AmateurRadio.com

Hi, folks. Episode #054 of Linux in the Ham Shack is an all-feedback episode. We cover a lot of ground in this one, from how to run Linux using WUBI, via dual boot, from a flash drive and more. There’s a bit about PIC controllers, feed problems, sticks in the mud, a sprinkling of badgers and a whole lot more. Keep that feedback coming. We love it!

73 de The LHS Guys

Last Saturday  the Ottawa Amateur Radio Digital Group had their first Ottawa D-STAR symposium at Carleton University.  As a co-organizer I may be a little biased but I think this was a great success.  Despite snow flurries in the morning, causing bad weather conditions for some driving in, the day went very smoothly.  We used the internet to the full, with one presentation coming in via Skype from the UK; wireless access was provided for delegates; we had live streaming of the presentations as well as running a DVAP dongle too.

We had a full room and the presentations were excellent.  The final list of presentations were as follows:

• Welcome, Logistics, Agenda – VA3STL
• Introductions – VE3CVG
• D-STAR Past, Present, Future – VE3EI
• The VA3ODG System  – What Is – VE3CVG
• Linking and Routing – VA3KA
• DVAPs, Dongles and HotSpots – M0GRU
• Lunch
• The Spaghetti Bowl  – VE3CVG
• Overview of Gateway Technologies – VE2BFW
• FREESTAR – VA3OMP
• ID1 and High Speed Data – VA3YH
• D-RATs Overview- VA3STL
• DPRS Overview – VA3YH
• The YMCA-YWCA – VE3CVG
• Plans: Almonte Amateur Radio Club – VE3UIX
• Discussion

The slides of the talks can be found at the West Carleton Amateur Radio Club website and there is a link to some recordings of the streaming.

Andrew, M0GRU, was the presenter from the UK and he was displayed on a large screen TV whilst he could see the delegates by two web-cams in the room.  We were lucky to be joined by Greg who had managed to fly back from Regina,SK the previous night.  It was also good to be joined by Andrew’s father Rob, VE3UIX, who gave an update on the Almonte, D-Star repeater project.  Eric, VE3EI, of Icom Canada travelled up from the Niagara region to give the first talk of the day and an excellent overview of D-STAR’s past and future (watch for the IC-9100 being available in December/January, but start saving the money!).

The symposium ran from 10am to 4pm and because of many questions and full presentations there was little time for discussion at the end.

Feedback so far has been good and so I am very pleased with a successful day.

Thanks have to go to my co-organizer, Rick, VE3CVG; the Ottawa Amateur Radio Digital Group; the Dept. of Electronics for kindly providing the facilities; the Carleton University Amateur Radio Club members for helping guide the attendees around the campus; Maurice-Andre, VE3VIG, who unfortunately could not attend  but did provide directions over the air to those that needed it; and of course all the presenters and participants.

The Ottawa Amateur Radio Digital Group are organizing the first Ottawa D-Star Symposium at Carleton University on Saturday 27th Nov. 2010.  The will be a number of speakers and the the focus will be on some of the current developments such as the Freestar network, hotspots, DV and DVAP dongles and the D-RATs software.  We are lucky to have Eric Meth, VE3EI, from Icom Canada as well as one speaker Andrew, M0GRU, who will be linking in from the UK.

The current talk plan is:

• Welcome and Introductions – VA3STL and VE3CVG
• D-STAR Past, Present, Future – VE3EI
• The VA3ODG System – VE3CVG – where we are and issues
• DVAPs, Dongles and HotSpots – M0GRU
• Break (5 min)
• The Spaghetti Bowl – FreeStar, USTrust, NI-STAR, ircDDB, G4ULF – VE3CVG, VA3OMP,others
• Lunch Break (30min)
• ID1 and High Speed Data – VA3YH
• D-RATs -VA3STL
• Break (5 min)
• About YMCA
• About Almonte VA3AAR
• Existing Projects
• Project Opportunities
• Where do we go from here?

Space is limited but if you are in the Ottawa area and would like to attend then please contact me.

I recently acquired a DV access point (DVAP) dongle from HRO.  This is a very interesting piece of D-STAR equipment.  It is a 2m transceiver that is connected via a USB 2.0 port to a computer, which has to be connected to the internet. This then allows the dongle to be effectively a simplex repeater passing D-STAR signals on and off the D-STAR network.   So using my IC-91AD HT I can link to either D-STAR gateway repeaters or reflectors and talk to other operators.  The audio quality is very good.  I have heard other operators using theirs and I have had good reports when using mine. Output power is 10mW (but can be lower) and I can link to the dongle from around the house.  So I can make contacts around the World on the D-STAR network from the comfort of an armchair or whilst sitting outside on the deck.

The device is made in the USA and it is very well put together and packaged.  Even the supplied USB cable was a quality molex brand cable. (Please note you must own a 2m D-STAR radio to use a DVAP, it will not convert FM to D-STAR.  If you do not have a D-STAR radio consider the DV Dongle.)

Here are a few videos that talk about the DVAP dongle.

First an overview from the US National Capital Radio D-Star Association.  They talk about the DVAP dongle for about the first 2 minutes then go on to talk about other equipment.

Next a detailed DVAP demonstration by Tim, G4VXE,

Finally HRO has them in stock!

It occurs to me that having an episode discussing evil empires during a celebration- and holiday-filled time of year might be a bit ironic but that's just how things turned out.

Thank you to everyone who has so generously donated to the podcast so that we might have a presence at the upcoming Dayton Hamvention in May, 2010. It was an idea spawned at Ohio Linux Fest in September, 2009 and we've come a long way since then. Every contribution helps and we hope you'll continue to support Linux in the HAM Shack in the future. We also hope to provide timely and essential information to amateur radio enthusiasts and computer users for a long time to come.

From our world to yours, have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Joyous Saturnalia, or just a good ol' time--whatever your "thing" might be. We hope you enjoy our latest installment of the podcast, and please: Keep spreading the word. Every month our audience grows, and we predict world takeover by 2014. Well, maybe not, but we are talking about evil empires after all...

73 de Russ, K5TUX

Thanks to our wonderful listeners, we have some great feedback to go through in Episode #017 of Linux in the HAM Shack. After we attempt to address everyone’s comments and questions while trying to seem moderately intelligent doing it, I give a short informative segment on Java, Adobe Air and other virtual runtime environments. Then Richard gets down to it, giving a nice description of d-rats, a cross-platform D*STAR application written in Python by KK7DS.

Many thanks as always for subscribing to and downloading the podcast. Feel free to send us any feedback you may have, through e-mail and now through voice mail at +1-888-455-0305 or using the Skype IDs “LeadCrayon” or “KB5JBV”. We’d like to put your voice on the air. And most of you are hams out there, so we know you can do it. So until the next live <strike>fiasco</strike> episode, best regards and 73.

Russ and Richard