DragonOS Reviews

Went to DragonOS for the SDR inclusions. I previously used SDR++ on my M1 MacBook and liked the scanner inclusion. The scanner module doesn't seem to be included on your version. Can I fix that (simply)? I'm an SDR newbie with limited linux exposure...

Best out of the box solution for all enthusiasts.

very good up to date

This distro is the best for any type of radio or signals work.

Greatness

I was just getting into SDR when the pandemic hit. I started following you because of all your hard work on the subject then abruptly I had to stop. The pandemic took both my Mom and only living Aunt. Now I have found time again to start up this passion I have with SDR. It seems not very many women are into it, I find it fascinating. I remembered you so I looked you up to see how much you have done since I left. As far as I can tell the pandemic was only good for one thing. Your beautiful mind. Thank you so much and I'm looking forward to many hours of enjoyment getting to know your work.

Absolutely great work! I'm happy that so many tools and applications are put together under one single platform and they are working out of the box width any of my SDR gadgets. It was so annoying to use them and provide for each of it a different environment. I'm trying to make it work with 2xUSRP N210. If I do not succeed may I ask for some guidance from you? Keep up the good work!

Thanks cemaxecuter for this distro. I have been using SDR for years, and also using Raspberry Pi's for years, so I was pleased that this worked 'straight out of the box' on my R Pi 400. Used SDR++ with my LimeSDR-Mini, and working straight away. Tony

I would love to see this in a plasma version

Super OS for HamRadio thanks

As an Amateur Radio operator, the need for a solid operating system and digital software is pretty constant. Windows is OK...but Win11 is too restrictive, and Windows 8 and older is obsolete, as it were. So, Linux is the next most common solution. And over the last few years, it has gotten easier to adapt Linux to that task. There have been a few distros that have been amateur radio oriented, namely, Andy's and the Debian Ham Radio Pure Blend. Neither of these were what I really wanted, be it because of the desktop environment being awful, or the distro itself being too difficult to use. I literally stumbled upon DragonOS after looking at the distros in waiting on Distrowatch. I first loaded it on one of my 2009 Mac Minis. This Mac had OSX 10.6 on it...and in 2022 it is hopelessly obsolete as a MAC. But with Dragon, I was able to instantly connect to my uBITX transceiver without any additional CLI configuration. (Every reboot required "sudo chmod 666 /dev/ttyUSB0). It was already set for TX as soon as I set up WSJTx. That was an excellent little touch. Fldigi is on board, so RTTY, SSTV, MFSK64 for all of those neat Shortwave Radiogram broadcasts are easy. It has Direwolf for 300 baud APRS! Then, all of the SDR suites to give my RTL-SDR a workout. AND...THE BEST DESKTOP (LXQt) IS STANDARD!!! That was the clincher for me. Reason? I have been a Linux user since 2001. It was a KDE environment. I stuck with Windows because KDE sucks. It's the worst of the worst as far as DEs go. Gnome is bloated. LXDE is ok. But LXQt is perfect...fast...and the icons are eye-pleasing. Basically, Dragon is so good, that I blew out my OTHER PC that had Debian 11.5 on it for Dragon. Great job!! John KB2HSH

Thank you so very, very much! Dragon OS is THE THING I have been looking for. Last May I decided to move away from Windows to all Linux, however, my SDRPlay and SDR UNO required Windows. Dragon OS allows me do use my SDR receiver as well as FLDIGI which drives my ICOM 7200. Again, thanks and 73s de Terry, WA5ZKP

I've have been running Dragon OS quite successfully on my Linux machine. However, I noticed the latest edition has amongst it's features ACARSDeco2 and wxtoimg, both of which I would like to run. After a lot of messing about with my HP laptop, which didn't seem to want to boot from USB. I did manage to install Dragon OS in the end, wiping out the old edition in the process. Not are the above programs missing from the list, but I could not now get my Airspy Mini to be recognised by sdr++ or sdrangel. I therefore re-installed the old version of Dragon OS, and now back to full working order. Maybe the iso I flashed to a usb stick with balena etcha missed something, but maybe you can actually confirm that the latest edition actually features ACARSDeco2 and wxtoimg so I can maybe try again sometime. Thanks Kind Regards Brian (G0HDI)

SDR has become so much more accessible to hobbyists like myself but often the hardest part is just getting the tools set up to play with. DragonOS has bridged that gap so that people who are not linux power users can still experience the world of SDR without having to set all the software up and with tutorials on youtube to boot!

installed on a Gateway AMD 4 Gig machine, Works Great !!. I'm running my SDR Radio on it Flawlessly. I was working on my Raspberry PI's but after seeing your copy of this OS, I've Switched. Thanks, Marty

Lovin the idea of this whole project! My only issue is wether installing the current version or LTS both hang up when running? Can run from a USB without issue, but instalation to a hard drive is a no go for me. Really want to find a work around for this as just running a live distro is just to limiting.

Hello, thanks for this great Distro. I've an idear, can you add the telive software for tetra decoding? github.com/sq5bpf/telive Thanks in advance and take care 73 de Jens

I have been using this OS for a few months now - This is the BEST all in one SDR solution I have had the pleasure of using! This has been instrumental in my work as a Field Radio Technician. There are so many out of the box solutions included in these releases that just make fault diagnosing an absolute breeze. The hobbyist side of these releases is also second to none, anyone can pick up a 30 dollar RTL dongle, load up a USB and dive right into the world of SDR. The youtube videos are a treasure trove of instructional info and the SDR community has been very helpful. My biggest thanks to the Dev or Devs for all of their work with these releases. I am so grateful for every single release and the ongoing support. Just. Awesome!!

Excellent work bro! I am definitely supporting and if the God wished I will sponsor you too!

**This is the one you want if you are interested in Software Defined Radio (SDR). It's that simple.** This is as close as I have been able to find to a "one stop shop" setup to explore SDR. DragonOS_Focal is the brainchild of developer @cemaxecuter who I have found to be very responsive to support tickets, questions, and suggestions. I cannot imagine a more convenient gateway into SDR than DragonOS_Focal, nor do I need to now that @cemaxecuter has done so much of the tedious work of building this fantastic suite of SDR tools!! Any time I start a new hobby, I look for a resource that gives me the greatest value for my time. SDR has a number of good resources for information and projects, but they all rely on the user's ability to locate, install, and configure various software tools, drivers, and hardware. As far as I can tell, linux is the only OS that is supported by all of the various SDR hardware and software tools. DragonOS_Focal leverages that universal common ground to assemble a suite of the most popular SDR softwares into a single comprehensive distribution. DragonOS_Focal is small enough to boot from a memory stick, powerful enough to use as a primary OS, and lightweight and stable enough to run as a virtual machine. I have successfully used several of the most popular tools in each of those three use cases, and I found it to be stable and functional in each. I am confident in making the assertion that DragonOS_Focal would be a stable and effective tool on hardware ranging from SOC's to servers, using any of the popular SDR's like LimeSDR, HackRF One, YardStick, etc. This review is based on my experiences using: DragonOS_Focal R12 Apple Mac Pro (Late 2013) macOS Catalina v10.15.7 VirtualBox 6.1 VirtualBox GUI Version 6.1.18 r142142 (Qt5.6.3)

Finally a SDR focused Linux Build!!!