Hello everyone.

I have a dual-boot installation of Windows 11 and Ubuntu (which will be replaced with Pop this weekend). Does WSJT-X run better on Linux or Win11? If Linux what distro? Or is it like everything in life, just a series of trade-offs?

On 31/08/2022 00:53, Peter N0PGM wrote:

Hello everyone.
I have a dual-boot installation of Windows 11 and Ubuntu (which will be replaced with Pop this weekend). Does WSJT-X run better on Linux or Win11? If Linux what distro? Or is it like everything in life, just a series of trade-offs?

Peter

I see very few problems with Linux audio whilst there are continual windows threads on the same.

With a suitable Linux distribution you can quite happily run WSJTX on an old machine that windows wont even look at.

73
Roger
GW4HZA

I also run my WSJT-X instances on very small computers-celeron 1.6 ghz.
Likely running windows it would be pretty sluggish.

Plus, there is no random reboot, and litany of problems that you see
floating around this list.

Once you have all those problems solved, I would be confident that WSJT-X
will run just as well either way.

w8lvn

--
--w8lvn--

Bill and Roger,

Thanks for the reply. I didn't even consider getting more life out of an older, slower laptop.

So what I am understanding is that WSJT-X runs as good if not potentially better (based on the computer) than Windows.

I'll test it out.

Thanks,

Peter, N0PGM

Be careful with Dual Boot.   Windows has a habit of borking Grub during updates and inserting the Windows Boot Manager on the entry sector.   As long as you are keeping Dual Boot, advise keeping a copy of BOOT REPAIR, usually on a flash drive, so that you can repair GRUB when Windows gets fiesty  (they have been doing this overwrite "ownership" egocentricity since at least Windows Vista).


Gwen

KI5PXQ

I find WSJT-X runs much better on MacOS than on Windows. Your version of
Linux is certainly closer to MacOS than it is to Windows but could have its
own quirks that I don't see. My issues with Windows mainly involve font
sizes and graphics and may be solvable, but it runs so well on my preferred
MacOS that I rarely run it on Windows unless doing a contest that requires
N1MM.

73,

/Rick N6XI

--
--

Rick Tavan
Truckee and Saratoga, CA

I have never run WSJT-X on Windows. I have used it since my JT65 days on a now 10 year old Asus dual core laptop. It just works. Rarely any problems. Currently Kubuntu 18.04 with WSJT-X always compiled from source. I don't think I would ever run it on Windows after seeing the constant stream of problems in various online forums. There is also a native Linux version of Fldigi and a decent looking SSTV program available among other ham utilities.

73

-Jim
NU0C

On Tue, 30 Aug 2022 17:33:02 -0700
"Peter N0PGM" <pgmelton@...> wrote:

Bill and Roger,

Thanks for the reply. I didn't even consider getting more life out of an older, slower laptop.

So what I am understanding is that WSJT-X runs as good if not potentially better (based on the computer) than Windows.

I'll test it out.

Thanks,

Peter, N0PGM

Gwen, thanks for that very valuable information. Even before I respond I grabbed a fresh USB drive and made a recovery USB using the Windows 11 tool, thanks.

Hello Rick,

Thanks, interesting. my computer setup included a Mac. I have dual-boot Windows/Linus system. I keep the Linux distro on it now separate M.2 drive and I share the keyboard and mouse with a Mac mini (M1 Chip) using Synergy. I could easily test out WSJT-X on my Mac. I would have never guessed that Mac OS would be a viable option for any of the Ham radio software out there.

The bottom line, I'm just looking for the best performance and marriage between hardware and software.

73
Peter, N0PGM

Hello JIm,

Silly question, do you self-compile the Linux distro or the WSJT-X? I went to the WSJTX page and it mentions building the program. I'm going to have to search doing that. I have used the build command in the past but that was just following tutorial I've only installed using apt-get install.

I'll search that up.

Thanks,

Peter, N0PGM

Just WSJT-X. There is a source tarball provided on the web page with instructions included inside. There has also been discussion here on how to use it.

73

-Jim
NU0C

On Tue, 30 Aug 2022 19:47:22 -0700
"Peter N0PGM" <pgmelton@...> wrote:

Hello JIm,

Silly question, do you self-compile the Linux distro or the WSJT-X? I went to the WSJTX page and it mentions building the program. I'm going to have to search doing that. I have used the build command in the past but that was just following tutorial I've only installed using apt-get install.

I'll search that up.

Thanks,

Peter, N0PGM

Actually I compile Fldigi from source too just because I can. But that's off-topic for this group. :)

73

-Jim
NU0C

On Tue, 30 Aug 2022 21:51:13 -0500
"Jim Shorney via groups.io" <jimNU0C@...> wrote:

Just WSJT-X. There is a source tarball provided on the web page with instructions included inside. There has also been discussion here on how to use it.

73

-Jim
NU0C

On Tue, 30 Aug 2022 19:47:22 -0700
"Peter N0PGM" <pgmelton@...> wrote:

Hello JIm,

Silly question, do you self-compile the Linux distro or the WSJT-X? I went to the WSJTX page and it mentions building the program. I'm going to have to search doing that. I have used the build command in the past but that was just following tutorial I've only installed using apt-get install.

I'll search that up.

Thanks,

Peter, N0PGM

I normally just download the .deb file and install it the usual way. But on
one of my boxes that wouldn't work, so I just downloaded the tarball and
did the compile and install. But normally i would just do the regular
install.

I will someday be looking at the source code to understand a little about
how it all works.

Oh, I also have started a project to try to get it to work on freebsd. Will
post success here if that works.

w8lvn

--
--w8lvn--

Since I am running an older LTS distro of Kubuntu I find it better to compile from the source tarball. Everything works and I probably won't upgrade by distro until it goes end of support.

73

-Jim
NU0C

On Tue, 30 Aug 2022 21:59:56 -0500
"Bill Lederer" <w8lvn.9@...> wrote:

I normally just download the .deb file and install it the usual way. But on
one of my boxes that wouldn't work, so I just downloaded the tarball and
did the compile and install. But normally i would just do the regular
install.

I will someday be looking at the source code to understand a little about
how it all works.

Oh, I also have started a project to try to get it to work on freebsd. Will
post success here if that works.

w8lvn

On Tue, Aug 30, 2022 at 9:47 PM Peter N0PGM <pgmelton@...> wrote:

Hello JIm,

Silly question, do you self-compile the Linux distro or the WSJT-X? I went
to the WSJTX page and it mentions building the program. I'm going to have
to search doing that. I have used the build command in the past but that
was just following tutorial I've only installed using apt-get install.

I'll search that up.

Thanks,

Peter, N0PGM

I have run WSJT-X on windows and had no problems. I was using windows 7 on an old HP Pavilion. Because I wanted to be 12 volt in case of an emergency I switched to a Raspberry Pi 4 8 gig. The Pi is running the latest release of 64 bit Raspberry Pi OS (Bullseye). Concerning WSJT-X I have had no problems on the PI. However I am still working to resolve problems with other software. All of my ham software worked well on the Windows 7. I use N3JFP logging software and am very pleased with it. I could not get it to work at all on The Raspberry Pi so I run it on the HP Laptop and link to it using the API connections over the network. The API connections in WSJT-X on the PI to N3JFP on the HP work very well in both directions.

On Wed, Aug 31, 2022 at 01:17 AM, Rick Tavan wrote:

I find WSJT-X runs much better on MacOS than on Windows. Your version of
Linux is certainly closer to MacOS than it is to Windows but could have its
own quirks that I don't see. My issues with Windows mainly involve font
sizes and graphics and may be solvable, but it runs so well on my preferred
MacOS that I rarely run it on Windows unless doing a contest that requires
N1MM.

I second Rick on this having helped a friend move his long-time Windows setup to a new Mac. Getting WSJT-X fonts and waterfall width and resolution right on his 5K screen was doable and much easier on the Mac than in Windows. WSJT-X works very nicely with RUMLogNG, a native Mac logger. Since macOS has BSD UNIX under the wraps, almost all Linux software will also run. If needed, there is always Parallels for Windows programs, like MMTTY or DXLog in my case.

I have never been a fan of Windoze. I started in computing in '66 and used System V and BSD (and everything else). My first PCs were Commodores. Anyway I was happy to see Linux come long. I have used Ubuntu for many years for daily email and browsing purposes. However I have always used Windows for WSJT, on all kinds of machines from an 2gb A4 netbook on up. I just got an ultra cheap Acer Travelmate B3 and it runs FT8 just fine. I have never had a problem running WSJT on Windows. But the main reason I use Windows is that my shack computer is also my bench computer, and the software for my test instruments, DSO, DMM, LCR, etc. are Windows-only as is my Elecraft software.

Meantime my old Lenovo X200 running Ubuntu 20 started having various problems. I think it is time for a 'nuke and pave'. I miss it.

I've spent a significant portion of my career working with Windows in one
form or another. I would rather not spend any more. So I have many Ubunti
and a couple Freebsd and two OpenBSD in my fleet.

In fact, I would rather write software for logging for Linux/MacOSX/Freebsd
rather than use windows-based stuff.

w8lvn

--
--w8lvn--

I do a lot of work with Linux and WSJT-X.   I build and compile on SuSE Linux Enterprise, Rocky 9 (Red Hat Flavor), and Debian 11.   Of all the Linux distros, I find SuSE Leap or Enterprise flavors to run most efficiently.   Followed by Rocky, followed by Debian and variants.   Windows 11 doesn't even make the cut. However, that is MY definition of "better".   So what you really have to determine is what do you mean by "better"?

--
Jeff Stillinger - KB6IBB
KB6IBB Laboratories, Wylie Tx
http://kb6ibb-15.ham-radio-op.net/

On 01/09/2022 05:12, Jeff Stillinger via groups.io wrote:

I do a lot of work with Linux and WSJT-X.   I build and compile on SuSE Linux Enterprise, Rocky 9 (Red Hat Flavor), and Debian 11.   Of all the Linux distros, I find SuSE Leap or Enterprise flavors to run most efficiently.   Followed by Rocky, followed by Debian and variants. Windows 11 doesn't even make the cut. However, that is MY definition of "better".   So what you really have to determine is what do you mean by "better"?

Jeff,

Better in my book is a system I know.
One I use constantly, not trying different flavors or compiling anything.
Yes, Windows is not built for radio enthusiasts, it has some annoying characteristics we have to learn and work round.
I find each time I look at Linux I run out of time trying to get things going that work well on Windows. I do not know Linux, and do not find it easy once I get beyond browsing and email.

73 Alan G4ZFQ