[Elecraft] Re: Alas, it is time for contest logging software

[Mark J. Dulcey]

Dave Sergeant wrote:
> 
> It is also advantageous to use a spare laptop as the logging computer and not tie up
> the main computer.  I have a Toshiba 386 which is fine for the dos programs (will run
> Windows 3.1 but nothing later).  In any case, although I cannot speak for Windows
> 2000, I have never had problems running dos programs under Windows 95/98.

Windows 2000 (and also NT 4.0 and XP) are indeed different stories.

Windows 95/98/Me have a real copy of DOS underneath them, although it is 
largely hidden from the user. DOS programs can get direct access to some 
hardware, including the serial and parallel ports; programs that run in 
full-screen mode, rather than in a window, can also write directly to 
the display.

Windows NT/2000/XP don't have DOS anywhere; instead, they have a DOS 
emulator that runs in proteced mode. All I/O is virtualized; the 
emulator presents an interface to the DOS program that looks like a real 
serial or parallel port, but the DOS program never talks directly to the 
hardware. This causes problems for programs that try to do non-standard 
things with the ports, such as CW sending; sometimes it doesn't work at 
all, and sometimes it works, but the timing is incorrect. Also, you 
can't write to the hard disk directly (and the emulator doesn't even 
pretend to let you), which breaks some DOS software.

> On a related matter, we are planning a battery powered entry in this years NFD (the
> UK event).  Running the K2 on gel cells for 12 hours is no problem, our camper van
> has batteries for lights, but the laptop for the logging is a problem.  My Tosh
> batteries are actually nackered, but I suspect there are few laptops which can run
> for 12 hours on their own batteries.  Genny needed just for the laptop (and a
> kettle..).... Or maybe we will have to do it the old way.

I don't know of any laptops that can run for 12 hours on one battery or 
set of batteries, but an additional battery or two (or one of the 
external power packs that are offered for some laptops) may get you 
there. I have three batteries for my Dell Inspiron; that would get me to 
the twelve hour mark running Linux, but not quite under Windows. (Linux 
seems to do a better job with the power management.) The Transmeta 
Crusoe-based laptops get even closer; some of those can run for 8 hours 
on one battery.

Feeding DC power in through the jack that the power adapter uses will 
work on just about any laptop. The voltages are sometimes weird, 
however, and you lose some power that way running the possibly pointless 
regulators in the laptop. It might be possible to gut a dead battery 
case and turn it into a way to feed power into the machine.