Linux Kernel Drops AX.25 and Amateur Radio Subsystem Support

Linus Torvalds merged a pull request to remove AX.25 and hamradio subsystem support from the Linux kernel. While the headline sounds ominous, most modern AX.25 implementations occur in software at the user level without relying on the kernel-level implementation. Direwolf, for example, does not require kernel-level AX.25 support. Other software relying on AX.25 may take advantage of dedicated AX.25 Python libraries.

The change comes as a result of AI-based bug detection services capable of identifying critical issues in code that may no longer be maintained or utilised by end users. Torvalds stated that the amateur radio-related code in the Linux kernel no longer had any active maintainers:

Amateur radio did have occasional users, but most users switched to user space implementations since it's all super slow stuff. Nobody stepped up to maintain the kernel code.

The last Linux kernel commit related to AX.25 was 6 years ago.

Additional code removed includes ISDN support, bus mouse support, and various network drivers, including support for old 3Com devices.

Hamclock Users Get Free Backend Server

Good news for HamClock users and fans: A free community backend server has become available. The website, hamclock.com, make HamClock's continued functions available for free following a successful reconfiguration of the clock to the new server. The functions include, among other things, weather pressure maps, aurora map generation, ham news headlines, realtime PSK Reporter spot data, VOACAP propagation reports and Kp index from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The functions are made possible through the work of Bruce Edrich, W4BAE, who built the project upon the open-hamclock-back-end. Updating can be done via two simple text changes - either to the hosts file or to the command that starts HamClock. The project is independent of the feeds from the original site, clearskyinstitute.com.

It is one of several developments as forks of the open HamClock back-end created by Brian Wilkins, KO4AQF, and Austin Parsons, KN4LNB. Brian told Newsline that installation instructions and other information can be found on GitHub. The link is in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org.

The popular shack accessory was left in limbo after the recent death of its creator, Elwood Downey, WBØOEW. Without a new backend service, its varied functions were scheduled to stop working in June.