Skywave Linux v5.3 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 5.3, 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
Last updated: 2024-10-07

Skywave Linux 5.1.0 Released ^{(Blog Post)}
Lastly, several system applications were also updated, as is typical in the world of Debian Sid. Cheers, Phil Collier / AB9IL Skywave Linux
Last updated: 2024-05-03

Skywave Linux 5.0.0 to Arrive Within Hours ^{(Blog Post)}
I have finished building the newest, Debian Sid based, version of Skywave Linux. That's right - we're off Ubuntu and now a rolling release derived from Sid / Unstable.
Last updated: 2024-01-29

Skywave Linux v5.2.0 Released ^{(Blog Post)}
The differences are not so visible cosmetically, but untangling the dependencies allowed the system to more completely update its many packages and stay close to the bleeding edge of Debian Sid. One continuing issue is with Calamares, the installer for running Skywave Linux as a regular hard drive / SSD system instead of a live portable environment.
Last updated: 2024-08-10

Skywave Linux v5.5 Released ^{(Blog Post)}
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.
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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