Posts Tagged ‘Ham Radio Deluxe’

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LHS Show Notes #075

February 17th, 2012 | Author:

Introduction:

  • We’re a little light on content, but we’ll make up for it with enthusiasm!

Announcements:

Topics:

  • Linux Mint 12 Review
    • Richard has been using Ubuntu for some time, but he’s been unhappy with the latest version. He’s rediscovered Linux Mint! Version 12 is out, with Gnome 3, Gnome 2, MATE, and Cinnamon, and he gives a brief review.
    • His primary needs: browser, email, Audacity, XChat, and a few others.
    • Using the Gnome 3 desktop, as a desktop fills with icons, a new desktop is automatically created.
    • By moving the mouse to a hot corner, you’ll see a high-level view of all your open applications.
    • Russ has been using Linux Mint Debian Edition, so he’s missing out on the Gnome 3 goodies, at least for now.
    • Our hosts then drift into a discussion of various desktop managers and visual effects.
  • WINE: Wine Is Not an Emulator
    • WINE is a collection of libraries for Linux that support Windows library calls from a Windows application.
    • EchoLink, for example, is a Windows application works quite well under WINE on Linux.
    • If you can’t find a native Linux application that does what you want, you may find that WINE will allow you to run the Windows program.
    • There are a couple of different versions of WINE, all based on the core version of WINE.
    • Cedega: a version of WINE that supports a variety of Windows games.
    • CrossOver: a version of WINE that originally focused on supporting business applications such as Internet Explorer and MS Office, but has also expanded to include some games and running Windows applications on a Mac.
    • Richard browses the list of ham radio applications in the WINE application database.
    • Russ talks about installation and configuration:
      • Red Hat/Fedora: yum install wine
      • Debian-based: apt-get install wine
      • Some repositories may not have the most recent version of WINE (1.4 at the time of recording).
      • Under System Tools (in Linux Mint, or Debian) there is a WINE Configuration tool.
      • To install a Windows program under WINE, download the Windows installer application. At the command line, type “wine [name of installer executable]“, and the setup program should proceed just as with Windows. A program icon should appear under the WINE program folder, and the program will, hopefully, run just like in Windows.
      • Some Windows programs will run just fine under WINE; others won’t. Give your favorite a try and see!
    • One of the most-wanted ham radio applications, Ham Radio Deluxe v. 5.0, does not run at all under WINE. If you can find a copy of HRD v. 4, it should work under WINE. Remember, too, the native Linux application fldigi does much of what HRD would do.
    • Russ has also tried the N1MM Logger under WINE, and it worked fine.
    • The Winetricks tool might help get a Windows application running under WINE.
    • The WineHQ forum is a good resource for help.

Feedback:

  • We had a donation from William A. Thank you!
  • Leif, KC8RWR, continues a comment dialog about the origin of CUPS in Episode 67.
  • G8FXM, mentioned LHS in his blog. Thanks, David.
  • The Hoosier Hills Ham Club linked to the LHS site and we linked back. Thanks to W.W., KB9TMP.

Contact Info:

Music:

  • To be added.

LHS Show Notes #067

October 19th, 2011 | Author:

Introduction:

  • It’s a ramblin’ show tonight.

Announcements:

  • Texoma Hamarama 2011 will be October 21-22, 2011 at the Ardmore Convention Center, 2401 North Rockford Road, Ardmore, OK. Richard hopes to be there.
  • If you attended the Huntsville, AL hamfest in August, let us know if you think it would be a good venue for LHS.
  • Thanks, as always, to Gamma Leonis for the theme music.

Topics:

  • Russ talks about the antenna feedline window passthrough panel he bought at Dayton. He’s also hoping to get a radio in his truck. Richard describes the window passthrough methods he’s used in the past, with foam pipe insulation or air conditioning insulation foam.
  • Richard talks about the lack of ham radio activity in his area (Kaufman County, TX): no club, no RACES group, no ARES, etc. He called his ARRL SEC (Section Emergency Coordinator), Walt, KG5SOO, and learned that the local groups weren’t happy with the current ARES manager. The SEC says paperwork is being processed and the new emergency coordinator of Kaufman County, TX is Richard, KB5JBV! Currently, there are just two ARES members, Richard and the Emergency Manager, so if you’re in Kaufman County, TX, get in touch with Richard! (Congratulations, Richard!)
  • There’s a new podcast out there: Richard’s Radio Adventures. Look for it on the Resonant Frequency feed.
  • In Linux-related news, Russ lets us know that kernel.org was hacked a few weeks ago. Because the code was in an encrypted git repository, it was safe, but they moved it to github, anyway.
  • Russ also says there was a brief period that GNU Emacs was packaged and distributed with a binary blob in it, which violates the GPL. It’s since been fixed.
  • A security hole in SSL/TLS has been reported.
  • Simon, HB9DRV, has sold the rights to his Ham Radio Deluxe software. Our hosts discuss the possible ramifications.
  • Richard wanders into a discussion of Arch Linux. It seems there was an issue with Arch not being free (as in speech). However, Parabola GNU/Linux is Arch, but free of all the entanglements.
  • If anyone out there is an Emergency Coordinator or Assistant Emergency Coordinator, send an email to Richard about how your EC is going. Richard is looking for advice on how to best set up the ARES EC organization in his county.
  • Russ admits that his other podcast, QSK Netcast, has stalled, mostly due to a lack of his available time.
  • Since some parts of the LHS website are now subscription only, Russ began researching SSL certificates. He found a couple of places that issue inexpensive or free browser-compatible certificates: CheapSSLs , under $10 per year, and StartSSL will issue personal certificates for free.
  • Russ and Richard discuss their love for the Sansa Clips. Russ likes DoggCatcher for listening to podcasts on his Android phone.
  • Richard talks about his secret antenna project. He’s now in an area with Codes, Covenents and Restrictions (CCRs) which preclude outside antennas. Years ago, he bought an Arrow dual-band J-pole antenna, and used it for packet and other stuff. Using some military surplus olive-drab fiberglass tent poles, he strapped the J-pole to the top of the tent poles and the poles to the top of an 8′ fence. He assures the neighbors that it’s just a flower pot hanger. ;)

Contact Info:

LHS Episode #067: The Left Hand of ARES

October 1st, 2011 | Author:

And we are back. In this installment, Richard tells us all about his renewed interest in emergency communications and his dealings with ARES in the Texas county where he now lives. On the Linux side of things, Russ talks about some security issues: the hacking of kernel.org, emacs violates the GPL and how to get cheap certificates for your Web sites. Throw in a dash of humor, some general screwing around and you have the formula for pretty much every episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. Thanks for sticking it out with us, everyone. We love each and every one of you.

73 de The LHS Guys

The Future of Ham Radio Deluxe

September 15th, 2011 | Author:

Several amateur radio bloggers have already blogged about this news and the forum thread over at QRZ as all but gone viral.  I realize I’m late to the party, but until today, until this very hour I was of two minds if I would blog about this news.  I’m really not the type of person (and blogger) who wants to report the news.  I say this because 1. it’s already been reported and B. I’m really not sure I want my blog to be about that. 

I made this decision regarding my amateur radio podcast as well.  Meaning, I didn’t want to report the news.  In the example of the podcast, there are already very good amateur radio news based podcasts available.  The goal for my podcast was simple.  I wanted the content and the knowledge shared to be relevant not only at the time of release, but also very much so a year from now, two years from now and beyond.  I’m very much humbled when I receive an email from a new listener who informs me  they have just discovered my podcast and they are in the process of listening to all the previous episodes.  By the way, the Practical Amateur Radio Podcast is up to episode 46 and is in its fourth season. 

Regarding blogging, I just simply don’t have the time to stay current on all the amateur radio news.  Also, like with podcasting….there’s already a lot of “current news” type of blogs out there.  Since I try to mix in both my own personal amateur radio activities along with educational content, I would like to keep my blog posts as valuable a year or two from now as they might be to someone today.

I discovered Ham Radio Deluxe back in the late summer, early fall timeframe of 2007.  I had just earned my ticket and a colleague of mine had been using it for a few months and said you gotta get this software.  It does all this really cool rig control and has digital mode software for PSK and RTTY built in.  He told me about the logbook features and then said….it’s Free!  I hadn’t been a ham very long, but it didn’t take a lot of time to learn the value of it’s Free!

I downloaded and installed the software and got my Yaesu FT-897D connected without any issues.  It was this software which I used to log my very first ham radio contact into as well as what I used for those incredible digital modes like PSK-31.  I seem to remember many software updates were made available and each time things always seemed to get better and better.

The upgrade to version 5 (the current version) came with much improved functionality around the logbook and a few other bells and whistles that I currently don’t use.  Starting sometime in 2008, I would make the occasional donation to the developer of HRD.  While I don’t have the exact dollar amount etched into my memory, I would say between 2008 and present time I’ve done my share to help support the software. 

I’ll be honest and state for the record, that I’ve only tried and/or researched a few other types of rig control software.  I do use other logging software titles for specific contests and then import the contacts afterwards into my HRD logbook.  But when I’ve looked into other full-function types of products they either didn’t do everything I was accustomed to from HRD or were priced a little higher than I wanted to spend.  It’s not that I’m against paying for software, but when I did a “nuts to bolts” comparison…I simply couldn’t justify replacing Ham Radio Deluxe. 

I learned of the news about HRD from the QRZ forums on 12 September.  I’ve been visiting QRZ a lot in recent weeks checking on my extra upgrade.  I use the FCC link in my QRZ callsign record to quickly view the ULS record.  Yes, it still hasn’t been approved.  Anyway, while visiting QRZ I will read some of the news items on the main page.  I dare not go any deeper into the depths of the QRZ forums for risk of being pulled into the dark side.  Ha ha  But for the most part the news items are safe as long as you view them while the news is fresh.  Otherwise, you might read a lot of negativity as our fellow hams begin to comment on what ever the news item is about.

Basically what caught my eye in that article was the subject line which stated “Development to continue on HRD”.  Initial thoughts were “that’s cool” as I hadn’t seen an update since early 2011 timeframe.  I drilled into the thread to learn while development would continue on HRD, it would be done by different individuals and that Simon had sold the rights to HRD to those individuals.  At this time the thread only had about 3 pages of comments.  Today I believe there are over 10 pages.

What we know at the present time is more of less what is covered in the first few pages of the thread.  Ham Radio Deluxe was sold and it will continue to be developed and supported.  The rest really is speculation and the only thing I’ll say is I’m under the impression (since a financial transaction of an undetermined amount took place) Ham Radio Deluxe will shift from a donationware model to a payware model.  But this really is only my impression.

As I said, there’s a lot of emotion taking place in the QRZ thread and I’m only to assume that this emotion is being played out in other ham radio forums.  Like many, I’m somewhat sad to see this happening….but I also enter it with a degree of optimism.  First the sad feeling.  I’m sad from the standpoint that something I always appreciated viewing on the HRD website was the following statement “Keep Amateur Radio Free”.  This spirit is what makes the hobby so special.  The free-flow of knowledge shared from one to another is exactly the character of amateur radio.  While we can’t expect everything in amateur radio to be free, when someone has a talent and develops something like HRD, it truly is a gift to the hobby.  This is exactly the same and shares the same value (in my opinion) as someone who shares their knowledge with others in the form of Elmering or someone who donates their time to become a VE. 

My optimism?  Well, since HRD is already a product which I know and use, I’m optimistic the continued development will not only match, but surpass the standard of quality we have come to know of Ham Radio Deluxe.  While it might be hard to imagine HRD getting any better than it is now, I’m sure there are many enhancements that could be made to an already great product to truly make it better.

Donationware versus payware?  As I have stated, I donated what I believed was a fair amount over the course of the last 3-4 years.  How much I donated is between me and my conscience, and of course what I perceive is both the value of the product and all the enhancements made since I’ve been using it.  While I believe I’ve contributed enough to cover what currently is HRD, I’ll certainly evaluate any future enhancements the new owners make and balance that to what HRD is as of today.  I may feel any new enhancements made is something I can or can’t live without. 

While it has been discussed once or twice (and with a lot of passion) in those ten pages over at QRZ, I doubt the new owners will issue any sort of cease and desist order to either pay for the new HRD or stop using the old.  While I work in the software and hard industry, I’m not an attorney, I don’t play one on TV and I also didn’t sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night, So I can’t and won’t pretend to know what I’m talking about.  But I certainly can’t see where the new owners will have any ground to stand on in attempting that maneuver when HRD has been and was certainly always intended to be free as the current version stands today.

I would just like to close by saying a sincere THANK YOU to Simon Brown and all the many individuals who donated their time and efforts and made available a wonderful product.  If you haven’t tried Ham Radio Deluxe, I certainly recommend it.  For now, the HRD website is operational and the current version 5 is available for download.   Also, at present time the link still takes you to Simon’s website where the download is 100% free.  As you might expect in a few days, a few weeks, next month…certainly sometime in the near future the URL may redirect to another website where you’ll find HRD is now payware. 

Until next time,

73 de KD0BIK

LHS Show Notes #052

November 28th, 2010 | Author:

Episode 50: A milestone!

Announcements:

Topics:

  • Scott, AD7MI, posted an article on his blog about moving to an all-Linux ham shack. Richard and Russ discuss the article, including Shackbox Linux, Ham Radio Deluxe, CQRLog, and more. Ultimately, Fldigi and CQRLog resulted in “100% Linux Nirvana”.
  • Scott also asks what we think would be the ideal Linux-based ham shack. Russ describes his shack, which he thinks IS ideal. Our hosts then discuss various soundcard interfaces:
  • Most sound cards work fine, and Russ recommends the SoundBlaster series over all, but suggests staying away from the SoundBlaster Audigy SE (model CA0106) sound cards as they don’t seem to work well (or at all) under Linux.
  • Richard likes his Yaesu FT-897D. Most modern rigs allow a fixed-audio level connection to the computer sound card, as well as computer rig control. Russ has the Kenwood TS-570D, and it, too, is well-supported in the Linux ham libraries.
  • Russ and Richard discuss the fact that most hams don’t log VHF/UHF contacts, other than in contests or toward an award.
  • The FCC, created by the Communications Act of 1934, included the requirement to maintain a log book in the rules. Sometime between 1983 and 1986, this requirement was dropped as the FCC determined that the information was of little use to them. (If someone can point us to a reference that identifies when the exact rule change occurred, please let us know. I was unable to find the specific change online. -Ed.)

Feedback:

  • Leif, KC8RWR, writes that Internet over EME (earth-moon-earth) isn’t likely to work due to the high latency involved. (This may be in reference to a comment in Episode 48.) NASA and DARPA are involved in a Deep-Space Internet project.
  • Leif also asks “Isn’t Morse code dead?” and wasn’t it replaced by “Gerke Code”? Our hosts discuss.
  • Craig, KB5UEJ, writes that he thinks Russ’ audio is louder and muddier than Richard’s in episodes 46 and 47. Russ agrees that the audio on a few of the recent episodes did suffer, but should be much improved now.
  • Grant, KC9SJQ, comments that he doesn’t see a link to Russ’ screencast about SSL anywhere. Yes, it somehow disappeared, but Russ is working on it. He’ll either find the file or redo it.
  • William, KB9TMP, sends his comments about Episode 48 where we discuss KE9V’s article that questioned the relevance of amateur radio.
  • Craig, KB5UEJ, commenting about WSPR, says that you can run less than 5W on an FT-897 by reducing the audio drive from the computer to the radio. Richard points out that the reduction is often not uniform across the audio freqeuncies used, so some intelligibility may be lost. He had that problem with packet, but he’ll try it with WSPR.
  • Matt wants to know the artist and title of a song in Episode 48. The song was “Endline (Choose Nothing)” by I Am Not Lefthanded from the album “Yes Means No”. Check out the show notes for Episode 48 for a link to the song.

Donations:

  • Scott, AD7MI, sent a donation just before we recorded! Thanks, Scott.
  • If you’d like to help the podcast, please consider making a donation. It’s easy! Just a click on the Donate button on the web site.

Contact Info:

Music:

LHS Episode #013

April 29th, 2009 | Author:

We come to Episode #013 of Linux in the HAM Shack. This one is not for the faint of heart or the triskadecaphobic. Our last couple of episodes have generated a lot of feedback so we spend the first and last segments of the show talking about everyone who sent us comments and answering questions wherever possible. In the middle, we manage to squeeze in some information ham radio and Linux information about getting your radios connecting to your computer for rig control, testing with grig and integrating logging and rig access with fldigi.

We’d like to thank the multitudes we had in the chat room for the live broadcast of Episode #013. It was our best turnout yet with more than 25 participants from all over the world. We’d like to encourage everyone to jump in on the next broadcast, which will be on May 13th at 0100Z. The LHS release schedule is being pushed back a week because I will be out of town at a conference during the first week of May. Thanks again to all our downloaders and everyone who takes the time to send us feedback and questions. There would be no podcast without you.

Note: We had several audio problems attempting to record this episode due to erratic network connectivity. Everything is cleaned up and organized nicely except for one brief audio dropout that could not be recovered. You’ll know it when you hear it.

73 de Russ (K5TUX)

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