[Ham-Computers] RE: Newbie Intro.

[Orrin Bentz]

Hello

I have been subscribed to this list for about a month now. I looked at
the July archives
and there were about 63 posts. I never received one of them. Maybe
someone could
explain why this is.

Anyway I have about 44 years experience in the computer industry. Mainly
as a systems
software programmer for large IBM, and UNIVAC operating systems. The
first computer
I ever programmed for was an IBM 1401 with 4K bytes (yes that is 4000)
of memory and no
operating system. It had sense switches that a programmer would set that
could be interrogated
by the program to make yes / no decisions. From that starting point I
moved through every
operating system IBM ever had on every large mainframe IBM ever had.

My last 17 years in the industry were spent mainly doing data
communications. I traveled the
world troubleshooting software and hardware problems.

At one time I could program in Fortran, COBOL (ugh), IBM Assembler, APL,
PL1, 'C', 'C++',
and some very obscure special purpose languages that are now long
forgotten. I wrote one
application program in my career, an accounts receivable system in COBOL
and it was a
complete disaster. < grin >

Currently I am running Windows 98 on a Pentium II system. I live way up
in the boondocks
in Northern Minnesota and have been delaying getting a new system untill
I have DSL or
something like it. Well, this week they are running fiber optic cables
in front of my house.

Now it is a question of a Pentium 4 or a G5 Powermac. My interests in
using a computer in conjuction with my Ham activities besides the
obvious such as logging is for antenna
and circuit modeling, and PCB layout/routing. I think I will run LINUX
rather than windows:-)

I am designing a 34' X 26' workshop/lab/ham schack. One of the things I
am going to have is
a test equipment suite with all the equipment connected up a Hewlett
Packard GPIB (General
Purpose Instrument Bus and running into a mainframe.

Well thats enough about me. If I can help anyone out with anything give
me a shout.

I AM ORRIN BENTZ AND I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE