Published by free e- magazine AntenTop
HT to TheDXZone.com
Damn Small Linux
I’ve been interested in Damn Small Linux for a while. The frugal intallation’s ability to load the entire OS into RAM is awesome. The ability to mount different add-on programs to the OS (ala OSX) and have a very up to date OS is another. It doesn leave a bit to be desired, but overall, it is a very good Linux for slower hardware. I’m currently running the standard HDD installation on the 866mhz P3 with 256megs or Ram. It is fast and reliable. I do have a few complaints though.
1. the default kernel option contains the nodma command. I am aware of the dangers of using DMA with some hardware, but there should be a grub option with dma enabled by default.
2. Some packages much be manually remounted after a reboot. One such package is IceWM. I would think that a window manager would be automatically remounted so it does not break X.
3. There is no apt-get repository just for DSL and the updates from the default Debian repository make break your system. This makes using apt-get treacherous.
There is much more good about this distro. than bad, and I suggest that everyone with an old 200 or 300mhz P2 PC try it out. A PPC or Sparc version for old Mac’s and Sun workstations might be interesting also.
PC’s and more PC’s
Two weeks ago, I picked up a “grab bag” of computer parts from a guy on Craig’s List. It contained two PC’s and a box of miscellaneous stuff. I also picked up a computer from beside the dumpster on my way to work. It appears to be a Pentium 3. There was no hard drive in it, but it does have a DVD-Rom drive and a cdrw drive in it, so that’s a big plus, not to mention 384 megs of ram.
Now I have 5 working computers at home and gobs of parts. It would be nice if I could sell some of this stuff locally and turn it into some real cash
Adventures with Qemu
I first saw Qemu again on the Elivecd development live cd, and I was certainly intregued. I’ve been looking for an open source alternative to VMWare, and I think I’ve found a good one. The version found in the Ubuntu repository left a lot to be desired. After a bit of Googling, I found a walkthrough for compiling it from source here. Surprisingly, the directions worked well with only a couple minor changes.
I am now able to install and run Windows 2000 and DSL Linux from inside Ubuntu. The speed leaves a lot to be desired, but it is functional, and all of the software that I’ve tried has worked. Compiling from source also gives you an accelerator kernel module that is closed-source and so can not be found in any repositories that I have searched.
I also suggest Qemu Launcher. This gives Qemu a VMWare feel and makes using Qemu a breeze.
My e17 desktop
I’ll post some links later
e17
Is e17 the killer app that Linux has been waiting for?
I downloaded the Ubuntu binaries for e17 last night, and I was blown away. My computer’s specs are modest by most geek-machine comparisons, but the eye candy was brilliant. The speed of the desktop was very good and everything was nicely arranged by default to give a pleasent view of this desktop manager. Mac snobs like to gripe about how easy everything is to use and how well everything is laid out. With the slight lurning curve of understanding how Linux packages work as opposed to the hunt, download, and install philosphy of Mac and Windows users, I think a well thoughtout Linux based on a clean e17 desktop could be the bridging point for those on the fence between the Mac’s and PC’s. A Linux box will be, by design, will be cheaper than a Mac and runs on the same hardware as Windows, but has the same ease of use as a Mac. In my opinion, the biggest problem with Linux going mainstream is native hardware support and 3rd Party software.
A live cd containing e17 can be found here. Download it, burn it, and enjoy it.
Technorati Tags: linux, e17, enlightenment
Beyond Cheese!
This belongs in Ham Radio Hall of Fame for cheesiest Ham Radio Promo video.
Thanks to AF4K
Come and join us on the airwaves…….. You’ll feel free and be happy too!
I want a Wii
I haven’t been this excited about a video game system since the Super Nintendo. Not to mention, this will be the first video game system that I will buy new. With the exception of my family’s Original NES, every video game system that I have ever owned has been used.
http://wii.nintendo.com/home.html
Technorati Tags: wii
More on Icom IC-F3S
I finally bought one a couple of weeks ago. I got it off ebay for less that $10, though S/H brought it up to nearly $20. I also had to pick up three extra pieces of hardware. First, I got the programming cable and software, also from Ebay. Secondly, I got an alkaline (AA) battery pack and a rubber duck antenna from American Communication Systems.
The software is easy enough to use. However, it is very odd that the programming cable was not compatible with either of my two laptops. One is a P1 166mhz, the other a P4 1.7Ghz. However, it worked fine with my desktop. Also, if you are running Windows 2000 or XP, you must make an MSDOS boot disk to run this software unless you are a real guru and know about dual booting different partitions. For the majority of folks out there, that is not an option. Sorry Mac users, I’m not aware of any options for you.
I set up my frequencies, CTCSS tones, and button options, and “cloned” the new information to my radio. It works great for an HT that costs under $50 total. The 5watts really does a good job, and I’m sure that once I get a real 2m antenna on my car, it will work much better for mobile use.
A note about the antenna. This radio uses a Motorola MX connecter for the antenna jack. This is not a standard kind of jack, though you can buy an MX to BNC adapter so that you can use standard antennas with it. The cheapest adaptors that I have seen are around $16. Yeah, that’s a lot of money for a little piece of metal.
The biggest downer about this radio, and the thing that will keep a lot of people away, is that it is only programmable by computer. I handle this by doing research ahead of time. I looked up all of the local repeaters and simplex frequencies and programmed them in the radio ahead of time. That way, I will be able to hear what I need ahead of time. Each channel can also be given a 7-digit identifyer, so you are not totally blind to what you are hearing. For example, #16 on my radio is the JARS repeater is Clayton, NC. I programmed the indentifyer to read “JARS” when it gets to that frequency. The radio holds 36 channels (i.e. memories) and that should be good for most hams who want something cheap to keep in their cars or while hiking.
One last thing, this radio is a Police/Military issue device. Therefore, it transmits and receives the entire 138 to 174Mhz portion of the VHF band. This makes it a much more powerful radio that your average ham HT. It’s not my job to lecture anyone on being a good ham, so I won’t. It’s just good to know that this is there. I personally think it’s nice to be able to pick up the weather band on a ham HT, because you never know when it is going to come in handy
Icom IC-F3S Radio
I haven’t posted here in a while. I just found some useful information on a radio that I am researching.
Ebay has tons of these radios for dirt cheap. According to several websites, they are sturdy and very reliable, but they are only programmable via PC. Details about how to do this are scant.
The programming software is Icom CS-F3 software. It is for MSDOS and Windows in DOS mode only. If you take your time, you can find this software on Google for free rather than spending $35-40 for it. It took me around an hour to find it. I’m not going to say anymore than that Russians can be friendly.
The programming cable is Icom OPC-478. There are a few homebrew designs for this cable out there. This cable is used for many different Icom models and can be easily found online.
Programming guides, user manuals, and even repair manuals can be found on Google with enough patience.
blog.theuse.net 