Skywave Linux v5.3 Released

Fellow Linux and SDR enthusiasts,

Here is a brief message to blog subscribers to advise that I have upgraded Skywave Linux to version 5.3, bringing a kernel upgrade and several software updates and fixes for a few bugs.

If you are tracking the current crop of hurricanes in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, remember that you can easily bring up the Hurricane Watch Net in SuperSDR. Use the keybinds Ctrl + Shift + S to see the radio bookmarks, and find Hurricane Watch -1 or Hurricane Watch -2. Those are set for 7.268 kHz; use the keybind "F" in SuperSDR to retune to 14.325 kHz if daytime radio conditions are good.

I am quite pleased with the performance of recent versions of Python, which have gotten fast. LOL the server running Skywavelinux.com has a version of the same KiwiSDR sorter script, to offer up granular links to streaming specific stations, but needs pypy for best speed. In the distro, we have Python 3.12 and sufficient speed to not really need pypy. I hope to find a lot more stations for that SDR streamer, as it seems to be a cool tool unlike anything else I'm aware of. Instead of picking an SDR server and looking for a station, you pick a station and let the script find a proper server.

Some SDR site operators are putting up Web-888 receivers, which have a KiwiSDR-styled interface. Performance on them is really good! I am hoping their rather minimal listing page starts to include the SNR and geographic coordinates. If so, I can then scrape the data and use it for the SDR map and the streaming tool. Perhaps an upcoming Skywave Linux update will bring on a map and SuperSDR streamer which incorporates Web-888 data.

Cheers,
Phil C / Skywave Linux