WSJT-X 2.5.4 running on Linux Mint 20.3

 I finally got around to installing latest WSJT-X, both on my Windows10 laptop and also on my Linux Mint laptop, these are old hand-me-down laptops,  the Linux Mint laptop is an old ASUS N550J 2015 model I think, it was my XYL's MS Windows10 laptop which became unbearably slow and useless, so I took it and installed Linux on it, I tried a few different versions, but settled on LinuxMint as it is derived from Ubuntu and Ubuntu derived from Debian. Anyway, the old ASUS has a new lease on life, it is fast again.  I have in the past ran WSJT on  various Linux platforms, on old Dell servers, I had deliberately  gone about  compiling and testing WSJT on  the various Linux derivations and documenting it. Anyway, I finally put some antennas up at home, since moving house, I thought lets try some actual weak signal radio activities.  

Next, I downloaded the .deb files for WSJT-X 2.5.4 and installed on Linux Mint 20.3 this was just too easy, much easier than the old days of manually compiling against different version of Linux, now days  it is  as easy installing on Linux, (since it based on QT5,) as it is for  installing on a MS-Windows 10 laptop.

Next step, connect the TigerTronics USB SignalLink interface to my IC-756PROII transceiver and the other end into the USB of the Linux Mint laptop, to make sure it was found and defined as a linux device, I ran a couple commands from terminal window, such as lsusb command to show the USB devices,  and used the Sound application in Linux Mint to see the input and output sound devices were identified and could see it displayed and I could test the interface.

I read some forums, I can see quite a few hams complaining that they  could not get their SignalLink devices to work on LinuxMint, I can't understand it, as I found it so easy. I can't imagine what the hell they were doing, (or not doing),  to make it work, it was just so damned easy. Maybe they just using some old crappy PC or laptop.

Anyway, I had it all installed and configured and plugged into the transceiver and before I even realised it, the thing was decoding  FT8 on 50.313MHz, which blew me away, as I couldn't even hear anything like a signal coming from the radio, yet, I was decoding callsigns and messages from other hams. This is what I call weak signal Dxing!

Next step, I better read the WSJT-X documentation to see how I start replying to people on FT8. A few years I was at Dave VK2JDS's place watching JT65 on 23cm EME, which was impressive as it is, but FT8 is pushing the boundaries even further.

WIA Summer VHF UHF Contest 15th-16th 2022 post-mortem

 I had to work, but I did listen on 50.150, 144.150, 432.150  I did hear several content stations on 6m and 2m across Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.  I will try again and for the 2022 WIA Winter VHF UHF Contest and hopefully be active in that contest.

23cm FM Repeaters update

Update of 23cm FM voice repeaters for VK1/VK2

OUTPUT   INPUT      Callsign       Location

1273.100   1293.100 VK2RTZ      Mt Sugarloaf , Newcastle   91.5Hz ctcss

1273.200   1293.200 VK2RPW    Grundy Mtn,  Walcha  - defunct

1273.200   1293.200 VK2RWC    Chatswood,  Sydney (north)

1273.300   1293.300 VK2RPL     Mt Nardi,  Lismore  - defunct

1273.400   1293.400 VK2RAG    Somersby,  Central Coast

1273.500   1293.500 VK2RWI     Dural,   Sydney (north west)

WSJT-X 2.5.4 GA Release

 WSJT-X 2.5.4 GA Release

Please welcome two new members of the core WSJT Development group: Chet
Fennell, KG4IYS, and Uwe Risse, DG2YCB.  Each brings important skills
and experience to the project, after the loss of Bill Somerville, G4WJS.

The newly constituted group has been working to redefine standard
operating procedures for new releases.  WSJT-X 2.5.4, a bug-fix release
correcting these two flaws in release 2.5.3, is now available as a
General Availability (GA) release.

Changes from v2.5.3 are:

WSJT-X: Repair a defect that caused occasional crashes when in QSO with
stations using nonstandard callsigns.

MAP65: Correct a bug that prevented "Best-fit Delta phi" solutions from
being displayed to the user.

Links to WSJT-X 2.5.4 installation packages for Windows and Linux are
available here:
http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html

Thanks to John Nelson, G4KLA, the installation package for macOS will be
added soon.

You can also download the packages from our SourceForge site:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/wsjt/files/
It may take a short time for the SourceForge site to be updated.

WSJT-X is licensed under the terms of Version 3 of the GNU General
Public License (GPL).  Development of this software is a cooperative
project to which many amateur radio operators have contributed.  If you
use our code, please have the courtesy to let us know about it.  If you
find bugs or make improvements to the code, please report them to us in
a timely fashion.

The authors and Copyright holders of WSJT-X request that derivative
works should not publish programs based on features in WSJT-X before
those features are made available in a General Availability (GA) release
of WSJT-X.  We will cease making public Release Candidate (RC)
pre-releases for testing and user early access purposes if this request
is ignored.

Bugs should be reported by following instructions found here in the User
Guide:

https://www.physics.princeton.edu//pulsar/K1JT/wsjtx-doc/wsjtx-main-2.5.4.html#_bug_reports

We hope you will enjoy using WSJT-X 2.5.4.

   -- 73 from Joe, K1JT; Steve, K9AN; Nico, IV3NWV; Chet, KG4IYS; and
   Uwe, DG3YCB.

6metre FM voice Repeater Status Update - Jan 2022

 here is the latest update on these 6metre Repeaters for Sydney and surrounds as of 3rd Jan 2022

53.625 Newcastle  - unknown

53.650 Illawarra  - operational

53.675 Terrey Hills - still off air

53.700 Goulburn - unknown

53.725 Somersby - operational

53.850 Dural - operational

53.875 Blue Mtns - operational

in recent weeks I have heard people chatting on 53.650, 53.725 and 53.850

TYT TH-9800 Quad band bios settings

 

TH-9800 Quad Band FM - Firmware Options

• Turn off radio via normal power button
• Press left LOW button AND power button, to enter firmware mode
• Radio will boot in firmware mode: “F1 – SETMOD RESET” on display
  • Press A = MAIN UPDATE
  • Press B = PANEL UPDATE
  • Press F = RF Test mode
  • Press Set = Reset radio settings (keep channels memory)
• Left/Right Dial scroll, switch between mode =
  • F1 = SETMOD RESET
  • F2 = HYPER RESET
  • F3 = MEMORY RESET
  • F4 = ALL RESET
  • F5 = M_ONLY MODE

MAIN UPDATE mode is used to upload new firmware to the body.  

PANEL UPDATE mode is to upload new firmware to the remote head.

WIA VHF UHF Spring Field Day Contest 2021 post-mortem

Here in Sydney (on 27th/28th Nov) and probably most of east coast, it was solid wind and rain,  so I did not venture out to do the contest.

The next WIA VHF UHF Summer Field Day contest to be held on 15th/16th January 2022, fingers crossed  for better wx and no more lockdowns.

DMR and P25 activity update

 For those not familiar or not active in DMR or P25 modes, then here are some of the local activity on VK-DMR and also local P25 and some of the international P25 talk groups, as seen from my Pi-Star nodes.

VK-DMR :

P25:

WSJT-X 2.5.3 GA Release (Dec 2021)

 vale Bill Somerville, G4WJS  - Amateur Radio experimenter.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

WSJT-X 2.5.3 GA Release (Win64 only)

Dear WSJT-X Users:

As most of you know, we are mourning the recent death of our friend and
colleague Bill Somerville, G4WJS, who since 2013 has contributed so much
to the WSJT project.

One of Bill's many WSJT-related tasks was creating installation packages
for Win32, Win64, Linux (Debian, Fedora, Raspberry Pi, ...), and macOS
for each new program release.  At present we have a straightforward
system for building the Win64 package -- the best choice for the
majority of WSJT-X users -- but no systems in place for building Win32,
Linux, and macOS packages.

WSJT-X 2.5.3 includes a feature of special interest to users who will
enter the ARRL January VHF Contest (January 15-17, 2022). For benefit of
those users, we have decided to release WSJT-X version 2.5.3 for Win64
even though we have not yet made prebuilt packages for the other
operating systems.

Differences between WSJT-X 2.5.2 and 2.5.3 are minimal and described in
the Release Notes:
https://physics.princeton.edu//pulsar/k1jt/Release_Notes.txt

The new feature for the ARRL VHF contests is an enhanced macro facility
for Tx messages, aimed at making it easier to ask another station to QSY
to a new band.  The feature is described briefly here in the User Guide:
https://www.physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/wsjtx-doc/wsjtx-main-2.5.3.html#TXMACROS

Additional information will likely appear on VHF-contest-related forums.

A link for the Win64 installation package for WSJT-X 2.5.3 is now
available on the WSJT-X web page:
https://physics.princeton.edu//pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html

Pre-built packages for Win32, Linux, and macOS will be added when we
have created new means for creating them.

 -- 73 from Joe, K1JT; Steve, K9AN; and Nico, IV3NWV

some interesting Amateur Radio Clubs in Ireland, Scotland and Shetlands

 some more interesting Amateur Radio Club pages :

https://radioshetland.co.uk/ Radio Shetland

https://zarcclub.wordpress.com Zetland ARC (Shetlands)

https://www.galwayradio.com/ Galway ARC (Ireland)

http://corkradioclub.ie/ Cork ARC (Ireland)

http://www.cmars.org.uk/ Mclean Clan ARC (Scotland)

http://www.maclean.org/cmars/ McLean Clan ARC (Scotland)

https://galwayvhfgroup.blogspot.com Galway VHF Group (Ireland)

limerickclareamateurradioclub.ie Limerick-Clare ARC (Ireland)

and their facebook pages for some :

https://www.facebook.com/CorkRadioClub

https://www.facebook.com/GalwayRadioClub

and IRTS – Amateur Radio in Ireland, Irish Radio Transmitters Society

this is Irish equivalent to RSGB, WIA, ARRL, JARL etc

and to get a full list of AR Clubs in Ireland see here :

IRTS – Amateur Radio in Ireland, Irish Radio Transmitters Society