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F4BWT > LINUX 16.09.21 22:36l 103 Lines 7791 Bytes #999 (0) @ FRA
BID : 1221_F4BWT
Read: GUEST
Subj: Home Linux Ham Closed Source Software
Path: IZ3LSV<F1OYP<F1OYP<F4BWT
Sent: 210916/1958Z 1221@F4BWT.#95.FRPA.FRA.EU LinBPQ6.0.22
Closed Source Ham Radio Software on GNU/Linux
Serge Stroobandt, ON4AA
Copyright 2014–2016, licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
Home Linux Ham Closed Source Software
https://hamwaves.com/closed.source/en/index.html
Introduction
Below is a non-comprehensive list of closed source software useful to the amateur radio operator. I have personally tested all software on the latest Xubuntu LTS GNU/Linux distribution. Things that I tried, but did not work, are also listed and indicated as such. Your mileage may vary.
Of course, there are many more ham-related free and libre open source software packages available under the “Amateur Radio” section in the main repository of many GNU/Linux distributions. The largest collection of ham radio packages is offered by OpenSuse and Debian-derived distributions like Xubuntu LTS and Linux Mint, to name but a few. In Xubuntu LTS, I counted no less than 74 packages.
By contrast, the software listed on this page is predominantly Windows software. Hence, wine, PlayOnLinux or its commercially supported counterpart, CodeWeavers CrossOver will be required to run this software on GNU/Linux. I do recommend using PlayOnLinux over wine as new software installations usually turn out to be rather painless and uneventful. Conversely, wine every so often requires fiddling with configuration parameters for new software to run successfully.
Other closed source software is written in Java, a platform-independent compiled programming language. Running Java bytecode requires a machine-specific Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Normally, your GNU/Linux distribution comes with openjdk-7-jre. However, for security reasons I choose to run Oracle Java instead.
Threatened with extinction
Many of the authors/copyright holders of below software have gained a respectable age. Suffice to say: “We are all perishable.” Unless these authors have taken extraordinary measureswhich I doubt they did, the copyright and source code will remain with their clueless relatives once they are no longer around.
Seems too far-fetched? I dont think so. Have a look at what is left of Kangaroo Tabor Software CAPMan and WinCAP. Now that the author is no longer among us, nothing more remains of the great propagation software other than a hacked web site. By contrast, VOACAP was open-sourced a while ago and is thriving. It runs on newer Windows versions and it even has a Linux port now, called VOACAPL.
Closed source ham radio software that runs on GNU/Linux icon name use runs on Linux free of charge open source open license
4nec2 4nec2 antenna modelling and optimisation with PlayOnLinux yes! no no
LPCAD LPCAD log-periodic antenna design with PlayOnLinux yes! no no
SD SD DXpedition & contest logging with wineconsole, see instructions no no no
TLDetails TLDetails transmission line details, losses & match calculator with PlayOnLinux yes! no no
Call to action
If you are developer:
Be sure to include your authored material in your testament by posthumously granting an open-source license. The GNU GPL is a good starting point.
Be sure that the executers of your testament know how to publish your code as open source. Think about Bitbucket and GitHub.
Dont be afraid to open source your code while youre still alive. Selflessness is one of the lessons to be learned in this life. You wont lose control over your software; you will only grant others the possibility to fork it. Only open-sourcing will enable your coding project to outlive you.
If you are a current user of closed-source amateur radio software:
E-mail the developers and express them your sincere concerns. Copy above paragraph and/or kindly ask them to have a look at this very web page.
Recently open-sourced
Recently open-sourced ham radio software that runs on GNU/Linux icon name use runs on Linux free of charge open source open license
MMTTY MMTTY RTTY decoder with PlayOnLinux yes! yes! GitHub yes! LGPL as of 2013.08.01
Commercial software
Commercial closed source ham radio software that runs on GNU/Linux icon name use runs on Linux free of charge open source open license
sPlan Abacom sPlan 6.0 schematic capture with PlayOnLinux no no no
ARRL ARRL Periodicals with PlayOnLinux no no no
Eagle Eagle (Light Edition) PCB layout natively! yes! no no
LTspice LTspice Electronic circuit simulation with PlayOnLinux yes! no no
Win-Test Win-Test contest logging, including RTTY with PlayOnLinux no, only for DXpeditions no no
WriteLog WriteLog prior to v10.78 contest logging, including RTTY with PlayOnLinux no no no
Hardware
Ham radio hardware with GNU/Linux drivers icon name use runs on Linux free of charge open source open license
MCP Kenwood MCP transceiver memory control program with PlayOnLinux yes! no no
VNA/J VNA/J interface to the miniVNA vector network analysers with Oracle Java yes! no no
Icons
After installation of new Windows software, PlayOnLinux can be instructed to create program launchers with icons. These icons are stored in the following directory.
~/.PlayOnLinux/icones/
Aspiring programmers
Here are a few tips for aspiring programmers and developers of amateur radio software. Following these recommendations will ensure a broad adoption of your software by users with the most diverse operating systems and machines.
Choose to program in a platform-independent programming language. Python and Java are popular choices which allow the same code to be run on Windows, OSX and GNU/Linux.
Employ a distributed revision control system from the outset. Both Hg Mercurial and git are excellent choices.
If possible, use non-binary, human-readable, text-based file formats to store all user data.
Reuse existing open-source software libraries wherever you can. Qt and GTK are popular and proven cross-platform widget tool kits for creating graphical user interfaces (GUI).
Apply tools and good programming practices for internationalisation and localisation (i18n & L10n).
Provide an application interface (API) to your software application and publish it.
Write good documentation. Comment your code.
Consider open-sourcing and open-licensing your code. There are many options in terms of permissiveness.
Keep this site on-line
Creative Commons Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution‑NonCommercial‑ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Other licensing available on request.
GNU GPL v3
Unless otherwise stated, all originally authored software on this site is licensed under the terms of GNU GPL version 3.
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Last update: Wednesday, September 1, 2021.
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