AmateurRadio.com

Show Notes

Introduction

• ARDC Community Meeting - I attended this on Saturday
• IC-7100 Setup - FT8-a-thon
• Cheryl stared at a powered off radio for 5 minutes, trying to work up the nerve to turn it on. Didn’t happen. 😂

Amateur Radio Topics

• MFJ Documentary On The Horizon

  • Martin F. Jue: Life and Legacy: A documentary about MFJ Enterprises, ingenuity, legacy, and community.
  • Martin F. Jue (K5FLU) founded MFJ Enterprises and helped shape modern amateur radio. This documentary explores his life, his work, and the people who built MFJ alongside him: preserving a uniquely American story of ingenuity, labor, and community.
  • The project appears to still be seeking funding and has a trailer released already.
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/KS (Preston Booth)

• D-Star Beacon by OK1CHP

  • Simple D-Star transceiver for TTGO T-Beam ESP32 SX1278 written with Platformio.
  • Technical details and features
  • It uses sx127x FSK Continuous direct Mode, PreambleDetect and SyncAddress on DIO0, Dclk(DIO1) and Data(DIO2)
  • RX stop happens after D-Star ending frame or failed receiving frame sync packet.
  • Decodes D-Star RF Header, 20 characters message and and sends DV Slow data payload to the Bluetooth Connection where it could be decoded with RS-MS1A or D-Rats or some other app.
  • Could send DPRS possition report with coordinates from local GPS with configured timeout.
  • Web interface is used to configure the transceiver.
  • It looks for preconfigured WiFi ssid and password and eventually starts it’s own hotspot.
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/KT (github)
  • Featured: https://lhs.fyi/KU (HackADay)

• The Fastest Digital Mode Ever Created?

  • FT2 is a revolutionary digital mode for amateur radio, developed by IU8LMC with the support of ARI Caserta. It uses the same codec as FT8 and FT4 (77-bit payload, LDPC 174/91, GFSK modulation) but compresses the transmission cycle to just 3.8 seconds. Software required for this is currently: Decodium v3.0 FT2 “Raptor”. It is an optimized weak-signal FT2 client with enhanced sensitivity, extended frequency range, and real-time NTP/DT feedback. Based on WSJT-X 3.0.0 RC1 — focused exclusively on FT2 mode. License: GPL v3 (Windows, macOS, Linux)
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/KV (ft2.it)

• Indiana prohibits HOAs from restricting amateur radio antennas

  • HB 1152 was just signed into law and prohibits HOAs from adopting or enforcing any rule that restricts amateur radio equipment including antennas, towers, and feedlines.
  • According to Hunter Reed KD9YLQ, the ham who wrote the amendment for State Senator Alexander, “the bill would require that once an HOA updates its governing documents, then they have to comply with the law.” There’s nothing in the law that would require an HOA to change or not enforce their existing rules unless the rules were adopted or amended after June 30, 2026.
  • Relevant section of the bill to follow:
    • SECTION 6. IC32-25.5-3.4 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2026]:
      • Chapter 3.4. Homeowners Association Regulation of Amateur Radio Antennas
        • Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, “amateur radio antenna” means an antenna, support structure, tower, feed line, or related equipment used by an amateur station as defined by 47 CFR 97.3.
        • Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, “governing documents” has the meaning set forth in IC 32-25.5-2-3.
        • Sec. 3. This chapter applies only to a homeowners association’s adoption or amendment of governing documents after June 30, 2026.
        • Sec. 4. A homeowners association may not adopt or enforce a regulation, rule, or other policy that has the effect of prohibiting a person from maintaining an amateur radio antenna on a property that the person owns, rents, or leases.
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/KX (reddit)
  • House Bill Details: https://lhs.fyi/KY (Indiana General Assembly)

Open Source / Linux

• Carl Richell, CEO System 76, Responds To Age Verification

  • System76 CEO Carl Richell has issued a strong critique of new U.S. state laws requiring operating systems to implement age verification, particularly California’s Assembly Bill 1043 and Colorado’s Senate Bill 26-051. While acknowledging the legal obligation to comply, Richell argues these laws are ineffective and threaten user privacy and digital freedom. He highlights New York’s proposed bill as being more dangerous.
    • “New York’s proposed Senate Bill S8102A requires adults to prove they’re adults to use a computer, exercise bike, smart watch, or car if the device is internet enabled with app ecosystems. The bill explicitly forbids self-reporting and leaves the allowed methods to regulations written by the Attorney General. Practical methods for a bill of such extreme breadth would require, in many instances, providing private information to a third-party just to use a computer at all.”
    • “The challenges we face are neither technical nor legal. The only solution is to educate our children about life with digital abundance. Throwing them into the deep end when they’re 16 or 18 is too late. It’s a wonderful and weird world. Yes, there are dark corners. There always will be. We have to teach our children what to do when they encounter them and we have to trust them.”
  • Despite concerns, System76 plans to implement a minimal, privacy-preserving age prompt to comply with the law, while continuing to advocate for its repeal or constitutional challenge.
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/KO (system76 blog)

• Podman 5.8.0 Released

  • Podman (the POD MANager) is a tool for managing containers and images, volumes mounted into those containers, and pods made from groups of containers. Podman runs containers on Linux, but can also be used on Mac and Windows systems using a Podman-managed virtual machine. Podman is based on libpod, a library for container lifecycle management that is also contained in this repository. The libpod library provides APIs for managing containers, pods, container images, and volumes. Podman releases a new major or minor release 4 times a year, during the second week of February, May, August, and November. Patch releases are more frequent and may occur at any time to get bugfixes out to users.
  • Features
    • The podman quadlet install command can now install files which contain multiple separate Quadlet files. The files must be separated with a — delimeter on a new line, and each section must begin with a # FileName= line to name the new Quadlet (#27384).
    • The podman update command now features a new option, –ulimit, to update container ulimits (#26381).
    • The podman exec command now features a new option, –no-session, which disables tracking of the exec session to improve performance and startup time (#26588).
  • Changes
    • Podman will now automatically attempt to migrate legacy BoltDB databases to SQLite when the system reboots. This is necessary as support for BoltDB will be removed in Podman 6.0 in May. If automatic migration is not possible, a new option, podman system migrate –migrate-db, will manually force a migration.
    • The podman secret create - command no longer requires that the secret be provided through a pipe, and instead allows typing the secret through the terminal (#27879).
  • Bugfixes
    • Fixed a bug where healthchecks would sometimes fail to execute due to systemd rate limits.
  • API
    • Added new APIs for interacting with Quadlets, including GET /libpod/quadlets/{name}/file (print contents of a Quadlet file), GET /libpod/quadlets/{name}/exists (check if the given Quadlet exists), POST /libpod/quadlets (install one or more Quadlets), DELETE /libpod/quadlets (remove one or more Quadlets), and DELETE /libpod/quadlets/{name} (remove a single Quadlet)..
  • Misc
    • Updated Buildah to v1.43.0
    • Updated the containers/storage library v1.62.0
    • Updated the containers/image library to v5.39.1
    • Updated the containers/common library to v0.67.0
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/KQ (github)

• NVIDIA R595 Linux Driver Beta Brings New Vulkan Support & DRI3 v1.2

  • Exciting for Linux users with the NVIDIA 595 driver series is adding some long sought Vulkan capabilities plus also enabling DRI3 version 1.2 support. The NVIDIA 595.45.04 beta driver for Linux brings support for the descriptor heap (VK_EXT_descriptor_heap) and present timing (VK_EXT_present_timing) extensions as some great additions to now see with the NVIDIA driver to enhance the Linux gaming experience. The NVIDIA 595.45.04 Linux driver also now enables the modesetting parameter by default for the nvidia-drm kernel driver, improved GPU reset handling, a new application profile for CUDA apps to reach P0 p-state, and raising the minimum Wayland version to v1.20. Plus there are various bug fixes – including hang fixes.
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/KP (Phoronix)

• Gentoo on Codeberg

  • Gentoo now has a presence on Codeberg, and contributions can be submitted for the Gentoo repository mirror at https://codeberg.org/gentoo/gentoo as an alternative to GitHub. Eventually also other git repositories will become available under the Codeberg Gentoo organization. This is part of the gradual mirror migration away from GitHub, as already mentioned in the 2025 end-of-year review. Codeberg is a site based on Forgejo, maintained by a dedicated non-profit organization, and located in Berlin, Germany. Thanks to everyone who has helped make this move possible! These mirrors are for convenience for contribution and we continue to host our own repositories, just like we did while using GitHub mirrors for ease of contribution too.
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/KW (gentoo news)

Linux in the Ham Shack

• iNTERCEPT

  • iNTERCEPT, a free and open-source platform that unites the best signal intelligence tools into a single, accessible interface.
  • Features
    • Pager Decoding - POCSAG/FLEX via rtl_fm + multimon-ng
    • 433MHz Sensors - Weather stations, TPMS, IoT devices via rtl_433
    • Sub-GHz Analyzer - RF capture and protocol decoding for 300-928 MHz ISM bands via HackRF
    • Aircraft Tracking - ADS-B via dump1090 with real-time map and radar
    • Vessel Tracking - AIS ship tracking with VHF DSC distress monitoring
    • ACARS Messaging - Aircraft datalink messages via acarsdec
    • VDL2 - VHF Data Link Mode 2 aircraft datalink decoding via dumpvdl2
    • Listening Post - Wideband frequency scanner with real-time audio monitoring
    • Weather Satellites - NOAA APT and Meteor LRPT image decoding via SatDump with auto-scheduler
    • WebSDR - Remote HF/shortwave listening via KiwiSDR network
    • ISS SSTV - Slow-scan TV image reception from the International Space Station
    • HF SSTV - Terrestrial SSTV on shortwave frequencies (80m-10m, VHF, UHF)
    • APRS - Amateur packet radio position reports and telemetry via direwolf
    • Satellite Tracking - Pass prediction with polar plot and ground track map
    • Utility Meters - Electric, gas, and water meter reading via rtlamr
    • ADS-B History - Persistent aircraft history with reporting dashboard (Postgres optional)
    • WiFi Scanning - Monitor mode reconnaissance via aircrack-ng
    • Bluetooth Scanning - Device discovery and tracker detection (with Ubertooth support)
    • BT Locate - SAR Bluetooth device location with GPS-tagged signal trail mapping and proximity alerts
    • GPS - Real-time GPS position tracking with live map, speed, altitude, and satellite info
    • TSCM - Counter-surveillance with RF baseline comparison and threat detection
    • Meshtastic - LoRa mesh network integration
    • Space Weather - Real-time solar and geomagnetic data from NOAA SWPC, NASA SDO, and HamQSL (no SDR required)
    • Spy Stations - Number stations and diplomatic HF network database
    • Remote Agents - Distributed SIGINT with remote sensor nodes
    • Offline Mode - Bundled assets for air-gapped/field deployments
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/KR (github)

• OpenHamClock

  • A real-time amateur radio dashboard for the modern operator.
  • OpenHamClock brings DX cluster spots, space weather, propagation predictions, POTA activations, SOTA activations, WWFF activations, WWBOTA activations, PSKReporter, satellite tracking, WSJT-X integration, direct rig control, and more into a single browser-based interface. Run it locally on a Raspberry Pi, on your desktop, or access it from anywhere via a cloud deployment.
  • 🌐 Live Site: openhamclock.com
  • 📧 Contact: Chris, K0CJH — [email protected]
  • ☕ Support the Project: buymeacoffee.com/k0cjh — Running openhamclock.com comes with real hosting costs including network egress, memory, CPU, and the time spent maintaining and improving the project. There is absolutely no obligation to donate — OpenHamClock is and always will be free. But if you find it useful and want to chip in, your donations are greatly appreciated and go directly toward keeping the site running and funding future development.
  • 🔧 Get Involved: This is an open-source project and the amateur radio community is encouraged to dig into the code, fork it, and build the features you want to see. Whether it’s a new panel, a data source integration, or a bug fix — PRs are welcome. See Contributing below.
  • 📝 License: MIT — See LICENSE
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/KZ (github)
  • Demo: https://lhs.fyi/L0 (openhamclock)

Announcements/Feedback

• Support the show (Patreon, Paypal, Merch, Share, Rate)

• Hamvention - May 15-17, 2026 - Booth 2206

• Website - Adding Search

• Youtube Comment on LHS Episode #585 SDR++ Brown Deep Dive from pumptrackerpavel

  • How to install it on Dragon OS. Could you please help

Subscribers & Supporters

• Patreon

  • William Collins

• Paypal (since January)

  • Fred Cole
  • Dillon Angle
  • Michael Jopling
  • John Clark
  • Robert Black
  • Ronald Eike
  • Robert Yerke
  • Thomas Foy
  • Allan Wilson
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• Free Patreons

• Facebook

  • Curtis Cheyney
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• Mastadon

• Bluesky

• Live Show Participants

  • Steve, KJ5T
  • Mike, K6GTE
  • Tony, K4XSS