The Chromebook and Budget Ham Radio

 Today, I want to discuss the Chromebook and why you may want one for ham radio if you are on a budget. I'm sure you've seen a Chromebook - they're small and you'll more than likely see students with them in their backpacks. Many school districts purchase these machines in bulk since they are geared more towards students and are oriented to use Google apps and services. They are the cheapest laptops one can buy, with prices as low as $50 in some cases.

When I first started out in amateur radio, I was on a tightly constrained budget. I didn't have a job and I was in high school, getting ready to enter college. My amateur equipment was either given to me by other amateurs or was usually bought during a bargain sale. The very first computer I used with my ham radio setup was over 10 years old, and it ran slower than what I wanted.

With that said, many would argue that a Chromebook is the ideal solution, and many, if not all hams tell it off, claiming that it isn't a very good option. Some claim that a bargain bin or used laptop would suffice well, and while this is true to a point, sometimes laptops can be so heavily used that they are beyond repair.

As I write this, I'm sitting behind the screen of an HP Chromebook with an on-board memory size of around 32GB. Many would say that this simply isn't enough to run programs like fldigi or WSJT-X, but you'd be dead wrong. This week, I successfully installed these programs thanks to ChromeOS's latest feature, Linux. Yes, Virginia, Chromebooks can run Linux.

ChromeOS & Linux

In 2019, Google announced that Chromebooks would come standard feature with an on-board Linux distribution, namely, Debian Bullseye. This was meant to expand the limitations of the former Chromebooks and allowed students to play around and utilize Linux for academia. 

I mentioned some time ago that I got Linux to run perfectly on a 10-year-old laptop with great success. In fact, I used it when I started out with the hobby and it provided me with nothing but excellent results. Linux has the capability to run several ham radio programs, and on a Chromebook, you install these programs through the Linux terminal just like you would any Linux computer. However, this does have its limitations.

Of course, you can't run Winlink as a standalone, you'll need a compatibility suite like Wine. This, however, defeats the purpose of doing more with little. As hard of a decision as it was, I chose to forego installing Winlink on this machine. As a standard, I have the following programs installed, with only 15GB of an allocated 32GB space to work with:

• FLRig
• FLDigi
• WSJT-X
• QSSTV
• Direwolf TNC
• Xastir
• JS8Call

My Chromebook runs smoothly without delay and always boots up each program quick. I have run into an issue that prevents me from using FLRig with everything except FLDigi, but I am okay with this. Each software gives the option to run an FT-891 via the specified software CAT control. 

Android Apps

If you aren't familiar with Linux but are more inclined to the Android world, then good news! A Chromebook can run .apk files. You will have to put the Chromebook into dev mode if you want to use non-Google Play Store apps. Apps such as aprsdroid, FT8CN, and Robot36 can be utilized by the Chromebook as if it's an Android phone. I got many of these apps to work the first time but I did not try to interface any hardware. My guess is that you'll have to use your mic, but you'd also probably do that with your phone.

Why should I consider a Chromebook?

First off, it supports Linux. Linux is known to be lightweight in terms of memory, and I haven't even used half of my dedicated Linux memory yet. Chromebooks also have stupidly long battery lives, which is saying a lot for a cheap notebook. You can also take it anywhere - they are portable enough to carry with your bug-out bag and offer a thin profile. The keyboard is also lightweight, making typing urgent messages easy with little to no error.

It also boils down to cost. A Chromebook will suffice for any amateur, whether it's your main computer or your portable ops computer. You can also keep in touch with the Internet-connected world by utilizing many of Google's services such as checking emails with Gmail or watching your favorite ham radio streamers on YouTube. 

I will say that there are some drawbacks. Chromebooks aren't guaranteed to support every USB device you plug in, and that means the Linux machine won't either. Chromebooks also require a Google account to use, but setting one up is free and easy.

So if you got a Chromebook for Christmas, why not use it as a portable field computer? It's much better than trying to set up your phone to work with your rig!