[clue-tech] Linux HAMs?

[Ed]

Nate (and the group),

Yes, my callsign is popular with some of my old HF contester buddies. The
ones who were into CW contesting especially liked to use my call because
when working pileups it's common to just send "QRZ FU" or "FU"  for "who is
calling NL7FU" and work the next station. They got a kick because as you
know "FU" is also a pretty in your face way to tell someone off, so they
loved the idea using the "FU" call. Crazy bunch of guys those old school
contesters.

Sadly, it seems HF and Ham Radio in general is under pressure by commercial
interests who covet the bandwidth.

I often think about how Ham Radio was really the first internet. There are
many many similarities.

I've been a ham since I was about 12 years old, and had some really cool
experiences talking to people all over the world from Alaska.

I also worked King Hussein of Jordan who was a ham, listened to traffic
during the Bosnian war, and worked tons of guys on little islands in the
Pacific who always had cool stories to tell. Before the wall came down the
eastern Europeans were an interesting bunch to work too. Maybe the coolest
QSO I had was with the guy who is a direct descendant of the first mate who
led the mutineers of the Bounty, and who still lives on Pitcairn island. I
didn't know the story, and he related it to me over a long 80 meter QSO. So
I first heard the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty from the direct
descendant of Fletcher Christian on an 80 meter ham radio conversation. Got
to like that.

All that stuff you mentioned below is completely unfamiliar to me, but it
doesn't take much to get me intrigued. I'll have to follow the links and
have a look. Maybe one day we'll have an "eyball QSO" and you can demo some
of it.

73 de NL7FU (Ed)

On Wed, Aug 6, 2008 at 4:52 PM, Nate Duehr <nate at natetech.com> wrote:

> Ed wrote:
>
>> Me too. A crazy TCP/IP over Ax.25 guy, that is. I discovered Linux around
>> '93, and then when I found out that there was going to be a "Linux for Hams"
>> distro based on Debian, started down the road to fanaticism. Back in the
>> day, I had a tnc a dual band ht, and my 486 Linux box serving web pages over
>> Ax.25 at something like 2400 baud I think. When I bought a dedicated data
>> radio I got it up to 9600 baud. Whoo hoo!
>>
>
>
> I learned all about the TCP 3-way handshake watching it over a 1200 bps
> (AMPR) half-duplex link (because it was soooooo slow, you could read the
> traces "live" on the screen) back in those days.  Back when Ethernet packet
> sniffers were $15,000... but every AX.25/AMPR/IP setup was running one of
> the "NOS" varieties of software with built in IP sniffing.  Was cool back
> then.
>
> My latest time-sink is D-STAR...
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-STAR
>
> http://www.dstarusers.org - Shows activity, world-wide
>
> http://www.coloradodstar.org  - The locals
>
> Some stuff written for it is in Java and cross-platform.  Other stuff is
> Windows only.  No Mac-only yet, that I've seen from both open and
> closed-source developers.  One nice python app using GTK for the windowing,
> I think.
>
> The manufacturer (Icom) specifies CentOS for the "Gateway" computer, and
> doesn't even mention that it's derived from RHEL or that you could support
> RH by buying it... all the way down to CentOS 5.1 screenshots in the
> (horrible) installation document from Japan.
>
> The Icom-sponsored radio programming software from a company called RT
> Systems, is Windows-only.
>
>
>  Some serious kernel and hardware hacking.
>>
>
>
> Hardware here, no kernel...
>
>
>  I sold all my ham gear a couple years ago, except for the Heathkit stuff I
>> built way back before there was such a thing as Linux. I always tell myself
>> I'll get back into it again when the kids are a bit older and I have a bit
>> more time.
>>
>
>
> That's a bummer.  I've contemplated that "option" a lot lately, but I think
> I'll keep at least one rig at home and in the vehicle.
>
>
>  Maybe I'll build up another huge HF station up on a mountain top in Alaska
>> and control it remotely via some ridiculous satellite link setup down here
>> in America.
>>
>
>
> I keep hearing that Ham Radio Deluxe and Skype mixed together with some
> interfacing of the sound card in the PC to the mic/speaker outputs of the
> rig, makes for a "just fine" way to remotely control just about any station,
> as long as the rig is supported by HRD.
>
> Could also use something like Windows Remote Desktop (it passes audio from
> the remote machine while you're controlling it, a very neat trick) and avoid
> the Skype part, I suppose.
>
>
>  73 de NL7FU
>>
>
> I bet you used to get some (unwanted?) attention on CW with that callsign
> ending in "FU"!
>
> :-)
>
> Nate WY0X
>
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>



-- 
Ed
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