AmateurRadio.com

Today I was getting caught up on my reading of QST.  I had gotten two issues behind for various reasons, and was browsing the November issue.  In the editorial there was a quote from a popular contest logging program author implying that their software is open source.  I was really puzzled by this as I know for a fact that the software isn’t open source and I re-verified on the web that the source code isn’t freely available and is only given to select people upon request.  This software quite simply isn’t open source, it’s freeware.

There seems to be a lot of confusion within amateur radio over just what is open source,  and I’ve even seen amateurs berate others for wanting open source software because it’s thought someone wants a free lunch or wants to copy a product.  This couldn’t be further from the truth and it really shows an ignorance of the modern software world.  Amateur radio collectively has never really understood or embraced open source, opting for freeware offerings since the days of DOS.   Freeware software authors are often put on a pedestal in the community as selfless contributors doing a great service.  Most have good intentions, but freeware is not necessarily a good thing.

Freeware is not free and is a technological dead end.  Now that I’ve lost half my readers and puzzled the rest, please stick around and I’ll explain.  But first, what is freeware? Freeware is software that you can install without paying any licensing fee.  You can use it all you want and share it with others, but you can’t sell it, reverse engineer it, or modify it.   Freeware is not open source software.  You do not get the source code for freeware.

So how could freeware not be a good thing, or even a great thing?  It’s written by someone, one person or perhaps a team of people, giving their time and energy to a project that they derive no income from and get only satisfaction and accolades for providing a free tool to a group of users.  And, did I mention it’s free?  So, we should really be thanking them and indebted to them, right?  To an extent, yes, but long term they’re doing a disservice to the community.

Freeware “sits” in between commercial and open source software.  It’s my belief that commercial software is more beneficial to amateur radio than freeware.  With commercial software there is a motivation (revenue) to keep the product up to date and functional and not let it whither on the vine like some freeware projects have over the years.  With a commercial product, the desire for revenue drives quality and responsiveness to the user community.  With open source, quality drives usage and community participation.  If the product is popular, but quality later suffers, the community can fork a new initiative to maintain and improve the software based on the original project’s source code.  With open source there is a built-in mechanism to bypass lousy or absent code writers, or unfriendly supporters of software like we’ve sometimes seen in the freeware world.

Development of new features in the freeware world is usually at the whim of one person.  This can also be said of open source software, however because the source is available, anyone with the requisite motivation and skill can modify the code and not involve the original developers at all if needed.  Living within the walled garden of freeware is great until the gardener decides to stop maintaining the flowers. The same could be said of commercial software, but for better or worse money is a great motivator.

Often de facto standards develop around a piece of software.  This isn’t really the case with a logging program, but there’s a least one digital mode and one messaging system that have developed proprietary standards around them.  To interoperate with these standards one has to reverse engineer the standard based on the behavior of the application.  In the case of a messaging system, and one that is centralized, a homogeneous software environment can fall apart when a latent bug rears its ugly head.

So what is the reason for someone to offer freeware and not open source applications?  I’ve often pondered this question and can come to only one conclusion, a desire to someday go commercial with the product.  With open source, the intentions of the author are quite clear and in the open.  When a freeware software author refuses to open source their project for fear of it being copied and a competing product being created, they don’t quite understand that this sometimes happens in the open source world and as mentioned above, is known as a fork.  It usually occurs when someone feels they can do a better job improving the software and meeting the needs of the community.  Forks are often short-lived but in some cases a fork will become more popular than the parent it was spawned from and it becomes the de facto parent project.  This is a risk, but ultimately it’s a better process as it results in a sort of software Darwinism.  Forking is not plagiarism, as long as the original code is attributed to the original authors, and forking is an accepted practice in the open source community.  Nit-picky “armchair programmers” who are often the bane of freeware authors have nothing to complain about with open source as they can improve the software themselves or be put in their place when they discover they’re not really skilled programmers.

Open source enables collaboration.   I had to put considerable time into developing a specific feature on my open source Arduino keyer project.  If I would have had the source for a logging program that implemented this particular protocol, it would have saved me much time in developing this feature, or I could have even written and contributed a module for a logging program to implement the feature rather than having to write what I did for the Arduino in a roundabout way.  Arguably the Internet wouldn’t be what it is today, or perhaps not even exist, without open source software and the collaboration it creates.  Undoubtedly amateur radio has missed out on some collaborative opportunities over the years due to a lack of open source software.

I think it’s time for amateur radio freeware authors to take their commitment to the community a step further, embrace what became popular in the mainstream software development world two decades ago and open source their code for a long term benefit to amateur radio.

I was visiting AmateurRadio.com today and happened to see Tim G4VXE’s post about a new logging program, called PZT Log.

I’m a sucker for logging programs and my search for the “perfect” one continues.  I do not have the knowledge or expertise to write one that would 100% suit my needs, so I go from logging program to logging program, like Diogenes.  He searched the world for an honest man – I am looking for my ideal logging program.

This one by Charlie MØPZT looks like it has the potential to be a winner in my book.  Not overly complicated – not too many unnecessary bells and whistles; but it might have to wait before I try it out in earnest.  So far, there is no ability to import ADIF files, so I cannot load my current logbook into it.  Once Charlie comes up with that fix, I am more than willing to give his program serious consideration as my primary logging program.

Currently, I am using AC Log by N3FJP.  I really don’t have many complaints with it; but there are a few things in Charlie’s program that I like.  Here’s what I would like in an “ideal” logging program – and yes, if wishes were nickels I would be a rich man.

Easy to use – very intuitive, with no encyclopedia needed to use it  – if a logging program requires its own Yahoo group, that’s more than likely more software than I need (I can be quite the dunce, at times).

Should include the following:
Capability to monitor TelNet Clusters
WWV information
Capability to interface with Google Earth
Import/Export capability of ADIF files
A world map with current day/night grayline display would be nice.
Be able to import QSL information from QRZ or some other such source.

Other than that, my needs are few. Computer control of the rig, Digital Mode capability, and all the other fluffy type things are not required by me.  At the same time, I want the program to “look good” on my computer – I got tired of Win-EQF’s UNIX look and that’s why I switched to AC Log.  I was using Ham Radio Deluxe for a while and liked it; but when they decided to charge for future upgrades (none of which I would probably be using) I decided to switch back.

Free is not a priority, but I have to admit that the concept is nice.

I am not technically savvy enough to fully describe my “prefect” logging program; but I would know it if I saw it!

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!

The source of all my Faros problems…..The netbook itself. I hadn’t actually checked the obvious and that was what it was. The noise generated by the netbook was stopping it from finding signals in all the noise. Hence the 100% QSB. When I disconnected and unplugged everything the noise level dropped massively and that was the end of the problem.

Trouble is I sort of need that to run the program. Oh well, I suppose I can try and run it under wine with Linux and put it on the RPI as that makes little or no noise. I feel some hours being used up ahead!

Introduction:

• Welcome to episode 95 of Linux in the Ham Shack. Episode 100 looms on the horizon, and we’d like to do something a little special. Call in to the LHS voice mail line at +1-909-LHS-SHOW (1-909-547-7469), or send an email, and share your thoughts about the show.
• LHS recommends this LOL Cat image.

Announcements:

• Kevin O’Brien, Publicity Director of the Ohio LinuxFest, is looking for someone to step up and take on the role of Volunteer Coordinator. If anyone is interested please reply to [email protected].
• We now digress into a ramble about censorship.
• On page 45 of the December 2012 issue of QST has an article on vertical vs. horizontal antennas, a topic we discussed in episode 91. In the same issue, on page 52, there is also an article about the NorthWest Digital Radio UDR56K, a topic we discussed in episode 90. Are we seeing a pattern here?
• Also in that issue is a description of several FCC Proposed Rule Changes, and our hosts discuss each of them:
  • Reduction of license expiration grace period from 2 years to 6 months.
  • Reduction of vanity call waiting period from 2 years to 6 months.
  • Reduction of the number of Volunteer Examiners at test sessions from 3 to 2.
  • Possible allowance of “remote testing” facilities using video and audio over a network that allows for proper administration of tests.
  • Allow single-slot TDMA transmissions.
• The 2012 Fort Wayne Hamfest is this weekend, November 17-18, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This is also the ARRL Convention for Indiana. This launches Richard into reminiscing about the presentation of The Last Voice from Kuwait.

Topics:

• Symbolic (or soft) Links vs. Hard Links
  • Russ and Richard offer a discussion of the difference between soft, or symbolic, links and hard links in Linux.
  • A symbolic link is a pointer to another file name. Symbolic links can be created with the ln -s command:

    ln -s [original file] [link name]

  • Symbolic links can point to files on other volumes or file systems.
  • Hard links, on the other hand, are pointers to the data of another file, just like a directory entry is a pointer to the first block of data for the file. Hard links are also created with the ln command, but without the -s switch.
  • Hard links can only be used on the same file system.
  • A symbolic link is equivalent to a Windows shortcut, a pointer to the name of another file. A hard link is a reference to the data (first inode) of another file, and thus must be created on the same file system.
  • When the original file with associated hard links is deleted, the data remains until all of the hard links are also deleted. Deleting the original file with associated soft links will delete the file and the data, but the soft links will remain, now orphaned.
  • More information about links is available here.

Feedback:

• Listener Dave left a comment on the web site expressing his appreciation for the show, and also became a subscriber. Thanks, Dave!
• Jeremy, KD5HQN, also commented on the web site, claiming he’s actually learning something from the shows! He also corrected Richard about the proper location of Orthanc. Thanks, Jeremy.
• Bill, KJ4KNI, asked, via Richard’s Facebook page, for suggestions about the best Linux distribution for a beginner. (Linux Mint 13 is a good choice.) He also wonders why a ham might use 75-ohm RG6 coax as an antenna feedline. Our hosts discuss the possibilities.

Contact Info:

• Contact Richard at [email protected], Russ at [email protected], or both at the same time at [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.
• 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:

• “Easier As Us” by Michael McEachern, courtesy of Jamendo.
• “Wicked” by Fresh Body Shop, from their album Bring Me Down, courtesy of Jamendo.