June 11, 1930 - July 3, 2009
RIP old buzzard...
My dad passed away last week. He was 79. As well as being a father, he was a grandfather and a great-grandfather. He was an uncle, a brother and a friend to many.
I will post his obit here soon.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Where are my logs?
No not wooden logs, contest logs.
Field Day 2009 was great. (photos HERE) The club did well, but not as good as I would have imagined we could do. The DVK setup was a miserable failure. I had to resort to manual phone operation. But still, that aspect did not prevent any contacts. We got the contacts we got (524), and didn't 'lose' any, band conditions were miserable on 40M. More about that in another post...
So it's 2:PM or so on Sunday, and I am shutting stuff down and packing it up, I go to save the log to a USB flash drive, and nada. N3FJP Field Day logging software saves it in the Program Files (i86) folder. So I go looking for them. Nada. Nothing. WHERE'S MY LOG FILES?!?!
Apparently, starting in Vista, Microshaft started 'caching' files in an obscure location. Apparently M$ doesn't trust us to do things normally, so they need to do things abnormally for us. Seems like there is an AppData folder somewhere that contains all sort of 'user' files that we aren't trusted or even allowed to access. It is called 'Compatibility Files' in Microgeek talk.
In my opinion, virtualization is another way for Microsux to say "I know something you don't know"...
The official word on this is that starting in Vista, the rules are that if you don't have explicit (by requesting) elevated permissions to write to C:\Program Files, the system lets you think you are writing there but actually redirects (virtualizes) your writes elsewhere. (or so Scott Hanselman sez...)
On the surface, this sucks in a huge way, especially for ANYBODY in the "where are my files" kind of way. As far as programs on my system, there's a number of "mal-behaved" programs that are getting their writer redirected to the "Virtual Store." Of note are MSN Messenger, the new Nero, and FireFox. I think it is the main reason Win 7 was destroyed (went FUBAR) by Directory Opus 9 a week before Field Day. On a 64-bit system the implications are even worse...
Hanselman also sez:
The other really bad UI issue is that there's no way to get to the compatibility-based Virtual Store from the common file open/save dialogs. The same redirection CAN happen with apps that try to write to registry in HKLM, so watch for that also if something "goes missing."
I can see how hard they're working to make Vista more secure while still maintaining extensive backward compatibility. I haven't had any apps (other than one Java app) bork under Vista yet, but things like this Virtual Store will be confusing until new minor releases of apps with a modicum of Vista-awareness come out.
So where are my logs? When you open Windoze Explorer and you access a folder that has 'virtualized' files, a toolbar button appears that is labeled 'Compatibility Files', click on that button, and voila! There are your files. You can treat them as if they actually exist where you see them...
Field Day 2009 was great. (photos HERE) The club did well, but not as good as I would have imagined we could do. The DVK setup was a miserable failure. I had to resort to manual phone operation. But still, that aspect did not prevent any contacts. We got the contacts we got (524), and didn't 'lose' any, band conditions were miserable on 40M. More about that in another post...
So it's 2:PM or so on Sunday, and I am shutting stuff down and packing it up, I go to save the log to a USB flash drive, and nada. N3FJP Field Day logging software saves it in the Program Files (i86) folder. So I go looking for them. Nada. Nothing. WHERE'S MY LOG FILES?!?!
Apparently, starting in Vista, Microshaft started 'caching' files in an obscure location. Apparently M$ doesn't trust us to do things normally, so they need to do things abnormally for us. Seems like there is an AppData folder somewhere that contains all sort of 'user' files that we aren't trusted or even allowed to access. It is called 'Compatibility Files' in Microgeek talk.
In my opinion, virtualization is another way for Microsux to say "I know something you don't know"...
The official word on this is that starting in Vista, the rules are that if you don't have explicit (by requesting) elevated permissions to write to C:\Program Files, the system lets you think you are writing there but actually redirects (virtualizes) your writes elsewhere. (or so Scott Hanselman sez...)
On the surface, this sucks in a huge way, especially for ANYBODY in the "where are my files" kind of way. As far as programs on my system, there's a number of "mal-behaved" programs that are getting their writer redirected to the "Virtual Store." Of note are MSN Messenger, the new Nero, and FireFox. I think it is the main reason Win 7 was destroyed (went FUBAR) by Directory Opus 9 a week before Field Day. On a 64-bit system the implications are even worse...
Hanselman also sez:
The other really bad UI issue is that there's no way to get to the compatibility-based Virtual Store from the common file open/save dialogs. The same redirection CAN happen with apps that try to write to registry in HKLM, so watch for that also if something "goes missing."
I can see how hard they're working to make Vista more secure while still maintaining extensive backward compatibility. I haven't had any apps (other than one Java app) bork under Vista yet, but things like this Virtual Store will be confusing until new minor releases of apps with a modicum of Vista-awareness come out.
So where are my logs? When you open Windoze Explorer and you access a folder that has 'virtualized' files, a toolbar button appears that is labeled 'Compatibility Files', click on that button, and voila! There are your files. You can treat them as if they actually exist where you see them...
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Another Laptop Arrives...
New Dell Latitude E6500 15.4" Demo Laptop
First thing I did was wipe XP off it and install Win 7. Now yet again I am struggling with drivers as well as the initial setup. One would think I would learn after awhile...
This machine scores a 4.0 on the Experience Index, lowest performance is the Aero Graphics. Everything else is a 5 or above. I think it is usable. It only has 4G RAM and a 160Gb HD, but so far the laptop isn't too bad. It is heavy though, and size has its advantages as well as disadvantages. There is plenty of audio (more about full-duplex later) and I kinda like the keyboard. There is a really slim power adapter, whose led power-on indicator is a blue led ring around the power plug where it connects to the laptop. Cool, but more glitz I can live without. Probably necessary for those idiots who cannot tell if there is power coming outta their adapter...
The WI-FI adapter is an Intel 5100 AGN, and I am not impressed with its performance. Seems it only connects at 52 mps, where an Intel 4965 will connect from this same spot at 130 mps. I will look into that. It has the obligatory fingerprint swipe device, which I chose not to install drivers for. Biometrics is nice, but I have yet to find a device that doesn't act like a TSR and leak memory like a sieve. Oh well.
Bigger is generally better, but in this case I think it may be a big drawback. If you are looking for a desktop replacement, then sure, this is your baby. If it won't leave your desk (or kitchen table) except for Sunday dinner, then you won't mind how heavy it is. But if you have to carry this to meetings, and then home each day, I think the size and weight is a showstopper. Sure a 15.4" widescreen laptop is nice when you play a movie, or edit a photo, the resolution (1920X1200 WUXGA) makes it shine. But walk a hallway every day with this beast, and I can guarantee you will prefer to take notes with a pencil and paper rather than drag this monster to another meeting.
If I had to buy one for my own use, I would equip it with 8G RAM (doesn't support 16G), the WUXGA display, 500Gb 7200RPM drive and the nVidia NVS graphics adapter. Maybe then I could eek out a 5.0 on the EI, as long as I had the T9800 Core2 Duo. Even better yet, configure an E6400 like that and shed a pound or two minimum. 9-cell batteries, even LI-ION add quite a bit of weight. The E6500 STARTS at 5.17 lbs, with the 4-cell battery and no optical drive. Load it up and it makes a great door stop...
The wireless works better now, I adjusted the 802.11n settings and I consistently get 120-135 mps connect speeds now. All I need to do is test the thruput. That, and test the audio. I will need to get full-duplex working in some sort of fashion in order to use it with the ham radio equipment. I will TRY the default 'listen' control before I start hacking the registry. I promise. All I need to do is find the time...
First thing I did was wipe XP off it and install Win 7. Now yet again I am struggling with drivers as well as the initial setup. One would think I would learn after awhile...
This machine scores a 4.0 on the Experience Index, lowest performance is the Aero Graphics. Everything else is a 5 or above. I think it is usable. It only has 4G RAM and a 160Gb HD, but so far the laptop isn't too bad. It is heavy though, and size has its advantages as well as disadvantages. There is plenty of audio (more about full-duplex later) and I kinda like the keyboard. There is a really slim power adapter, whose led power-on indicator is a blue led ring around the power plug where it connects to the laptop. Cool, but more glitz I can live without. Probably necessary for those idiots who cannot tell if there is power coming outta their adapter...
The WI-FI adapter is an Intel 5100 AGN, and I am not impressed with its performance. Seems it only connects at 52 mps, where an Intel 4965 will connect from this same spot at 130 mps. I will look into that. It has the obligatory fingerprint swipe device, which I chose not to install drivers for. Biometrics is nice, but I have yet to find a device that doesn't act like a TSR and leak memory like a sieve. Oh well.
Bigger is generally better, but in this case I think it may be a big drawback. If you are looking for a desktop replacement, then sure, this is your baby. If it won't leave your desk (or kitchen table) except for Sunday dinner, then you won't mind how heavy it is. But if you have to carry this to meetings, and then home each day, I think the size and weight is a showstopper. Sure a 15.4" widescreen laptop is nice when you play a movie, or edit a photo, the resolution (1920X1200 WUXGA) makes it shine. But walk a hallway every day with this beast, and I can guarantee you will prefer to take notes with a pencil and paper rather than drag this monster to another meeting.
If I had to buy one for my own use, I would equip it with 8G RAM (doesn't support 16G), the WUXGA display, 500Gb 7200RPM drive and the nVidia NVS graphics adapter. Maybe then I could eek out a 5.0 on the EI, as long as I had the T9800 Core2 Duo. Even better yet, configure an E6400 like that and shed a pound or two minimum. 9-cell batteries, even LI-ION add quite a bit of weight. The E6500 STARTS at 5.17 lbs, with the 4-cell battery and no optical drive. Load it up and it makes a great door stop...
The wireless works better now, I adjusted the 802.11n settings and I consistently get 120-135 mps connect speeds now. All I need to do is test the thruput. That, and test the audio. I will need to get full-duplex working in some sort of fashion in order to use it with the ham radio equipment. I will TRY the default 'listen' control before I start hacking the registry. I promise. All I need to do is find the time...
Friday, June 19, 2009
Time Grows Near...
Next Weekend is Field Day...
Time for a setup shakedown. Clean off the table, wake the kids, turn off the TV... This Sunday, I am gonna unpack the crap again, set it up and make a contact.
But wait! What about an antenna? I am certain I can whip something up... after all this IS a ham radio station here - K1XH. Besides, I have an LDG tuner, I should be able to tune a window shade into a 75M something-or-other. But make a contact? Jeez, i haven't done that in months!
And labels! I gotta make labels and label everything, especially connectors, or I will never get them back. That, and dig out some coax. Lord knows we will probably need it. I think the computer setup is ready, I have been tuning things for a couple weeks now as time permits. With the end of the school year and graduation, including all the graduation parties (another one tonite) things have been hectic to say the least. The weather looks shitty for the next few days so I think it will be safe to spend some time insuring all the gear is ready to go.
Time for a setup shakedown. Clean off the table, wake the kids, turn off the TV... This Sunday, I am gonna unpack the crap again, set it up and make a contact.
But wait! What about an antenna? I am certain I can whip something up... after all this IS a ham radio station here - K1XH. Besides, I have an LDG tuner, I should be able to tune a window shade into a 75M something-or-other. But make a contact? Jeez, i haven't done that in months!
And labels! I gotta make labels and label everything, especially connectors, or I will never get them back. That, and dig out some coax. Lord knows we will probably need it. I think the computer setup is ready, I have been tuning things for a couple weeks now as time permits. With the end of the school year and graduation, including all the graduation parties (another one tonite) things have been hectic to say the least. The weather looks shitty for the next few days so I think it will be safe to spend some time insuring all the gear is ready to go.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
What Win 7 WON'T do...
Direct cable connection is gone...
I guess I should say that I haven't figured it out yet rather than that it doesn't work... Just like everything else in Win 7 it takes a bit more time to figure out because it is new. In all reality I don't even know how important it is anyway.
Last night I was xferring a couple files (Win 7 RC ISO file so I can burn a disk...) and they were rather large, over 3Gb each. This Dell Latitude D630 has an Intel 4965 AGN wireless adapter, which connects at a minimum of 130 mps, but the IBM ThinkPad T60 has only an Intel 3945 ABG that will max out at 54 mps. Ever transfer a file at 54 mps?
I used to, back when slow networks were all the rage. Here at home I have a gigabit ethernet backbone thru a Link-Sys (Cisco) switch, with a D-Link DIR-655 wireless N router connected to the DSL modem. With a 25/2 connection, shit screams across the Internet here. It easily supports all I wanna do, as well as the other dozen or so computers on the network at any one given moment. The local gigabit speeds aren't really necessary, unless you are xferring large files and want to do it in a short amount of time. Nice to have though, seeing how almost everything I have on the network has a gigabit adapter.
So I figure that I can use the gigabit adapters in these 2 laptops to xfer files much quicker than the 54 mps the IBM will max out at. Again, I figured wrong. Connecting a crossover ethernet cable and setting static IP addresses was all anyone needed to do with XP, and I have used it numerous times in the past. Even at a lowly 100 mps things go rather quickly.
Win7 is advanced enough that I don't even need to use a crossover cable, a regular CAT5e cable will work, apparently. They connect easy enough, but if you think I could get them to talk to each other, boy were you wrong. I still haven't figured this out. Luckily I have the hard drives with the previous OS still intact, and if I can't figure this out in Win7 I am gonna pop the old drives back in just to test Vista and XP to see if the laptops actually do work in this direct-connect configuration.
Anyway, one thing Win7 WILL do is burn an image file, natively. Just double click the ISO file, and Windows Disk Image Burner pops up and prompts you to choose or verify your CD/DVD burner drive. Kinda cool, really. I wonder what else will surprise me next...
I imagine if I can get this direct connect thing working, it will surprise me. M$ dropped direct connect FireWire support with Vista, but I imagine you can get 480 mps throughput with USB. Or so they claim. Kinda like new car MPG ratings. You only get that mileage going downhill, coasting in neutral with a tailwind. In order to get 480 mps throughput with USB you need to connect two supercomputers in a refrigerated server room and use pure gold cable. Go figure.
Anyway it appears as though Win7 is pretty stable, I have installed it on a few machines and except for one installation in particular, they have all been rock-solid stable. Other than the few annoyances detailed in this blog things run OK, and if they don't run OK, there are tricks you can pull to get then going. Like running video drivers in compatibility mode. Sure, it isn't the best thing to do, but to me, the end always justifies the means.
I guess I should say that I haven't figured it out yet rather than that it doesn't work... Just like everything else in Win 7 it takes a bit more time to figure out because it is new. In all reality I don't even know how important it is anyway.
Last night I was xferring a couple files (Win 7 RC ISO file so I can burn a disk...) and they were rather large, over 3Gb each. This Dell Latitude D630 has an Intel 4965 AGN wireless adapter, which connects at a minimum of 130 mps, but the IBM ThinkPad T60 has only an Intel 3945 ABG that will max out at 54 mps. Ever transfer a file at 54 mps?
I used to, back when slow networks were all the rage. Here at home I have a gigabit ethernet backbone thru a Link-Sys (Cisco) switch, with a D-Link DIR-655 wireless N router connected to the DSL modem. With a 25/2 connection, shit screams across the Internet here. It easily supports all I wanna do, as well as the other dozen or so computers on the network at any one given moment. The local gigabit speeds aren't really necessary, unless you are xferring large files and want to do it in a short amount of time. Nice to have though, seeing how almost everything I have on the network has a gigabit adapter.
So I figure that I can use the gigabit adapters in these 2 laptops to xfer files much quicker than the 54 mps the IBM will max out at. Again, I figured wrong. Connecting a crossover ethernet cable and setting static IP addresses was all anyone needed to do with XP, and I have used it numerous times in the past. Even at a lowly 100 mps things go rather quickly.
Win7 is advanced enough that I don't even need to use a crossover cable, a regular CAT5e cable will work, apparently. They connect easy enough, but if you think I could get them to talk to each other, boy were you wrong. I still haven't figured this out. Luckily I have the hard drives with the previous OS still intact, and if I can't figure this out in Win7 I am gonna pop the old drives back in just to test Vista and XP to see if the laptops actually do work in this direct-connect configuration.
Anyway, one thing Win7 WILL do is burn an image file, natively. Just double click the ISO file, and Windows Disk Image Burner pops up and prompts you to choose or verify your CD/DVD burner drive. Kinda cool, really. I wonder what else will surprise me next...
I imagine if I can get this direct connect thing working, it will surprise me. M$ dropped direct connect FireWire support with Vista, but I imagine you can get 480 mps throughput with USB. Or so they claim. Kinda like new car MPG ratings. You only get that mileage going downhill, coasting in neutral with a tailwind. In order to get 480 mps throughput with USB you need to connect two supercomputers in a refrigerated server room and use pure gold cable. Go figure.
Anyway it appears as though Win7 is pretty stable, I have installed it on a few machines and except for one installation in particular, they have all been rock-solid stable. Other than the few annoyances detailed in this blog things run OK, and if they don't run OK, there are tricks you can pull to get then going. Like running video drivers in compatibility mode. Sure, it isn't the best thing to do, but to me, the end always justifies the means.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Mac versus PC - Yet Again...
Apparently I have offended Mac users again.
Let me put it this way - If I haven't offended you, stay tuned, your time will come. I gotta admit, I am not trying to piss anyone off in particular, I do find it truly unfortunate if you fall into one of the groups I may poke a little fun at from time to time. My intent is not to offend anyone, but to point out shortcomings in inferior products, services, companies and ultimately, in society itself.
To say something is 'so easy a Mac user could do it' is not a phrase that I invented. Again I have to admit I heard that one somewhere, and it rung so true I had to repeat it. Call it plagurism or whatever you want, but even you have to admit Mac users are either stupid, or lazy. Personally, because I am a Mac user, I fall into the lazy end of that spectrum. Now if I cannot poke a bit of fun at myself, then our society and its political correctness has truly come full circle and we are living in a communist country. I know this is not the case.
I use a Mac when I WANT to, and I suppose it really all boils down to choice. If you choose to use a Mac you are lazy. If you HAVE to use a Mac you are stupid. Simple, huh? Sometimes people point out to me the difference between stupidity and ignorance, and while I possibly have the definitions reversed in my mind, it still is a shame. Plain outright disgraceful. I have always said that I can understand stupidity, but there is no excuse for ignorance. Laziness is another story altogether, laziness is just genius disguized in arrogance.
There is nothing you can do on a Mac that cannot be done on a PC, the reverse holds true. This has been the case for quite some time now, at least since OS X 10.4.11. That is the version that will allow Active Directory 'binding'. Basically that means your Windows Domain can recognize a Mac and that your Domain account can 'pass through' the authentication necessary to gain Domain permissions. What does that mean in layman's terms? It means your Mac will finally work (somewhat) in the corporate business world where we all live and play. It has left the 'home' domain and entered the real world.
Does this mean I will abandon all my PC's and cross to the dark side of OS X? Not friggin' hardly. Same way I am not EVER gonna abandon my Nikons and join the Canon camp. While there are some who might state 'the best hardware for running Windows is made by Apple', there are also those who have risen above the Mac vs. PC war and instead of wasting time arguing about which is better, are actually using computers for their designed intent - as a tool to navigate the socio-political labrynth we must compete in on a daily basis.
I may use a Mac from time to time, same way I will probably use a PowerShot when I want to. To me it is all about choice. I do what I want, not because I have to but because I choose to. If that makes any sense... (read - psychobabble...) It is kinda like using the best tool for the job at hand. If you only have a Leatherman instead of a full toolbox, you use what you need to to get the job done. This is the pitfall many Mac users fall into. Instead of possibly using their money in the best possible fashion, they tend to waste most of it because of two reasons I have previously mentioned.
There are those who will say that Macs are less prone to viruses than PC's. There are hundreds of arguments in either direction, but suffice it to say there are more viruses and attacks written for the UNIX platform than anything else. And what is OS X written/based upon? UNIX. Try telling the poor lady whose Safari browser has been hijacked by Malware and has a million pop-ups telling her that her computer needs new virus detection software that Macs are better. Apparently, they look pretty much the same as a PC.
Again, place either platform in front of me and I will pretty much be able to do the things I need to do without too much trouble. I will bet right now you cannot tell if I have typed this blog post on a Mac or a PC. In the truest sense of the word it really doesn't matter, does it? Marshall McLuhan said it best when he described popular culture with the statement 'The Medium Is The Message...'.
Anyway, my point is, I choose to poke fun at stereotypical users, and I have very little tolerance for incompetence. Same way I will pick on the Goths, the Towel-Heads and the Wetbacks, it was not I that invented these racial slurs. Is it immature and evil to refer to people in this manner? Yes. Do you fit into one of those groups? If so, it really does suck being you. Same way I fall into the stereotypical white, overweight, Type A male model. It sux being me too.
It sucks being me because I have to deal with the Mac users and other general incompetence so prevalent in our society today. It is even more so here in the Upper Valley. I truly find it amazing and sometimes wonder as I try to fall asleep at night, how the majority of people around here got and actually keep their jobs. Don't get me wrong here, there are people who actually know how to maintain their computers and networks around here, but like anywhere else, they are few and far between.
This is the exact reason our society as a whole is shifting away from computers as we knew them in the '90's toward a more manageable 'personal device' model such as the cell phone and PDA. To pick up where McLuhan left off and to make the statement that PDA's will revolutionize how we learn, communicate and generally interface with others is a natural statement, but I fear that the technology that lead us to this point will generally be ignored, much like the industrial revolution, and lead to the downfall of American society as we currently acknowledge it.
More psychobabble, I know, but it is relevant. It is because we are lazy and stupid Mac users.
Let me put it this way - If I haven't offended you, stay tuned, your time will come. I gotta admit, I am not trying to piss anyone off in particular, I do find it truly unfortunate if you fall into one of the groups I may poke a little fun at from time to time. My intent is not to offend anyone, but to point out shortcomings in inferior products, services, companies and ultimately, in society itself.
To say something is 'so easy a Mac user could do it' is not a phrase that I invented. Again I have to admit I heard that one somewhere, and it rung so true I had to repeat it. Call it plagurism or whatever you want, but even you have to admit Mac users are either stupid, or lazy. Personally, because I am a Mac user, I fall into the lazy end of that spectrum. Now if I cannot poke a bit of fun at myself, then our society and its political correctness has truly come full circle and we are living in a communist country. I know this is not the case.
I use a Mac when I WANT to, and I suppose it really all boils down to choice. If you choose to use a Mac you are lazy. If you HAVE to use a Mac you are stupid. Simple, huh? Sometimes people point out to me the difference between stupidity and ignorance, and while I possibly have the definitions reversed in my mind, it still is a shame. Plain outright disgraceful. I have always said that I can understand stupidity, but there is no excuse for ignorance. Laziness is another story altogether, laziness is just genius disguized in arrogance.
There is nothing you can do on a Mac that cannot be done on a PC, the reverse holds true. This has been the case for quite some time now, at least since OS X 10.4.11. That is the version that will allow Active Directory 'binding'. Basically that means your Windows Domain can recognize a Mac and that your Domain account can 'pass through' the authentication necessary to gain Domain permissions. What does that mean in layman's terms? It means your Mac will finally work (somewhat) in the corporate business world where we all live and play. It has left the 'home' domain and entered the real world.
Does this mean I will abandon all my PC's and cross to the dark side of OS X? Not friggin' hardly. Same way I am not EVER gonna abandon my Nikons and join the Canon camp. While there are some who might state 'the best hardware for running Windows is made by Apple', there are also those who have risen above the Mac vs. PC war and instead of wasting time arguing about which is better, are actually using computers for their designed intent - as a tool to navigate the socio-political labrynth we must compete in on a daily basis.
I may use a Mac from time to time, same way I will probably use a PowerShot when I want to. To me it is all about choice. I do what I want, not because I have to but because I choose to. If that makes any sense... (read - psychobabble...) It is kinda like using the best tool for the job at hand. If you only have a Leatherman instead of a full toolbox, you use what you need to to get the job done. This is the pitfall many Mac users fall into. Instead of possibly using their money in the best possible fashion, they tend to waste most of it because of two reasons I have previously mentioned.
There are those who will say that Macs are less prone to viruses than PC's. There are hundreds of arguments in either direction, but suffice it to say there are more viruses and attacks written for the UNIX platform than anything else. And what is OS X written/based upon? UNIX. Try telling the poor lady whose Safari browser has been hijacked by Malware and has a million pop-ups telling her that her computer needs new virus detection software that Macs are better. Apparently, they look pretty much the same as a PC.
Again, place either platform in front of me and I will pretty much be able to do the things I need to do without too much trouble. I will bet right now you cannot tell if I have typed this blog post on a Mac or a PC. In the truest sense of the word it really doesn't matter, does it? Marshall McLuhan said it best when he described popular culture with the statement 'The Medium Is The Message...'.
Anyway, my point is, I choose to poke fun at stereotypical users, and I have very little tolerance for incompetence. Same way I will pick on the Goths, the Towel-Heads and the Wetbacks, it was not I that invented these racial slurs. Is it immature and evil to refer to people in this manner? Yes. Do you fit into one of those groups? If so, it really does suck being you. Same way I fall into the stereotypical white, overweight, Type A male model. It sux being me too.
It sucks being me because I have to deal with the Mac users and other general incompetence so prevalent in our society today. It is even more so here in the Upper Valley. I truly find it amazing and sometimes wonder as I try to fall asleep at night, how the majority of people around here got and actually keep their jobs. Don't get me wrong here, there are people who actually know how to maintain their computers and networks around here, but like anywhere else, they are few and far between.
This is the exact reason our society as a whole is shifting away from computers as we knew them in the '90's toward a more manageable 'personal device' model such as the cell phone and PDA. To pick up where McLuhan left off and to make the statement that PDA's will revolutionize how we learn, communicate and generally interface with others is a natural statement, but I fear that the technology that lead us to this point will generally be ignored, much like the industrial revolution, and lead to the downfall of American society as we currently acknowledge it.
More psychobabble, I know, but it is relevant. It is because we are lazy and stupid Mac users.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Finally. Play and Burn DVD's in Win 7
No need for extra programs... it is built-in!
That's right kiddies, no need for extra dedicated DVD software anymore, it is finally built into Microshaft Windows 7. It is kinda refreshing to see that they hired some developers from Apple right out from under Steve Job's nose to include the crap that should have been in there from the start.
So, you install Win 7, and after it is all updated you decide to put in a DVD to watch a movie. I did this just to see if it would work, and lo-and-behold, it does! Holy Blu-Ray Batman! What is even better is that you can now just drag files to a blank DVD (if you have a DVD writer) and then click burn-to-disc. Windows Explorer now supports native burning to DVD!
Goodbye Nero, so long WinDVD and PowerDVD! I don't need to run additional brain-dead applications just to do basic functions that should have been included from the get-go. Let's see what else it can do...
Maybe I wanna take all the neat new digital video I just shot and create a cohesive movie of clips, think I can do that? Yup. Run what is called Windows DVD Maker and you are all set. I gotta admit I haven't tried to use it to actually make a DVD movie (I have no digital video recorder...) but I have played with it a bit to see what it actually does. I will bet the media types out there will still feel they need some fancy-schmancy additional ill-behaved app to do this like Adobe Premiere or some other movie-maker program, but by and large, when you turn your 4-year old loose with all you electronic crap they will be the next Martin Scorsese in no time at all.
But when you are facing a class full of students and you pop the DVD in of the coolest movie you ever saw, hoping Windoze Media Player will handle things on your newly upgraded machine, you needn't worry. Even if you need to setup Media Player by choosing Express Settings first, it won't take but a moment before the movie actually starts. No show-stopping message about some 'codec' not installed, it just plays. Like I have said before, Win 7 just works.
Don't get me wrong, I am certainly not on the Microstink payroll, nor do I advocate everyone install this new OS on their computer(s). Personally I feel if you are not smart enough to maintain your OS (read Mac user here) you don't deserve to use a computer, much less own one. I just think I can spot a good one in a row of mediocre OS's. I think I have been around a bit (others might say I am about as round as one can get...) and having used, programmed, built and maintained computer systems and networks since the '70's I feel I might be able to give a bit of advice now and then. This OS is good, but I am absolutely certain there will be those who will bash it no matter what. I might even be one of them...
Take for example Windowz Media Player. It has to compete with iTunes. Can you connect your iPod? No. You need to run iTunes to sync your iPod. Why? Because Apple pulled a microsoft. (lower case noun) Also take for example when one might play a DVD. When you want to skip to the next chapter, what button do you press? PageDown? Of course. How about pause the movie? SpaceBar? Yup. All major DVD software does this, or allows you to program the keys you want to do this. What about Media Player? Guess again.
To advance to the next chapter of a movie DVD playing in Media Player, you press Ctrl-F .What the hell? What does the F key have to do with chapters? Not even the arrow keys work in Media Player. Microstupid - Take a hint... Develop Media Player into a mature program instead of allowing it to suffer Alzheiumers and turn into yet another brain-dead, ill-behaved add-on application. What the hell were you thinking? How about using the mouse wheel to advance the speed (or decrease it...) and setting it up so I can sync an iPod? What about removing all the advertizing crap with all these unnecessary 'stores' to buy songs? The only time I want to think about 'Urge' is when I take a crap. This doesn't even mention DRM (Digital Rights Management) which has turned into a porn-spam sending scam when you try to play someone else's idea of 'protected' content. If you wanna protect something, sell it in a real store at a price people will be willing to pay for it. If your music sucks, then give it away. If you wanna sell a million copies of your new movie, sell it for $1.99 on a self-destructing DVD. Nobody is gonna waste $2.25 for a DL DVD to copy a $1.99 movie...
And make Media Player work like it used to... When I play an album, put the album cover in the middle of the friggin' screen. If you are gonna put a 'Lyrics' button somewhere, there ought to by lyrics behind the button when I click on it. Not a window where I can type in text... And give me a remote control. Infared has been built into computers since the '80's, it is just a freakin' LED for crying out loud. And also, let me use the IR built into my computer to control my TV and stereo. I do have to admit I don't necessarily like the idea of a $1900 remote, but you gotta admit, it certainly would be convenient.
But then again, this is only the Release Candidate! (RC... is just another term for Beta) I can only imagine what it will be like when the full version is released in October. Yes, kiddies, OCTOBER. Chances are the upgrade version will be out-the-door in August, personally I would hold out for the full Win 7 Ultimate version, it is what I am running now in RC, and seems to do almost everything right. I imagine I will start planning for the Business version where I work (school), even then it won't be at least until next summer when I roll it out. Hopefully it will be available on the new Dell's in some sort of affordable version.
Native support for this kind of stuff should have been included as far back as Win '95, but Microsux in their infinite corporate wisdom decided that it was more important to spawn the 'Accessory Application' market and charge developers not only for their OS, but for the rights to develop stuff for their OS. Kinda like the grocery store charging for food, and then charging you again for the rights to cook it. Brilliant strategy, compliments of Steve Ballmer. He learned it from Bill Gates back in college. If you don't believe me, watch the DVD Pirates Of Silicon Valley sometime. You will find out the real suckers aren't the American people, but IBM and XEROX.
But wait! I just rented this DVD Pirates Of Silicon Valley, and I now want to add it to my library of other 'pirated' DVD's... (just kidding, I don't advocate stealing anything, if I have to pay for it YOU should have to as well... I don't have a library at all.) For this example, I am not allowed to duplicate a DVD, especially a copyrighted one at that.
Maybe THERE IS a market for brain-dead, ill-behaved apps after all...
That's right kiddies, no need for extra dedicated DVD software anymore, it is finally built into Microshaft Windows 7. It is kinda refreshing to see that they hired some developers from Apple right out from under Steve Job's nose to include the crap that should have been in there from the start.
So, you install Win 7, and after it is all updated you decide to put in a DVD to watch a movie. I did this just to see if it would work, and lo-and-behold, it does! Holy Blu-Ray Batman! What is even better is that you can now just drag files to a blank DVD (if you have a DVD writer) and then click burn-to-disc. Windows Explorer now supports native burning to DVD!
Goodbye Nero, so long WinDVD and PowerDVD! I don't need to run additional brain-dead applications just to do basic functions that should have been included from the get-go. Let's see what else it can do...
Maybe I wanna take all the neat new digital video I just shot and create a cohesive movie of clips, think I can do that? Yup. Run what is called Windows DVD Maker and you are all set. I gotta admit I haven't tried to use it to actually make a DVD movie (I have no digital video recorder...) but I have played with it a bit to see what it actually does. I will bet the media types out there will still feel they need some fancy-schmancy additional ill-behaved app to do this like Adobe Premiere or some other movie-maker program, but by and large, when you turn your 4-year old loose with all you electronic crap they will be the next Martin Scorsese in no time at all.
But when you are facing a class full of students and you pop the DVD in of the coolest movie you ever saw, hoping Windoze Media Player will handle things on your newly upgraded machine, you needn't worry. Even if you need to setup Media Player by choosing Express Settings first, it won't take but a moment before the movie actually starts. No show-stopping message about some 'codec' not installed, it just plays. Like I have said before, Win 7 just works.
Don't get me wrong, I am certainly not on the Microstink payroll, nor do I advocate everyone install this new OS on their computer(s). Personally I feel if you are not smart enough to maintain your OS (read Mac user here) you don't deserve to use a computer, much less own one. I just think I can spot a good one in a row of mediocre OS's. I think I have been around a bit (others might say I am about as round as one can get...) and having used, programmed, built and maintained computer systems and networks since the '70's I feel I might be able to give a bit of advice now and then. This OS is good, but I am absolutely certain there will be those who will bash it no matter what. I might even be one of them...
Take for example Windowz Media Player. It has to compete with iTunes. Can you connect your iPod? No. You need to run iTunes to sync your iPod. Why? Because Apple pulled a microsoft. (lower case noun) Also take for example when one might play a DVD. When you want to skip to the next chapter, what button do you press? PageDown? Of course. How about pause the movie? SpaceBar? Yup. All major DVD software does this, or allows you to program the keys you want to do this. What about Media Player? Guess again.
To advance to the next chapter of a movie DVD playing in Media Player, you press Ctrl-F .What the hell? What does the F key have to do with chapters? Not even the arrow keys work in Media Player. Microstupid - Take a hint... Develop Media Player into a mature program instead of allowing it to suffer Alzheiumers and turn into yet another brain-dead, ill-behaved add-on application. What the hell were you thinking? How about using the mouse wheel to advance the speed (or decrease it...) and setting it up so I can sync an iPod? What about removing all the advertizing crap with all these unnecessary 'stores' to buy songs? The only time I want to think about 'Urge' is when I take a crap. This doesn't even mention DRM (Digital Rights Management) which has turned into a porn-spam sending scam when you try to play someone else's idea of 'protected' content. If you wanna protect something, sell it in a real store at a price people will be willing to pay for it. If your music sucks, then give it away. If you wanna sell a million copies of your new movie, sell it for $1.99 on a self-destructing DVD. Nobody is gonna waste $2.25 for a DL DVD to copy a $1.99 movie...
And make Media Player work like it used to... When I play an album, put the album cover in the middle of the friggin' screen. If you are gonna put a 'Lyrics' button somewhere, there ought to by lyrics behind the button when I click on it. Not a window where I can type in text... And give me a remote control. Infared has been built into computers since the '80's, it is just a freakin' LED for crying out loud. And also, let me use the IR built into my computer to control my TV and stereo. I do have to admit I don't necessarily like the idea of a $1900 remote, but you gotta admit, it certainly would be convenient.
But then again, this is only the Release Candidate! (RC... is just another term for Beta) I can only imagine what it will be like when the full version is released in October. Yes, kiddies, OCTOBER. Chances are the upgrade version will be out-the-door in August, personally I would hold out for the full Win 7 Ultimate version, it is what I am running now in RC, and seems to do almost everything right. I imagine I will start planning for the Business version where I work (school), even then it won't be at least until next summer when I roll it out. Hopefully it will be available on the new Dell's in some sort of affordable version.
Native support for this kind of stuff should have been included as far back as Win '95, but Microsux in their infinite corporate wisdom decided that it was more important to spawn the 'Accessory Application' market and charge developers not only for their OS, but for the rights to develop stuff for their OS. Kinda like the grocery store charging for food, and then charging you again for the rights to cook it. Brilliant strategy, compliments of Steve Ballmer. He learned it from Bill Gates back in college. If you don't believe me, watch the DVD Pirates Of Silicon Valley sometime. You will find out the real suckers aren't the American people, but IBM and XEROX.
But wait! I just rented this DVD Pirates Of Silicon Valley, and I now want to add it to my library of other 'pirated' DVD's... (just kidding, I don't advocate stealing anything, if I have to pay for it YOU should have to as well... I don't have a library at all.) For this example, I am not allowed to duplicate a DVD, especially a copyrighted one at that.
Maybe THERE IS a market for brain-dead, ill-behaved apps after all...
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Remove the ANNOYING Shortcut Arrow
This describes how to get rid of the shortcut arrow overlay...
(credit goes to WinHelpOnline)
(credit goes to WinHelpOnline)
Remove or modify the Shortcut overlay
Method 1
Download Vista Shortcut Overlay Remover (FxVisor) from frameworkx. FxVisor allows you to either way to modify or remove the shortcut overlay arrow in Windows 7 and Vista. Here is the screenshot of that utility: (screenshot removed becaause they are assholes)
Method 2
Removing the shortcut arrow: Download blank_icon.zip and extract the file blank.ico to a folder of your choice. In this example, we use C:\Icons\blank.ico as the path to the icon file you downloaded. And then follow these steps:
- Click Start, type regedit.exe and press ENTER
- Navigate to the following branch:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Shell Icons
- In the right pane, create a new String value (REG_SZ) named 29
- Double-click 29 and set its Value data as C:\Icons\blank.ico
- Close Regedit.exe and restart Windows
Note: If the Shell Icons branch does not exist already, you'll need to create it.
LET ME MAKE THIS DISCLAIMER - Editing the registry can be dangerous to your computer and your sanity. I cannot be held liable for anything you do while editing the registry of your computer. If you have never edited the registry, or if you feel uncomfortable even thinking about editing the registry, give your laptop to some geek who has done it before, and let them do it for you.
Credits: The overlay icon above (blank.ico) for Windows Vista was created using the freeware IcoFX utility. Thanks to the folks at IcoFX for helping me successfully create an overlay icon for Windows Vista.
Setting Light arrow overlay: If you wish to use a light arrow for Shortcuts, you may do so by downloading lightarrow.zip (includes lightarrow.ico). Copy lightarrow.ico to your Icons folder, and set the Value data for 29 accordingly (see Step 4 above). If you've copied lightarrow.ico to your C:\Icons folder, the Value data would be C:\Icons\lightarrow.ico
Please note I could not get Method 1 to work in Windows 7, Method 2 worked fine!
AHCI SATA mode versus ATA mode...
Is your drive performing at its maximum capacity?
If you are running in ATA mode, probably not. But then again, it depends on if you have a SATA drive or not... A 3GBPS SATA drive will perform better in AHCI mode than it will in regular ATA mode.
What the hell are all these acronyms anyway? Well, in an effort to not bore anyone or actually put them to sleep, here is a brief explanation. (you can get this too, from Google or Wikipedia...)
ATA= Advanced Technology Attachment (also known as Parallel ATA or PATA)
SATA= Serial Advanced Technology Attachment
AHCI= Advanced Host Controller Interface
GBPS= Giga Bytes Per Second (not giga BITS per second, which is different...)
DMA= Direct Memory Access
SCSI= Small Computer System Interface
SSD= Solid State Drive
Suffice it to say that AHCI is a better implementation, or a more ADVANCED version of ATA. It allows for things such as hot-swapping and native command queuing that make drive access and sustained throughput rates faster and larger, respectively. It is a standard that is NOT supported by XP, partially implemented in Vista and has native support in Windows 7.
Will your computer support this new mode? Chances are, if it shipped with Vista installed, then yes. Only way to tell is to check the BIOS, in my case the laptop shipped with Vista downgraded to XP and because of the lack of support for this mode in XP the default from Dell was OFF.
So what do I do? I see it is off, so I enable it in the BIOS. Then try to boot... Instant BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death). Seems as though if you don't enable it upon initial installation, then the OS isn't prepared for it properly. (driver needs to load first...) You can first change the registry entry that loads the driver, then enable it in the BIOS upon next restart though. Let me warn you again - Editing the registry can be dangerous to your computer and your sanity. I cannot be held liable for anything you do while editing the registry of your computer. If you have never edited the registry, or if you feel uncomfortable even thinking about editing the registry, give your laptop to some geek who has done it before, and let them do it for you.
Couple AHCI mode with a fast hard drive and you get wicked, almost evil performance from your hard drive. Unless you are running a fiber-channel SCSI drive subsystem you can attain the fastest drive access using AHCI mode and hi-RPM drives. (talking 7200 RPM and greater) The only other thing that can begin to compete is SSD, which has no moving parts and can achieve faster access times. Throughput is a problem with SSD, and here is where large, fast AHCI SATA drives can outperform anything else.
In all reality we are talking about nanoseconds here, chances are as humans we wouldn't see any difference. I can hear many of you saying 'Who gives a shit anyway, I just want Windows to BOOT..." And I understand that. It is just that I want more out of my stuff than the regular guy on the street. I want it to do all it is supposed to do. If it has a 'regular' and 'fast' mode I am gonna choose FAST. And I think YOU should do that too. If it doesn't work, MAKE it work. If you don't know how to make it work, then LEARN how to do it.
If I can do it, you can too.
If you are running in ATA mode, probably not. But then again, it depends on if you have a SATA drive or not... A 3GBPS SATA drive will perform better in AHCI mode than it will in regular ATA mode.
What the hell are all these acronyms anyway? Well, in an effort to not bore anyone or actually put them to sleep, here is a brief explanation. (you can get this too, from Google or Wikipedia...)
ATA= Advanced Technology Attachment (also known as Parallel ATA or PATA)
SATA= Serial Advanced Technology Attachment
AHCI= Advanced Host Controller Interface
GBPS= Giga Bytes Per Second (not giga BITS per second, which is different...)
DMA= Direct Memory Access
SCSI= Small Computer System Interface
SSD= Solid State Drive
Suffice it to say that AHCI is a better implementation, or a more ADVANCED version of ATA. It allows for things such as hot-swapping and native command queuing that make drive access and sustained throughput rates faster and larger, respectively. It is a standard that is NOT supported by XP, partially implemented in Vista and has native support in Windows 7.
Will your computer support this new mode? Chances are, if it shipped with Vista installed, then yes. Only way to tell is to check the BIOS, in my case the laptop shipped with Vista downgraded to XP and because of the lack of support for this mode in XP the default from Dell was OFF.
So what do I do? I see it is off, so I enable it in the BIOS. Then try to boot... Instant BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death). Seems as though if you don't enable it upon initial installation, then the OS isn't prepared for it properly. (driver needs to load first...) You can first change the registry entry that loads the driver, then enable it in the BIOS upon next restart though. Let me warn you again - Editing the registry can be dangerous to your computer and your sanity. I cannot be held liable for anything you do while editing the registry of your computer. If you have never edited the registry, or if you feel uncomfortable even thinking about editing the registry, give your laptop to some geek who has done it before, and let them do it for you.
Couple AHCI mode with a fast hard drive and you get wicked, almost evil performance from your hard drive. Unless you are running a fiber-channel SCSI drive subsystem you can attain the fastest drive access using AHCI mode and hi-RPM drives. (talking 7200 RPM and greater) The only other thing that can begin to compete is SSD, which has no moving parts and can achieve faster access times. Throughput is a problem with SSD, and here is where large, fast AHCI SATA drives can outperform anything else.
In all reality we are talking about nanoseconds here, chances are as humans we wouldn't see any difference. I can hear many of you saying 'Who gives a shit anyway, I just want Windows to BOOT..." And I understand that. It is just that I want more out of my stuff than the regular guy on the street. I want it to do all it is supposed to do. If it has a 'regular' and 'fast' mode I am gonna choose FAST. And I think YOU should do that too. If it doesn't work, MAKE it work. If you don't know how to make it work, then LEARN how to do it.
If I can do it, you can too.
Monday, June 1, 2009
64-Bit versus 32-Bit...
It really is a bigger difference than you think.
The biggest difference I am finding is that manufacturers are very slow to adopt power users who have the where-with-all to install and actually use 64-bit computers. Some are better than others, of course, and generally the software giants like Microslam and Adobe are the leaders of the pack. Or so you would think...
Adobe took years to release a 64-bit Flash Player for browsers, but yet were the first in line to support 64-bit with Lightroom and Photoshop. I guess the software for the masses didn't outweigh the need for the few. But software isn't necessarily all that needs 64-bit support...
Think about the hardware you have and the need for specific drivers that allow that software to work on your 64-bit system. Dell and HP are leaders in the server world, their stuff is used by the giants (Google, Amazon, etc.) and even NASA is starting to gear their smaller stuff toward 64-bit computing. But you cannot run a 64-bit OS unless all your hardware works that is attached to your computer. This means display adapters (video cards) and sound cards HAVE to work, it is imperative that anything you might want to attach to your computer be allowed to function.
This includes perhiperals such as USB devices and printers. Now, Microsnuff has done a pretty good job of including whatever they can find in their newest OS's, but rinky-dink perhiperal manufacturers need to follow suit and either provide the drivers or post them in a place where people can find them such as their corporate website. If they can take the time to provide 32-bit drivers for Vista, there isn't any reason why they can't do the same for 64-bit OS's as well.
But I have seeminly ignored the reasons for running a 64-bit OS, which is why all of you have tuned in to this blog in the first place... SPEED. Not stability, and certainly not to show off in front of all your friends, but pure and simple, speed. The one thing that allows for this vast increase in computing power is the ability to address up to 16G (yes kiddies, that is 16 GIGABYTES) of RAM. 64-bit processors have been around for a while, but no one has really taken advantage of them until recently. The ability to cram 16G of ram on a motherboard has been around even longer, but to actually take advantage of ALL of it has come to life with the implementation of 64-bit processors and Operating Systems.
I can remember Windows Server Datacenter Edition, but it was geared towards multi-processing more that towards 64-bit and gobs of RAM. Now we can have both. But here is where it can get really sticky - What about quad-core CPU's? How do they fit into the mix?
If you think about it, and actually take the time to look at the 25-digit Product Key for your OS you will see that it is a license for 1-2 CPU's. What happens when you have a dual quad-core setup? Isn't that like 8 processors?
Technically - no. In practice, yes. It is actually 2 CPU's with a total of 8 CORES, that is, the ability to hyper-thread 8 different core processes at one time. Now Winslowz has had the ability to multi-process for years, but CORE processes are a much different beast. I am not gonna get into the details, as I have probably put many of you to sleep already with my psychobabble about computers...
Take it for a fact that more cores equals more power. More power equals more processes. More processes equals more programs running at once. And with all the crap running in the background on most computers we all need the most power we can get. At least I know I do... The ability to have enough memory (RAM) for all these applications (processes) is critical, hence the need for a 64-bit OS to be able to address more memory to give our apps more room to work, thereby finishing faster. It all equals SPEED.
And if you don't believe me, take 2 identical 64-bit capable machines whose hardware is configured exactly alike. Install a 32-bit OS on one, and an equal 64-bit OS on the other. (doesn't need to be MS stuff you can do this in UNIX as well) Tell me which one starts up faster, which one runns apps faster and which one can process a job faster. Now I know it has a lot to do with the surrounding sys-systems such as the drive subsystem and the graphics and such, but all things being equal, a 64-bit processor will perform better with a 64-bit OS in comparison to an identical 32-bit setup. Try it, you'll like it.
The biggest difference I am finding is that manufacturers are very slow to adopt power users who have the where-with-all to install and actually use 64-bit computers. Some are better than others, of course, and generally the software giants like Microslam and Adobe are the leaders of the pack. Or so you would think...
Adobe took years to release a 64-bit Flash Player for browsers, but yet were the first in line to support 64-bit with Lightroom and Photoshop. I guess the software for the masses didn't outweigh the need for the few. But software isn't necessarily all that needs 64-bit support...
Think about the hardware you have and the need for specific drivers that allow that software to work on your 64-bit system. Dell and HP are leaders in the server world, their stuff is used by the giants (Google, Amazon, etc.) and even NASA is starting to gear their smaller stuff toward 64-bit computing. But you cannot run a 64-bit OS unless all your hardware works that is attached to your computer. This means display adapters (video cards) and sound cards HAVE to work, it is imperative that anything you might want to attach to your computer be allowed to function.
This includes perhiperals such as USB devices and printers. Now, Microsnuff has done a pretty good job of including whatever they can find in their newest OS's, but rinky-dink perhiperal manufacturers need to follow suit and either provide the drivers or post them in a place where people can find them such as their corporate website. If they can take the time to provide 32-bit drivers for Vista, there isn't any reason why they can't do the same for 64-bit OS's as well.
But I have seeminly ignored the reasons for running a 64-bit OS, which is why all of you have tuned in to this blog in the first place... SPEED. Not stability, and certainly not to show off in front of all your friends, but pure and simple, speed. The one thing that allows for this vast increase in computing power is the ability to address up to 16G (yes kiddies, that is 16 GIGABYTES) of RAM. 64-bit processors have been around for a while, but no one has really taken advantage of them until recently. The ability to cram 16G of ram on a motherboard has been around even longer, but to actually take advantage of ALL of it has come to life with the implementation of 64-bit processors and Operating Systems.
I can remember Windows Server Datacenter Edition, but it was geared towards multi-processing more that towards 64-bit and gobs of RAM. Now we can have both. But here is where it can get really sticky - What about quad-core CPU's? How do they fit into the mix?
If you think about it, and actually take the time to look at the 25-digit Product Key for your OS you will see that it is a license for 1-2 CPU's. What happens when you have a dual quad-core setup? Isn't that like 8 processors?
Technically - no. In practice, yes. It is actually 2 CPU's with a total of 8 CORES, that is, the ability to hyper-thread 8 different core processes at one time. Now Winslowz has had the ability to multi-process for years, but CORE processes are a much different beast. I am not gonna get into the details, as I have probably put many of you to sleep already with my psychobabble about computers...
Take it for a fact that more cores equals more power. More power equals more processes. More processes equals more programs running at once. And with all the crap running in the background on most computers we all need the most power we can get. At least I know I do... The ability to have enough memory (RAM) for all these applications (processes) is critical, hence the need for a 64-bit OS to be able to address more memory to give our apps more room to work, thereby finishing faster. It all equals SPEED.
And if you don't believe me, take 2 identical 64-bit capable machines whose hardware is configured exactly alike. Install a 32-bit OS on one, and an equal 64-bit OS on the other. (doesn't need to be MS stuff you can do this in UNIX as well) Tell me which one starts up faster, which one runns apps faster and which one can process a job faster. Now I know it has a lot to do with the surrounding sys-systems such as the drive subsystem and the graphics and such, but all things being equal, a 64-bit processor will perform better with a 64-bit OS in comparison to an identical 32-bit setup. Try it, you'll like it.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
RigBlaster Pro Mic Wiring
I promised more detail, so here it is.
I have ripped the setup apart to make room for dinner on the kitchen table, so now I am cleaning this blog up by finishing the setup details. Brad N1JIF shot some closeups of the equipment as we ripped it all down, and I will compile the details in seperate posts.
I am getting ready to record the audio exchanges and put the finishing touches on the laptop setup and while all of this is fresh in my memory I have decided to document as much as I can to not only help me, but others who may have questions and are brave enough to navigate this blog for answers. The following info is direct from the RigBlaster Pro User Manual:
YAESU with 8 Pin Screw on Microphone Connectors
(This jumpering is for newer Yaesu radios that have Microphones with isolated PTT & audio grounds.)
INPUT SIDE
Pin #
1 Blue Shunt Jumper to Pin 1 OUTPUT Side
2 Blue Shunt Jumper to Pin 2 OUTPUT Side
3 Blue Shunt Jumper to Pin 3 OUTPUT Side
4 Blue Shunt Jumper to Pin 4 OUTPUT Side
5 White Jumper to PTT GND – INPUT Side
6 White Jumper to PTT – INPUT Side
7 White Jumper to MIC GND – INPUT Side
8 White Jumper to MIC – INPUT Side
OUTPUT SIDE
Pin #
5 White Jumper to PTT GND – OUTPUT Side
6 White Jumper to PTT – OUTPUT Side
7 White Jumper to MIC GND – OUTPUT Side
8 White Jumper to MIC – OUTPUT Side
Here is the diagram as published in the RigBlaster Pro manual:
Here is the actual photo of the jumpers as I have them configured inside the RigBlaster Pro:
I have ripped the setup apart to make room for dinner on the kitchen table, so now I am cleaning this blog up by finishing the setup details. Brad N1JIF shot some closeups of the equipment as we ripped it all down, and I will compile the details in seperate posts.
I am getting ready to record the audio exchanges and put the finishing touches on the laptop setup and while all of this is fresh in my memory I have decided to document as much as I can to not only help me, but others who may have questions and are brave enough to navigate this blog for answers. The following info is direct from the RigBlaster Pro User Manual:
YAESU with 8 Pin Screw on Microphone Connectors
(This jumpering is for newer Yaesu radios that have Microphones with isolated PTT & audio grounds.)
INPUT SIDE
Pin #
1 Blue Shunt Jumper to Pin 1 OUTPUT Side
2 Blue Shunt Jumper to Pin 2 OUTPUT Side
3 Blue Shunt Jumper to Pin 3 OUTPUT Side
4 Blue Shunt Jumper to Pin 4 OUTPUT Side
5 White Jumper to PTT GND – INPUT Side
6 White Jumper to PTT – INPUT Side
7 White Jumper to MIC GND – INPUT Side
8 White Jumper to MIC – INPUT Side
OUTPUT SIDE
Pin #
5 White Jumper to PTT GND – OUTPUT Side
6 White Jumper to PTT – OUTPUT Side
7 White Jumper to MIC GND – OUTPUT Side
8 White Jumper to MIC – OUTPUT Side
Here is the diagram as published in the RigBlaster Pro manual:
Here is the actual photo of the jumpers as I have them configured inside the RigBlaster Pro: 
The 2 jumpers to the right of the block are not connected to anything, they are for jumpering receive audio at the mic connector. Neither is the GNDTIE jumper on the block, the actual jumper sits on a single pin. Jumpering this introduces a horrible ground loop that gets passed on thru to the transmitter.
This wiring is for the Yaesu MD-100 mic, which is screwed into the front of the RigBlaster Pro via its 8-pin cable (8-pin RJ-45 modular to circular screw-on 8-pin). Output to the rig is accomplished out the back of the RigBlaster Pro through the 8-pin cable (8-pin modular RJ-45 to circular screw-on 8-pin) to a Yaesu CT-69 connector, which adapts an 8-pin to the modular 6-pin RJ-11 that is required by the FT-100D. The CT-69 contains a 27K resistor as well as a small capacitor (i dunno what the capacitor is for, but Randy N1GWL will explain it to me, as he as well as Chuck WA1NBU are the kings of capacitors) built into the 8-pin circular screw-on shell.
I will forego the MD-100 wiring for now, but I have successfully interfaced the MD-100 to the FT-100, the UP/DOWN buttons work and the audio is outstanding. Problem is, I haven't built the cable for the RigBlaster Pro yet... That requires yet another cable... If anyone wants the details, it is easy to email me for more info, or leave a comment.
Complete 40M-75M Field Day Setup
OK, here is my contribution, listed as best I can.
I hope KT1Q and N1GWL can list their contributions here as comments...
(note you can click on many items and view either the manufacturers site or the actual product itself)
Yaesu FT-100D HF-440 rig
Yaesu MD-100 Microphone
West Mountain RigBlaster Pro
Dell Latitude D630 running Win 7
Astron RS-50M Power Supply
West Mountain RigRunner 4010S
LDG Z-11 Pro Auto Tuner
Daiwa CN-101 SWR/Power Meter
Heil HC-4 ProSet headset
Bird Model 43 ThruLine Wattmeter
Decibel DB4303G Dummy Load
West Mountain PwrGate Controller
Another important piece of equipment often overlooked is the User Manuals. I cannot say how many times I have been told to RTFM (Read The Fine Manual), and equally as many times it has saved my ass. I do have to confess that my book-reading for pleasure was replaced long ago by reference materials and technical bulletins. One of the easiest things to do is to compile all the manuals in .PDF format and put them in your My Documents folder. If you have the ambition, write the manuals to a CD or DVD (depending on size) and if you have a duplex (print on both sides) printer, print them out and place them in a 3-ring binder. Personally my 3-ring binders tend to come out more like a 3-ring circus, but you get the drift of what I am trying to say.
Here is a shot of the setup on the kitchen table:
There isn't a lot of detail you can see in this shot but I will post more about the specific setup. I know a lot of you are thinking 'Jeez, just bring your rig and set it up, no need for all this extra crap...' and at times I tend to agree. But that is what eventually makes the difference between an average station and a top-scoring station. Field Day isn't just an exercise, it is a contest.
I hope KT1Q and N1GWL can list their contributions here as comments...
(note you can click on many items and view either the manufacturers site or the actual product itself)
Yaesu FT-100D HF-440 rig
Yaesu MD-100 Microphone
West Mountain RigBlaster Pro
Dell Latitude D630 running Win 7
Astron RS-50M Power Supply
West Mountain RigRunner 4010S
LDG Z-11 Pro Auto Tuner
Daiwa CN-101 SWR/Power Meter
Heil HC-4 ProSet headset
Bird Model 43 ThruLine Wattmeter
Decibel DB4303G Dummy Load
West Mountain PwrGate Controller
Another important piece of equipment often overlooked is the User Manuals. I cannot say how many times I have been told to RTFM (Read The Fine Manual), and equally as many times it has saved my ass. I do have to confess that my book-reading for pleasure was replaced long ago by reference materials and technical bulletins. One of the easiest things to do is to compile all the manuals in .PDF format and put them in your My Documents folder. If you have the ambition, write the manuals to a CD or DVD (depending on size) and if you have a duplex (print on both sides) printer, print them out and place them in a 3-ring binder. Personally my 3-ring binders tend to come out more like a 3-ring circus, but you get the drift of what I am trying to say.
Here is a shot of the setup on the kitchen table:
There isn't a lot of detail you can see in this shot but I will post more about the specific setup. I know a lot of you are thinking 'Jeez, just bring your rig and set it up, no need for all this extra crap...' and at times I tend to agree. But that is what eventually makes the difference between an average station and a top-scoring station. Field Day isn't just an exercise, it is a contest.
I Was Wrong Yet Again...
Windows 7 DOES do full-duplex out-of-the-box...
Here is the dialog box that controls this action, I overlooked this in my overzealous attempt to bash Microscum's new OS. I guess I can chalk this up to yet another instance where this new OS is waaay smarter than we are, but I WAS correct when I said you will love this OS for the control it gives you. It just WORKS.
Problem is, when you use this control it introduces a bit of a digital delay into the recorded audio, probably an attempt by the almighty Microsmut to prevent feedback when monitoring a high output condenser mic. I can still use the playback control registry hack in the same exact fashion as before, WITHOUT the delay as well. Either one will work, it just depends if you are monitoring your own voice in full-duplex. The delay will throw you for a loop...
The codebase of the OS is a cumulation of NT, XP, Vista and it shows. This is a mature, stable platform that takes up less space and because of that, will appear to run faster and better than any OS you can install on the computer. I can say this because I have installed several different OS's on this laptop, in several different configurations. Currently I am in the process of obtaining a version of OS X that I will be able to run on this machine, too bad there isn't the software base for OS X and Linux that there is for Winslowz, not that I would run anything else at Field Day anyway...
And that includes OS X, this is gonna blow Mac users away. They will never admit it, but this Win 7 thing is gonna revolutionize how people interface with computers. It is the EXACT thing Microsnuff needs to do in order to make up for the failed Vista attempt... When 4-year-olds can run Win 7 without difficulty it kinda sez something about computers - They have truly become just a tool to do things. The OS doesn't necessarily matter anymore (unless you are doing specialized things) if you are only getting info or communicationg, the ability to integrate this tech stuff into our society is key in unlocking the educational process. Everyone gets smarter because of these technical advances, and in turn general crime goes down, but unfortunately terrorists get smarter too, so you can draw your own conclusions there. Best part is that your kids get to do things you only imagined as a child yourself. Truly amazing.
Friday, May 29, 2009
You're Gonna Love Windows 7...
Because it works. It just WORKS.
It is almost CREEPY how well it works. You just put the DVD in, and boot. Answer a couple simple questions, choose some drive options if you want (optional) and go. Come back 15 minutes later and it asks you what you want to call the computer and your account. Simple enough for a Mac user to do all by themself.
Now to see if it will do full-duplex... nope. At least not without some modifications...
Apparently I need to have the Sigmatel HD Audio driver installed in order for the Dell Latitude D630 to do full duplex. But yes, with the registry modifications listed in a previous post, I can get the laptop to do full-duplex on Windoze 7 easily. Works great now!
Windows 7 comes with almost every driver known to man, except for some older or possibly specialized devices. The audio came up easily on this laptop by default out-of-the-box, using the Microsux driver built into the OS. It hasn't recognized the USB-to-serial adapter yet, and I don't quite know if I even need it (this laptop has a 9-pin serial port), but it would be nice to have multiple serial ports available if necessary. Problem is, I don't know if I wanna deal with the inherent latency of the USB operated stuff...
Win 7 runs incredibly fast, on this laptop it is not a fair comparison to what most people run, but I installed it on a Dell Dimension 2400 desktop system this morning (32-bit version) and it is fine. The system is a single-core 2.8GHz machine with standard integrated Intel video and networking. It ran XP before (not great) but WIn 7 runs as well or better. I did need to trick the video driver so that I could get it to display a resolution greater than 640X480, but everything else was recognized easily and the system joined my domain after I authenticated properly.
The trick I used to fool the system is a standard procedure that is commonly used for 'compatibility'. The Dell 2400 has integrated Intel video on the motherboard, and unfortunately it is old enough (from 2004) so that Microskank feels it doesn't need to include drivers. So what if it is only 64M video? I extracted the video driver I got from Dell's Support site to a spot on the hard drive, and then ran the Setup.EXE file in 'compatibility' mode. This effectively removes the driver header information that specifies the designed OS from the .inf file and allows the program to run despite the OS mismatch. Worked great, and I had resolutions up to 1280X1024 when I was done. Piece of cake...
N3FJP Field Day Logger 2.8 seems to install and run fine, I will give it a workout this weekend when I get a chance to record some audio. I also wanna try GoldWave vs. Audacity to see where the better/easier audio will come from. I have never used Audacity, maybe Brad N1JIF can give me a hand. He also said he would snap some shots (not like I couldn't do it...) of the setup so we have something to refer to when it comes time to set it up again. I mainly wanna get shots of the RigBlaster jumper setup, we may need to change that if we have to switch to the backup rig (Yaesu FT-897). I have a feeling the backup rig can be used for VHF/UHF very easily, I think I will bring the truck-mounted mast down. I have a rotor for the thing (light-duty) all we need is a decent 2M/440 beam and an amp or two. We are allowed 150 watts you know...
I still can't get over how slick Win 7 installs and gets up and running. I started the install at 9:PM, and it is 10:30 and I have been blogging on the laptop for over 30 minutes now. Even when I go look for problems, it apparently just takes care of itself with a button-click or a check-box. It DOES take a little getting used to, but if you have used Vista it will be easy to migrate your skills. Moving from XP to Win 7 will throw you for a loop if you aren't ready for it, you will ask yourself over and over 'Where the hell did they put it this time?'.
One neat aspect of the new OS that photographers will like is the ability to calibrate your monitor. This is HUGE. Color accuracy isn't so much a big deal to color-blind people like me, but I have always felt that because of my handicap I have an increased sense of contrast and dynamic range. I think I can see better than most in the dark, and I can tell subtle differences in things others might miss. I can't tell green from brown, but I can see details...
I am certain it will become a bit more cluttered than this as I get things installed. This evaluation doesn't run out until March of next year (June actually...) and the HD I installed this on is only 120G, so I imagine I can't cram too much crap into this. Time will tell.
It is almost CREEPY how well it works. You just put the DVD in, and boot. Answer a couple simple questions, choose some drive options if you want (optional) and go. Come back 15 minutes later and it asks you what you want to call the computer and your account. Simple enough for a Mac user to do all by themself.
Now to see if it will do full-duplex... nope. At least not without some modifications...
Apparently I need to have the Sigmatel HD Audio driver installed in order for the Dell Latitude D630 to do full duplex. But yes, with the registry modifications listed in a previous post, I can get the laptop to do full-duplex on Windoze 7 easily. Works great now!
Windows 7 comes with almost every driver known to man, except for some older or possibly specialized devices. The audio came up easily on this laptop by default out-of-the-box, using the Microsux driver built into the OS. It hasn't recognized the USB-to-serial adapter yet, and I don't quite know if I even need it (this laptop has a 9-pin serial port), but it would be nice to have multiple serial ports available if necessary. Problem is, I don't know if I wanna deal with the inherent latency of the USB operated stuff...
Win 7 runs incredibly fast, on this laptop it is not a fair comparison to what most people run, but I installed it on a Dell Dimension 2400 desktop system this morning (32-bit version) and it is fine. The system is a single-core 2.8GHz machine with standard integrated Intel video and networking. It ran XP before (not great) but WIn 7 runs as well or better. I did need to trick the video driver so that I could get it to display a resolution greater than 640X480, but everything else was recognized easily and the system joined my domain after I authenticated properly.
The trick I used to fool the system is a standard procedure that is commonly used for 'compatibility'. The Dell 2400 has integrated Intel video on the motherboard, and unfortunately it is old enough (from 2004) so that Microskank feels it doesn't need to include drivers. So what if it is only 64M video? I extracted the video driver I got from Dell's Support site to a spot on the hard drive, and then ran the Setup.EXE file in 'compatibility' mode. This effectively removes the driver header information that specifies the designed OS from the .inf file and allows the program to run despite the OS mismatch. Worked great, and I had resolutions up to 1280X1024 when I was done. Piece of cake...
N3FJP Field Day Logger 2.8 seems to install and run fine, I will give it a workout this weekend when I get a chance to record some audio. I also wanna try GoldWave vs. Audacity to see where the better/easier audio will come from. I have never used Audacity, maybe Brad N1JIF can give me a hand. He also said he would snap some shots (not like I couldn't do it...) of the setup so we have something to refer to when it comes time to set it up again. I mainly wanna get shots of the RigBlaster jumper setup, we may need to change that if we have to switch to the backup rig (Yaesu FT-897). I have a feeling the backup rig can be used for VHF/UHF very easily, I think I will bring the truck-mounted mast down. I have a rotor for the thing (light-duty) all we need is a decent 2M/440 beam and an amp or two. We are allowed 150 watts you know...
I still can't get over how slick Win 7 installs and gets up and running. I started the install at 9:PM, and it is 10:30 and I have been blogging on the laptop for over 30 minutes now. Even when I go look for problems, it apparently just takes care of itself with a button-click or a check-box. It DOES take a little getting used to, but if you have used Vista it will be easy to migrate your skills. Moving from XP to Win 7 will throw you for a loop if you aren't ready for it, you will ask yourself over and over 'Where the hell did they put it this time?'.
One neat aspect of the new OS that photographers will like is the ability to calibrate your monitor. This is HUGE. Color accuracy isn't so much a big deal to color-blind people like me, but I have always felt that because of my handicap I have an increased sense of contrast and dynamic range. I think I can see better than most in the dark, and I can tell subtle differences in things others might miss. I can't tell green from brown, but I can see details...
Here is what my current Win 7 desktop looks like, I know it is hard to see because the resolution of the text is so small (1440X900) but you can get an idea at least of how the interface looks.
I am certain it will become a bit more cluttered than this as I get things installed. This evaluation doesn't run out until March of next year (June actually...) and the HD I installed this on is only 120G, so I imagine I can't cram too much crap into this. Time will tell.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
N3FJP Logging Software
In an unprecidented move, FD Chairman Chuck WA1NBU authorized a change in the logging program used by SOVARC at Field Day 2009.
I find it hard to believe that the previous logging software, WR9R lasted as long as it did. Must be everyone upgraded from DOS machines to those new-fangled Winderz computers. Now all we need to do is get Skip to fork out the $6.00 it will take to get a registration code...
This is pretty easy software to use, you can use either the spacebar or the enter key to advance between fields in the exchange, and you can edit easily also. There is a networked version available, but operating 3A with a GOTA station really doesn't lend itself to networking, the need just isn't there. Maybe next year I can get some fiber adapters and connect everyone up, but with this rinky-dink operation (in comparison to some 24A station setups) it is really pretty easy to dump the logs and figure things out on paper.
DVK and CW really work well with this package if you have the time, patience and interface to connect it all up. Skip NC2T and Bob WA2VYZ will do well in the CW tent, they are both pretty saavy operators and will have things totally automated while everyone else is still struggling to get antennas tuned. Even Novice operators will find it easy to use, dupes are displayed almost immediately and in a large font that is easily read. The operators just need to insure that you set the band and mode appropriately, especially on multi-band stations.
The window size seems to fit the screen well, especially on a wide-screen laptop. The color scheme looks good, but there are a couple text color changes you can make if you find differentiating worked callsigns difficult. There is even a graph and map available, but I haven't investigated those options yet, I have been busy with the DVK stuff as well as work and travel as of late. As mentioned in a previous post I should be able to get the voice exchanges recorded over the weekend if I can find some quiet time, and then start to take a few pix of the setup so I can have something to refer to when it comes time to set it all up again.
In the next couple weeks I will be installing Windows 7 on a couple laptops, I just got my RC (Release Candidate) in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Wouldn't it be cool to run Win 7 at Field Day! The Win 7 RC won't officially expire until June 1st 2010, but it will start shutting down every two hours starting March 1st 2010. Plenty of time to play!
I wonder if Win 7 will do full-duplex...?
I find it hard to believe that the previous logging software, WR9R lasted as long as it did. Must be everyone upgraded from DOS machines to those new-fangled Winderz computers. Now all we need to do is get Skip to fork out the $6.00 it will take to get a registration code...
This is pretty easy software to use, you can use either the spacebar or the enter key to advance between fields in the exchange, and you can edit easily also. There is a networked version available, but operating 3A with a GOTA station really doesn't lend itself to networking, the need just isn't there. Maybe next year I can get some fiber adapters and connect everyone up, but with this rinky-dink operation (in comparison to some 24A station setups) it is really pretty easy to dump the logs and figure things out on paper.
DVK and CW really work well with this package if you have the time, patience and interface to connect it all up. Skip NC2T and Bob WA2VYZ will do well in the CW tent, they are both pretty saavy operators and will have things totally automated while everyone else is still struggling to get antennas tuned. Even Novice operators will find it easy to use, dupes are displayed almost immediately and in a large font that is easily read. The operators just need to insure that you set the band and mode appropriately, especially on multi-band stations.
The window size seems to fit the screen well, especially on a wide-screen laptop. The color scheme looks good, but there are a couple text color changes you can make if you find differentiating worked callsigns difficult. There is even a graph and map available, but I haven't investigated those options yet, I have been busy with the DVK stuff as well as work and travel as of late. As mentioned in a previous post I should be able to get the voice exchanges recorded over the weekend if I can find some quiet time, and then start to take a few pix of the setup so I can have something to refer to when it comes time to set it all up again.
In the next couple weeks I will be installing Windows 7 on a couple laptops, I just got my RC (Release Candidate) in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Wouldn't it be cool to run Win 7 at Field Day! The Win 7 RC won't officially expire until June 1st 2010, but it will start shutting down every two hours starting March 1st 2010. Plenty of time to play!
I wonder if Win 7 will do full-duplex...?
Talk it up...
OK, officially 1 month until Field Day. 4 weeks. It is time to start talking it up, time to get fired up and get everyone else you know going! There is no way just a handful of hams are gonna pull this off, EVERYONE needs to help.
Chuck WA1NBU has done a great job compiling the FD plan (as always), but there is much yet to be done. The best thing everyone can do is get on the radio, and start talking about it. You will be surprised who might be listening, scanners everywhere should be hopping with activity. You have access to a repeater, so USE IT! Of course I am speaking to the Ham Radio operators out there, you know who you are. I know the SOVARC crew, who were kind enough to extend their FD invitation to myself and Brad N1JIF have got things in gear, it is gonna be an exciting time!
Try and talk up this blog, mention it when you can and I will use it to keep everyone informed. I apologize for all the personal opinions, but then again this is MY blog, if you have something to say about a post, then leave a comment. Everyone can see the comments, no matter how rude and crude they might be. Use your computer for something besides searching the Internet for useless stuff...
The point here is, get off your ass and do something. No matter how trivial it might seem or how unimportant you may think it is, someone will appreciate what you do. One thing I have found useful, especially when you are preparing for FD or getting things ready for portable use, is to measure your coax runs. Put a string label with the length on the end of the coax, and you will be amazed at how useful a small little thing like that really is. Also, put your callsign on everything, because I have enough crap to haul around, I don't wanna haul your crap too.
The 40M station preparations are almost done, today I found the perfect microphone for recording the FD exchanges. Just so happens to be a discarded camcorder electret condenser microphone. It was being thrown away because it didn't work, turns out all it needed was a 2025 button battery. Thing works great, with full, rich fidelity (wide frequency range for all you audiophile types) and a high level of directionality. This weekend I should be able to find some quiet time to record all the exchanges I need, and at least write down the text so that other ops can get their voices recorded for their operating periods. Looks like it will be a pain in the ass to swap file configurations around within the N3FJP software, but we can give it a go, and let the author know about our wish list after the event is over.
I promise to get some photos of the setup, including jumper configurations inside the RigBlaster. Chances are I will have Brad shoot the macro stuff, he does pretty well hand-holding the Nikon and the 85mm macro setup he uses. You can see some of Brad's photos HERE , he wanted to attend FD but will be in Cape Cod on a school-sponsored summer trip. Bummer.
Brad sez I have a friggin' recording studio setup in the kitchen, I think he overstates things. It is only a Behringer mixing board and a few mics and cables. It was the only efficient way I could find to convert lo-z mics to a hi-z input such as a soundcard. I am certain there are others who have done this, maybe if you have a tip or suggestion you could leave a comment and let me know what you might have done successfully.
So far it is working out well, it is becoming apparent that we will have much more equipment than actually necessary. I personally think it will make sense to setup for 40/75 as well as VHF/UHF. We will have the gear for it, why not use it? But yet again that is a good subject for my next post...
Chuck WA1NBU has done a great job compiling the FD plan (as always), but there is much yet to be done. The best thing everyone can do is get on the radio, and start talking about it. You will be surprised who might be listening, scanners everywhere should be hopping with activity. You have access to a repeater, so USE IT! Of course I am speaking to the Ham Radio operators out there, you know who you are. I know the SOVARC crew, who were kind enough to extend their FD invitation to myself and Brad N1JIF have got things in gear, it is gonna be an exciting time!
Try and talk up this blog, mention it when you can and I will use it to keep everyone informed. I apologize for all the personal opinions, but then again this is MY blog, if you have something to say about a post, then leave a comment. Everyone can see the comments, no matter how rude and crude they might be. Use your computer for something besides searching the Internet for useless stuff...
The point here is, get off your ass and do something. No matter how trivial it might seem or how unimportant you may think it is, someone will appreciate what you do. One thing I have found useful, especially when you are preparing for FD or getting things ready for portable use, is to measure your coax runs. Put a string label with the length on the end of the coax, and you will be amazed at how useful a small little thing like that really is. Also, put your callsign on everything, because I have enough crap to haul around, I don't wanna haul your crap too.
The 40M station preparations are almost done, today I found the perfect microphone for recording the FD exchanges. Just so happens to be a discarded camcorder electret condenser microphone. It was being thrown away because it didn't work, turns out all it needed was a 2025 button battery. Thing works great, with full, rich fidelity (wide frequency range for all you audiophile types) and a high level of directionality. This weekend I should be able to find some quiet time to record all the exchanges I need, and at least write down the text so that other ops can get their voices recorded for their operating periods. Looks like it will be a pain in the ass to swap file configurations around within the N3FJP software, but we can give it a go, and let the author know about our wish list after the event is over.
I promise to get some photos of the setup, including jumper configurations inside the RigBlaster. Chances are I will have Brad shoot the macro stuff, he does pretty well hand-holding the Nikon and the 85mm macro setup he uses. You can see some of Brad's photos HERE , he wanted to attend FD but will be in Cape Cod on a school-sponsored summer trip. Bummer.
Brad sez I have a friggin' recording studio setup in the kitchen, I think he overstates things. It is only a Behringer mixing board and a few mics and cables. It was the only efficient way I could find to convert lo-z mics to a hi-z input such as a soundcard. I am certain there are others who have done this, maybe if you have a tip or suggestion you could leave a comment and let me know what you might have done successfully.
So far it is working out well, it is becoming apparent that we will have much more equipment than actually necessary. I personally think it will make sense to setup for 40/75 as well as VHF/UHF. We will have the gear for it, why not use it? But yet again that is a good subject for my next post...
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Field Day is gonna be FUN...
If you can't already tell I am excited again to participate in Field Day this year, this should serve as a gentle reminder.
Brad N1JIF and I drove down to Bennington tonite to attend the May SOVARC meeting. It has been a long time since I saw a lot of these guys and gals, and it was worth every penny. We had other chores to do before the meeting that actually brought us to Bennington, but it was really nice to see everyone again after a long time.
Kudos to Randy N1GWL for being the adhesive that brings these people together. He has served as President in the past, and personally, I think leadership falls naturally upon this guy. Except for the piss-weak coffee, he did a great job in the short amount of time available to update everyone and then throw the floor over to Chuck WA1NBU to cover the Field Day planning. Randy did bring along some cookies, so I guess that made up for the coffee. And no, Randy's last name is not Friehoffer...
Longtime friend and former Catamount Radio Club President (SOVARC predecessor) Jack Evans WA1DLA was present, along with his son Mark. It was great to say hi, I haven't seen Jack or Mark in years. Here is a shot of Jack and President Randy:
You can see the rest of the shots from the meeting HERE, as well as other radio related shots.
The link to the general Ham Radio galleries is HERE you can get there if you go to http://K1XH.SmugMug.com
Apparently the SOVARC squad will be operating 3A (three alpha victor tango) this year, even though I think there is enough gear to operate 4A, there may be only enough dedicated operators to run 3A. Oh well. I guess 2A is the most competitive class, and 3A is probably best suited for us, seeing how we will have a GOTA station as well.
Looking over the 2K9 Field Day summary sheet as supplied by Chuck it is apparent there is a bigass hole in the station setup. Where is 75M phone? Chuck! What were you thinking?
Personally (again with this personal opinion crap!) there should be a shift in the stations, KT1Q/N1GWL/K1XH should be 40-75 (phone only), the N1RZ/W1VY station should be 10-15-20. I have an old (last used during Field Day 1999) 75/80M dipole we could string as an inverted vee that would work great on 75, I think if we don't setup for it we will be missing literally hundreds of QSO's as well as a great chance to piss off all the AM'ers. I guess it is time to start measuring coax...
I wonder what it will take to get everyone out to operate? That is probably better left for another post, but I have to admit that it would be great to see Alan N1LSZ, Wayne KA1CXD, and some of the others that we have all had a blast with in the past at FD 2K9.
Of course it won't be the same without some of the Silent Keys, Chet, WAZ, Tony, Ken, Chris, Ron, Bob, Ray & Ed just to name a few. I know they will be listening from above...
Brad N1JIF and I drove down to Bennington tonite to attend the May SOVARC meeting. It has been a long time since I saw a lot of these guys and gals, and it was worth every penny. We had other chores to do before the meeting that actually brought us to Bennington, but it was really nice to see everyone again after a long time.
Kudos to Randy N1GWL for being the adhesive that brings these people together. He has served as President in the past, and personally, I think leadership falls naturally upon this guy. Except for the piss-weak coffee, he did a great job in the short amount of time available to update everyone and then throw the floor over to Chuck WA1NBU to cover the Field Day planning. Randy did bring along some cookies, so I guess that made up for the coffee. And no, Randy's last name is not Friehoffer...
Longtime friend and former Catamount Radio Club President (SOVARC predecessor) Jack Evans WA1DLA was present, along with his son Mark. It was great to say hi, I haven't seen Jack or Mark in years. Here is a shot of Jack and President Randy:
You can see the rest of the shots from the meeting HERE, as well as other radio related shots.The link to the general Ham Radio galleries is HERE you can get there if you go to http://K1XH.SmugMug.com
Apparently the SOVARC squad will be operating 3A (three alpha victor tango) this year, even though I think there is enough gear to operate 4A, there may be only enough dedicated operators to run 3A. Oh well. I guess 2A is the most competitive class, and 3A is probably best suited for us, seeing how we will have a GOTA station as well.
Looking over the 2K9 Field Day summary sheet as supplied by Chuck it is apparent there is a bigass hole in the station setup. Where is 75M phone? Chuck! What were you thinking?
Personally (again with this personal opinion crap!) there should be a shift in the stations, KT1Q/N1GWL/K1XH should be 40-75 (phone only), the N1RZ/W1VY station should be 10-15-20. I have an old (last used during Field Day 1999) 75/80M dipole we could string as an inverted vee that would work great on 75, I think if we don't setup for it we will be missing literally hundreds of QSO's as well as a great chance to piss off all the AM'ers. I guess it is time to start measuring coax...
I wonder what it will take to get everyone out to operate? That is probably better left for another post, but I have to admit that it would be great to see Alan N1LSZ, Wayne KA1CXD, and some of the others that we have all had a blast with in the past at FD 2K9.
Of course it won't be the same without some of the Silent Keys, Chet, WAZ, Tony, Ken, Chris, Ron, Bob, Ray & Ed just to name a few. I know they will be listening from above...
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
16Gb Makes for a LONG POST
Power On Self-Test that is...
I was fortunate enough to slam 16G of RAM into one of my spare Dell PowerEdge servers today at work (school). It runs Microstank Windows Server 2008 64-bit, and can use every bit of memory I can put into it. Problem is, it took over 10 minutes to POST for the first time. Reboots since then have been considerably faster.
One of the most significant performance increases you can perform on ANY computer is to increase the amount of memory it contains. I purchased 16G of REGISTERED ECC memory for my server for under $400. Anyone running XP or Vista 32-bit should have 4G installed in their computer. Period. Windows will only take advantage of 3.5G (approx) so it is best to install the fastest memory your computer can use in matched pairs. Your computer will love you for it. The system 'may' make use of the other 512M or so, but it depends heavily on the motherboard. No use getting memory that is faster than what your motherboard will support, the speed limit is set by the BIOS and you cannot exceed that unless you have a motherboard that supports over-clocking. Best to leave well-enough alone at this point.
I use Kingston memory, they have a memory configurator on their website that works great if you have a name-brand computer. You home-brew guys with hand-made stuff are on your own: If you built your computer from sctratch chances are you already know what memory it will take and what voltage it requires. Personally I try to stick with name-brand stuff because of the warranty. Generally I will replace 1 or 2 things out of the thousands of warranty items I purchase each year.
After I installed the memory into the server, I had to replace one of the drives that had failed. (this is why it was a spare...) The first RAID array is a RAID 1 (mirror set) array, and this particular server has a really nice Dell PERC 4di controller. The drives (6 front-panel drives) are all hot-swapable, and this particular array was 2-146Gb drives mirrored. I had the OS up and running, and I pulled the bad drive. I inserted the new drive (cheap-ass Fujitsu, I normally purchase Seagate drives, but this was a warranty replacement so I shouldn't complain...) and then went to my server administrator software (Dell OpenManage) and tried to tell it to rebuild. It barked at me that it 'cannot start the rebuild process on this drive as the drive is in the process of being rebuilt'. Cool. Truly hot-swapable. Didn't even need to tell it to 'just do it'. To tell you the truth, I didn't even know the drive was failing except that when I fired up this server after we eliminated its need, the OpenManage software informed me there was a problem. Still booted fine, it even allowed me to install the new 64-bit OS. All I had to do is argue with a few towel-headed Dell server 'associates' to get my drive replaced. And they assured me they would be sending out a Seagate replacement. Right. And his real name was 'Bob'...
I was fortunate enough to slam 16G of RAM into one of my spare Dell PowerEdge servers today at work (school). It runs Microstank Windows Server 2008 64-bit, and can use every bit of memory I can put into it. Problem is, it took over 10 minutes to POST for the first time. Reboots since then have been considerably faster.
One of the most significant performance increases you can perform on ANY computer is to increase the amount of memory it contains. I purchased 16G of REGISTERED ECC memory for my server for under $400. Anyone running XP or Vista 32-bit should have 4G installed in their computer. Period. Windows will only take advantage of 3.5G (approx) so it is best to install the fastest memory your computer can use in matched pairs. Your computer will love you for it. The system 'may' make use of the other 512M or so, but it depends heavily on the motherboard. No use getting memory that is faster than what your motherboard will support, the speed limit is set by the BIOS and you cannot exceed that unless you have a motherboard that supports over-clocking. Best to leave well-enough alone at this point.
I use Kingston memory, they have a memory configurator on their website that works great if you have a name-brand computer. You home-brew guys with hand-made stuff are on your own: If you built your computer from sctratch chances are you already know what memory it will take and what voltage it requires. Personally I try to stick with name-brand stuff because of the warranty. Generally I will replace 1 or 2 things out of the thousands of warranty items I purchase each year.
After I installed the memory into the server, I had to replace one of the drives that had failed. (this is why it was a spare...) The first RAID array is a RAID 1 (mirror set) array, and this particular server has a really nice Dell PERC 4di controller. The drives (6 front-panel drives) are all hot-swapable, and this particular array was 2-146Gb drives mirrored. I had the OS up and running, and I pulled the bad drive. I inserted the new drive (cheap-ass Fujitsu, I normally purchase Seagate drives, but this was a warranty replacement so I shouldn't complain...) and then went to my server administrator software (Dell OpenManage) and tried to tell it to rebuild. It barked at me that it 'cannot start the rebuild process on this drive as the drive is in the process of being rebuilt'. Cool. Truly hot-swapable. Didn't even need to tell it to 'just do it'. To tell you the truth, I didn't even know the drive was failing except that when I fired up this server after we eliminated its need, the OpenManage software informed me there was a problem. Still booted fine, it even allowed me to install the new 64-bit OS. All I had to do is argue with a few towel-headed Dell server 'associates' to get my drive replaced. And they assured me they would be sending out a Seagate replacement. Right. And his real name was 'Bob'...
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Testing... 1 2 3 Can You Hear Me Now?
This is episode whatever of the Field Day Setup Blog...
So it turns out this DVK thing is pretty cool. The hard part is getting it setup properly. Using it during a contest will actually work out well, as long as you pay attention to the radio..
The other thing that is kinda difficult is getting your audio levels setup properly. Mike W1ECT turned me on to a nifty audio editing program called GoldWave, which actually overcomes many of the weaknesses of every other audio program known to man. This little gem will do anything. Problem is, you need to be an audio engineer to even understand what half the tools are. For christ's sake, I haven't seen a Parametric Equalizer since the '70's. This has one built in. A Flanger. Compression/Expansion. All I need to find is the Cry Baby wah-wah pedal and I can sound like Jimi Hendrix. (EDIT - turns out this program called Audacity has wah-wah, I may need to try this. Brad has this installed on one of his computers...)
But seriously folks, you will discover every weakness in your audio system while running this program. Fortunately, there is a tool built-in to overcome every weakness found in your system. Now all I need to do is find a decent microphone to plug into the laptop to record all the exchanges I need to record. It will be kinda neat to get this setup, I can already envision how this is gonna go at Field Day. Problem is, what to do when you switch operators...
N1MM has a neat feature that configures things (like audio and CW messages) when you change operators, all you need to do is remember to tell the program when you switch. It stores your exchanges in a seperate folder for each operator. Chances are we will end up recording each operator's exchanges in a seperate file folder and resetting the program each time we switch.
N3FJP 2.8 is pretty straightforward, currently I have it setup with 4 DVK messages, CQ Long, CQ Short, Exchange, and Thanks QRZ. Chances are I will need to setup a couple more, and I might even set them up similar to the N1MM scheme just to keep things similar. I think I need to find a better microphone first though.
I have a nice Shure downstairs, but I am leaning towards using one of the Heil mics I have just so I can have a good base to build on. The GoldWave program allows some pretty neat adjustments, I might even throw in some reverb to make Alan N1LSZ happy. 10-4 good buddy...
Problem is there are so many differences it will be tough to fine one with the appropriate response characteristics. Then you have the problem of impedence matching, and ultimately it is all very, very dependent upon the soundcard you are plugging into, in my case it is a Sigmatel High Definition Audio. I can't recall the exact model number of the device (just looked it up... SIGMATEL STAC 92XX C-Major HD Audio) but I will bet it will work oooh so much better with a cheap-ass Dollar Store mic than with any other conceivable divice I might be able to plug into it. Chances are a cheapo condenser will outperform a $1K Sennheiser...
I wonder if I can plug a mic into the USB port...
So it turns out this DVK thing is pretty cool. The hard part is getting it setup properly. Using it during a contest will actually work out well, as long as you pay attention to the radio..
The other thing that is kinda difficult is getting your audio levels setup properly. Mike W1ECT turned me on to a nifty audio editing program called GoldWave, which actually overcomes many of the weaknesses of every other audio program known to man. This little gem will do anything. Problem is, you need to be an audio engineer to even understand what half the tools are. For christ's sake, I haven't seen a Parametric Equalizer since the '70's. This has one built in. A Flanger. Compression/Expansion. All I need to find is the Cry Baby wah-wah pedal and I can sound like Jimi Hendrix. (EDIT - turns out this program called Audacity has wah-wah, I may need to try this. Brad has this installed on one of his computers...)
But seriously folks, you will discover every weakness in your audio system while running this program. Fortunately, there is a tool built-in to overcome every weakness found in your system. Now all I need to do is find a decent microphone to plug into the laptop to record all the exchanges I need to record. It will be kinda neat to get this setup, I can already envision how this is gonna go at Field Day. Problem is, what to do when you switch operators...
N1MM has a neat feature that configures things (like audio and CW messages) when you change operators, all you need to do is remember to tell the program when you switch. It stores your exchanges in a seperate folder for each operator. Chances are we will end up recording each operator's exchanges in a seperate file folder and resetting the program each time we switch.
N3FJP 2.8 is pretty straightforward, currently I have it setup with 4 DVK messages, CQ Long, CQ Short, Exchange, and Thanks QRZ. Chances are I will need to setup a couple more, and I might even set them up similar to the N1MM scheme just to keep things similar. I think I need to find a better microphone first though.
I have a nice Shure downstairs, but I am leaning towards using one of the Heil mics I have just so I can have a good base to build on. The GoldWave program allows some pretty neat adjustments, I might even throw in some reverb to make Alan N1LSZ happy. 10-4 good buddy...
Problem is there are so many differences it will be tough to fine one with the appropriate response characteristics. Then you have the problem of impedence matching, and ultimately it is all very, very dependent upon the soundcard you are plugging into, in my case it is a Sigmatel High Definition Audio. I can't recall the exact model number of the device (just looked it up... SIGMATEL STAC 92XX C-Major HD Audio) but I will bet it will work oooh so much better with a cheap-ass Dollar Store mic than with any other conceivable divice I might be able to plug into it. Chances are a cheapo condenser will outperform a $1K Sennheiser...
I wonder if I can plug a mic into the USB port...
Friday, May 22, 2009
EnableInputMonitor = 01
Here is installment #5 of the continuing Field Day Setup Progress Report (no longer named FIASCO!)
No longer a fiasco because I was able to get full-duplex audio working on the Dell D630 Laptop!
For those of you with a Dell Latitude D630 running Microstink Vista (or any computer that uses Sigmatel audio for that matter...) who want to enable full-duplex audio, you will need to edit the registry.
Here is the fix:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4D36E96C-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0000\Settings\filter\SpeakerHp\
Change the Binary Value for EnableIntSpkrMute to 00
Add the Binary Value EnableInputMonitor and set the value to 01
Reboot
Right Click the Volume Speaker Icon by the clock on the taskbar, Select Playback Devices, Double-click Speakers/Headphones, Click the Levels tab, then unmute the Input Monitor option.
LET ME MAKE THIS DISCLAIMER - Editing the registry can be dangerous to your computer and your sanity. I cannot be held liable for anything you do while editing the registry of your computer. If you have never edited the registry, or if you feel uncomfortable even thinking about editing the registry, give your laptop to some geek who has done it before, and let them do it for you.
Works like a charm. I now have inserted a REAL laptop into the main slot, let's see how this one reacts...
Anyway, busy day today, spent all day at a conference in South Burlington at the High School. I used to think our school and network were screwed up. Turns out Woodstock is miles ahead as far as technology is concerned, and we are doing things in a small school that bigger schools can only hope to implement some day. Go figure. It appears as though they have plenty of money though, their auditorium was one of the nicest I have ever seen. Really cool audio and lighting boards. Wish we had that.
Testing will continue with the Dell D630 this weekend. I hope to setup some .wav files, but I have to remember to start Sound Recorder from the command line, as by default it wants to record .wma files. Damned Vista... Yet another ill-behaved Microscam product. At least the D630 has a REAL 9-pin com port. No serial to USB adapter to worry about. Besides, I have always thought the delay introduced by the USB stuff was a problem, I will use the ThinkPad with the USB to serial as a backup now. Mike KT1Q won't need to scrape up a backup laptop after all...
Now that the laptop is working (so far) I am actually getting excited about working Field Day with the SOVARC boys (and girls... I haven't seen Mandy AI1A in ages!). The thought of loading all this crap into the truck is a but unnerving, but I survived the NEAR-Fest, so I guess this isn't too much different. I will be hauling real radio-related stuff instead of junk computer crap. It does seem a bit different to go and play radio in a different area, it would make more sense to hang out with the guys around the Upper Valley (TSRC). Ever since they ruined Field Day for myself and Mike N1MS, I have held a grudge. As past president of TSRC I am utterly appalled at what they have become and the money they waste each year. It is not as though they are rich, but they insist on maintaining a used vehicle lot in the guise of 'Emergency Service'. Best thing I ever did was dis-associate myself from those losers. Now I get to play radio with REAL hams... Or as Ed WA1MAG would say, Ham Radio Buffs...
Sometimes taking a break from things can allow you to clear your mind, look at things from a different perspective, and gain some insight that one would normally overlook. That is what happened here, I had to think about things for a bit, then figure out where to look for answers. And that brings me to the whole purpose for these recent posts, a convenient method to document the trials and tribulations of setting up a Field Day station. It really can only get worse from here...
This Dell Latitude D630 is an awesome laptop. I just can't help bragging about what this thing contains:
Intel T9500 dual-core processor @ 2.6 GHz (this may change, I may swap in a slower processor just for testing purposes, probably a T9300 @ 2.5 GHz...)
8Gb PC2 memory (all addressable, requires BIOS A15)
MS Vista SP1 64-Bit
300Gb 7200 RPM Seagate HD
Sony 16X DVD Dual-Layer optical drive
Optional 9-cell battery (approx 4-hours battery life... depending)
Optional Device Bay battery
Actual 9-pin comm port
1440X900 Display Resolution
Intel 4965 BGN Wireless (230 mps wireless connect to an N-Router)
Gigabyte ethernet
I think now you can see why I prefer to use this laptop. It is a road-warriors dream machine.
Anyway, now that it works, let's see what it can do over the next week, I will keep you all posted here. Leave a comment if you get a minute.
No longer a fiasco because I was able to get full-duplex audio working on the Dell D630 Laptop!
For those of you with a Dell Latitude D630 running Microstink Vista (or any computer that uses Sigmatel audio for that matter...) who want to enable full-duplex audio, you will need to edit the registry.
Here is the fix:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4D36E96C-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0000\Settings\filter\SpeakerHp\
Change the Binary Value for EnableIntSpkrMute to 00
Add the Binary Value EnableInputMonitor and set the value to 01
Reboot
Right Click the Volume Speaker Icon by the clock on the taskbar, Select Playback Devices, Double-click Speakers/Headphones, Click the Levels tab, then unmute the Input Monitor option.
LET ME MAKE THIS DISCLAIMER - Editing the registry can be dangerous to your computer and your sanity. I cannot be held liable for anything you do while editing the registry of your computer. If you have never edited the registry, or if you feel uncomfortable even thinking about editing the registry, give your laptop to some geek who has done it before, and let them do it for you.
Works like a charm. I now have inserted a REAL laptop into the main slot, let's see how this one reacts...
Anyway, busy day today, spent all day at a conference in South Burlington at the High School. I used to think our school and network were screwed up. Turns out Woodstock is miles ahead as far as technology is concerned, and we are doing things in a small school that bigger schools can only hope to implement some day. Go figure. It appears as though they have plenty of money though, their auditorium was one of the nicest I have ever seen. Really cool audio and lighting boards. Wish we had that.
Testing will continue with the Dell D630 this weekend. I hope to setup some .wav files, but I have to remember to start Sound Recorder from the command line, as by default it wants to record .wma files. Damned Vista... Yet another ill-behaved Microscam product. At least the D630 has a REAL 9-pin com port. No serial to USB adapter to worry about. Besides, I have always thought the delay introduced by the USB stuff was a problem, I will use the ThinkPad with the USB to serial as a backup now. Mike KT1Q won't need to scrape up a backup laptop after all...
Now that the laptop is working (so far) I am actually getting excited about working Field Day with the SOVARC boys (and girls... I haven't seen Mandy AI1A in ages!). The thought of loading all this crap into the truck is a but unnerving, but I survived the NEAR-Fest, so I guess this isn't too much different. I will be hauling real radio-related stuff instead of junk computer crap. It does seem a bit different to go and play radio in a different area, it would make more sense to hang out with the guys around the Upper Valley (TSRC). Ever since they ruined Field Day for myself and Mike N1MS, I have held a grudge. As past president of TSRC I am utterly appalled at what they have become and the money they waste each year. It is not as though they are rich, but they insist on maintaining a used vehicle lot in the guise of 'Emergency Service'. Best thing I ever did was dis-associate myself from those losers. Now I get to play radio with REAL hams... Or as Ed WA1MAG would say, Ham Radio Buffs...
Sometimes taking a break from things can allow you to clear your mind, look at things from a different perspective, and gain some insight that one would normally overlook. That is what happened here, I had to think about things for a bit, then figure out where to look for answers. And that brings me to the whole purpose for these recent posts, a convenient method to document the trials and tribulations of setting up a Field Day station. It really can only get worse from here...
This Dell Latitude D630 is an awesome laptop. I just can't help bragging about what this thing contains:
Intel T9500 dual-core processor @ 2.6 GHz (this may change, I may swap in a slower processor just for testing purposes, probably a T9300 @ 2.5 GHz...)
8Gb PC2 memory (all addressable, requires BIOS A15)
MS Vista SP1 64-Bit
300Gb 7200 RPM Seagate HD
Sony 16X DVD Dual-Layer optical drive
Optional 9-cell battery (approx 4-hours battery life... depending)
Optional Device Bay battery
Actual 9-pin comm port
1440X900 Display Resolution
Intel 4965 BGN Wireless (230 mps wireless connect to an N-Router)
Gigabyte ethernet
I think now you can see why I prefer to use this laptop. It is a road-warriors dream machine.
Anyway, now that it works, let's see what it can do over the next week, I will keep you all posted here. Leave a comment if you get a minute.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Not all software is created equal...
This is part 4 of the continuing Field Day Fiasco saga...
Catch up with the progress by reading the 3 previous posts below.
Anyway, it is time to move all this crap to an actual 'test' environment similar to what one could expect at Field Day. (one NEVER knows what to expect at Field Day, that is why they call it an 'exercise'...) Gotta clean off the kitchen table, Doreen is gonna be pissed as all hell when she realizes all of this complicated radio/computer/power/wiring is gonna occupy the kitchen table for a whole month. What the hell, dealing with her is GOTTA be easier than connecting all this stuff together and making it work.
Mental note - 50 amp power supplies are friggin' heavy. Try to get someone else to move it next time. So it looks like I can fit almost everything into a 4-foot square space on the table. This is good - there may be about this much room at the FD site, I will need to ask Chuck WA1NBU about where we will be and who will be there. So far I think the station will be on 40M phone. It better be, as I have no plans to bring a key or set anything up for CW.
Setting things up in the kitchen requires several trips back to the shack in order to obtain all the necessary connectors and cables, but this is why we test things in an actual test environment. At this point all is connected in a basic way, power to the radio, (and everything else) and computer to everything. Now the setup starts to break down...
Apparently not all software is created equal. At this point I have no clue that the Dell Latitude D630 running Vista 64-bit isn't going to work. Nevertheless, I plod on, installing software package after software package trying to get the rig control set just right. I can get Ham Radio Deluxe to work just as it did in the shack, it is what I use for PSK using this very setup except for the lack of a docking station and flat-panel monitor. The D630 has an actual 9-pin com port setup as COM1, and it works well to control the rig. As I have it setup, it will even key the rig and pass audio, albeit one-way. BUT WAIT! I haven't used this laptop here before! I used a different computer to run PSK with this setup! How does this even work? OK, ok... calm down, let's see what else will work. Chances are the SOVARC boys (and girls) will be using N3FJP Field Day Logger 2.8 as their main logging program. Let's run that and see what happens...
LOCK-UP... oh wait, it is just KEY-DOWN... unplug everything, and let's set this up... FD Logger is a simple program, it does one thing at a time really well. Problem is I won't find that out until later on in the process. Looks like it will do DVK, so let's set that up. Here is where I run into .wma versus .wav file difficulties. Apparently, logging programs will only recognize .wav files. The Dell D630 running Vista 64-bit will only record .wma files. What the hell!
Rip the Dell outta the setup, and place the IBM in its place on the table. WAIT - NO serial ports... Off to find some sort of adapter... YES I have 2 that actually work on XP Pro 32-bit. This is good. The Targus wants COM5, and the Belkin wants COM4. Looking in the FD Logger setup, it appears that I can use COM5, so I pick the Targus adapter, and I am off to the races. More like racing nowhere really fast...
Apparently the N3FJP FD Logger software cannot read the rig via rig control and key the rig for DVK on the same port. Took me 3 days to realize this. I had to turn off the rig interface (set to NONE) before the DVK would even begin to work. Even THEN the software keys the rig on the RTS (so it sez...) line which in all reality is the DTR line. (on the FT-100D I guess you need to key the rig via DTR and send CW via RTS...) I can tell this by looking at the front panel of the RigBlaster Pro, it has LED's for PTT & CW. Also when you activate the rig via one of these lines, it automatically switches the MIC out of the circuit and switches IN the output form the sound card in the laptop. But when I finally get it working, there is this strange buzzing being fed into the front panel mic input on the rig. What the hell! Where is this coming from?
So I pull the cover on the RigBlaster Pro, something I don't like to do because there are jumpers and wires and such inside. Besides, there are 4 screws holding the cover in place. I figure if God wanted us to play with the innards of stuff, he would have designed it with a quick-release hatch. This is a place where no normal person should ever venture. Referring to the User Manual again, I am still befuddled as to what I have configured wrong. At first I think it is something mis-wired with the rig control, after all FD Logger says I am keying the wrong lines... so I spend a day re-wiring all the serial stuff, A-to-B connections, FSK this and PSK that. All I succeeded in doing is breaking the rig control stuff, which, thank God for Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD) gave me a quick and easy way to see if everything was still working. HRD is pretty easy, and it has a fairly long development path. I have used it and its associated programs for several years, and it is to the point where I am actually considering making a donation. Just like West Mountain stuff, HRD just works.
After successfully breaking and then reconnecting all the rig control stuff, I decided to move my attention back to the mic jumpers and all that associated wiring and configuration. Referring back and forth between the User Guide and every other reference I could find, I ended up back at trial and error. What could possibly explain the wierd buzzing noise in the mic audio? Then it hit me. The FT-100D uses the same GND between the mic and the PTT line, as configured in the mic connection. In the RigBlaster Pro there is a GNDTIE configuration jumper used to tie the two grounds together. Somehow, I thought this jumper was necessary in order to get the rig to key with the PTT button on the mic. Yet again, apparently I was wrong. I pulled off the GNDTIE jumper and stored it on a single pin, and all my (well, most) audio woes went away. Mental note - Try things with ALL the software running, not with the computer turned off. I needed to have the stuff running in order to insure all was working correctly together.
Along comes N1MM Logger, my preferred software since I dumped WriteLog a few years ago. N1MM is pretty neat, it is what all the big guns use (unless they have custom proprietary software, written especially for that particular contest station) because it will allow SO2R operation as well as a host of other options such as SO2V, rotator and CW keyer control, and so many more this blog ain't big enough to list them. It is ULTRA configurable (if that is a word) and it would be real nice to have it up and running just in case the powers that be realize they can save $6.00 (that's right folks, N3FJP costs a whole $6.00) by using N1MM instead. This might be the subject for my next blog post - Why does N1MM say one thing and FD Logger say another? And why can't WriteLog use COM5?
Trying to setup N1MM was another exercise in futility, pressing F1 to start the DVK made the program spit and sputter, like a handicapped kid with a speech impediment, a lisp and a big 'ol Tootsie Pop all stuck in his mouth at the same time. Tried this with changing every configuration setting known to man, combinations and permutations numbering well into the square root of a bazillion somewhere. Better leave this for yet another day, yet another post...
So it comes time to actually feed some audio from the computer into the rig, and here is where I actually discover what the meaning of 'full-duplex' really means. Remember back when you could purchase an audio receiver that actually had jumpers where the pre-amp output was? There were actually jumpers that connected things in a bigass loop, allowing you to put whatever piece in or out you needed. Along comes the new millenium, where everything is controlled with an actual 'switch' of some sort allowing you to switch things in and out easily with the touch of a button. In today's world, buttons have been replaced with check-boxes and such that one must 'click' on in order to configure. Here is where you can turn full-duplex on or off on a Windows XP Pro 32-bit computer...
Right-click (or double-click) the audio icon in your System Tray and bring up your Audio Properties dialog box. Click Options and choose Properties. Choose the Recording Controls. To enable full-duplex, find where the mic is muted, and 'un-mute' the microphone. This is the KEY to all the RigBlaster Pro operations.
Try to do this in Vista...
My Blaster is ALIVE! Everything works! I can hear static out of my headset! HOLY SOUNDCARD, BATMAN! Why didn't they tell me this already? How come it took 2 weeks and an ungodly number of hours of trial and error to set this up? Because the words 'full duplex' are mentioned in the RigBlaster Pro manual only 1 time, under Advanced Audio Considerations. And only then it talks about the ability to process your audio properly. Nowhere does it mention that if you wanna have headphone audio, you MUST have a soundcard capable of full-duplex audio.
OK, if I sound overly excited, it is probably because I am. I now have almost everything working as I think it should. I have a base system working, with DVK setup to call CQ FD... There are many other things yet to accomplish, such as setting up all the other voice messages, and trying to get the Rig Interface working with FD Logger so that it will at least read frequency and mode. Remember, I need to make this as simple and bulletproof as possible (yeah, right...) so that when I have a 6-pack or 2 into me it will all be as clear as day how to setup and operate 40 meter phone...
This is not to mention the other equipment yet to interface, such as the D630 running Vista 64-bit. I am determined to get this baby setup and working, as I have never seen a more stable OS in my life. This 64-bit stuff is incredible. Not only can I fully address 16G (that is 16 GIGABYTES) of memory, it is pretty much immune to the 32-bit puking of programs one would normally experience on XP or a Mac. Shit flies on this laptop. When you double-click an icon by mistake, the program is up, running and waiting for user input BEFORE you realize you made a mistake. I imagine this will consume the next week or so.. at least it will give me time to blog some more about software.
Stay tuned...
Catch up with the progress by reading the 3 previous posts below.
Anyway, it is time to move all this crap to an actual 'test' environment similar to what one could expect at Field Day. (one NEVER knows what to expect at Field Day, that is why they call it an 'exercise'...) Gotta clean off the kitchen table, Doreen is gonna be pissed as all hell when she realizes all of this complicated radio/computer/power/wiring is gonna occupy the kitchen table for a whole month. What the hell, dealing with her is GOTTA be easier than connecting all this stuff together and making it work.
Mental note - 50 amp power supplies are friggin' heavy. Try to get someone else to move it next time. So it looks like I can fit almost everything into a 4-foot square space on the table. This is good - there may be about this much room at the FD site, I will need to ask Chuck WA1NBU about where we will be and who will be there. So far I think the station will be on 40M phone. It better be, as I have no plans to bring a key or set anything up for CW.
Setting things up in the kitchen requires several trips back to the shack in order to obtain all the necessary connectors and cables, but this is why we test things in an actual test environment. At this point all is connected in a basic way, power to the radio, (and everything else) and computer to everything. Now the setup starts to break down...
Apparently not all software is created equal. At this point I have no clue that the Dell Latitude D630 running Vista 64-bit isn't going to work. Nevertheless, I plod on, installing software package after software package trying to get the rig control set just right. I can get Ham Radio Deluxe to work just as it did in the shack, it is what I use for PSK using this very setup except for the lack of a docking station and flat-panel monitor. The D630 has an actual 9-pin com port setup as COM1, and it works well to control the rig. As I have it setup, it will even key the rig and pass audio, albeit one-way. BUT WAIT! I haven't used this laptop here before! I used a different computer to run PSK with this setup! How does this even work? OK, ok... calm down, let's see what else will work. Chances are the SOVARC boys (and girls) will be using N3FJP Field Day Logger 2.8 as their main logging program. Let's run that and see what happens...
LOCK-UP... oh wait, it is just KEY-DOWN... unplug everything, and let's set this up... FD Logger is a simple program, it does one thing at a time really well. Problem is I won't find that out until later on in the process. Looks like it will do DVK, so let's set that up. Here is where I run into .wma versus .wav file difficulties. Apparently, logging programs will only recognize .wav files. The Dell D630 running Vista 64-bit will only record .wma files. What the hell!
Rip the Dell outta the setup, and place the IBM in its place on the table. WAIT - NO serial ports... Off to find some sort of adapter... YES I have 2 that actually work on XP Pro 32-bit. This is good. The Targus wants COM5, and the Belkin wants COM4. Looking in the FD Logger setup, it appears that I can use COM5, so I pick the Targus adapter, and I am off to the races. More like racing nowhere really fast...
Apparently the N3FJP FD Logger software cannot read the rig via rig control and key the rig for DVK on the same port. Took me 3 days to realize this. I had to turn off the rig interface (set to NONE) before the DVK would even begin to work. Even THEN the software keys the rig on the RTS (so it sez...) line which in all reality is the DTR line. (on the FT-100D I guess you need to key the rig via DTR and send CW via RTS...) I can tell this by looking at the front panel of the RigBlaster Pro, it has LED's for PTT & CW. Also when you activate the rig via one of these lines, it automatically switches the MIC out of the circuit and switches IN the output form the sound card in the laptop. But when I finally get it working, there is this strange buzzing being fed into the front panel mic input on the rig. What the hell! Where is this coming from?
So I pull the cover on the RigBlaster Pro, something I don't like to do because there are jumpers and wires and such inside. Besides, there are 4 screws holding the cover in place. I figure if God wanted us to play with the innards of stuff, he would have designed it with a quick-release hatch. This is a place where no normal person should ever venture. Referring to the User Manual again, I am still befuddled as to what I have configured wrong. At first I think it is something mis-wired with the rig control, after all FD Logger says I am keying the wrong lines... so I spend a day re-wiring all the serial stuff, A-to-B connections, FSK this and PSK that. All I succeeded in doing is breaking the rig control stuff, which, thank God for Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD) gave me a quick and easy way to see if everything was still working. HRD is pretty easy, and it has a fairly long development path. I have used it and its associated programs for several years, and it is to the point where I am actually considering making a donation. Just like West Mountain stuff, HRD just works.
After successfully breaking and then reconnecting all the rig control stuff, I decided to move my attention back to the mic jumpers and all that associated wiring and configuration. Referring back and forth between the User Guide and every other reference I could find, I ended up back at trial and error. What could possibly explain the wierd buzzing noise in the mic audio? Then it hit me. The FT-100D uses the same GND between the mic and the PTT line, as configured in the mic connection. In the RigBlaster Pro there is a GNDTIE configuration jumper used to tie the two grounds together. Somehow, I thought this jumper was necessary in order to get the rig to key with the PTT button on the mic. Yet again, apparently I was wrong. I pulled off the GNDTIE jumper and stored it on a single pin, and all my (well, most) audio woes went away. Mental note - Try things with ALL the software running, not with the computer turned off. I needed to have the stuff running in order to insure all was working correctly together.
Along comes N1MM Logger, my preferred software since I dumped WriteLog a few years ago. N1MM is pretty neat, it is what all the big guns use (unless they have custom proprietary software, written especially for that particular contest station) because it will allow SO2R operation as well as a host of other options such as SO2V, rotator and CW keyer control, and so many more this blog ain't big enough to list them. It is ULTRA configurable (if that is a word) and it would be real nice to have it up and running just in case the powers that be realize they can save $6.00 (that's right folks, N3FJP costs a whole $6.00) by using N1MM instead. This might be the subject for my next blog post - Why does N1MM say one thing and FD Logger say another? And why can't WriteLog use COM5?
Trying to setup N1MM was another exercise in futility, pressing F1 to start the DVK made the program spit and sputter, like a handicapped kid with a speech impediment, a lisp and a big 'ol Tootsie Pop all stuck in his mouth at the same time. Tried this with changing every configuration setting known to man, combinations and permutations numbering well into the square root of a bazillion somewhere. Better leave this for yet another day, yet another post...
So it comes time to actually feed some audio from the computer into the rig, and here is where I actually discover what the meaning of 'full-duplex' really means. Remember back when you could purchase an audio receiver that actually had jumpers where the pre-amp output was? There were actually jumpers that connected things in a bigass loop, allowing you to put whatever piece in or out you needed. Along comes the new millenium, where everything is controlled with an actual 'switch' of some sort allowing you to switch things in and out easily with the touch of a button. In today's world, buttons have been replaced with check-boxes and such that one must 'click' on in order to configure. Here is where you can turn full-duplex on or off on a Windows XP Pro 32-bit computer...
Right-click (or double-click) the audio icon in your System Tray and bring up your Audio Properties dialog box. Click Options and choose Properties. Choose the Recording Controls. To enable full-duplex, find where the mic is muted, and 'un-mute' the microphone. This is the KEY to all the RigBlaster Pro operations.
Try to do this in Vista...
My Blaster is ALIVE! Everything works! I can hear static out of my headset! HOLY SOUNDCARD, BATMAN! Why didn't they tell me this already? How come it took 2 weeks and an ungodly number of hours of trial and error to set this up? Because the words 'full duplex' are mentioned in the RigBlaster Pro manual only 1 time, under Advanced Audio Considerations. And only then it talks about the ability to process your audio properly. Nowhere does it mention that if you wanna have headphone audio, you MUST have a soundcard capable of full-duplex audio.
OK, if I sound overly excited, it is probably because I am. I now have almost everything working as I think it should. I have a base system working, with DVK setup to call CQ FD... There are many other things yet to accomplish, such as setting up all the other voice messages, and trying to get the Rig Interface working with FD Logger so that it will at least read frequency and mode. Remember, I need to make this as simple and bulletproof as possible (yeah, right...) so that when I have a 6-pack or 2 into me it will all be as clear as day how to setup and operate 40 meter phone...
This is not to mention the other equipment yet to interface, such as the D630 running Vista 64-bit. I am determined to get this baby setup and working, as I have never seen a more stable OS in my life. This 64-bit stuff is incredible. Not only can I fully address 16G (that is 16 GIGABYTES) of memory, it is pretty much immune to the 32-bit puking of programs one would normally experience on XP or a Mac. Shit flies on this laptop. When you double-click an icon by mistake, the program is up, running and waiting for user input BEFORE you realize you made a mistake. I imagine this will consume the next week or so.. at least it will give me time to blog some more about software.
Stay tuned...
This should be easier than it is...
This is part 3 of the Field Day setup fiasco...
Anyway, to continue the saga, I believe I have a full station setup and working. It is not exactly how I would like it to be, but again, this is a work in progress and I finally have a good working base from which I can build.
See the two previous posts below for more info on exactly what I plan on setting up as well as the components I am trying to interface.
To summarize, I have a Yaesu FT-100D rig interfaced to a West Mountain RigBlaster Pro which is connected in many ways to an IBM ThinkPad T60 laptop running 32-bit XP Pro. Power to this system is provided by an Astron RS-50M supply thru a West Mountain RigRunner 4010S, attached to a West Mountain PwrGate and a rather large gel-cell battery as backup. In addition, there is a Diamond cross-needle power/swr meter in the mix as well as an older Panasonic speaker used for audio output. Voice input is provided by either a Yaesu MD-100 desk mic or a Heil ProSet headset (HC-5 DX element).
These are the parts I have working so far. To say I am a fan of West Mountain products is an understatement, their shit just works. Period. Now onto the things I would PREFER to get connected and working:
Dell Latitude D630 laptop running Vista 64-bit
David Clark H10-60 headset with M7 mic
Bird ThruLine wattmeter
Additional Heil headset
The next task to tackle is the D630. In order to use a laptop fully with the RigBlaster Pro interface, you need to have what is called 'full-duplex' audio through your computer. Basically this is the ability to 'un-mute' the microphone input so it can be processed and then passed through the soundcard and back out to the RigBlaster Pro. This is critical to the ability of the Blaster to provide output audio to your headphones as well as the connected rear-panel speaker output. So far I have been unable to accomplish this, but there have been a few posts where I have seen users employ full-duplex on their Vista computers using the proper drivers and settings. All hope is not lost...
On top of that will be the ability to use the David Clark headset, it is an incredible piece of work that has the ability to completely cancel all ambient noise via custom engineered gel-filled earpads. It is no wonder they use these in aircraft. Put these babys on and you are isolated in a world where silence is golden and the ONLY audio you hear is that passed thru the tiny 1/8" plug connected to something. To say these are incredible again is an understatement. Bose could learn a lesson...
The DC H10-60 is the set I have, it has an amplified M-7A microphone that I would love to be able to use while connected to radios or computers. Got these at the Hosstraders hamfest (now NEAR-Fest) years ago, but only have been able to use them as headphones because of my apparent inability to wire the microphone correctly. This shit ain't plug & play, it is more like plug & pray. Maybe I can enlist Randy N1GWL to help, he is wiz-bang at this electronics crap. It needs DC bias current at the mic, so chances are it is either gonna work slick as shit or he will destroy a $70.00 headset cable.
The specifics of the RigBlaster Pro are the neat thing here, it is ultra customizable. It will interface virtually ANY computer & soundcard to ANY radio. The problem is generally gonna be the software you use to git 'r dun. That will be the topic in Part 4 of this diatribe, the insane ramblings of an Extra class part-timer. Psychobabble as Mike KT1Q puts it...
Despite what others might tell you, the most important part of the Blaster interface is not the RS-232 stuff and TTL conversion to control the rig, that is incredibly simple according to the RigBlaster Pro User Guide. It is the Mic connection and configuration to your rig that is the heart of the matter. This took me a week to understand and configure. Thanks Yaesu, for making every rig you manufacture different from the model before.
The FT-100D is a strange beast, but it remains as a workhorse in my shack, even though it was designed to be used mobile. It has data connections on the back, as well as rig control and key/speaker connections. The strange part is the mic connector in the 'front'. You need to remove the faceplate in order to connect the mic, and only certain microphones will work. You can find a link to Yaesu's official list of supported accessories on the web, but I tend to ignore official crap like that. I figure if I have a microphone, and it has some sort of connector, that I am intelligent enough to connect it to the radio somehow. Generally this is the case, and this example is no exception.
The Yaesu MD-100 is a wonderful desk mic, with built-in audio filtering and PTT as well as up/down 'buttons' laid out on a really nice looking stand. Again I bought mine at the Hosstraders (now NEAR-Fest) hamfest a few years back at a very reasonable price. I figured because it sez Yaesu on it that it should connect easily to a Yaesu radio, right? Yeah, right...
Not only does the FT-100D use a non-standard RJ-11 6-pin connector, it apparently multiplexes all the features available on certain mics via some sort of strange resistance matrix. Just to get the PTT to work using a standard mic on the Ft-100D it requires a 27K resistor in the PTT line. When you add the up/down buttons into the mix, it adds another couple resistors in a series/paraallel arrangement. Try fitting all that crap into an 8-pin plug shell! Let's put it this way, this type of cable pushes the limit of my soldering abilities. You won't be creating one of these with a 250 watt soldering gun.
Anyway, I successfully built a cable specific to this combination, it won't work with anything else as far as I know. It might work with my broken FT-8500, but I dunno, 'cause it's broken. The up/down buttons work fine, they advance the frequency up and down just like they are supposed to when the mic is connected, holding either of the buttons will initiate scan mode in the direction of the button you are holding. So far all is good. Until you try to tailor your audio via the switches on the bottom of the mic...
The MD-100 requires voltage in order to use the 'active' filters. Oh well. The FT-100D supplies the wrong voltage, and there just isn't any more room in the 8-pin plug for a couple zener diodes to drop the voltage enough to make things work. Did I attempt to make it work? No, I read about it and decided I can run the mic in 'thru' mode without the need for active filtering. Besides, this is Field Day, and we don't need no mic filters on Field Day. Or do we? I kinda figure I can get the RigBlaster Pro to process stuff if I really need to , but I generally just crank up the mic gain and the processor (compression) in the rig and let it go at that. Real filters are made of crystal...
So with the MD-100 working, and a brief test on VHF FM with Brad N1JIF confirmed the mic actually had some output, I decided it was time to move on and plug the MD-100 into the RigBlaster Pro to see what it did. So I plugged it in. What did it do? Nothing. Seems I have to build another cable... But wait! I have this CT-69 thingy, which is an 8-pin male (mics generally have an 8-pin female...) connector to an RJ-11 6-pin connector that I got somewhere and never figured out exactly when and where to use. Taking the CT-69 thingy apart, I see it has a resistor and a small capacitor connected to the lines that an FT-100D would use for PTT! OK, so I connect this adapter to the RigBlaster Pro cable... and still nothing. Back to the User Guide...
Seems as though I need to configure the RigBlaster Pro for this particular radio/mic combination. Aha! Who would have figured! Since I had never used a mic with this setup before (PSK-31 and CW only, yes... CW. I made one contact...) there was nothing configured correctly as far as the jumpers inside the Blaster were concerned. Here is where the FD Setup Fiasco actually begins...
So you already know Yaesu doesn't do the same thing the same way twice, and when you deviate from the official accessory path you kinda can expect no support whatsoever. This is a bad place to start from. Fortunately I have a few people who will help by offering advice (I don't have any real friends...) and then again, there is the Internet. One thing to remember - Google is your friend. If you don't know something, Google it. Strange how our society will develop new verbs for doing strange shit. Anyway, between that, the Blaster manual, the rig manual and some good old fashioned trial-and-error, I got the RigBlaster Pro 'kinda' wired up to accept the MD-100 PTT. No up/down button control of frequency, but I may add that at a later date now that I know I can build a special cable for that operation. Why not use a hand mic you ask... Hand mics are for lightweights and amateurs. They are for people not adventurous enough to stray into the realm of hi-fidelity audio electronics. They are for the weenies we unfortunately call 'Appliance Operators'. Apparently they are for people who want things to work, and need to have the impedence matched properly...
So I key the mic, the MD-100 forces the FT-100D into life, keying the rig, activating the fancy eee-lectroniks inside the rig and making the LED on the front panel turn from green to red. All is good in the K1XH shack - so far. Until I look at the power/swr meter, which should indicate no output because I am not speaking into the mic. But yet the meter is going crazy, with some sort of strange modulation going on, being fed into the radio from the Blaster in apparently some sort of wiring mis-hap. WHAT THE HELL!
Son of a bitch, I am ripping this all apart. Enough is enough. I need to see this all in its ripped-apart glory, only to be re-assembled on the kitchen table in its planned Field Day configuration. I will work on the audio later, as I have PTT and I think that is all I need for now. Time to strip one side of the shack...
Anyway, to continue the saga, I believe I have a full station setup and working. It is not exactly how I would like it to be, but again, this is a work in progress and I finally have a good working base from which I can build.
See the two previous posts below for more info on exactly what I plan on setting up as well as the components I am trying to interface.
To summarize, I have a Yaesu FT-100D rig interfaced to a West Mountain RigBlaster Pro which is connected in many ways to an IBM ThinkPad T60 laptop running 32-bit XP Pro. Power to this system is provided by an Astron RS-50M supply thru a West Mountain RigRunner 4010S, attached to a West Mountain PwrGate and a rather large gel-cell battery as backup. In addition, there is a Diamond cross-needle power/swr meter in the mix as well as an older Panasonic speaker used for audio output. Voice input is provided by either a Yaesu MD-100 desk mic or a Heil ProSet headset (HC-5 DX element).
These are the parts I have working so far. To say I am a fan of West Mountain products is an understatement, their shit just works. Period. Now onto the things I would PREFER to get connected and working:
Dell Latitude D630 laptop running Vista 64-bit
David Clark H10-60 headset with M7 mic
Bird ThruLine wattmeter
Additional Heil headset
The next task to tackle is the D630. In order to use a laptop fully with the RigBlaster Pro interface, you need to have what is called 'full-duplex' audio through your computer. Basically this is the ability to 'un-mute' the microphone input so it can be processed and then passed through the soundcard and back out to the RigBlaster Pro. This is critical to the ability of the Blaster to provide output audio to your headphones as well as the connected rear-panel speaker output. So far I have been unable to accomplish this, but there have been a few posts where I have seen users employ full-duplex on their Vista computers using the proper drivers and settings. All hope is not lost...
On top of that will be the ability to use the David Clark headset, it is an incredible piece of work that has the ability to completely cancel all ambient noise via custom engineered gel-filled earpads. It is no wonder they use these in aircraft. Put these babys on and you are isolated in a world where silence is golden and the ONLY audio you hear is that passed thru the tiny 1/8" plug connected to something. To say these are incredible again is an understatement. Bose could learn a lesson...
The DC H10-60 is the set I have, it has an amplified M-7A microphone that I would love to be able to use while connected to radios or computers. Got these at the Hosstraders hamfest (now NEAR-Fest) years ago, but only have been able to use them as headphones because of my apparent inability to wire the microphone correctly. This shit ain't plug & play, it is more like plug & pray. Maybe I can enlist Randy N1GWL to help, he is wiz-bang at this electronics crap. It needs DC bias current at the mic, so chances are it is either gonna work slick as shit or he will destroy a $70.00 headset cable.
The specifics of the RigBlaster Pro are the neat thing here, it is ultra customizable. It will interface virtually ANY computer & soundcard to ANY radio. The problem is generally gonna be the software you use to git 'r dun. That will be the topic in Part 4 of this diatribe, the insane ramblings of an Extra class part-timer. Psychobabble as Mike KT1Q puts it...
Despite what others might tell you, the most important part of the Blaster interface is not the RS-232 stuff and TTL conversion to control the rig, that is incredibly simple according to the RigBlaster Pro User Guide. It is the Mic connection and configuration to your rig that is the heart of the matter. This took me a week to understand and configure. Thanks Yaesu, for making every rig you manufacture different from the model before.
The FT-100D is a strange beast, but it remains as a workhorse in my shack, even though it was designed to be used mobile. It has data connections on the back, as well as rig control and key/speaker connections. The strange part is the mic connector in the 'front'. You need to remove the faceplate in order to connect the mic, and only certain microphones will work. You can find a link to Yaesu's official list of supported accessories on the web, but I tend to ignore official crap like that. I figure if I have a microphone, and it has some sort of connector, that I am intelligent enough to connect it to the radio somehow. Generally this is the case, and this example is no exception.
The Yaesu MD-100 is a wonderful desk mic, with built-in audio filtering and PTT as well as up/down 'buttons' laid out on a really nice looking stand. Again I bought mine at the Hosstraders (now NEAR-Fest) hamfest a few years back at a very reasonable price. I figured because it sez Yaesu on it that it should connect easily to a Yaesu radio, right? Yeah, right...
Not only does the FT-100D use a non-standard RJ-11 6-pin connector, it apparently multiplexes all the features available on certain mics via some sort of strange resistance matrix. Just to get the PTT to work using a standard mic on the Ft-100D it requires a 27K resistor in the PTT line. When you add the up/down buttons into the mix, it adds another couple resistors in a series/paraallel arrangement. Try fitting all that crap into an 8-pin plug shell! Let's put it this way, this type of cable pushes the limit of my soldering abilities. You won't be creating one of these with a 250 watt soldering gun.
Anyway, I successfully built a cable specific to this combination, it won't work with anything else as far as I know. It might work with my broken FT-8500, but I dunno, 'cause it's broken. The up/down buttons work fine, they advance the frequency up and down just like they are supposed to when the mic is connected, holding either of the buttons will initiate scan mode in the direction of the button you are holding. So far all is good. Until you try to tailor your audio via the switches on the bottom of the mic...
The MD-100 requires voltage in order to use the 'active' filters. Oh well. The FT-100D supplies the wrong voltage, and there just isn't any more room in the 8-pin plug for a couple zener diodes to drop the voltage enough to make things work. Did I attempt to make it work? No, I read about it and decided I can run the mic in 'thru' mode without the need for active filtering. Besides, this is Field Day, and we don't need no mic filters on Field Day. Or do we? I kinda figure I can get the RigBlaster Pro to process stuff if I really need to , but I generally just crank up the mic gain and the processor (compression) in the rig and let it go at that. Real filters are made of crystal...
So with the MD-100 working, and a brief test on VHF FM with Brad N1JIF confirmed the mic actually had some output, I decided it was time to move on and plug the MD-100 into the RigBlaster Pro to see what it did. So I plugged it in. What did it do? Nothing. Seems I have to build another cable... But wait! I have this CT-69 thingy, which is an 8-pin male (mics generally have an 8-pin female...) connector to an RJ-11 6-pin connector that I got somewhere and never figured out exactly when and where to use. Taking the CT-69 thingy apart, I see it has a resistor and a small capacitor connected to the lines that an FT-100D would use for PTT! OK, so I connect this adapter to the RigBlaster Pro cable... and still nothing. Back to the User Guide...
Seems as though I need to configure the RigBlaster Pro for this particular radio/mic combination. Aha! Who would have figured! Since I had never used a mic with this setup before (PSK-31 and CW only, yes... CW. I made one contact...) there was nothing configured correctly as far as the jumpers inside the Blaster were concerned. Here is where the FD Setup Fiasco actually begins...
So you already know Yaesu doesn't do the same thing the same way twice, and when you deviate from the official accessory path you kinda can expect no support whatsoever. This is a bad place to start from. Fortunately I have a few people who will help by offering advice (I don't have any real friends...) and then again, there is the Internet. One thing to remember - Google is your friend. If you don't know something, Google it. Strange how our society will develop new verbs for doing strange shit. Anyway, between that, the Blaster manual, the rig manual and some good old fashioned trial-and-error, I got the RigBlaster Pro 'kinda' wired up to accept the MD-100 PTT. No up/down button control of frequency, but I may add that at a later date now that I know I can build a special cable for that operation. Why not use a hand mic you ask... Hand mics are for lightweights and amateurs. They are for people not adventurous enough to stray into the realm of hi-fidelity audio electronics. They are for the weenies we unfortunately call 'Appliance Operators'. Apparently they are for people who want things to work, and need to have the impedence matched properly...
So I key the mic, the MD-100 forces the FT-100D into life, keying the rig, activating the fancy eee-lectroniks inside the rig and making the LED on the front panel turn from green to red. All is good in the K1XH shack - so far. Until I look at the power/swr meter, which should indicate no output because I am not speaking into the mic. But yet the meter is going crazy, with some sort of strange modulation going on, being fed into the radio from the Blaster in apparently some sort of wiring mis-hap. WHAT THE HELL!
Son of a bitch, I am ripping this all apart. Enough is enough. I need to see this all in its ripped-apart glory, only to be re-assembled on the kitchen table in its planned Field Day configuration. I will work on the audio later, as I have PTT and I think that is all I need for now. Time to strip one side of the shack...
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