[Elecraft] LINIX PCs and ham SW?

[G4ILO]

> The problem is, with a few notable exceptions like Dave Freese
> W1HKJ, not that many Hams are developing software for Linux. There is no
> Visual Basic in Linux.

There is a "Delphi" though. It's called Lazarus. It's a superb development
environment. Unfortunately like many complex open source projects of limited
appeal it hasn't enough development resources to reach 100% functionality
very quickly. The Windows version is much more widely used and better tested
than the Linux version. My attempt to make a Linux version of my K2/K3
logging program keeps running aground because of bugs in the runtime
libraries.

Most Linux software (including ham software) is developed in C, or in C++
using something similar to MFC which is ten year old technology in Windows
terms. It's not surprising that Linux programming doesn't appeal to many
self-taught amateur programmers because it's very difficult.

> I don't know of any exact Linux replacements for EZNEC, Power SDR and
> your other design software. There are all sorts of logging, digital, and
> rig control programs out there for Linux.

Most of which when you look at them are functionally very basic programs
compared to their Windows counterparts. In addition, many have not been
touched by their developers for several years. Other than W1HKJ's programs,
and jLog - a Java based cross platform logging program - I don't know of any
Linux ham software that is being actively developed. Even gMFSK - the only
Linux multimode software besides Fldigi - seems to have been abandoned by
its developer. 

> BTW, actually having to compile programs from source, if on the RARE
> occasion that you have to do it, is usually three CLI commands.
> 
> ./configure
> make
> make install

It's not a rare occasion, because many ham programs (including W1HKJ's) are
not included in the repositories of major distributions. Those that are, are
often not the latest version. And precompiled Linux binaries (unlike Windows
.EXEs) very often won't run on a different version than the one they were
compiled on.

Three commands may work to compile the very simplest basic C programs, but
for many others especially GUI programs you first need to download and
install various development libraries, many of which may have dependencies
on other software that also needs to be installed.

Because of this, even after considerable effort, I utterly failed to produce
a version of W1HKJ's Fldigi that would run on the Asus Eee PC. The only
advice I received was to replace the version of Linux that came with the Eee
with another one, which I was unwilling to do for the sake of one program.
Fortunately I still have a copy of an older version that will run on it (if
anyone wants it, it can be found in the Zerobeat forum.)

So choosing to run Linux in your shack is not a decision to be taken on a
whim. It needs to be thought through, and part of that consideration should
be choosing a version that will run whatever software you need. If you ever
think that you might want to run HRD then forget it - I don't see any
likelihood that something even approaching its capabilities will ever be
developed for Linux.

I believe W1HKJ has a distribution called EMCPup available as an .iso file.
>From this you can burn a CD and boot your existing PC without affecting the
Windows partition. It includes Fldigi and logging software. That might be
the best way to try out Linux ham software without doing anything
irrevocable.

-----
Julian, G4ILO  K3 s/n: 222 K2 s/n: 392
G4ILO's Shack: www.g4ilo.com
KComm for K2/K3: www.g4ilo.com/kcomm.html
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