AmateurRadio.com

I have to say this was probably the hardest episode to put together so far. I managed to not record the first 20 minutes of my side of the episode. Then there were bits from Episode #057 that needed to be put in. I recorded secondary items that didn’t match up with the original first take. And somehow I think I managed to get it all put together and make it make sense.

Hopefully we will see everyone at Indiana Linux Fest this weekend in Indianapolis. If you can’t make it, be with us in spirit. Thank you to our listeners for all your support. Please continue to help us get to Dayton if you can, and remember to tell a few of your friends about us.

73 de The LHS Guys

This is a short introduction to Linux for Amateur Radio Operators showing a few things that are available for Amateur Radio.

Introduction:

• Intro from Pete, VE2XPL, host of the wAVEgUIDES pODcAST.
• Promo for the GNU World Order podcast.

Announcements:

• Hello to the new folks in the chat room.
• The Mintcast podcast is either going to stop or will have new hosts after the next episode. If you’re interested in hosting a podcast, contact the folks over there.
• Please spread the word about MAGNetcon, the Mid-America GNU/Linux Networkers Conference, to be held May 6-7, 2011 at the St. Louis Union Station Marriott. If you know anyone that might be a sponsor, exhibitor, or speaker, please let us know. Application forms are available on the web site.
• Check out the new website for Resonant Frequency.
• Also mentioned, the Going Linux podcast and Computer America, “America’s longest-running nationally syndicated radio talk show about computers.”

Feedback:

• Richard, KR4EY, writes about CW… wait, we did this one in Episode 52.
• John, KC8DAX, weighs in on the Windows vs. Linux debate: there are hams that will buy a wire antenna and there are others that will build one. He thinks it’s the same thing with operating systems. Would you want a radio you couldn’t open? Our hosts discuss.
• We received a donation from Charles to help send Linux in the Ham Shack to the 2011 Dayton Hamvention. Thank you, Charles!
• Joe, K1RBY, recently discovered the podcast and is catching up, but is having a problem using gpodder to retrieve episodes. Yes, Joe, there is a bug in one of the WordPress plugins on the web site that contributed to the problem (see lhspodcast.info for a description of the problem.) It has been corrected.
• John, K7JM, also had the problem with gpodder and sends his appreciation for the fix.
• Richard, KJ4VGV, tells us that he is a new amateur radio operator since May and has published an article: Antenna Restrictions: Are They a Catastrophe Waiting to Happen? Good job, Richard!
• James, N2ENN, comments about our episode 52 when we discussed Unity, and offers his thoughts on Wayland, Debian and Ubuntu. Our hosts discuss, and digress to a discussion of browsers, plugins, drivers, ALSA and PulseAudio on Debian vs. LinuxMint Debian Edition. They also commment on Bill Meara’s (of SolderSmoke fame) efforts to get WSPR running under WINE in Ubuntu.
• Paul, KE5WMA, writes “PIC micro controllers are getting more popular in HAM projects. Any suggestions on programming software and boards?” Well, Paul, Linux does still support serial ports, but this may be a good topic for another show. You might find something useful in the many hits returned by a Google search on “Linux PIC programmer”.
• B.B., KC5PIY, asks for help with getting Windows programs for programming radios, such as the Icom IC-2820H and IC-706 MkIIg, running under Linux. He’d also like an APRS client. Richard recommends UIView as an APRS client for Windows, and Xastir for Linux. Russ suggests that most of the radio programming applications will run under WINE in Linux. Also, check out CHIRP, free Linux software for programming a variety of D-STAR radios. You may also want to explore the D-RATS mailing list. It’s not likely you’ll be able to dual-boot Windows and Linux on that netbook, but you can install Ubuntu Linux using WUBI, which would allow you to run Linux within Windows, or install Linux to a USB flash drive using Pen Drive Linux.
• Craig, KB5UEJ, writes about learning IPv6: “I went through the Hurricane Electric certification program and really learned lots about IPv6. I’m now running IPv6 on my home using HEs IPv6 tunnelbroker service. It’s no longer the big bad scary thing that it used to be.” Russ also talked about IPv6 on episode 6 of his QSK podcast.
• Matt shares his thoughts about building “simple” projects from junk box parts and the similarity to running Linux.

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 417-200-4811, 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 SHOP! 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:

• “Balboa” by Ness from the album Fiesta, courtesy of Jamendo.
• “Crawling Back In” by Deathalizer from the album It Dwells Within, courtesy of Jamendo.

Episode #043 of Linux in the Ham Shack almost didn’t exist. In the process of trying to edit the audio for the program, I managed to delete everything that I had recorded. By some miracle of coincidence, I actually remembered to record the entire episode at Ustream.TV. I almost never remember to do that but it happened this time. The audio was recovered from the live video stream and I put it back together. There are a couple of minor flaws and the quality might not be as good as normal but at least it exists. Since the edited version came out to over 100 minutes, I’d sure have hated to try and record this all over again. And that’s why this episode almost didn’t exist: Because if the audio had truly gone away, I would have thrown up my hands and said forget it. We’ll try again in two weeks.

But since we got lucky, you can now listen to us talk about our newest features and endeavors, our problems with the ARRL, the status of Logbook of the World, listener feedback, live chat room discussion, installing Linux Mint on an ancient laptop, ham radio software for [that other OS] and much, much more. And hey: Go buy a shirt. Please?

73 de The LHS Guys

Episode #031 of Linux in the HAM Shack is now available, and nearly on time. Due to myriad circumstances in our lives, we had to put off recording of this episode until February 9th. It is therefore almost astonishing that I can announced that it is being released on February 10th. After this, everything should return to its normal bi-weekly cycle.

I would very much like to thank Bill, KA9WKA, Ted, WA0EIR and Andy (Integgroll on IRC) for filling in as co-hosts for Richard on this episode. Sadly I must report that Richard lost his mother to a battle with cancer yesterday morning. I know the thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies of myself and our listeners are with Richard and his family during this time. Unfortunately, I do not have any further details on events in Balch Springs at this time. If you would like to send your condolences, please address them to [email protected]. Richard may feel like joining me to record again in a week's time, but if his circumstances do not permit, we will certainly carry on and offer him all of the time and space he may need to recover.

In this episode, our esteemed round table guests touch on a variety of topics. In usual fashion, I address feedback at the start. Beyond that, topics range from MicroHam digital rig interfaces, a rant about Yaesu, Linux Mint 8, cloud storage, e-readers and much, much more. Thank you for your faithful listenership.

73 de Russ

We have topped 40,000 downloads! Thanks go out to all of our listeners and live webcast attendees for making Linux in the HAM Shack as popular as it is. Give yourselves a huge round of applause. We're also well on our way to our donation goal of $750 so we can buy booth space and Internet access at the Dayton Hamvention in Dayton, Ohio, in May of 2010. Thank you for all of your donations. Please keep them coming as you're able to send them in!

In this episode, we address listener feedback and comments, and then in a burst of inspiration invite listeners from the chat room to come onto the program for a lively and very fun roundtable discussion. Topics were varied, from portable antenna design, to life without Red Bull; from the HAARP VLF array in Alaska to D-STAR, PACTOR and other digital ham radio communication modes. And since I was on meds and Richard was off his, things got a little crazy towards the end.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Linux in the HAM Shack. Please leave us comments or questions on the web site or via voice mail at 888-455-0305. And send your best wishes to Bill, KA9WKA, who has taken on the responsibility of getting LHS's show notes out in a timely fashion. Thanks, Bill. You're a lifesaver!

73 de Russ, K5TUX

Linux in the HAM Shack #020 has arrived. This one ran a little bit long so it’s been cut into two parts. The second part will wind up being the first half of Episode #022. For this show, we brought in a friend of the show to help us with a discussion of Linux Mint and several amateur radio topics. Thanks to Bill, KA9WKA, for sitting in with us. The amateur radio portion of the discussion is being pushed over to the next show, so be on the lookout for that in a couple of weeks. This time we answer feedback, talk with the live participants in the chatroom and give all the ins and outs of Linux Mint on various platforms, from laptops to desktops to netbooks.

Thanks to all of our listeners for downloading the podcast and sending us your comments and other feedback. We hope it’s as much fun for you as it is for us. And remember, leave us an audio comment at +1-888-455-0305 and we’ll get you on the podcast. And if you want to participate as KA9WKA did, let us know and we’ll set you up.

73 de Russ and Richard