F6KGL OS

Yet another arch linux distro for ham radio purposes... But for x86_64 archs.

This distro includes the main tools for digital modes, SDR, hamnet and more!

It features the basics amateur radio preconfigured software packages:

• hamlib: Basic CLI tools to control your rig
• direwolf: For all APRS stuff (client not included, recommend installing xastir)
• qsstv: A simple SSTV/DRM image encoder/decoder
• wsjtx: Weak signals HF digital modes
• js8call: Weak Signals chat
• klog: QSO logger
• flrig: User friendy GUI to control hamlib compatible rigs
• SDR++: RX ready Plug'n'Play configuration for every SDR dongle (HackRF, RTL, FunCube, limeSDR...)
• And many more!

You can either download the ISO or build it yourself with the steps below.

Prerequisites

To compile the ISO, make sure archiso is already installed on your machine:

pacman -Sy archiso
git clone https://gitlab.com/F4IEY/f6kgl-os.git

Building the iso

Once the repo is cloned and AUR packages are imported, use the following commands and make sure to have the right permissions:

cd f6kgl-os/archlive
mkarchiso -v -w /path/to/your/working/folder -o /path/to/iso/destination ./

If something is wrong or broken (e.g you interrupted the process or packages are missing), make sure to clean your working folder before building the ISO again:

rm -rfv /path/to/your/working/folder

Flashing the ISO to a USB drive

For this operation, you can use any program you want. Although, using dd or Balena Etcher are the best way to do it as they both have been tested. You'll need at least 2GB of storage.

Booting up

BIOS/UEFI

Go to your machine boot menu and select the right drive to boot with.

For UEFI, make sure secure boot is disabled.

Virtual Machine

For testing in a virtual machine (VMWare/Virtualbox), create a new VM with at least generic Linux 5.10 on it and select the ISO as external boot drive.

Installing

Now that the installing feature works, you can either open the Install System in the launcher or simply type calamares in a terminal. You'll maybe need to enter the session password, which is the same as the default username.

Other screenshots

FAQ

Will it run on my low-spec machine / raspberry devices?

Again, This Linux distro is meant to run on 64bits (x86_64) machines NOT built for ARM-based machines nor 32bits architectures.

Similar amateur radio distro projects are working on raspberry devices, such as hamPi

How old my machine can be to run this properly?

This OS is permanently tested and daily driven on a Thinkpad x220, which is a 10 year-old laptop.

Here are some well-running configuration examples, storage info does not apply in live mode:

Configuration	Storage (GB)	Memory (GB)	Reference processor
Minimal	8	8	2.4GHz dual core
Recommended	256	16	3.2GHz dual core
Optimal	512	32	4.2GHz hex core

Is there an AUR helper built-in?

Yes. yay is usable out of the box.

Is there <insert ham radio program name> built in?

If this particular piece of software is not built, you may check the f6kgl-repo. In case it is not present, first have a look into the AUR. If you still cannot find it, please ask or push it to the AUR.

Oh no! My machine is taking too long to install and the lockscreen popped-up! What's the live user password?

Again, the password is liveuser.

Which distro F6KGL OS is based on?

It is based on Arch Linux, the most popular rolling release distro.