[nos-bbs] Linux Kernel Drops AX.25 and Amateur Radio Subsystem Support

[Boudewijn (Bob) Tenty]

The news feed called Southgate Amateur Radio News  and the domain of southgatearc.org were both taken over by the present owner (Cale K4HCK) of Amateur Radio Daily in August 2023,

that is why it is still called 'Southgate  Amateur Radio news' here as that is what it is showing in my Thunderbird for the last 20 years or so :-)

Yeah, you are right, will be more careful the next time. At least everybody is now talking about that article, what is just a condensed version what was publicized at another site.

Boudewijn VE3TOK

On 4/27/26 15:44, Steve Stroh wrote:
> Minor correction:
>
> This story ran in *Amateur Radio Daily*:
>
> https://daily.hamweekly.com/2026/04/linux-kernel-removes-ax25-hamradio-subsystem-support/
>
> /Not/ Southgate Amateur Radio News (which ceased publication upon the death of its author).
>
> That URL now redirects to Amateur Radio Daily:
> https://daily.hamweekly.com
>
> Steve Stroh N8GNJ
> (Fan of Amateur Radio Daily and Amateur Radio Weekly)
>
>
> On Apr 25, 2026 at 08:54:15, Boudewijn (Bob) Tenty <bob at tenty.ca> wrote:
>>
>> This is from Southgate Amateur Radio News,
>>
>> Earlier today Linus Torvalds merged <https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=64edfa65062dc4509ba75978116b2f6d392346f5> a pull request to remove AX.25 and hamradio subsystem support from the Linux kernel <https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-7.1-Removes-Old-Net>. 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 <https://github.com/wb2osz/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 among code that may no longer be maintained or utilized by end users. Torvalds stated <https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=64edfa65062dc4509ba75978116b2f6d392346f5> that the amateur radio related code in the Linux kernel no longer had any active maintainers:
>>
>>     Amateur radio did have occasional users (or so I think) but most users switched to user space implementations since its all super slow stuff. Nobody stepped up to maintain the kernel code.
>>
>> According to typesense <https://linux-commits-search.typesense.org/?commits%5Bquery%5D=ax25> the last Linux kernel commit related to AX.25 was 6 years ago.
>>
>> Additional code removed includes ISDN support, bus mouse <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_mouse> support, and various network drivers including support for old 3Com devices.
>>
>> Source: Phoronix <https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-7.1-Removes-Old-Net>
>>
>> ------------------
>>
>> We are toasted because all my programs are glued together by the ax25 utilities.
>>
>> Boudewijn VE3TOK
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> There is nothing permanent except change
>>   
>>                                  Heraclitus
>
> -- 
> Steve Stroh (he / him / his)
> steve.stroh at gmail.com
>
> For Amateur Radio / Zero Retries / Conference:
> *Steve Stroh N8GNJ*
> Editor
> *Zero Retries Newsletter*
> steve at zeroretries.net <mailto://steve@zeroretries.net>
> www.zeroretries.org <https://www.zeroretries.org>
> /Radios are Computers - With Antennas!/
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> https://www.zeroretries.org/p/conference
> /Discussing and creating new technologies in Amateur Radio/
>
>
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-- 
There is nothing permanent except change
  
                                 Heraclitus
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