OpenSSH and FreeNX

On all of my new Linux installs I am adding OpenSSH server and FreeNX.

Here are basic directions for getting it installed on an Ubuntu Machine.


(I am still working thru a couple of issues doing
this successfully on Fedora Core 10.)

Hint: try to copy/paste
these steps as much as possible.

Open a Terminal Window

sudo apt-get install openssh-server


---

Then via SSH/Putty from my Laptop

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list


---

add these lines:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/marceloshima/ubuntu intrepid
main

deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/marceloshima/ubuntu intrepid
main

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/freenx-team/ubuntu intrepid
main

deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/freenx-team/ubuntu intrepid
main


---

then update the package lists:

sudo apt-get update


---

install FreeNX:

sudo apt-get install freenx-server


Select Yes / take the defaults

Now should be able to connect. If you need the client then go here:

http://www.nomachine.com/download.php




With the install steps listed above and a standard speed DSL/cablemodem/wireless connection you
should be able to have this up in running in less than 10 minutes.



Screen capture as seen from XP:


This is an Ubuntu 8.10 workstation VM running


across the network in a FreeNX session











Some interesting & helpful links for FreeNX:

http://blog.rubypdf.com/2009/01/21/installing-freenx-in-ubuntu-810-intrepid-ibex/

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8477

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=620057

Windows to Linux Conversion

I am a long time lightweight newbie Linux user.  I have been messing around with
Linux in various ways since 1993. Back then it was a Slackware install on an old 486SX
that was acting as my SLIP/PPP dial-up proxy for my OS2 and Windows machines. I have
been falling into and out of Linux for the past 15 years. It just did not have the
staying power for me to keep me hooked as a day-to-day user. It was fun and kind of
neat but most of my software needs were heavily based in the Windows world of corporate
America.

Over the past number of year my interest has grown but my available time has diminished.
I have Linux running on one of my laptops and in a couple of VMs (virtual machines)
on my Windows 2003 VMWare server. My server was an older clone based upon an AMD 1.4GHz
single core CPU with about 1.5gb of RAM. Not a power house but then again there was
nothing serious running there. I had a XP VM for download my podcasts, a domain controller,
a web server, and a couple of Linux VMs.... typically on 2 VMs were running.

I decided to purchase some additional ram to improve the performance of the machine
since was playing around with some new Linux distro versions. I soon discovered that
it was not worth investing the money into old DDR memory. I ended up buying another
inexpensive motherboard, 4gb of RAM, and a Sata hard drive.



Old Compaq case

Since I had several older PCs laying around I decided to cannablize an old Compaq
to become the newer/faster/better VMServer for my network. After removing the old
motherboard, PCI cards, and hard drives I ran into trouble at 9pm on Saturday. I discovered
that the new motherboard needed a 4 pin 12vdc connection and that Compaq power supply
did not have it. I then ended up backing up some data on a slightly newer (read still
pretty old) clone and gutting that machine.



Old mother boards & cards







Lots of connections except for what I really need

Since I am making the jump I left myself some room on the motherboard to add some
additional ram. I still have two DDR2 slots open with the intention of adding another
4gb of ram to the server. The new box is an AMD single CPU, dual core 2.6GHz, 4gb
of RAM, 80gb Sata, 500gb Sata, and 320gb IDE drives.

Since I want to go beyond 4gb of RAM I decided to abandon Windows Server 2003 and
move to Linux. I was torn between the popularity of RedHat/Fedora Core and my success
with Ubuntu. In the end I chose Ubuntu even though it seems like a high percentage
of the software in the wild leans towards RPMs I have had great success with Ubuntu
and sealed the deal.

I was able to load Ubuntu 8.10 x64 server with no issues. I then downloaded VMWare
Server 2 and installed that with No issues after a bit of googling for info. I was
then able to move my VMWare guests from my Windows Server 2003 host into my Ubuntu
based host with no issues.

To be honest for a Linux newbie this has been a great experience. I have been able
to work thru mounting filesystems and installing software without too much pain. The
new Ubuntu based VMWare Server 2 host rocks! The performance of the VMs is awesome
compared on the older hw/sw stack that I was running before the upgrade.

Great directions on how to install VMWare Server 2 on Ubuntu 8.10 server:

http://www.howtoforge.com/how-to-install-vmware-server-2-on-ubuntu-8.10




VMWare Server 2:

http://www.vmware.com/products/server/




Where I buy my hardware in Minnesota:

http://www.nanosys1.com/

Ubuntu Distro:

http://www.ubuntu.com/

K2 SSB Module - Night Four

I finished up the installation of the header pins and mounted the board in the radio.
Looking at the picture it really blends in unless you notice the slightly darker green.

I went thru the basic filter and BFO configurations. I can now hear SSB signals with
good clarity. I am not ready to hookup a mic to it for a while so I will put the final
configuration on hold for a while. (The SSB module will be tied to the transverter
operation once I order & build the transverter module.)

The SSB module was about 3-4 hours of work without pushing too hard. 30 minutes of
that was probably spent just sorting parts. Another 30-45 minutes trying to figure
out the menu system for adjusting the filters and BFO.

I have the internal ATU kit sitting on my desk next to my keyboard as I type this.
It looks like a more involved project than the SSB module. I hope to start it in the
next few days depending on work and family commitments & conflicts.

2009 ARRL January VHF Contest

Another January VHF contest has come and gone.

Wow... conditions were bad. It was a struggle to work beyond the metro ring. It seemed
like there were quite a few less stations on the air then I would expect.



It was a nice to work a contest where I did not need to build anything for the station
nor make any repairs. I turned everything on 2 hours before the event began.

I have to be honest and say that I did not play very hard. It was a pretty slow event
so I had CNN on in the office and I was messing around on the other computers as well.
I let the voice keyer running pretty actively on the run radio/band while listening
on the second rig.



Hopefully the for the next contest I will have the K2 integrated into the station.
I am also looking at adding a SDR rig to drive the high bands.



My goal was 10,000 points but there were not enough stations on air, band openings,
or high band qso's to make that happen.

Grids Worked on 144MHz

What has society come to? (school closed)

Here is rant to my team at work today about school closings:

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

It is a little cold in Minnesota today so they decide to start canceling school in
many of the various school districts.




I am fairly young… but “back in my day” they would NOT close schools unless the building
burnt down or the snow drifts were taller than the plow trucks/tractors. I was taught
as a child that we here in Minnesota are hearty folk that enjoy and embrace our winter
season. (Wow…. I do sound like a grumpy old man.)

So what is the big deal with -27F air temp and a wind child of -41?  (Ok that
is from the next town 10 miles west of me.) My home weather station went “off scale”
when the temp exceeded -30 at 7:30am in my rural Meeker County location.

It appears that monsters 1, 2, and 3 (also known as Jacob[10], Ben[8], and Joe[6])
will be home with dad today. I will be WFH with the monsters at other end of the house
as I have a full day booked with conference calls.

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

So one of my peers on the east coast responded with this:

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

So the moral of the story... it warmer at the South Pole in the summer than it is
in the winter in Minnesota.

Geocaching 2009-01-11

Ben has been talking about wanting to go out hunting for a Geocache. I finally got
around to doing a bit of research to figure out the details of the sport. I was familiar
with the overview but needed some details to get us going.

Today we decided to go out and hunt for two local caches in the middle of the deep
freeze that we like to call winter.

The first was for: Kings
Town on the Crow by yoteman (GCZJ19)

After trying to find a place to park the car (LOTS of snow) and then hiking over to
the coordinates we fumbled around in the snow for about 10 minutes looking for the
cache. Ben found it on his own even though it was completely covered with snow.

Ben the treasure hunter

The pill bottle blends into the background

Some tokens

Some other hunters in the log

The second hunt of the afternoon was for:

Sir
Francis by Lloyd family (GC130VD)

After about 10 minutes of walking around and looking right at the spot we figured
it out. It was covered by enough snow that we used a small emergency shovel to dig
it out.



The proud hunter

Nice link in the in lid!






I think that we swim here in the summer... hmm.

Here are a list of some of the Geocaches near our home:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?lat=45.197533&lng=-94.316649&dist=25




Overall a pretty fun afternoon hiking around in the 10 degree weather. Ben was pretty
excited about this hobby after todays adventure. I have to think that is is more fun
in the other thee seasons.



We plan to try to look for some more caches next weekend.

K2 SSB Module - Day Two

I spent about an hour this morning winding T1, T2, RFC1, and RFC2. It all went fine
other than I probably trimmed the leads a little bit shorter then needed initially.
This made feeding a couple of the connections thru the board a little tougher
than it needed to be.

Completed SSB board

T1

T2

RFC1 - gives you an idea how small RFC1 & 2 are!

RFC2 (same size component as RFC1)

Time to clean up the bench for the day and then load up some stuff before I head to
the metro for the day. With a little bit luck maybe I can get some bench on Sunday
to install the board into the K2 and do some testing.

K2 SSB Module - Night Two

I spent about 2 - 2.5 hours working on the SSB module tonight. The rest of the capacitors,
all of the resistors, the ICs & sockets, diodes, transistors, and crystals
are soldered into place.

The major remaining step is to wind the 4 toroids and mount them on the board. I hope
to try to tackle that in the morning before driving into the metro for the monthly MNQRP
Club meeting. (Or at least that is my plan)

I will probably be in the metro all day running errands, going to the meeting and
having dinner. Maybe with some luck I can try to mount the board into the K2 on Sunday
if time permits. (Busy plans for Sunday as well.)

K2 SSB Module - Night One

I started working on the SSB module tonight. A year or two ago I would have thought
that this was a big project. Now it is not a big deal at all. I spent about 60-90
minutes tonight sorting the parts and installing the capacitors.

From the flatbed scanner:

From the digital camera:

It is amazing how fast you can work once you get into a rhythm. I wish that I had
started this kit Monday night. Maybe with some luck I can get it working by this weekend.

The internal ATU is the next kit after this. It is sitting on the bench next to this
kit.  :-)

K2 - Day Twenty Five - Complete

K2 SN 06114 is complete as of today. OK... I should say that main kit is complete.

I already have the SSB and ATU kits sitting on my bench. Depending on work and family
timing I hope to start the SSB kit this week.