Posts Tagged ‘Linux’
LHS Episode #099: Thorpe Your Octo
February 7th, 2013 | 
Author: 
We are one episode away from the century mark. It’s with a great deal of pride that we, the hosts of Linux in the Ham Shack, present to you our 99tieth episode. We would love to have some audio feedback from as many of our listeners as we can get that we can air on our 100th Episode Extravaganza. If you have the time and inclination, please submit a sound bite telling us how much you love the show, or hate it, or whether a weasel stole your chickens. It doesn’t matter; we just want to hear from you! In the meantime, since Russ actually sat down and did some research for the episode, please take a listen and try to glean from it whatever nuggets of wisdom you might find. We’re not saying they’re in there, but the journey to discovery has been fun so far.
73 de The LHS Guys
Bdale KB0G Makes Stuff!
Last week, I had lunch with an old friend, Bdale Garbee (KB0G). Bdale and I had both worked at HP for a number of years and we have been involved in some common ham radio clubs and activities. I followed the test and measurement path with Agilent Technologies when that company was formed, while Bdale stayed with the HP computer business. He is a recognized industry expert in Unix, Linux and all things open source. It is always cool to catch up with him and find out what he has been doing. He recently took early retirement from HP…I am not sure what “retirement” means for Bdale but its not playing shuffleboard at the retirement home!
Coincidentally, a few days later, I came across this video from HamRadioNow of Bdale talking at the ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference. In this talk, Bdale discusses the general theme of making stuff and the satisfaction that is derived from that activity. It is about an hour long so grab a cup of your favorite beverage and take a seat.
By the way, check out the other HamRadioNow videos, especially the videos of the DCC technical talks. Good stuff!
73, Bob K0NR
Show Notes #096
Introduction:
- Welcome to another edition of the Super Happy Crappy Hour!
Announcements:
- The Black Sparrow Media mobile app is again hosted thanks to listener donations. Visit the BSM website to download the app and enjoy all of the BSM affiliated shows.
- CafeNinja and the Tin Foil Hat Show have joined the Black Sparrow Media network.
- If you’d like to participate in the chat room, point your IRC client at the irc.freenode.net server, and join the #lhspodcast channel.
- You can listen to the live show by pointing your media player (VLC, Totem, or whatever) to http://stream.blacksparrow.net:8008/lhslive.
- Our live recording night will be moving to Wednesday evenings (CST) beginning with Episode 97, scheduled for December 12th, 2012.
- Welcome Gnorman to the LHS staff.
Topics:
- TLF Contest Logger.
- Our hosts then embark on several digressions about Gnorman, Lua, and other podcasters.
Feedback:
- Torsten, DL1THM, sends an email describing his use of a Raspberry Pi as an APRS digi using aprx software and as a D-Star repeater using a DV-RPTR board. Thanks, Torsten.
- Greg responded to episode 94 about uses for the Raspberry Pi, including a media PC with Raspbmc and perhaps as a weather station. Thanks, Greg.
- Russ and Richard also talk about D-Star stuff, and D-RATS. (D-RATS has been mentioned in LHS episodes 17, 32, 56, 71 and 90.)
- Comment from the Web site from Leif, KC8RWR, in response to episode 91 where Russ rants about the lack of speakers in the head units of mobile radios. Thanks, Leif.
- Fred, DH5FS, sent a suggestion to consider TLF as a Linux contest logger. Thanks, Fred. Your email inspired tonight’s topic.
- Bill, KJ4KNI, on Facebook expressed his appreciation for help getting Linux Mint 13 with the MATE desktop running on his main computer. He also provides several reasons a ham might wish to use RG6 (75 ohm coax) in radio applications. Thanks, Bill.
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:
- “Crooked Smile Girl” by Heather Pierson, from her album Make It Mine.
- “Agnostic” by Daniel Bautista from the album 15, courtesy of Jamendo.
Show Notes #095
Introduction:
- Welcome to episode 95 of Linux in the Ham Shack. Episode 100 looms on the horizon, and we’d like to do something a little special. Call in to the LHS voice mail line at +1-909-LHS-SHOW (1-909-547-7469), or send an email, and share your thoughts about the show.
- LHS recommends this LOL Cat image.
Announcements:
- Kevin O’Brien, Publicity Director of the Ohio LinuxFest, is looking for someone to step up and take on the role of Volunteer Coordinator. If anyone is interested please reply to [email protected].
- We now digress into a ramble about censorship.
- On page 45 of the December 2012 issue of QST has an article on vertical vs. horizontal antennas, a topic we discussed in episode 91. In the same issue, on page 52, there is also an article about the NorthWest Digital Radio UDR56K, a topic we discussed in episode 90. Are we seeing a pattern here?
- Also in that issue is a description of several FCC Proposed Rule Changes, and our hosts discuss each of them:
- Reduction of license expiration grace period from 2 years to 6 months.
- Reduction of vanity call waiting period from 2 years to 6 months.
- Reduction of the number of Volunteer Examiners at test sessions from 3 to 2.
- Possible allowance of “remote testing” facilities using video and audio over a network that allows for proper administration of tests.
- Allow single-slot TDMA transmissions.
- The 2012 Fort Wayne Hamfest is this weekend, November 17-18, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This is also the ARRL Convention for Indiana. This launches Richard into reminiscing about the presentation of The Last Voice from Kuwait.
Topics:
- Symbolic (or soft) Links vs. Hard Links
- Russ and Richard offer a discussion of the difference between soft, or symbolic, links and hard links in Linux.
- A symbolic link is a pointer to another file name. Symbolic links can be created with the ln -s command:
ln -s [original file] [link name]
- Symbolic links can point to files on other volumes or file systems.
- Hard links, on the other hand, are pointers to the data of another file, just like a directory entry is a pointer to the first block of data for the file. Hard links are also created with the ln command, but without the -s switch.
- Hard links can only be used on the same file system.
- A symbolic link is equivalent to a Windows shortcut, a pointer to the name of another file. A hard link is a reference to the data (first inode) of another file, and thus must be created on the same file system.
- When the original file with associated hard links is deleted, the data remains until all of the hard links are also deleted. Deleting the original file with associated soft links will delete the file and the data, but the soft links will remain, now orphaned.
- More information about links is available here.
Feedback:
- Listener Dave left a comment on the web site expressing his appreciation for the show, and also became a subscriber. Thanks, Dave!
- Jeremy, KD5HQN, also commented on the web site, claiming he’s actually learning something from the shows! He also corrected Richard about the proper location of Orthanc. Thanks, Jeremy.
- Bill, KJ4KNI, asked, via Richard’s Facebook page, for suggestions about the best Linux distribution for a beginner. (Linux Mint 13 is a good choice.) He also wonders why a ham might use 75-ohm RG6 coax as an antenna feedline. Our hosts discuss the possibilities.
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:
- “Easier As Us” by Michael McEachern, courtesy of Jamendo.
- “Wicked” by Fresh Body Shop, from their album Bring Me Down, courtesy of Jamendo.
LHS Episode #095: I Has the Dumb
Richard called this one of our best efforts to date, which means there must be some kind of worthwhile contained buried in all the tomfoolery somewhere. If you can find it, you’ll be that much wiser for whatever it is we discussed. Silliness aside, we discuss some proposed FCC rule changes for the amateur radio community, the difference between hard and soft (symbolic) linking for our Linux segment, and answer questions and receive praise from several members of our audience. On the whole it turned out to be a pretty good episode, and we sure had a lot of fun doing it. Thanks to all our listeners for your support and for keeping us motivated to bring you ever more episodes of Linux in the Ham Shack.
73 de The LHS Guys
Show Notes #093
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.
Show Notes #090
Introduction:
- Join us this episode as our intrepid hosts, Richard and Russ (mad posstcatter!), interview John Hays of NorthWest Digital Radio.
Topics:
- Interview with John Hays (K7VE) from NorthWest Digital Radio.
- John has been a licensed amateur radio operator for 40 years. His wife and all of his children are hams, too!
- A couple years ago John gave a presentation at TAPR, and discussed his wish for a reasonably priced radio for digital communications with just a few connections: antenna, power and Ethernet.
- Bryan Hoyer (now K7UDR) approached John and volunteered to build one. Their collaboration (with Basil Gunn) resulted in NorthWest Digital Radio.
- Their first product will be the UDR56K-4 Universal Digital Radio, planned for availability in early 2013.
- John goes on to discuss the features of their digital radio and some of the design decisions the company made.
- Specifications (subject to change, of course):
- 25W 70cm Transceiver
- 4800 to 56Kbps
- FSK, GMSK, 4FSK
- Open Source Linux Platform — a full Linux-based web server is built-in. It uses the Debian kernel, running on an ARM processor (faster than a Raspberry Pi).
- Web Interface over Ethernet
- 4 USB Host Ports
- Applications:
- The radio can be completely controlled through the web interface or the command line.
- John talks about other potential applications for their radio platform.
- Keep an eye on the website for more information and to sign up for email announcements.
- You may also be interested in John’s blog.
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.
