HIR Issue 4: Hpc's Part Deux
By. |\smodian ><
It's me again, once again writing another fun filled with HPC's. To those of us who have one of those handy dandy portable devices. I have done a bit more studying about These wonderful devices, and have some more facts to bring to light. Tonights highlights will be Alternate power sources and hidden doodads and menus.
Alternate power supply when using PCMCIA modem w/o AC power
One problem with HPC's is the inability to sustain a PCMCIA modem connection for more than 1 hour. When you go over one hour the batteries usually die. for those of you not familiar with HPc's they usually take 2 "AA" batteries. Rechargeable batteries work fine under normal load, however do not have the same staying power of regular alkaline batteries.
A simple solution is to get High Capacity NiCad batteries. They will probably out last the Regular NiCads by a bit, but not by too much. A better solution is to use those expensive Energizer High Energy Lithium cells. It might be a good idea to have some as a spare for emergencies, but if you're on the road a lot I would suggest an external power pack. Most manufacturers sell a NiMh Battery for roughly 30 to 50$. and would be a good idea if you got the cash. If you don't have the cash but you have an old 7.2 V NiCad "racing battery" along with the charger, and have a few bucks for parts and enclosures you can build your own rechargeable power supply. To knock the 7.2 v battery down to a useable voltage, simply make a Voltage regulator box via a LM309k 5V regulator. run a coaxial lead to a matching plug for yer power input and volia! Keep in mind that each HPc is different and yours may require a different voltage/current. Also Keep in mind what happens when a person screws up the power input <ZZZZT!!!> no more HPC. Also keep in mind that I ain't responsible for what you fuch up... so don't come cryin to me about your deep fried investment. If it were up to me I'd use the mail order one!!!
Another novel idea was utilized by Axon during the last 2600 meeting. Axon took an un interruptable power supply <an UPS> and plugged his HPC into it via a power cord. By the same token, if a person had an external modem and a Null modem adaptor, and hooked it up with the special proprietary serial cables that come with the HPC. the person wouldn't have to worry about the drain on the batteries. OF course you could just bring a big spool of extension cord and a power strip but thats too obvious.
<NOTE> Due to the low cost of purchasing the extended rechargeable battery usually about 50$ and the startup cost of building a box would be about the same. So unless your really straped for a battery I really suggest you use the manufacturers battery. Hince no schim, unless some one can get me a schem on the LM309k chip.
Another Note, a company called Modem Express carries special battery powered modems. They supposedly can be reached at (612)-553-2075.
Secret Menu of Cassiopia/Pc Comp. death
Heres a neeto thing to destroy a Compaq/cassiopia's memory. Some time A HPC will lock up so bad it wont even boot. The solution to that is killing everything on the HPC. This fix is simply an alternative to pulling out the memory batteries and the work batteries.
- step 0 : back up everything!
- step 1 : Turn Off HPC
- step 2 : press all at once Ctrl,Caps, Shift, On, and RESET
from the menu you can blow the ram away to a factory state.
to exit the menu press reset.
..
well thats in in the way of neeto factoids...
I'd like to point out some items from the previous article I did about palm tops. The RED box aspect was feild tested by an anonymous being, and they communicated to me that the method worked. In addition, I have found several telnet clients and ftp clients, as well s a FTP and WEB Sever.
Both the Telnet Client and the Ftp Client are available from Ruksun software technologies. (http://www.corus.com) I picked up the Ftp from a Win CE web page. Some good pages to look at are
ce.computra.net
www.windowsce.com
www.jimmy.com
and some stuff like that... I found some of the kewlest stuff on a japanese page which is run by Eiichiroh Itoh.
-=- Kewl stuph in da werks for hpc's!!! -=-
* Theres a 80186 Emulator in the works for the sh3 & the mips
in the pre-alpha-nonexistant state
<see http://www.pyram-id.demon.co.uk>
-=- Projects under way by |\smo -=-
* PPP'ing to a linux box via the Serial Port
<The linux alternative to Syncing with WIn 9x>
any way, Happy New year and safe driving!
-=- |\smodian >< -=-
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