus will be in the Hara Arena. Thanks to Sierra Radio Systems for their incredibly generous donation that put us over the top. We will be talking with George from Sierra and Nick from Pignology in Episode #105. It’s a show you DO NOT want to miss.
• Bill, KA9WKA, has announced that he is also going to be on hiatus for a while. Therefore, we now have an opening for a show notes taker and keeper of all knowledge! If you’d like to be that person, please send us an e-mail or get in touch with Pete or I in the IRC channel.
• Website that lists known Linux Events.
• http://answers.oreilly.com/topic/3507-list-of-known-linuxfest-events/

Topics:

• We have a pre-recorded interview with Steve Nichols, G0KYA (also AB8ZV) the  Author of STEALTH ANTENNAS an RSGB publication.
  • http://g0kya.blogspot.com
  • http://www.infotechcomms.co.uk
  • HF Propagation Report Podcast
  • Factors in HF Propagation
    • Sunspots
    • Flares
    • CMEs
• Propagations changes over daily and monthly bases
• Solar Cycle 24 and its progress
• HF Propagation programs
  • HamCap (Windows 32-bit)http://www.dxatlas.com/hamcap
  • VOACAP (Linux, MacOS X, Windows)http://www.voacap.com

Feedback:

• Topic for short discussion: How is Ham Radio Free and Open Source?
  • http://www.linuxjournal.com/ham  (2010)
  • http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/open-source-ham-%E2%80%93-free-range-chicken (2009)
  • Both articles are more of a teaser for Linux Journal’s HAM section.
  • Pro arguments:
    • Home-brew your own
    • Communications open worldwide
    • No need for outside infrastructure
  • Con arguments:
    • Need a license from “The Man” to operate
    • Many restrictions (band plan, op procedures, etc)
    • Not Free, as in beer (license, equip, etc)
  • Therefore, is it the ‘YANG’ to Linux’s ‘YING’?

That’s right, we’ve got yet another interview in this show. Is anyone screaming “UNCLE!” yet? George from Sierra Radio Systems and Nick from Pignology are our guests tonight, talking about several of their ham radio related products. They have a product launch they’re doing at the Dayton Hamvention this year and wanted to let everyone know what they have in store so it’s out there before the chaos in Ohio. Don’t despair, howver. This is not a sales pitch. Instead, our fine feathered guests get down into the nitty gritty of their product, explaining what it does, how it does it, what hardware it uses and what software as well. You’ll be happy to know it’s all Free Software based and an incredible find for anyone looking for comprehensive remote station control. George and Nick also happen to be responsible for a significant chunk of the donation money LHS needed to be a part of Dayton this year so we are eternally grateful to them for that. The best part of all this: That’s only HALF of the show. This one’s so packed full of information it might just explode.

73 de The LHS Guys

Episode #103 Audio (Listen Now):

Introduction:

• Pete, VE2XPL from the wAVE gUIDES podcast joins as the quasi-permanent co-host for LHS.

Announcements:

• The Dayton Hamvention is happening from May 17-19, 2013. LHS will be in the Hara Arena. Please help by donating to the cause.
• RARSfest is happening May 30, 2013 in Raliegh, NC. LHS will NOT have an ambassador at the show this year.
• CQ World Wide WPX Contest is happening March 30-31, 2013 (0000Z-2359Z) for SSB and May 25-26,2013 (0000Z-2359Z) for CW. All the normal HF bands are involved in the contest. The WPX contest is based on an award offered by CQ Magazine for working all prefixes. The contest draws thousands of entries from around the world. http://www.cqwpx.com/
• Ohio Linux Fest Call For Papers is now open:  “Ohio LinuxFest is looking for talks for our 2013 event, which will be held September 13-15, 2013, in Columbus Ohio. We are looking for a variety of talks at all levels, from Beginners through Intermediate to Advanced. Any topic related to free and open source software, or to open hardware, is fair game for a talk. If you have something to say, we’d love to offer you a an opportunity to say it. Just go to http://www.ohiolinux.org/cfp and fill out the submission form.”

Topics:

• The future of VoIP
  • http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/22/fcc-regulation-voip-whats-next
  • http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/21/voip-wiretapping-laws
• EchoLink, AllStar Link and IRLP are VoIP services
  • https://allstarlink.org
  • http://echolink.org
  • http://irlp.net
• Tucnak
  • Multiplatform VHF/HF contest logging program. Includes all features for Multi station: networking, ON4KST chat, CW/SSB keying, radio control and more
  • New version 3.17 released on March 25, 2013
  • Authored by Ladislav, OK1ZIA
  • http://tucnak.nagano.cz/wiki/Main_Page
  • http://tucnak.nagano.cz/download.php (Download link)
  • Also packaged for Debian (with repos!)
• Svxlink
  • Linux EchoLink server with qtel EchoLink client
  • New version 13.03 released on March 9, 2013
  • Authored by Tobias, SM0SVX
  • http://svxlink.sourceforge.net
• Qle
  • QSO Logger and Log Editor for Linux
  • No package support for Debian or RH based systems
  • Perl and sqlite on the back end
  • New version 0.0.35 released on March 1, 2013
  • Authored by Wilbert, ZL2BSJ
  • http://home.kpn.nl/w.knol18/qle/qle.html

Feedback:

• E-mail from Brad A. talking about iOS vs Maemo and the corporate/community Ubuntu status according to him.
• LHS Yearly Membership by Rubens K. Thank you!
• Gary, KE2YK, has promoted us yet again on his blog. Therefore we will promote him back.
• http://ke2yk.wordpress.com
• http://ke2yk.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/1311

Contact Info:

• Contact Russ at [email protected] or [email protected].
• 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.
• 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:

• “14 Ghosts II” by Nine Inch Nails from the album Ghosts I-IV.
• “Discipline” by Nine Inch Nails from the album The Slip.

We sometimes on this show attempt to bring you interesting interviews with people who are both computer literate and ham radio literate at the same time. In this case, we bring a scholar, physics buff, aerospace engineer and brilliant guy, Steve Nichols (G0KYA), to discuss the science of radio wave propagation. No need to turn the show off before it even begins. Steve makes understanding the Earth’s atmosphere, its magnetic field, and a ton of stuff about the sun simple and approachable. No mind-bending equations, no physics lectures, just some great information for anyone interested in learning how a radio signal gets from here to there. A bunch of follow-up information in the form of books and Web sites are provided as well, links to which will be in the show notes, for anyone who wants to further their education. Thank you as always to our loyal listeners. Make sure to tell a friend next time you’re out for a cold one. The more the merrier.

73 de The LHS Guys