AmateurRadio.com

Welcome everyone to a very special episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. This week we had the immense pleasure of talking with Fabian “Fab” Scherschel of the Linux Outlaws podcast fame. We tried not to let our man crushes get in the way of the podcast and I think we succeeded for the most part. Fab is a very gracious guest and we had a fantastic time recording the show. When my (K5TUX) Audacity crashed, it was also Fab who came to the rescue and resurrected the show with his backup audio recording. So for lots of reasons, we are indebted to him. We do have to warn you though, our discussion ranges from Debian to software patent issues to pollution in northern New Jersey. It’s a fun journey, but it’s not exactly via the shortest path. Thanks again, Fab. It was a blast.

73 de The LHS Guys

Promo:

• The 3rd annual Southeast Linuxfest is scheduled for June 10-12, 2011 in Spartanburg, SC.

Topic 1: JT65

• Richard enjoys the digital modes. Recently, he came across a signal he could not immediately identify, and found it was JT65.
• JT65 is one of the suite of programs in the WSJT package written by Joe, K1JT, and was originally developed for weak signal Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) contacts.
• It’s easier to install than WSPR (Weak Signal Propagation Reporter); simply download, extract, and go.
• Because the software is designed to achieve a weak signal contact, information is sent repeatedly. If everything is working well, a simple contact will take about 7 minutes.
• Like WSPR, stations transmit on a two-minute interval, so the computer clock must be accurate.
• One station will “transmit on the ones” meaning he is transmitting on the odd number minutes. Each transmission is usually about 50 seconds. Then, the other station sends on the even minutes.
• Typical contacts are callsign, signal report, and location.
• Signals sound a bit like weather fax, usually a bit above the PSK area on 20m.
• Richard was able to make 10 contacts in 15 minutes with 5 watts into his G5RV at 30 feet, on the 10m band, no less. He then made 5 contacts in 30 minutes on 15m, one of which was to South America.
• WSJT and WSPR are both developed by Joe, K1JT, a physicist and amateur radio operator.
• WSJT and WSPR can be found at http://www.physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/index.html.
• One of the best websites Richard found for learning to use JT65 on HF is “The Complete Bozo’s Guide to HF JT65A by Andy, K3UK”. It hasn’t been updated in a while, but is still a good resource.
• The manual included with the program is very good, too.
• Richard recommends using the second set of messages provided in the program, rather than the default set, as the default does not include a signal report.
• Richard has prepared an “Intro to JT65″ video, available at the RF Podcast website.

Topic 2: Codec2

• Bruce, VE9QRP, back in January, suggested we talk about Codec2.
• From the Codec2 website:
  “Codec2 is an Open Source and patent-free audio codec, currently in alpha testing. It provides good voice rendition at 2550 bits per second, and we expect that its bandwidth will be reduced with continuing development. Its voice quality and latency are an improvement over Speex, when Speex is run at a similarly low bandwidth rate. The original motivation for its development was to provide a completely open codec to replace AMBE+, MELP, and other proprietary codecs for use in Amateur (“Ham”) Radio communications. However, the codec is potentially useful for commercial two-way radio, telephony, and other applications.”
• Russ plays some audio samples, and our hosts discuss how this might be used in ham radio applications.
• The resulting file is in a .wav container and thus can be played by any program that plays .wav files. While the result is adequate for voice, it’s not suitable for music.
• More links:
  • History of the project
  • More background and some how-to information from the author.
  • A PowerPoint presentation by the author.

Feedback:

• We received donations from Dan W., Matt M., Andrew H., and Paul G. Thank you!
• LHS will be at the Dayton Hamvention, in the North Hall, booth 131. We hope to see you there!
• Jim, N2ENN, linked to us on his blog site. Thanks, Jim.
• The Panhandle ARES group linked to LHS on their website. Thanks, guys.
• regexorcist of The Daemon and Penguin Oggcast linked to LHS. Thank you.
• Gary, KE2YK, has syndicated the LHS RSS feed on his eHamStore.net site. Thanks, Gary.
• Burt, K1OIK, thought the clip art of the foo dog (episode 55) looked like Russ.
• B.B., sent a long email, which we’ll discuss in an upcoming episode.
• Danny asked about the podcast that Gene has about Apple. That’s the Tech Night Owl Live program with Gene Steinberg.
• Dave, KI6ZHD, just found the LHS podcast website. Dave has written some documentation for various Linux topics and is a recent ham. His distro of choice is CentOS. He has been documenting his adventures at his blog and thought our listeners might be interested. He asked if we talked about TrustedQSL on Linux, and we did in episodes 43 and 46.
• Leif, KC8RWR, commented about dual-booting a computer with Windows if Linux has already been installed. He suggests using gparted to shrink the Linux partition, creating a Windows partition in the free space, and then installing Windows. Of course, it’s best to just use a spare computer or another hard drive. (We talked about all this in episode 56.)
• Richard points out that version 1.0 of CQRLog has been released.
• Jim, N2ENN, just installed straight Debianand offers a few hints:
  • Extra repositories: In the system/administration tab, there’s a package called software sources. Check them all and click close.
  • Flash vs gnash: don’t worry about gnash. Once the nonfree repositories are selected, open the Synaptic package manager and install flashplugin-nonfree, or from a terminal, type “apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree”.
  • Regarding codecs: all the codecs are already installed, or should be. If not, again in Synaptic, tick good, bad and ugly plugin modules, along with the base plugin.
• Russ received this from a radio club: Steve, N1NXU, wrote that he had a Tripp-Lite power supply that needed repair and he asked them for a schematic. They declined to provide one, so he recommends Astron power supplies, as schematics are included. These are available a most of the ham radio stores.
• John, KF6EFG, attended Indiana LinuxFest and asked Russ for a copy of his presentation from that event. Look for that information on the LHS website in the near future.

Announcements:

• Some listeners have requested a calendar of upcoming LHS events. So, if you have a calendar program that uses ICS calendar feeds, go to the LHS site and on the right side, look for the ‘Follow Us’ heading. Click at the third icon that looks like a calendar. Or, to see the information in your browser, click this https://zmx.bcef.info/service/user/[email protected]/LHS-Podcast.html.
• Again, LHS will be at the Dayton Hamvention on May 20-22. We’ll be giving away a computer, so drop by the booth and say hello. Please donate at the website to help defray the costs. Thanks.

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:

• To be added.

Introduction:

• Apologies for the delays in releasing new episodes.
• This episode is an interview with Jonathan Nadeau of Frostbite Systems and a user of the Linux screen-reading program, Orca.

Interview:

• Orca is a screen reading program integrated with the Gnome desktop. It’s available for most Linux distributions.
• Russ and Jonathan discuss how a sight-impaired individual might install Linux. There are a couple of Linux distributions that have screen-reader support during the installation: Talking Arch Linux and Vinux.
• Speakup is another accessibility tool, but one that speaks the command line.
• Vinux is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution with Orca built-in, allowing a sight-impaired individual to install it from the CD. Vinux is the distribtion Frostbite Systems normally installs for it’s sight-impaired customers.
• Slackware has a Speakup kernel, and more distributions are including the Speakup module as well. Several distributions can be installed using Speakup. Some instructions are available at the Speakup site.
• Russ mentioned the Quick Learning Techies Show (QLTS) that also occasionally discusses accessibility issues.
• Jonathan discusses the pros and cons of Vinux, as well as his concerns about it being Ubuntu-based.
• Richard asks Jonathan for more details about how Vinux talks a new user through the install.
• If the application is GTK-based, it will likely work with Orca; if it’s QT-based, it probably won’t work with Orca.
• Ted’s software (WA0EIR), including PSK31LX, works via ssh, so the programs are controllable from the command line and would work with the Speakup module.
• Meanwhile, Russ attempts to install Orca during the show.
• Jonathan mentions another podcast he does, This Week in Fedora, and says there is an amateur radio Fedora spin. (I could not find a link to a specific spin of Fedora for amateur radio, but there is a Special Interest Group. -Ed.)
• Frostbite Systems sells desktops and laptops with Linux pre-installed. Customers can choose from Debian, Fedora, Linux Mint, OpenSuse, Ubuntu and Vinux. A portion of each sale is donated back to the distribution chosen.
• Russ asks Jonathan about the hardware he uses in Frostbite systems. All of the laptops/notebooks have all-Intel hardware, while some desktops have nVidia video cards. All are completely Linux-compatible.
• Russ then examines the specifications of some of the Frostbite computers.
• Jonathan also produces several podcasts through Frostbite Media:
  • Frostcast: interviews with project leaders of various GNU/Linux and Free/Open Source projects.
  • This week in Fedora: interviews with people involved with the Fedora project.
  • This week in Debian: interviews with people within the Debian community.
  • Orcacast is on hiatus, but should resume in the not too distant future.

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.

Outtakes:

• Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg

Welcome to Episode #059 of Linux in the Ham Shack. On this edition, we talk with Jonathan Nadeau of Frostbite Systems about Linux for the sight impaired. Jonathan, being a blind Linux user, has overcome many challenges when it comes to using his favorite operating system and he shares with us the ins and outs of accessibility on Linux systems. There is a Linux distribution dedicated to blind users called Vinux, along with an accessible version of Arch called Talking Arch. Even newer versions of Slackware are jumping on the bandwagon with a Speakup enabled installation kernel.

This is also the first episode of LHS with a blooper reel left in at the end. Listen all the way to the last so you don’t miss out on any of the fun. Many thanks to Jonathan for his time and expertise, and many thanks to our listeners for making our show so fun to do.

73 de The LHS Guys

Introduction:

• Indiana LinuxFest promo, March 25-27, 2011.

Announcements:

• Jerry Taylor, KD0BIK, has announced that he will be recording new episodes of The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast. Welcome back, Jerry!
• The Mid-America GNU/Linux Networkers Conference (MAGNet Con) has been postponed until Spring of 2012.
• Check out the Resonant Frequency podcast.
• Linux in the Ham Shack will be at the Indiana LinuxFest, March 25-27, 2011 in Indianapolis. Stop by and say hello. LHS will also be at the SouthEast LinuxFest and the Ohio LinuxFest.

Feedback:

• Ilan Rabinovitch writes to tell us about the Southern California Linux Expo (SCALE 9X), February 25-27, 2011.
  Thanks, Ilan. Sorry we couldn’t include this earlier.
• Kevin, KB9RLW, writes in response to Episode 51 that he agrees that Linux is a good fit for the amateur radio community for several reasons: added flexibility, security, and more choices. Even Windows 7 is still vulnerable and he points to a recent Sophos test. He keeps a WindowsXP virtual machine, in VirtualBox for those Windows applications he must run, though WINE usually works fine. He’s also a fan of The GIMP, OpenOffice, Inkscape, and Scribus. Good points, Kevin, thanks.
• Dave, KA6YQ, points us to instructions for running the DX Lab suite in Linux, which, unfortunately, just says that you can run their software in a Windows XP virtual machine, which isn’t the same as running it on Linux.
• Rick, K9AO, tells us of a native Linux EchoLink client SvxLink. Russ uses the Windows EchoLink program under WINE, but checked out the program. He tried building it from source, because he’s running Debian instead of Fedora, using the posted instructions, without success, but he’ll keep trying.
• Joseph C. sent a donation to the LHS Dayton Hamvention fund. Thank you very much, Joseph!
• Jonathan Nadeau of Frostbite Systems says that if you want to install the extra codecs in Debian, you must first add the multimedia repository to your sources list file (/etc/apt/sources.list). Add the repo, then install the codecs you want. Linux Mint Debian does much of this by default.
  Richard spent most of a day trying to uninstall Gnash and install Flash… without success. And it’s true that IceWeasel and IceDove are the same as Firefox and Thunderbird, but they are one release back. Richard prefers running the current versions.
• Russ tells us that by adding the following line to your /etc/app/sources.list file

  deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org testing main non-free

  and then doing an apt-get update, you’ll be able to install the non-free codecs.

• Russ and Richard then talk about removing Gnash:

  dpkg --remove --force-all gnash

• Russ recommends GhostBSD if you’d like to play with BSD.
• John, EI7IG, writes that Episode 53 was a “cracker” and that he’s a fan of fldigi, too. He also tells us of APRSISCE32, an APRS client for Windows written by Lynn, KJ4ERJ. John has been running IPV6 in the shack and points us to this article by Geoff Huston. Thanks, John.
• Larry Bushey and Tom Chaudoir of the Going Linux podcast send their regards.
• Russ gives an impromptu review of the Linux Reality podcast by Chess Griffin.
• LHS is a sponsor of the upcoming Indiana LinuxFest, and Lord D. sent his appreciation.
• Mogens, OZ1AKN, asks for help on a couple of topics.Question: Is it possible to automatically start a program under WINE?
  Russ responds with:To make a program under WINE start at boot, look at /etc/rc.d/skeleton for a sample. Copy the skeleton file to the name of the WINE app you want to start, then edit it to start whatever you want to start, such as /usr/bin/wine/echolink.If you want a program to start when the X session starts, click:
  menu -> system -> preferences -> statup applications -> Add a startup app
  In the dialog, give it a name and add the command: /usr/bin/wine <application path>

  Question: How do you reinstall Windows in a dual-boot setup?

  Russ responds with:

  It’s easier to install Windows first, then Linux, as the Linux boot loader will automatically detect Windows and include it in the boot menu. If you install Linux first, then Windows, Windows will overwrite the Linux boot loader.

  Otherwise, if you’re trying to repair a dual-boot system, try booting with a system rescue CD to repair GRUB.

  Google “linux boot ntldr ” to find instructions to tell the Windows NTLDR to also boot Linux.

• Tom H. sent a donation to the Dayton Hamvention fund. Thanks, Tom!
• Frazer writes that the LHS Facebook fanpage seems to be geoblocked in Canada. (Russ has fixed the problem. Thanks, Frazer.)
• Jim, KG9EQ, discovered the podcast while searching for QSSTV and wrote to share his appreciation for the website. Thanks, Jim.
• B.B. in the chat room asked if Jerry Taylor has resumed the Practical Amateur Radio podcast. (Richard’s comments were recorded before Jerry resumed recording episodes.)
• Paul, KC9QYB, has resumed his Teen Radio Journey podcast.
• Brady and Rich recently released another episode of the Low SWR podcast.
• Finally, a note to the ICQ Podcast: We encourage Colin to talk more!

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.

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.