AmateurRadio.com

Introduction:

• Richard is looking forward to winter in Texas… all three days of it.

Announcements:

• Subscribers to LHS now have access to the Etherpad, or via the Etherpad link in the Content area of the LHS website.
• Black Sparrow Media now has a Twitter feed at BSM_Network.
• Richard rants: Ubuntu has added a nag screen to the download page requesting a donation.
• Linux Distributions for Ham Radio:
  • Has Shackbox died? There does not seem to be much activity since 2009.
  • Andy’s Ham Radio Linux CD by Andy, KB1OIQ, revisited. Version 11 was released in June, 2012, and is based on Ubuntu 11.10. Several of the tools have been updated to newer versions. Also at http://kb1oiq-andysham.sourceforge.net/
• Jeff Hodsdon published a list of influential ham radio operators, and neither Richard nor Russ are on that list! For shame!

Topics:

• Russ and Richard interview Scott, N8VSI, our LHS ambassador at the 2012 Ohio LinuxFest. He had demos of xastir, fldigi, yfktest, and others. Scott had two computers running and a Raspberry Pi. Sadly, the official LHS banner didn’t show up until two days after the event. Scott is a member of the West Chester Amateur Radio Club which operates from the Voice of America Bethany Relay Station.

Feedback:

• The Old Texas Engineer sent an audio response to Episode 88 about High Speed Multimedia and mesh networks. He gives us some history of HSMM in Texas and his experiences with the technology. He mentions the Open Mesh project and the South Texas Balloon Launch Team website.

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 1-909-LHS-SHOW (1-909-547-7469), 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 Merch 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:

• “El Bubblino” by 20lb Sounds, from the album Bubblino. (That’s Dan Lynch’s band, one of the Linux Outlaws!)
• “Kitsch Me If You Can” by MMO, from the album Drunk Dial of the Year, courtesy of Jamendo.

Introduction:

• A sticky, stormy night in Texas, just right for podcasting and Russ’ attempt to take over the MintCast.

Announcements:

• Pimpin’ the band: Thanks, as always, to Gamma Leonis for the theme music for the show.
• We recently learned of Tom, KB4HQA’s, unfortunate car accident after leaving the Dayton Hamvention this past May. We wish him a speedy recovery and return to podcasting.
• Richard is a fan of America’s Test Kitchen.

Topics:

• Pimpin’ the network: If you have a podcast and want to reach LHS listeners, please visit Black Sparrow Media and contact us to become a member! The Waveguides Podcast did and so can you.
• Who is your hero in amateur radio, living or dead? Let us know! Richard is gathering information for his super-secret project.
• Storm watchin and workin on radios. While a storm raged in Texas, Richard received an email about an IC-735 that would not power on reliably. Richard’s trouble-shooting philosophy: start with the things that are cheap to replace.
• Richard is hoping to pursue a high-speed multimedia (HSMM) and mesh radio project using DD-WRT or OpenWrt for use in emergency communications. Used routers, such as the Linksys WRT54GL, are ideal and can be found for little money.

Feedback:

• Leif, KC8RWR, wrote to clarify a comment to episode 86, explaining that he’d like to try using an NE602 frequency converter to an RTLSDR radio to receive ham bands.
• Brian, G3XGY, heard Russ on the Mintcast and is looking forward to listening to episodes of LHS! Welcome, Brian.
• Leif, KC8RWR, offers a suggestion for Grant, who was having difficulty with the LHS live Linux CD handed out at Dayton. He thinks it may have been due to Linux not recognizing Grant’s video card. Thanks, Leif.
• Harrison, VE2HKW, a sometime participant in MintCast, expresses his appreciation for episode 85, our interview with David Rowe and discussion of Codec2. Thanks, Harrison. Speaking of Codec2, Russ reports that David Rowe has won the 2012 ARRL Technical Innovation Award for his work on Codec2. Congratulations, David!
• Harrison, VE2HKW, wrote to ask for help with his Icom IC-735 (as mentioned above).
• Claudio of the LinuxBasement podcast thanks us for the mention in episode 87.

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 1-909-LHS-SHOW (1-909-547-7469), 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 Merch 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:

• “The Television Song” by Bryan Dunn, from the album Vicious Waltz, courtesy of Jamendo.
• “Total Breakdown” by Brad Sucks, from the album Out of It, courtesy of Jamendo.

Hello, esteemed listeners. Welcome to the latest installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. Tonight, Richard and Russ take the first third of the podcast to get a few topics off their minds that they’ve been thinking about over the past several weeks, whether or not those topics have anything to do with amateur radio or Linux. Wedged in the middle, discussion of wireless networking comes up, using HSMM and inexpensive Linksys hardware to provide Part 15 and Part 97 based communications for local, regional and EMCOMM use. Then our cagey hosts finish up with a mad dash through feedback, giving useful advice to those listeners with enough mettle to write in. Thanks as always to our loyal followers. We appreciate each and every one of you, each and every fortnight.

73 de The LHS Guys

Welcome to the latest installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. It’s almost time for Hamvention 2012! We hope that we’ll be able to see our listeners and friends at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio from May 18th through the 20th. With your donations, the thermometer at left has almost exploded. If you can spare a dollar or two, we’ll be at our goal in no time.

In this episode, our trusty [sic] hosts talk with an Ambassdor. Richard’s interview with Ronny is so good it would make Anderson Cooper–well, throw up probably. They also discuss Linux topics like Mint-based distributions and irssi, an IRC chat client, as well as ham radio topics from HSMM to Winlink to contest loggers. The guys respond to a bunch of listener feedback and talk about some new features of the show.

A quick heads up: The interview audio is a little rough with some weird background anomaly. It won’t drive you mad, just make you wonder what was going on on Ronny’s side of the line. We suspect dinner and a seance.

73 de The LHS Guys

Lately I’ve been fascinated by the capabilities of mesh networks. The ability to quickly create ad-hock computer networks could be an invaluable resource for amateur radio operators in general and particularly for emergency communications (EMCOM)

The particular device and software I have been experimenting with is the Linksys WRT54G router and HSMM-MESH firmware from http://hsmm-mesh.org/.

Installing the HSMM-MESH firmware changes the way the Linksys router functions and allows it to automatically connect to other HSMM routers in a mesh network. No special configuration is required after setting your callsign. All TCP/IP configuration is pre-configured, even down to automatically assigning addresses to connecting clients.

Mesh networks are highly fault tolerant. Every router in the network is aware of every other router and has the ability to move network packets through from one unit to another provided there is a link, or chain of linked routers, between them.
In the diagram to the right each router is represented by a numbered circle. If router number 6 were to fail then network packets that needed to move between router 1 and 7 would travel through routers 2 & 3 or 5 & 10 until 6 was repaired. All this happens automatically and quickly enough so that there is no disruption to the traffic.

Anything you can access on a normal computer network can be made to work on a mesh network. Some of the services that have been demonstrated include email, voice over IP (VOIP), video conferencing, file sharing, web servers & groupware applications.

With simple modified antennas the modest output power from the WRT54G (100 to 200mW) can be used to reach distances of many miles or tens of miles with directional antennas. Mounting the router on a mast in a sealed enclosure can reduce losses from long cable runs while running off 12V power makes them compatible with ham radio power sources including solar and wind power.

The example to the left is from NG5V located on hsmm-mesh.org and consists of an omni-directional external antenna and a lawn sprinkler controller box from a popular home improvement store.

Did you know that … Frequencies used by channels one through six of 802.11b and 802.11g fall within the 2.4 GHz amateur radio band. Licensed amateur radio operators may operate 802.11b/g devices under Part 97 of the FCC Rules and Regulations, allowing increased power output but not commercial content or encryption.

I hope to acquire a few more WRT54G routers and put together a mesh network in the Katy TX area as a resource for experimentation and education in an area not normally touched upon by regular amateur radio operators. Who knows what the future holds & it behooves us to investigate this technology and bend it to our own needs.

The Amateur is Progressive … He keeps his station abreast of science. It is well built and efficient. His operating practice is above reproach.

Introduction:

Announcements:

• The free Black Sparrow Media Android app is available now. An iPhone app is in the works. Visit http://blacksparrowmedia.net/ or the Android Market to get your copy.
• Ronny, K4RJJ, has offered to be an LHS ambassador at the Dalton Hamfest, February 25, 2012, in Dalton, GA.
• The Southern California Linux Expo, SCaLE 10x will be (was!) January 20-22, 2012, in Los Angeles, CA. If you will attend and would like to be an ambassador for LHS, please let us know.
• Northeast Linux Fest will be March 17, 2012, in Worcester, MA. Again, if you’d like to be an LHS ambassador for that event, please contact us.

Topics:

• IPv6 – The End is Near (of IPv4)
  • Internet Protocol version 6.
  • If you can, start setting up your devices for IPv6 on your devices that support it. All of the current IPv4 address space has been allocated to the Regional Internet registrars (RIRs). IPv6 is the next version of Internet Protocol with a greatly expanded address space.
  • IPv6 is now the default IP stack for Linux. Unfortunately, many Internet service providers (ISPs) are not yet ready for IPv6.
  • There are IPv6 tunneling services that will forward your IPv6 traffic to IPv4 services:
    • SixXS
    • Freenet6
    • Hurricane Electric
  • If possible, give IPv6 a try. It’s inevitable, so if it works for you, you’ll be that much further along.
• HSMM – High Speed Multimedia, also known as “hinternet” (ham + internet)
  • The advantage is that we can use the normal “Internet” tools and off-the-shelf wifi hardware to provide emergency communications services.
  • One caveat: avoid using channel 1 as it uses the same frequency as AMSAT OSCAR 40 (Note: AO-40 became non-operational in 2004.)
  • Compared with other digital communications equipment, HSMM offers a lot of capability for little investment. The Linksys WRT54GL router is often used with alternate firmware from dd-wrt or OpenWrt.
  • Resources:
    • What is HSMM Microwave Radio?
    • N5OOM’s HSMM Projects
    • Rootenna Project
    • HSMM MESH

Feedback:

• Andrew, AC8JO, updated his blog to acknowledge that the LHS website has been updated and new episodes have been released. Thanks, Andrew!
• Bert, K1OIK, has been a frequent commenter on the website. Unfortunately, the comments aren’t appropriate and he becomes the latest victim of the Ban Hammer.
• To Gary, KN4AQ: contact us via email if you’d like us promote your endeavors.

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 1-909-LHS-SHOW (1-909-547-7469), 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 Merch 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.

Today the guys delve deep into their geek pockets and come up with a couple of fairly advanced networking topics. One is ham radio related, the other is everything related. Don’t be scared off, however, as the discussion is a 10,000-foot overview of these technologies and how they will be important in YOUR future. Russ tackles IPv6 in a generic way, discussing using it with Linux, and gets on his soapbox about how everyone should already be using it.

Richard discusses a wireless technology called HSMM or High-Speed Multimedia. This is a networking technique that blurs the line between FCC Part 15 and FCC Part 97, but gives ham radio operators some new and exciting things to try with their off the shelf wireless gear. HSMM has some nice features and will definitely earn you your Boy Scout Geek Cred Badge if you decide to dive in.

Thanks as always to our listeners, present and future. Comments and questions, make sure to send them our way. Donations are also appreciated. If you want to promote yourself, your ideas or your projects, leave us an intro to the show at 1-909-LHS-SHOW. Stay geeky!