Over the last few months I have been building an operating system designed for the Amateur Radio Community. It’s called arcOS (Amateur Radio Community Operating System), and it is designed to help clubs or other groups of operators get up and running on the most common digital modes used in emergency communications in minutes. arcOS is a live Linux operating system, boots from a USB drive on nearly any semi-modern 64-bit system, and utilizes any available free space on the USB drive as persistent storage. Right out of the box, arcOS is configured for use by any operator with a DigiRig and the appropriate interface cable to their radio. To allow for customization and added functionality, arcOS uses a modular approach. Modules can be written by anyone and shared with their community. Some core modules are available on GitHub (arcos-linux-modules). For communities of operators interested in a quick on-ramp to APRS, FLDigi, and Winlink…arcOS is a great way to get started and lessen the support burden by using a common operating system. To get started with arcOS, visit the website and follow the documentation.
