[Elecraft] FD at N4ZI! Some issues

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Julius wrote:

I like my HP Laptop, found one that still had a serial port with XP on it.

Vista has been nothing but a pain on all the computers I've used it on so
far.

-----------------------------------------

That's an excellent example of how experiences vary. Over the past year I've
swapped two of our three business pc's for new machines running Vista. One,
a Toshiba notebook, runs Vista 32 and the other, an HP mini-tower desktop,
runs Vista 64. 

Both machines run a wide variety of applications used in data analysis,
modeling, publishing, writing and graphics development. 

Neither Vista machine has caused any problems at all. They both work day
after day like a good, dependable tool should.

Obviously Julius' and my experiences demonstrate how results vary widely
according to the specific environment, and that's *very* important to
understand in modern Hamshacks. 

I will say that, because our machines are critical to supporting our
clients, I don't quibble about updates. Upon upgrading a machine or an OS,
important software that has a new version available is updated immediately.
Also, our machines are configured to automatically download and install
every Windows update.

I wholeheartedly endorse Julius' suggestion to avoid being an "early
adopter" of a complex new product if you want a stable system, especially
new products from a strongly market-driven company like MS.  

As more and more Hams tightly integrate their computers with their stations,
having a known, stable, and dependable computer, with correctly-assembled
interfaces and proper cabling is essential for a reliable station. 

Such Hams are really the modern "homebrewers", building a complex
communications system out of a variety of components that is electrically
quiet, RF- efficient and reliable. As long-time homebrewer who started with
vacuum tubes in the 1940's, I believe that what Hams do today assembling a
complex station is often as demanding as the work of many Hams decades ago
who assembled their own receivers and transmitters. 

Ron AC7AC