Skywave Linux v5.5 Released ^{(Blog Post)}
Fellow Linux and SDR enthusiasts, Here is a brief message to blog subscribers to advise that I have upgraded Skywave Linux to version 5.5, bringing a kernel upgrade, feshened SDR lists, along with software updates and bug fixes. Although this release retains a 5.x version numbering, some of the changes are significant. We are now on Xanmod's Linux Kernel 6.13, which has some nice efficiencies, optimizations, and broadened hardware support. There are some bleeding-edge versions of Kernel 6.14 out, but I decided to let that series mature more before using it in Skywave Linux. It was enough of a battle getting this release working smoothly with the latest Debian Sid package upgrades. Recent upgrades broke the X server for several days. It was a real mess until I set up some systemd units to properly start the Xserver and DWM. You might not notice the difference boot time, but it is indeed a little faster and much more reliable. Most of the utilities and scripts associated with Skywave Linux, such as the wrappers for SuperSDR and Sshuttle, are based on originals stored in my Github repositories. The binaries or scripts are now cloned from the repos to /usr/local/src and symlinked to /usr/local/bin. Maintenance is easier, as they can now be updated with a simple "git pull." Some tools have been changed for efficiency and to use data files in csv format, instead of odd mixtures of spaces and quotations. - Csv data can be more easily edited, parsed, and otherwise managed. - The Internet Radio Playlist no longer needs a template, and can handle thousands of stations. - SuperSDR-Wrapper now also uses csv files, loading parsed SDR server and station data into Pandas dataframes. Note-taking is better now in Skywave Linux: - Obsidian now gets its own keybind: Super + O. - I crafted a nifty terminal-based note sorter and editor, available with Super + Shift + O. Hit the "F" key for deep, recursive searching through all subfolders. Two AI chatbots are available in the terminal: Go-Tgpt and Python-Tgpt. They are related projects, written respectively in Golang and Python, with plenty of options in terms of AI models you can query. - Python-tgpt can use more than 40 models. - Go-tgpt has access to fewer models, but they are quite good. - Pick a model with the quality and speed you need; most allow anonymous access and don't require an API key. Wezterm multiplexing is set up and running smoothly. Therefore, pop-up terminals available on keys Super + Enter and Ctrl - Alt - T are now set to open a clean Wezterm, with no Tmux. Split your panes with the same key combos: Ctrl + A, \ or Ctrl + A, - (that's the pipe key or dash key, with no shift needed). Separately from the bootable iso file, I have created a converter script which transforms Debian (or its derivatives) into an equivalent Skywave Linux operating system. It can install the scripts, utilities, fonts, and configuration files. If you want to try it on a minimal Debian, Xebian, Mint LMDE, or MX Linux rig, look for it in the downloads section here on SourceForge. Over the last month, I have divided my time equally between Python-Tgpt, Go-Tgpt, and the Leo chatbot, which runs in the Brave Browser. The quality of responses varies somewhat between the models used, but they are each useful in exploring different topics and working on software programming, radio science, and the like. Every now and then the AI models give wrong answers, so accomplish some due diligence before you base risky actions on something you get from an AI machine. Skywave Linux is the bootable, self-contained live Linux environment which gives you access to live, over the air radio signals and streaming media from around the world. No strings attached. Skywave Linux is free as in "freedom" and free as in "free beer." Cheers, Phil C / Skywave Linux
Last updated: 2025-04-12

Skywave Linux v5.6 Released ^{(Blog Post)}
Fellow Linux and SDR enthusiasts, Here is a brief message to blog to advise that I have upgraded Skywave Linux to version 5.6, bringing a kernel upgrade, feshened SDR lists, along with software updates and bug fixes. We are now on Xanmod's Linux Kernel 6.14, which has some nice efficiencies, optimizations, and broadened hardware support. Experts who have done considerable testing of this kernel say it is quite good and has top notch hardware support for new and old computing rigs. So far, I am pleased with its running on typical bare metal. The bug fixes consist mostly of some changes related to the upgrade of Neovim to version 0.12.0. There were some crashes and squirrely behavior due to some so-called "breaking changes." It is running great now, so have fun with it and write some prose, or some nifty code. This iso file is much lighter than the previous release, thanks to some extensive efforts to find and remove old or duplicated packages. We had some old Python versions which were no longer needed, unnecessary cached items, and some rather large deb packages for handling C and C++ to remove. With them gone, Skywave Linux is noticeably smaller. To make things easier for any of you who want a persistent system, which remembers changes in files or settings, I have set the persistence boot parameter. To work, it requires you to have a Linux partition labeled "persistence," containing a configuration file named persistence.conf. I have tried it and am pleased with the convenience. One caveat, though, is if you use persistence for the whole system (not just your home directory), you should delete the saved data whenever you upgrade to a new iso file. Otherwise the system won't boot and the reason may not be obvious. Look online for more information about persistent Debian Live setups. Skywave Linux is the bootable, self-contained live Linux environment which gives you access to live, over the air radio signals and streaming media from around the world. No strings attached. Skywave Linux is free as in "freedom" and free as in "free beer." Cheers, Phil C / Skywave Linux
Last updated: 2025-05-03

Skywave Linux v5.8 Released ^{(Blog Post)}
Fellow Linux and SDR enthusiasts... Here is a brief message to blog to advise that I have upgraded Skywave Linux to version 5.8, bringing a kernel upgrade and bug fixes: Kernel 6.15.7, with the Xanmod efficiency and speed tweaks, runs this Linux very nicely on new and old hardware. Neovim plugins have been upgraded. Zram's memory compression algorithm has been changed to zstd. Wezterm tab styling adjusted for the current dark theme. Fixed a bug in the Neovim launcher which had prevented text files from properly opening if clicked from the file manager as root. LOL, the mission objective for this upgrade was, "Make it more shiny and don't let Sid break anything!" Skywave Linux is the bootable, self-contained live Linux environment which gives you access to live, over the air radio signals and streaming media from around the world. No strings attached. Skywave Linux is free as in "freedom" and free as in "free beer." Cheers, Phil C / Skywave Linux
Last updated: 2025-07-31

Skywave Linux v5.9 Released ^{(Blog Post)}
Fellow Linux and SDR enthusiasts... Here is a brief message to blog to advise that I have upgraded Skywave Linux to version 5.9, bringing a kernel upgrade and bug fixes: Kernel 6.16, with the Xanmod efficiency and speed tweaks. This upgraded kernel has improved EXT4 filesystem read and write performance and also faster OppenVPN throughput. Adjustments to Tor-Remote and Tor-Controller scripts. Manual adjustments to the Neovim color scheme. Neovim plugins have been upgraded. Set Radiostreamer and SuperSDR wrapper menus to case-insensitive. Updated satellites and transponders for Gpredict and Satdump. Skywave Linux is the bootable, self-contained live Linux environment which gives you access to live, over the air radio signals and streaming media from around the world. No strings attached. Skywave Linux is free as in "freedom" and free as in "free beer." Cheers, Phil C / Skywave Linux
Last updated: 2026-01-24

Skywave Linux v5.10 Released ^{(Blog Post)}
Skywave Linux has been upgraded to version 5.10, bringing some software changes, a kernel upgrade, and bug fixes: Kernel 6.18.5, with the Xanmod efficiency and speed tweaks. Adjustments to Tor-Remote and Tor-Controller scripts Added I2P darknet access, using Purple / i2pd Adjustments to the Neovim LSP configuration. Neovim plugins have been upgraded. Qtel, the Echolink client has been removed. Upgraded DWM Window manager / flexipatch to version 6.6 Updated satellites and transponders for Gpredict and Satdump Expanded the scope of the KiwiSDR list to include OpenWebRX sites. The theme for this upgrade cycle was, "Delegate more to systemd and reduce manual interventions." I have cleaned out the user's dot profile and xinit files, moving environmental variables to the user's dot config directory, for handling by systemd. I also deleted the code which forcefully set the screen dots per inch, based on specs detected by X11. Fonts and application windows are now more consistently sized across more diverse hardware. Although the scope of the online SDR list includes OpenWebRX sites, on which operators have all sorts of different hardware, more sites need to be found and listed. It is all in flux, as some operators are switching their interfaces to NovaSDR, but others are going to OpenWebRX. As I find more with above-average RF performance, they will be added to the list. The good news is folks are upgrading to better and better hardware, such as from RTL-SDR to Airspy radios. Unfortunately, mediumwave and HF are awash in electronic noise, so quiet receiving sites are becoming more rare. Skywave Linux is the bootable, self-contained live Linux environment which gives you access to live, over the air radio signals and streaming media from around the world. No strings attached. Skywave Linux is free as in "freedom" and free as in "free beer." Cheers, Phil C / Skywave Linux
Last updated: 2026-01-24

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