SITREPS
October 01, 2024:
Skywave Linux updated to 5.3.0.
Upgraded to Xanmod kernel 6.10.7 (x86-64 v2),
Fixed bugs or improved functions of SuperSDR, Wireguard VPN, SSH tunneling,
and other applications.
August 10, 2024:
Skywave Linux updated to 5.2.0.
Upgraded to Xanmod kernel 6.9.10 (and x86-64 v2 for compatibility on older computers),
updated software packages, and resolved dependencies.
May 2, 2024:
Skywave Linux updated to 5.1.0.
Upgraded to Xanmod kernel 6.8.8, added some OpenWebRX sites to the SDR Map
Skywave Linux... What's That?
Turn your PC into the ultimate shortwave receiver. And more.
Skywave Linux is an operating system using bleeding-edge technology
to robustly access broadcast media, utility, military, and amateur radio signals
from almost anywhere in the world, using distant servers on the internet and
locally connected hardware. Skywave Linux is set up to connect easily to any of
the networked, state of the art software defined radio (SDR) servers. There are
several hundred of them, making it possible to enjoy high performance SDR operation
without any requirement of you to set up large antennas or own radio hardware. All
you need to do is boot the system on a computer with internet connectivity, find a
remote SDR server in your region of interest, and tune across the spectrum to find
signals. Skywave Linux contains drivers to operate numerous types of SDR hardware,
plugged into the your computer or on the local network. Downloading, installing
and configuring SDR software can be difficult for many computer users; Skywave Linux
eliminates the hassle by including several applications installed, configured,
and ready to run.
The wallpaper shows a close up view of the Edwin Armstrong Tower, where the
first FM radio transmissions were made.
Supported SDR Types
Several types of software defined radios are supported by Skywave Linux:
WebSDR servers are located all over
the world and provide easy access to the global airwaves through the web browser.
In Skywave Linux, the web browser is packed with a curated set of bookmarks
linking to the best servers. Thus, a moderately broad internet connection is
all one needs to enjoy clean, stable, AM / FM / SSB reception using this cutting
edge technology. WebSDR servers at the
University of Twente (NL)
and Washington, D.C. (USA)
are particularly good, for example.
KiwiSDR servers are a popular type of
internet accessible radio, with hundreds operating at any time. Use the curated
set of web browser bookmarks to access several excellent sites around the world,
such as the server in Victoria, British Columbia (Canada).
RTL-SDR
devices used on the local computer system. Just plug-and-play!
SDRPlusPlus and
CubicSDR
are the main applications for receiving AM /
FM / SSB modes on local hardware.
Dump1090
is for monitoring aircraft ADS-B transmissions. ADS-B
mapping is available with the help of Python3 libraries. ADS-B data is also
logged to an SQLite database for further analysis if desired.
ACARSDec and
VDLM2dec are multichannel
decoders for aeronautical VHF data modes. Each is capable of simultaneously
monitoring several channels
at once without scanning and also logging the data to an SQLite database file.
RTLSDR-Airband is a
hardware agnostic, multichannel monitor for AM or FM voice modes (not limited to
airband), capable of
simultaneously monitoring several channels without scanning, mixing and
streaming audio
locally (via PulseAudio) or to the internet (via Icecast server).
Ettus Research USRP devices,
offering advanced features and high performance. Their hardware can cover
frequencies from DC through 6 GHz in a diverse array of signal modes.
Airspy,
BladeRF, and
ADALM-PlutoSDR
offer higher performance than RTL-SDR
dongles. These devices feature stable and clean oscillators, sensitive front end
circuitry, superior RF filters, broader RF bandwidths, and higher resolution ADC
chipsets. CubicSDR and Gqrx are the applications built for running these devices.
The key to getting most SDR devices and software to function on Linux is
having proper drivers installed. Skywave Linux broadly supports these with
a combination of compiled driver software and Debian repository packages,
including the SoapySDR ecosystem.
Decoders and Digimodes
For decoding non-voice analog and digital radio transmission modes, Skywave
Linux contains
Fldigi,
JS8Call,
WSJT, and
JTDX
applications. Weather satellite decoding is possible with
SatDump, which handles APT and LRPT signal
formats.
Gpredict
provides real-time satellite tracking and doppler shift correction data. Use the
PulseAudio Volume Control application to select the best audio source and
levels.
Conventional radio and video broadcast streams are also supported in Skywave
Linux. SMPlayer
provides global access to music, talk, news, political, and religious stations
around the world. Take your swim in the ocean of truth and disinfo. Editable
playlists of IPTV and IPRADIO stations are located on the internet - available
through most search engines.
Usage and Installation Options
Skywave Linux is intended to run as a live environment you boot from a
flash drive. However, it is now easily installable with the
Calamares application!
Write this great Linux system to your desktop or laptop hardware and go forth and
tune in the world. It is lightning fast when fully installed on bare metal. Also,
Ventoy
may be used to set up a portable multiboot drive you can use for USB booting.
The live iso is packaged as a DVD image, but it is not recommended to burn an
actual DVD to run any live computing environment. DVDs are far, far too slow!
Use a flash drive or SSD for a portable set up; fully install to bare metal for
top performance.
Apps for Coders
Python, Go, Lua, Bash, Perl, Node.js, Java, and Ruby are installed. Neovim
is the editor for coding. It looks great. It is functional and
streamlined for friction-free workflow. JupyterLab is also installed, which
supports creation, testing, and sharing of live applications written in Python, Go,
Lua, and Bash. Just do it! Make the next leap in software defined radio by writing the
next generation of DSP and firmware applications. Beginners and advanced coders
will all enjoy the software creation tools available in Skywave Linux.
Command Line Tools
Skywave Linux contains a plethora of efficient and fast command line tools.
Neovim and Nano are a pleasure to program in, in part, because
they are so fast.
Browsing the web is a breeze in text mode with
W3M. Navigate pages with Vim-like keys and
enjoy cleaner, stripped text using the
Readability utility.
Surfraw is a search tool
providing well over a hundred different websites to access for information not
easy to find on the major portals. You can look for aircraft in flight by
registration or ADSB hex code, find answers to computing or math problems, or
even do lookups of slang phrases or rumors appearing in the news.
TwitGrid pulls
multiple Twitter feeds and displays them in Firefox. Here, it is set up in "topics."
You select a topic and watch multiple feeds.
Irssi is a terminal based
internet relay chat (irc) application for anyone wanting to go "old school"
in text based communication.
lf is a fast and efficient
terminal file manager. Navigate with Vim-like keys, with previews and user
configurable management commands.
fzf,
ripgrep,
and fd are tiny
yet very effective tools for searching and organizing files or text.
With these, you can reach into dozens or hundreds of files to recursively find
words, phrases, code, or even terminal command history.
Technical Notes
Skywave Linux is a 64 bit x86 operating system. As of version 5, it is based on
Debian's Sid branch of GNU/Linux.
Skywave Linux uses the Dynamic window Manager (DWM), with a great set of patches,
to provide an efficient workflow light on resources and fast.
More than two thirds, and by some measures, three quarters of humanity live
in restrictive information environments, where media access is distorted or
unreasonably blocked. It may be necessary for users to make encrypted network
connections, which provide stronger privacy, security, and ability to circumvent
censorship or geoblocking. Skywave Linux is made to continue working, anyplace
and anytime, with the help of tools like
Sshuttle,
Wireguard, and
OpenVPN client applications are
installed. There is also a
Tor Remote script,
useful for SSH tunneling to a distant server which then connects to the internet
via Tor. Skywave Linux effectively evades censorship barriers.
Acknowledgements
Skywave Linux thanks the talented developers who create Debian, Gqrx, Cubic
SDR, Dump1090, Fldigi, WebSDR, and the many other components which are essential
to this distribution. Skywave Linux also thanks the end users for selecting
this distribution and hopes it is an asset to their radio monitoring endeavors.
Integrity and Authenticity of Skywave Linux
Great effort goes into making Skywave Linux safe and free of malware. To
verify that your copy of the iso image file is authentic, undamaged, and unaltered,
check the sha256sum against the official authentication document and verify
the digital signature of Skywave Linux. The
authentication
document is available by the download link at Skywave Linux.com. Use the
"Passwords and Keys" or equivalent application to check the signature. Import
the Skywave Linux public key from
pool.sks-keyservers.net
or
keyserver.ubuntu.com.
Disclaimer
Skywave Linux is provided as-is. No guarantees or warranties are applicable
to Skywave Linux. Skywave Linux is an independent distribution derived from Debian
GNU/Linux, but not endorsed by or affiliated with Debian or any other organizations.
End users bear all responsibility for compliance with applicable regulations
relating to communications monitoring.