Back in 1993 you had to compile the Linux kernel from source and modules were not invented yet. But we had this amazing kernel configure script to set things up. If somebody claims to be in the networking business for a long time, ask him which number comes to mind when you say 3Com (correct answer: 3c509, wrong answer: Is that a Telko?). Getting your 3Com adapter to work with Linux was easy. But then came this wireless stuff…closed source drivers…reverse engineering…NDIS Wrapper… Unfortunately now, many many years later, this “wireless stuff” is still a big source of problems on linux. Power save mode killingRead More →

Note: This post applies to RS-BA1 version 1.93. In version 1.94 (introduced on 30 aug 2017) the typos are corrected, the drop-down menu at the top is removed and a number of wizards are added to assist with configuration. The Icom RS-BA1 software is being discussed a lot. Some claim that it is totally crap. Others happily use it. I’ve tested the software with my IC-7300 and concluded that it works fine. Actually it works so much better than I expected. Even more, I can remote control my TS-2000 with it as well. So why these diverse opinions? My guess is that there is little knowledgeRead More →

A WLAN client is normally an endpoint in a network. If you want to connect more IP’s to it, you use routing. It’s as simple as that and this will always work. Then people started to use game consoles with ethernet ports, of course located far away from the WLAN Access Point. Just wire it with UTP and you’re good to go. Well, so far the theory. In real life, having UTP across the living room might provoke some comments. So you put up a second WLAN router as client and connect the game console “behind” it with a short ethernet lead. Problem solved? Yes,Read More →

The Apple Airport Express (AE) is a beautiful device. One of its functions is the ability to act as audio Airplay receiver. Airplay is a streaming protocol, based on a lossless 44.1KHz/16 bit stereo audio stream. It’s part of iTunes since a long time. It uses Bonjour for service advertisement and as such is zero conf. My Airport Express is the 2nd gen model with 802.11n (update: The A1264 model). All models have a combined analog optical output. Many years ago I used it with an Apogee Minidac and the results were very good. One year ago I connected everything again and was disappointed withRead More →