Ham Shack Computer for the Frugal

Tony Monroe W6SFI

South Bay Amateur Radio Association
General Meeting
March 2018

Front Matter

  1. Typographical Conventions
  2. Typographical Conventions

Typographical Conventions

Names of applications or software packages

Literal text

File and directory names

Names of commands

Names of variables and their ${expansions}

inline(codeFragment);

GUI Menu Names, Menu Items, Labels, and Buttons

A Specific Key on your keyboard

Typographical Conventions

Note

Take note of this.

A block quotation from someone or somewhere...

Warning

Dire consequences ahead!

10 PRINT "PROGRAM LISTING"
20 GOTO 10    
      
command-prompt$ user-supplied input
output on the screen

About this presentation

  1. What this presentation covers
  2. What this presentation does not cover
  3. Warnings

What this presentation covers

Capabilities of my station, given my particular combination of hardware and software.

The personal experiences of one radio amateur. Your mileage may vary!

Mostly text, some pictures, and totally untested humor.

What this presentation does not cover

How to partition your disks, back up your data, install an operating system, or perform basic administration tasks.

Copious detail on how to use the individual programs highlighted here. Some programs will have more detail than others.

How to assemble a slide deck without using the right tool for the job.

Warnings

Warning

Back up your data before doing anything drastic to your computer!

Warning

Connect to a dummy load before experimenting with anything that could transmit!

Warning

RF can cause weird things to happen on computers. Be prepared to add RF chokes to power and data cables.

My journey to amateur radio

  1. Papa Maurice
  2. Granddad Stephen
  3. Education
  4. Professional career
  5. Motivations

Papa Maurice

Worked on aircraft and their engines at Edwards AFB in the high desert of Southern California.

Took me and my brother to Mojave Airport many times to look at airplanes.

Designed, planned, and built many of the additions to his house!

"Mechanically inclined" would be an understatement.

Voyager Aircraft and Space Shuttle Challenger made quite an impression on a young mind!

Granddad Stephen

U.S. Army intelligence.

Initially licensed in Massachusetts as W1BAN in 1930.

Changed to W6SFI after moving to California in 1941.

Quarter Century Wireless Association #11,768.

Worked CW, SSB, local repeaters, SSTV.

Actively encouraged my interest in computers.

Education

In high school, skipped mechanical physics, went straight for electricity & magnetism.

At UC Berkeley, Joined a student computing club that was most likely to get in trouble with the campus system and network administrators :-)

Learned a few computer langauges, actively pursued a Windows-free existence with heavy use of open-source software.

Professional career

Always trying to be versatile and curious, favoring UNIX-like computing environments and open-source tools.

Still haven't figured out how to balance in-house workers' time versus paying a vendor for a product.

Combined with my curiosity about things...I'm not management material yet :-)

Motivations

Still curious about STEM topics. (Just look at my "Watch Later" playlist on YouTube...)

Numbers stations on shortwave radio! What's the deal with that?

Can I build that? (Physically, not in software)

How does that work? What's underneath it?

How little do I need to maximize my capabilities?

Is there a book on it at my local public library?

About My Ham Shack

  1. NooElec SDR and upconverter
  2. ICOM IC-7200 transceiver
  3. Yaesu FTM-3100 transceiver
  4. MFJ-949E transmatch
  5. RigBlaster nomic
  6. SODIAL LD-C103 USB CW interface
  7. Antennas

NooElec SDR and upconverter

Receives 24-1766 MHz with external antenna.

Additional software required to demodulate what you receive.

With transverter shift of -125 MHz, can also receive 0-24 MHz!

ICOM IC-7200 transceiver

Covers 0-54 MHz.

CW, SSB, AM, RTTY, digital modes, but no FM.

Up to 100 watts output power.

Yaesu FTM-3100 transceiver

Covers 136-174 MHz.

Analog FM only!

5 to 65 watts output power.

MFJ-949E transmatch

Totally manual and passive.

2 antennas, 12-position inductor, 2 variable capacitors.

Connectors for coax or balanced line.

Can handle up to 300 watts.

Integrated dummy load and SWR meter; handy for testing!

RigBlaster nomic

Enables digital modes for older or less featureful transceivers.

While testing, make sure to have a dummy load handy!

SODIAL LD-C103 USB CW interface

Turns a USB port into a software-controlled straight key.

Earn dirty looks from hard-core mechanical key enthusiasts!

Set up your rig to expect a straight key, or disable its internal keyer.

Antennas

Alpha-Delta DX-EE multi-band dipole, covers 40-6 meters.

Copper pipe J-pole, covers 2 meters & 70 centimeters.

End-fed 120-foot long wire, covers 160-60 meters.

Setting Up the Computer

  1. Computer specifications
  2. Ubuntu Linux
  3. Setting up the operating system
  4. A word about keyboards
  5. Adding additional software repositories
  6. Serial ports
  7. Serial ports
  8. Working with sound cards

Computer specifications

16 GB memory. Probably too much, but software only grows over time...

250 GB solid-state disk -- definitely too much, but far faster and quieter than spinning platters of rust!

Intel Core i5, 2.7 GHz, 4 cores -- probably overkill.

Mini-ITX form factor motherboard and case -- nice and compact!

Ubuntu Linux

https://www.ubuntu.com/

Probably the best combination of user-friendly desktop environment plus all the low-level command-line power tools you could want, with a very low price (your time and effort).

Can take advantage of packaging work done by Debian -- very important for easy acquisition of ham-related software!

Not actually my preferred operating system (FreeBSD) but more popular and thus better supported. Besides, much open-source software is written for Linux first.

Download an image from the web site, burn it to USB stick or DVD, and install.

Setting up the operating system

Most application software can be installed from the Ubuntu Software application.

A word about keyboards

Linux and UNIX-like operating systems have a long history of providing very focused tools that are very good at what they do -- and nothing else -- and encouraging users to combine those tools to accomplish their tasks.

This generally means that:

Note

You need not publicly take sides in the long-running Emacs versus vi holy war. :-)

Adding additional software repositories

By adding additional software repositories beyond those that come with Ubuntu, you gain access to ham-related software and you also make it easier to install updates later!

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Repositories/Ubuntu

After you find an interesting repository, you can add it with the instructions on that page. If you're the command-line type, you can (e.g.): 

[yourself@workstation ~]$ sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ubuntu-hams-updates/ppa
[yourself@workstation ~]$ sudo apt-get update

Since you are a radio amateur, you may want to look into these repositories:

Serial ports

Serial ports are commonly used by amateur radio hardware to allow computer control.

Lots of devices have USB-to-serial hardware built in.

Most serial ports have boring, indistinct names that are allocated as the devices are plugged in and/or powered on. 

[yourself@workstation ~]$ ls -l /dev/ttyUSB*
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 188, 0 Dec  9 20:56 /dev/ttyUSB0
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 188, 1 Dec  2 17:59 /dev/ttyUSB1
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 188, 3 Dec  9 23:27 /dev/ttyUSB3

However your operating system may also provide more descriptive names that are not based on when the device was plugged in. 

[yourself@workstation ~]$ ls -l /dev/serial/by-id/
total 0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 Dec  9 20:56 usb-1a86_USB2.0-Serial-if00-port0 -> ../../ttyUSB0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 Dec  2 17:58 usb-Prolific_Technology_Inc._USB-Serial_Controller_D-if00-port0 -> ../../ttyUSB1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 Dec  9 23:27 usb-Silicon_Labs_CP2102_USB_to_UART_Bridge_Controller_IC-7200_0205281-if00-port0 -> ../../ttyUSB3

Serial ports

[yourself@workstation ~]$ ls -l /dev/ttyUSB*
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 188, 0 Dec  9 20:56 /dev/ttyUSB0
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 188, 1 Dec  2 17:59 /dev/ttyUSB1
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 188, 3 Dec  9 23:27 /dev/ttyUSB3
[yourself@workstation ~]$ ls -l /dev/serial/by-id/
total 0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 Dec  9 20:56 usb-1a86_USB2.0-Serial-if00-port0 -> ../../ttyUSB0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 Dec  2 17:58 usb-Prolific_Technology_Inc._USB-Serial_Controller_D-if00-port0 -> ../../ttyUSB1
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 13 Dec  9 23:27 usb-Silicon_Labs_CP2102_USB_to_UART_Bridge_Controller_IC-7200_0205281-if00-port0 -> ../../ttyUSB3

Remember where to find these! You may need to put them in configuration files later.

Also add yourself to group dialout so that you can access those serial ports as yourself, without being the root superuser!

Warning

If you attach two devices that use the same very popular chip set, they may be indistinguishable by name. You will have to resort to number instead.

The chip set from Prolific Technology Inc. appears in many USB-to-serial cables as well as some USB GPS devices...and probably a lot of other stuff too!

Working with sound cards

In addition to the built-in sound card on the motherboard, you can add as many USB sound cards as you want.

Newer amateur radio hardware that emits sound output or accepts sound input can appear as a sound card when it is attached.

Addressing individual sound devices is trickier than with serial ports. The operating system does some magic behind the scenes to allow multiple programs to access them, and they have funny addresses.

I have 3 sound cards on the computer right now:

To find the addresses of individual sound devices, I find myself using:

Capabilities Achieved

  1. Scanner and pandapter: hardware
  2. Scanner and pandapter: software
  3. Computer control of a rig with Hamlib
  4. Setting up Hamlib
  5. Many programs sharing one rig
  6. Logging with CQRLog
  7. CQRLog features
  8. CQRLog features of note
  9. Exporting logs from CQRLog
  10. Qtel for EchoLink
  11. Weak signal modes with WSJT-X
  12. Digital modes and contests with FLDigi
  13. Hardware setup for packet radio
  14. Packet radio with Direwolf
  15. APRS with Xastir
  16. Direwolf for AX.25
  17. Packet radio with linpac
  18. Computer-generated CW with cwdaemon
  19. Contesting with tlf
  20. Configuring tlf: main configuration file
  21. Configuring tlf: the rules file
  22. tlf in action
  23. tlf in action
  24. tlf after a contest

Scanner and pandapter: hardware

Many programs can read from an attached SDR dongle.

Warning

If you run a transmitting rig near this hardware, put ferrite chokes on the USB cables!

Scanner and pandapter: software

The program gqrx will read from an attached SDR dongle.

It can detect the presence of any RF signal, and can demodulate analog AM, FM, CW, and SSB in software.

It can also record audio or raw I/Q to a file, and make audio available for other programs to consume, possibly over the network!

With a transverter shift of -125 MHz, you can listen down into MF and HF.

Note

Listening to rock 'n roll music on negative frequencies does not play it backwards, and does not reveal hidden messages from Delta Echo Victor India Lima.

Computer control of a rig with Hamlib

The nice folks at Hamlib wrote a library that gives a common interface to many (hundreds of) rigs.

Many popular programs that control rigs are built on Hamlib!

Setting up Hamlib

For most applications, all you need to find out are: 

[yourself@workstation ~]$ rigctl -l | head -5
 Rig #  Mfg                    Model                   Version         Status
     1  Hamlib                 Dummy                   0.5             Beta
     2  Hamlib                 NET rigctl              0.3             Beta
   101  Yaesu                  FT-847                  0.5             Beta
   103  Yaesu                  FT-1000D                0.0.6           Alpha
[yourself@workstation ~]$ rigctl -l | grep IC-7200
   361  Icom                   IC-7200                 0.7             Beta

We already found the serial port earlier! 

[yourself@workstation ~]$ ls -l /dev/ttyUSB*
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 188, 0 Dec  9 20:56 /dev/ttyUSB0
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 188, 1 Dec  2 17:59 /dev/ttyUSB1
crw-rw---- 1 root dialout 188, 3 Dec  9 23:27 /dev/ttyUSB3

Many programs sharing one rig

But what if you want multiple programs on one machine to use your rig?

Or, even crazier yet, let a program elsewhere on the network use your rig?

Hamlib to the rescue again!

Set up the Hamlib program rigctld with the rig ID number and the serial port device.

Set up the remote program with rig ID number 2 (NET rigctl) and direct it to the host and port where rigctld is running.

Logging with CQRLog

If CQRLog has a work-alike in the Windows space, it is N1MM or HamRadio Deluxe.

rigctld, cwdaemon, Reverse Beacon Network, DX cluster, XPlanet, grayline map, HamQTH, QRZ, Logbook of the World, eQSL, ClubLog...too many capabilities to count!

CQRLog features

The preferences window has multiple tabs. Yes, it is a deep rabbit hole.

CQRLog features of note

Launch rigctld on startup, and use it for rig control and logging assistance.

Slurp over logs from FLDigi or WSJT-X. (But not simultaneously.)

CW macros and a contest entry window, with support for serial numbers!

From the online help:

This is NOT a contest logging add-on!!! It is meant to be a tool for "Sunday contesters working in Tourist Class". Do not expect wonders!

Exporting logs from CQRLog

If you use Logbook of the World and have TrustedQSL installed, CQRLog can make the signing and uploading process easier.

And then afterwards, you can find the individual ADIF file and upload it to your favorite logbook site (e.g. QRZ, eQSL, ClubLog, QRZCQ).

Qtel for EchoLink

Not much to say. Enter your credentials, set up the audio devices, and go!

Weak signal modes with WSJT-X

In CQRLog, first set Remote mode for WSJT-X then launch WSJT-X.

WSJT-X doesn't like sharing the rig; make sure it's the only process using it!

After you're done with WSJT-X, remember to disable Remote mode for WSJT-X.

Digital modes and contests with FLDigi

FLDigi can use its own RigCAT system, but Hamlib without rigctld seems to work better in my case.

Still have to manually set the rig to take modulation from computer. Can be annoying on band changes! Perhaps newer Hamlib solves this?

Set CQRLog to Remote mode for FLDigi before launching FLDigi, then communication between the two should work fine.

Remember to disable Remote mode for FLDigi after you're done with FLDigi.

Hardware setup for packet radio

Packet radio with Direwolf

Direwolf is a software TNC that can interface with a sound card and a serial port.

$HOME/direwolf.conf 
# see  /usr/share/doc/direwolf/examples/direwolf.conf.gz
ADEVICE sysdefault:CARD=PCH
ACHANNELS 1
CHANNEL 0
MYCALL W6SFI-1
MODEM 1200
PTT /dev/ttyUSB0 RTS DTR
AGWPORT 8000
KISSPORT 8001

You can run Direwolf silently in the background, or watch it scroll in a terminal.

APRS with Xastir

Direwolf is much better when you combine it with other programs that actually know what to do with packets, like Xastir.

Xastir gets even better when you attach it to a GPS dongle and a weather station.

For those who don't like to buy purpose-built tracker hardware, there are many guides on the internet about how to combine a Raspberry Pi, Direwolf, Xastir, and a GPS dongle into a portable APRS solution.

Direwolf for AX.25

With a slightly different configuration, Direwolf can be convinced to be a KISS TNC for generic AX.25 operation.

$HOME/direwolf.conf.packet 
# see  /usr/share/doc/direwolf/examples/direwolf.conf.gz
ADEVICE sysdefault:CARD=PCH
ACHANNELS 1
CHANNEL 0
MYCALL W6SFI-2
MODEM 1200
FIX_BITS 1 AX25
PTT /dev/ttyUSB0 RTS DTR
AGWPORT 8000
KISSPORT 8001
/etc/ax25/axports 
packet	W6SFI-2	1200	255	2	1200 BPS packet

Packet radio with linpac

linpac can spew packets out into the ether, or connect to a packet BBS.

Computer-generated CW with cwdaemon

Are you better at keyboards than straight keys or paddles? This may be for you!

/etc/default/cwdaemon 
START_CWDAEMON="YES"
DEVICE="ttyUSB1"

Configuring your particular keyer device is beyond the scope of this presentation; mine required none.

Start it up! 

[yourself@workstation ~]$ sudo service cwdaemon start
[yourself@workstation ~]$ nc -u localhost 6789
+- CQ DE W6SFI PSE K
^C

Did it work?

Contesting with tlf

tlf is a console-based contest logger. Run it in an 80x25 terminal with a huge font.

tlf is operated entirely by keyboard, and configured entirely by text files.

Best to configure things in advance, and read the documentation thoroughly.

Most of the features you would expect in dedicated contest software:

Configuring tlf: main configuration file

$HOME/.config/tlf/logcfg.dat 
CALL=W6SFI
CWSPEED=20
CLUSTER
BANDMAP
SCOREWINDOW
CHECKWINDOW
PARTIALS
RIGMODEL=361
RIGSPEED=9600
RIGPORT=/dev/serial/by-id/usb-Silicon_Labs_CP2102_USB_to_UART_Bridge_Controller_IC-7200_0205281-if00-port0
RADIO_CONTROL
CONTEST=arrldx
NETKEYER
NO_BANDSWITCH_ARROWKEYS

Configuring tlf: the rules file

$HOME/.config/tlf/rules/arrldx 
CONTEST=arrldx
LOGFILE=arrldx.log
CONTEST_MODE
CABRILLO=UNIVERSAL
THREE_POINTS
MULT_LIST=arrl10m_mults
MY_COUNTRY_POINTS=0
COUNTRY_MULT
F1=+- CQ % TEST
F2=+-  %
F3=+- @ +++5NN--- CA
F4=+- TU
F5=+- @
F6=+- %
F7=+- @ SRI QSO B4 GL
F8=+- AGN
F9=+- ?
F10=+- QRZ?
F11=+- PSE K
F12=+- CQ % TEST
CQ_TU_MSG=+- TU %
S&P_TU_MSG=+- TU +++5NN--- CA
ALT_1=+- CA CA CA
ALT_2=+- PWR? PWR?
S&P_CALL_MSG=+- %

tlf in action

tlf in action

tlf after a contest

Export your data to Cabrillo format with :WRI and send in your entry.

Export your contacts to ADIF format with :ADI and load them back into CQRLog!

Future Plans

  1. SSB contesting with tlf
  2. Slow-Scan TeleVision
  3. FreeDV: digital voice over HF
  4. AMPR: Internet Protocol over packet radio
  5. Winlink and Pat

SSB contesting with tlf

Need to prepare a bunch of .wav files that tlf's voice keyer can play automatically.

Also need to write a script that uses a recent-enough version of Hamlib to put the rig into all the right modes, plays the .wav to it, and then puts the rig back!

I know this can be done, because WSJT-X knows all the right buttons to push, and it uses Hamlib.

Slow-Scan TeleVision

I've spent too much time wrestling with bugs in the QSSTV image editor to complete an actual SSTV QSO.

Still, I have managed to at least decode a few transmissions. Some are even intelligible!

FreeDV: digital voice over HF

FreeDV is a digital voice application, primarily for HF use.

FreeDV uses open-source non-proprietary codecs.

http://qso.freedv.org/ can help you find other operators using FreeDV.

AMPR: Internet Protocol over packet radio

Forward-thinking radio amateurs allocated an entire class A block 44.0.0.0/8 for internet use!

It is not meant to replace regular internet access. It is mostly meant for research, experimentation, and advancing the state of the art.

AMPR manages subnet allocations and provides pointers to other information.

Winlink and Pat

Who says Winlink is limited to Windows users?

Pat is a cross-platform Winlink client that should run on any widely-used operating system.

I hear Winlink is pretty nifty when it works, but I'm mostly uninformed about it.

Back Matter

  1. More Resources
  2. About This Presentation
  3. Any Questions?
  4. QRT

More Resources

About This Presentation

This presentation is stored in GitHub:

https://tnalpgge.github.io/presentations/frugal-ham-shack-computer/

Should you wish to see how this presentation was assembled: 

[yourself@workstation ~]$ git clone https://github.com/tnalpgge/presentations.git
[yourself@workstation ~]$ cd frugal-ham-shack-computer
[yourself@workstation frugal-ham-shack-computer]$ make

And start reading at slides.html.

You will need to follow the instructions in README.md to set up your workspace to properly build these slides.

Any Questions?

QRT

TNX 73 ES GL

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/