bruemmer.me

SDR-Control CAT Server

2026-08-15T20:05:51-05:00

Most ham radio applications are written for the Windows environment, but for the most part I got off the Microsoft train when I no longer needed a work-based laptop. I try to be OS agnostic, and feel that Microsoft is great when you have to exist in a networked environment, Apple is great when you don't care about money, and Linux is great if you don't value your time. For better or worse I now rely on an Apple and Icom environment, and that pretty much led me to the SDR Control app. I think this is a marvelous piece of software which Marcus and Jan Roskosch make available for a song.

However, I never could figure out how to have it interact with other valuable programs like WSJT-X and FLdigi. I used Loopback to try to deal with soundcard issues, but it never seemed to work well. Two elements came together to change that. First, playing with ChatGPT was just the thing to help me navigate all of the little question that came up when tryng to get these programs to work. It enabled me to diagnose issues so I could go back to Marcus and report on some problems that were not my own making. Second, SDR-Control changed the way it dealt with audio, using Common Radio Audio drivers for streaming. The quick story is that I have WSJT-X and FLdigi working nicely using SDR-Control's Hamlib server controlling the Icom IC-7300 through it usb port.

Here is a walk through mostly so I remember all of my settings; it might help others in a similar bind.

1. First, make sure you have the latest version of SDR-Control (2.9.141 or better) by looking at SDR-Control> About SDR-Control. Earlier versions do not have the audio streaming that make this so easy. Then, setup SDR-Control as a CAT server by going to the Radio>CAT Server and configuring it like this:

When CAT Server 1 is not enabled, the Type box with show 3 options. Choose Rig/Ctrl/Hamlib. The port number needs to avoid conflicts with existing ports and other ports that are not open in your router. "5005" seemed to work well in my case. That port number will be used later in setting connections from SDR Control. Be sure to enable CAT Server 1 and CAT on App startup. Do not enable CAT Server 2 unless you are doing something fancy.

2. Next, configure the audio by going to Radio>Audio Streaming (the dropdown option just below CAT Server above). Enable both TX streaming and RX streaming in RX settings.

Input and Output Device should both be set to CommonRadioAudio 1. Leave the Gain at about 50% on both and be sure they are enabled. Do not enable RX Setting 2, but enable Streaming on App startup. If they are working, the Status should indication Streaming or Streaming active.

3. Now turn to WJST-X. My version was 3.0.2. Go to the "WSJT-X" next to the Apple in the top left and chose Preferences>Radio. The Rig should be set to Hamlib NET rigctl. and Network Server needs to be fed 127.0.0.1:5005. The port number should be the same here as in SDR-Control; port 5005 in my case. To get this working, press Test CAT and it should turn green. If it is red, there is a problem and it will tell you what that problem is. Press OK to close the window

Next go to Preferences>Audio and set Input to CommonRadioAudio Out 1 and Output to CommonRadioAudio In 1. Press OK to close the window. At this point WSJT-X should be running.

4. The process to set up FLdigi is similar. I used 4.2.13, and the settings are reached by Configure>Config Dialog>Rig Control>Hamlib. Enable Use Hamlib and set the rig to Hamlib NET rigctl (Stable). The Device may have some dropdown options, but you will have to type in the configuration 127.0.0.1:5005. This one had me daunted until ChatGPT told me to type it in. Make sure you save this before closing the page.

Move down the tree list on the left side and click on Soundcard>Devices. Enable PortAudio and set Capture to CommonRadioAudio Out 1 and Playback to CommonRadioAudio In 1. Save the page before closing.

I won't get into other aspects of these programs, but I just wanted to layout the CAT server and Audio streaming. Once you have this working, there are plenty other additions that you can make, including Grid Tracker2 on top of WSJT-X. Also, you should investigate the manual for information about ALC and audio levels.

SDR-Control finally has made the Mac the envy of Icom radio owners; I no longer need to dream about making this part of the program work. Have fun!

Antonov 225 at MSP

2026-08-10T20:12:53-05:00

On Jul 1, 2014, about a day after my son returned from China, I heard that the largest plane around, the Antonov 225, had landed at MSP Airport. I told Nathan that we had to go drive to the airport (2 nautical miles away from our home) and see this mammoth plane. He agreed as long as I promised not to talk to other airplane enthusiasts (I did).

UR-82060, named Mriya (Мрiя means "dream" in Ukranian), was the only operational Anatov-225 ever produced. Supposedly, it came to Minneapolis to deliver some outsized A/C equipment. It was simply massive, with six engines and too many wheels to count. The An-225 set 240 world records, including hosting the highest altitude art exhibition in the world, consisting of 500 works by Ukrainian artists.

Sadly, this exact plane suffered substantial damage in the hangar at Hostemel, Ukraine, eight years after its visit to MSP, a victim of the battle of Antonov Airport in the war between Ukraine and Russia.

RecumbentCon

2026-08-10T16:09:09-05:00

Nothing says bikedork like a 'bent, and a convention of aerobellies belongs to an alternative universe. In 2014 I attended one of these, and this was my report:

Recumbent conventions are rare beasts to begin with, but rarer still in the Midwest. This October 10-13 the Recumbent Cycle-Con was held at the DuPage Expo Center in St. Charles, Illinois, which qualifies as suburban Chicago. I kinda had visions of McCormick Place in my head, but the convention was actually much smaller than that. Luckily my brother-in-law was a fellow traveller and was interested in spending a day there. Better yet, he lived about a half hour from the convention. So I left Minneapolis on Friday to attend the convention on Saturday. This is my first such conference after riding recumbents since 1994, and I’ve tolerated the looks and attitudes for twenty years now. How odd to be in an environment where you are not the strange one. In fact, I laughed when I overheard someone refer to another person as pretty geeky; high praise in this crowd. It was, in short, a lot of fun.

When I walked into the center, the first exhibit was on adaptive bikes. A Draisin bike that could contain a wheelchair. A Hase Pino tandem with a front recumbent and rear upright; I had always seen those in ads, but never in real time. A PetraBike designed for people who cannot straddle a “normal” bike. Martin Rasmussen’s TRIOT, a power-assisted trike with modifications that made me drool, including three disc brakes governed by a master cylinder so all three would brake evenly. This was going to be interesting.

Fully faired Greenspeed trike.

There’s too much to discuss in one sitting, so let me describe the recumbents that I actually took around the smallish and often crowded track. First, a Lightning P-38, a bike that I had tried once before and really liked. Unfortunately, no hills or long rides to really put it through its paces. Just a light wisp of a bike with an upright seat and a scrunched feeling. I wasn’t ready to spend $4000 for that, but the desire is there. Tim Brummer was there, and it was fun to meet one of the industry legends who has seen many recumbent manufacturers come and go. He is no relation, but joked that he could give me a family discount. Someday, maybe [N.B. I actually bought a slightly used P-38 later on]. I tried to talk my way into a fully-faired, green Greenspeed, but that wasn’t going to happen. Next stop was a Bacchetta, which I own, but fitted with a Euroseat, which I have always wanted to try. Surprisingly comfy. Might have to place that on my list.

ICE Full Fat

Next up was the darling of the convention, an ICE FULL FAT. Yes, a trike with fat tires! Evidently production models of this trike should be out in January, but there is a waiting list already. No one that I asked had any experience with it in snow. Holy rolling resistance! The Full Fat on a sharp turn was also an upper body strength test, but one really wanted to run over something or someone with it. None of the other cyclists ventured too closely when that bad boy was on the test track. I didn’t even ask what the entrance fee was to own that; one look at the Rohloff XL hub and that purchase would probably get the notice of any credit protection service.

Then we moved to a Chameleon trike tandem with my brother-in-law as captain and me in the stoker seat. Again, I really would have loved to get that bike up to speed, but we had to be careful with that much tubing on the test track. I wanted to take the Azus two wheel tandem out, but was reluctant to negotiate that beast without a lot of straight track. I figured that we had survived 400 miles on a Double Vision, so a stiffer tandem might be more relaxing. Maybe next time.

Cruzbike. I was more terrified than this picture lets on.

My final ride was on on a Cruzbike. I had always wanted to try out a front-wheel drive, and here was my chance. I was a little nervous because I had noticed that most of the spills on the test track had been on that bike, so I asked the representative for tips. In spite of the advice, I was done after one circuit. As you pedal you have to get your upper body to hold the steering straight. Essentially, your arms have to work with your legs to power and steer at the same time. I thanked the rep for the chance and told her it had been on my bucket list. She laughed and said something to the effect that I can die now. I almost told her I thought I was going to on this bike, but let it go.

Those were all of my rides. In generally, the convention reflected what many dealers have told me: trikes are hot. Oddly enough I have noticed few trikes on my commute in Minneapolis during the past two years, but perhaps they are not being used for commuting. At the same time, I have seen very little of two-wheeled recumbents.

-2014

Schnaidt Family Tintype

2026-08-09T19:48:36-05:00

A scan of this image was the first direct encounter that I had with AI. I had asked ChatGPT to date the image (it guessed 1887) based on some additional data that I was able to supply. After a bit more information, it declared:

Schnaidt children with Mother, circa 1887.

With three identified photographs now available, here's how I would rank my confidence.
Position Identification Confidence
Back right Mary Burckhardt 98%
Front center Henry Edward 85–90%
Back center Probably Dorothea 70–75%

Remaining three women Mary, Mathilda, Caroline Not enough evidence yet
Why the remaining sisters are difficult
The sisters were born:
Mary — 1860
Dorothea — 1862
Mathilda — 1863
Caroline — 1866
Only six years separate the oldest from the youngest. They almost certainly shared many facial features inherited from their parents. Without identified portraits of at least one or two more sisters, distinguishing them confidently from a single group image would be speculative.

My overall conclusion
At this point, I think we've established two identifications in the tintype with high confidence:
Mary Burckhardt Schnaidt (back right) — essentially certain.
Henry Edward Schnaidt (front center) — very likely.
Dorothea remains the leading candidate for the woman in the back center, but I would like one more identified portrait before calling that settled.

The First Orsamus

2026-08-09T19:36:11-05:00

Orsamus Hodgkins was born in Reading, VT in 1798 and married Eunice Shattuck in 1818 in Belvidere, VT, a small, rural town in the northern part of the state. Thus began a lineage of three more Orsamuses (Orsami?) ending with my grandfather, who went by O. Lee Hodgkins. My mother reported that her father attributed the first name to the bible, but the closest biblical forename is Erasmus, not Orsamus.

If it was not made up, the provenance of the name has been lost to history. The name appears in some sites as a combination or "oros" and "amos," supposedly Greek for "pure mountain." The only famous Orsamus that I could find predating Orsamus Hodgkins was Orsamus Willard, "universally known as Willard of the City Hotel, [ ] the most famous bartender in America." He was born six years earlier than Hodgkins and "was a pioneer in mixing individual drinks to order using ice—and thus of the American school of mixology and the modern bar in general."

Orsamus #2, 1831-1908.

IC-7300 Clock Battery

2026-08-09T16:41:05-05:00

The rechargeable clock battery in my Icom IC-7300 eventually stopped holding enough charge between uses. Because the original cell is surface-mounted and the charging circuit complicates replacement with an ordinary coin cell, I explored a few practical ways to preserve the radio’s clock without making a risky modification.

FlightAware Tracking

2026-08-09T16:07:34-05:00

I use a Raspberry Pi 4 running PiAware to receive ADS-B transmissions from aircraft in the area and feed that data to FlightAware. It provides a real-time view of traffic approaching and departing Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, especially from my location beneath runway 12R approach, or 30L on takeoff (usually when the wind comes from the Northwest).

The most common military planes are C-130 transports (VIKING and GOPHER). Some federal planes do not use ADSB identifiers. State Patrol planes and helicopters commonly originate from Holman Field in St. Paul (a good place for bloody marys and old fashioneds). Both airline designation and type of aircraft are usually indicated. Consequently, you can tell precisely when a friend or relative is landing, or when your area is getting a lot of flyovers.

Public access to the tracker is here

Airport (1970)

2026-08-09T16:01:32-05:00

Airport was released in 1970 and was filmed in part at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP). Because of that local connection—and because the film helped define the 1970s disaster-movie genre—it has always been an interesting part of the airport’s history.

I wrote a more detailed article about the movie and its connection to MSP. Read the article in Hennepin History.

Trans Global's 707 at MSP, from the Minneapolis Star/Tribune archives in the Minnesota Historical Society.

The opening, credits, airport interior, and runway scenes were all shot at the airport. The opening is particularly interesting for its glimpse of the facilities, which were about ten year's old at that time of the filming. The top image from the film shows the main ticketing level at MSP, except the right side of it was all fabricated. Northwest "Orient" was real, but Trans Global was not. One story is that someone actually tried to purchase a ticket from Lufthansa, which did not serve MSP at the time of the film. All general parking was in a lot, and there were no ramps as there are today. One of my favorite shots is that of the winter runway treatment machine, which was a real innovation implemented by the Metropolitan Airports Commission. It wasn't designed to melt all of the ice, but imbed sand into the ice, which would give traction to the runway.

MAC's deicing technique of the runway, shown with the acting credits at the beginning of the movie.