Contributors:

• Russ recommends the movie Carnival of Souls.
• Wish Russ a Happy Birthday on December 5th!
• Jos invites everyone to attend Camp KDE 2010 in San Diego, CA on January 15-22, 2010.

Announcements:

• Donations from Paul KC9QYB, Joel, and Walter. Thank you! (And congratulations to Paul on getting his Technicians license!)
• A Google alert says the LHS website showed up in linuxzine.com, probably because of our sponsorship of Linux Mint.
• You can leave feedback via our toll-free telephone line at 888-455-0305.

Links and Notes:

• Richard talks about using an old Dell Latitude laptop for mobile operations. After many trials and tribulations and resetting the BIOS, he managed to install Xubuntu, and has D-RATS installed.
• Russ installed Ubuntu 9.10 on a machine. He tried 64-bit Linux Mint 7, but it failed.
• Richard wanted to run DSL or Puppy on the Latitude. DSL booted, but he couldn’t get the network card to work.
• From the chatroom, N3JIM asks what virtualization software Russ is using. Currently, VMWare Server 2.02, but it doesn’t play nice with newer kernels. So, Russ is planning on moving to Sun’s VirtualBox.
• Matt points out that Ubuntu will remove Gimp from the default installation beginning with Ubuntu 10.04.
• Short Wave Listening, a topic suggested to Russ at Ohio Linux Fest.
• Receivers: Ten-Tec RX-320D, a PC-controlled, shortwave receiver. Ten-Tec supplies Windows software, but there is a Linux program, too.
• An article describing the receiver and it’s application.
• Other radios are available from Yaesu, Icom, Kenwood, and C. Crane.
• Russ talks about the Radio Shack DX-440 shortwave receiver he used (aka Sangean 803A).
• Digital Radio Mondiale
• Time Synchronization Stations – you can syncrhonize your PC clock to a national standard: WWV, CHU.
• Software: MultiMode 5.9.2 (for Mac OSX), fldigi, Radio Explorer.
• Things to hear: Numbers stations, Letter stations.
• Antennas: very similar to what you would need for a transceiver. Random wires and tuned dipoles, will work, too. Look for a receiver that has an external antenna jack.
• Where to listen: Amateur radio bands, international broadcast bands.
• QSO Radio Show can be heard Tuesdays from 05:00PM to 07:00PM ET, 2100 to 2300 UTC at 7415KHz (WBCQ radio).
• Coast to Coast AM
• Check Amazon for antennas, receivers, and SWL-related books. (Remember to use our Amazon link for your purchases.)
• Passport to World Band Radio (Also available at Amazon).
• KO4RB asks if we’ve had any specific experience with an active antenna for shortwave listening.

Music:

• “Say Hey (I Love You)” by Michael Franti & Spearhead from the album “All Rebel Rockers”
• “The Only Life” by Justin Roth from the album “Shine”

Contributors:

• Russ visited a Ham Radio Outlet in Virginia and bought a new Yaesu FT-7900R for his truck.
• Richard bought a Kenwood TS-50, some wire and antennas at the Belton hamfest, but hasn’t installed them yet.
• John, EI7IG, says you don’t need AX.25 support in the kernel to run XASTIR, since you’re running the TNC in KISS mode. He also says that APRS is useful for emcomm events, disseminating local weather information, and passing short text messages.
• Tim, KI6BGE, recommends Resonant Frequency, Linux in the Ham Shack, and SolderSmoke in his October 29 blog entry.

Announcements:

• We received a donation from Paul during the last episode, and now Alex made a sizable donation. Thanks, Alex!

Links and Notes:

• Roundtable discussion with Kent VE4KEH, Paul from TeenRadioJourney, Matt KC8BEW, and Jim N3JIM.
• Jim runs Mac OS X and FreeBSD.
• Matt runs OpenSUSE, Ubuntu, Windows XP, and Linux Mint.
• Paul runs Windows XP and Ubuntu.
• Kent was running Debian, but now runs CrunchBang and Linux Mint.
• Topics include running packet, buying TNCs at hamfests, digital modes, fldigi, remote control operation of radios, EchoLink, IRLP, CW, 6 meters, repeaters, the HAARP project, 2m Slim Jim antenna, J-Poles, handy talks, and Richard loses his mind.

Music:

• “Company of Fools” by Great Big Sea from the album “Fortune’s Favour”

Contributors:

• Kent, VE4KEH, writes in the forums that the Debian Testing updates have caused him some problems. Richard suggests not using the Testing distribution, while Russ disagrees.
• Do any of the ham radio digital protocols support full TCP/IP? Can we load a web site via packet radio?
• Comments about Episode #023:
  • Alex, OZ9AEC, says that he’d rather attend an Ubuntu launch party every six months, rather than a Windows party every six years. He provided a link to an Ubuntu 9.10 Release Party Map.
  • Jim, N3JIM, defends APRS (Automatic PACKET reporting System), saying it’s more than just vehicle tracking.
    www.aprs.org says it’s “automatic packet reporting system”
    www.aprs.net says it’s “automatic position reporting system”
    Our hosts discuss the apparent usefulness, or lack thereof, of APRS.
• Richard rants about receiving spam, this time from Twitter.

Announcements:

• Please donate to the fund to send Linux in the Ham Shack to the Dayton Hamvention in 2010!

Links and Notes:

• Joe, NE3R, provides this audio segment about minicom, a Linux terminal application for connection to serial port devices. Check out Joe’s blog.
• Audio from Russ at Ohio Linux Fest:
  • Talking to Jim, KB3ORA.
  • Handing out DVDs of the first 22 episodes.
  • Matt, KC8BEW, provided some ham radio gear to use at the booth. Thanks, Matt.
  • Russ visits with Beth Lynn Eicher and Rob Ball, both of OLF, and Doug Vann of Duo Consulting talks to Russ about Drupal.
• Richard talks about his visit to the Belton HamEXPO in Belton, TX.
  • FlexRadio was there.
  • Sidewinders on Two radio club.
  • Henry Allen, K5BUG, was offering his Texas Bugcatcher Antennas.
  • Richard met Dr. David Woolweaver, K5RAV, the ARRL West Gulf Division Director.
• Donate to the fund to bring Richard and Russ to Dayton Hamvention 2010.
• Look for new topics in future shows, such as reviews of other Linux distributions such as ARCH Linux, Slackware 13, and OpenSUSE 11.1.
• Russ talks about getting his amateur radio station back on the air. He put up a new antenna, an AlphaDelta DX-CC trap dipole for 80-10m. He also acquired a Rascal GLX sound card interface, installed fldigi, and made his first digital mode contact with PSK31 on 20m! Yay, Russ!
• Russ has also discovered IRLP.
• Paul, from TeenRadioJourney.com, made a donation to the Dayton fund. Thanks, Paul.
• We’re looking for a new logo for Linux in the Ham Shack. Any and all submissions will be considered.

Music:

• “So Hard” by A. Rex, from the album “Moving Backwards”
• “Drive” by Barb Carbon

It’s the holiday season, and our gift to our listeners is a brand new podcast. During my time at Ohio Linux Fest back in September, several of the participants who visited the Linux in the HAM Shack booth provided topic ideas for the program. I recently dug those topics up and Richard and I will be tackling them over the next few episodes. In Episode #026, the topic we decide to visit is shortwave listening, including hardware and Open Source software for that very purpose. SWL is a way for non-hams to approach the hobby without encountering mic fright, and a way for existing hams and non-hams alike to explore the world of radio frequency communication, whether it be foreign broadcasts, pirate radio, amateur radio or time beacons. With several manufacturers of equipment still in business, SWL is by no means a lost art, and may be an interesting extension to the amateur radio hobby for those who don’t currently participate in it.

Several thank yous go out to those who donated to the Dayton Hamvention 2010 fund. With my upcoming matching contributions we’ll be about halfway to our goal. Please keep those donations coming, even after we’ve met our goal, so we can continue to improve our equipment, our hosting and our program. As always, thank you for downloading Linux in the HAM Shack. Please send us your feedback and questions, and please tell everyone you know about us–through word of mouth, blogging, social networking, whatever it takes. Our listenership continues to grow, and we hope that trend continues for years to come.

73 de Russ, K5TUX

 

 Episode #026 (MP3) [71:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
 Episode #026 (OGG) [71:33m]: Download

Richard and Russ are the Penn and Teller of Amateur Radio podcasting.

Contributors:

• Doug, N6LMX, recently acquired an old Dell Inspiron 3500 notebook and decided to try Linux Mint on it. For some reason, probably processor and memory, it stalled before it got started. Same with Ubuntu 9.04. However, Xubuntu 9.04 works like a charm.
• Joe, NE3R, sent an audio message about minicom. Thanks, Joe. Look for it in a future show.
• Google alert about a LHS mention in John’s Blog.
• Paul in the chatroom asks about connecting a Linux machine to a shared Windows printer. Russ suggests browsing to http://localhost:631 to bring up the CUPS administration page and configuring the printer there.

Announcements:

• New streaming audio on the web site. New URL: http://stream.lhsinfo.org:8008, or go to http://lhsinfo.org and look for the links on the right side of the page.
• Look for Richard at the Belton HamEXPO on October 3rd. in Belton, TX. Russ will be at Ohio Linux Fest on September 25-27 in Columbus, OH.
• Welcome Bill, KA9WKA, as the newest member of the Black Sparrow Media production team. Bill will be compiling the show notes for Resonant Frequency. (And, now, LHS too. Email comments, corrections, suggestions to ka9wka at blacksparrowmedia dot com. -Ed.)

Interview:

• This is the remaining portion of the interview with Bill, KA9WKA, where we discuss various amateur radio topics.
  • NUE-PSK modem
  • American Morse code
  • G5RV antennas
  • 135′ Doublet antenna (similar to Figure 3 here)
  • Moxon antenna
  • CW vs. texting
  • B&W folded dipole
  • fldigi
  • D-Star
  • D-Star DV Dongle
  • Replackaged Icom equipment at the DX Store

Topic:

• Richard discusses programming radios using Linux
  • Richard tries programming his Vertex VX-150 using Wine under Linux. The programming software installed fine, but when he tried downloading the data from the radio to the computer, he received errors, probably due to a mismatch in the serial port speed. Next, he tried programming his Icom IC-91AD. The software installed and recognized his serial port, COM1, and he was able to program the radio.
  • Tim, KI6BGE, in the chatroom, says the IC2200H D-Star program works the same way.
  • KB3GTN in the chatroom says he’s had good luck programming his Kenwood TS480 within Linux, using his own program.
  • Tim, KI6BGE, says the Icom ID800 and IC2200H use the same programming cable, but different software.

• A Ustreamer asks which Linux distributions we’re using. The summary is Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Kubuntu, SpearMint, CentOS, OpenSUSE, and Debian.

Music:

• “Terra Firma” by Garrett Wall from the album “Sky Pointing”
• “All of the Above” by Garrett Wall from the album “Sky Pointing”