[SixClub] Tablet for shack use

Mon Dec 2 01:22:54 EST 2013

On 12/1/2013 8:55 PM, Larry Brown wrote:
> Thanks for the input guys!  Roger,I use the Mac Minis so my desktop is only 8"x8"x2",with a 20" flat panel. And I'm trying to clear up more real estate? Go figure!  And about your 1st color TV,I'm with you! Our first TV when we married in 1978 was a 13" black & white. Took us a few years to move up to a 19" color,then we were ridin' high!
>
>
> On Dec 1, 2013, at 10:05 AM, Roger on six wrote:
>
>> On 12/1/2013 9:35 AM, Bill Bailey, KG4NZR wrote:
>>
>> And here I go for a 25" wide screen over a 20" on the computers tied to the rigs.  I can split the screen to watch multiple programs. Run HRD in one window and the screen for the AIM 4170 VNA in the tune position for changing bands.  Needless to say, I do not like small screens
>> Course, I remember our first color TV and we thought that 21" screen was a monster
>>
>> I don't have desktop computers as they measure about 10" wide, roughly 24" deep and 30" tall while weighing about 50-60#.  (Full size tower cases)  They go "under, or beside" the desks.<:-))
>>
>> 73
>>
>> Roger (K8RI)
>>> As with everything in amateur radio, this is a compromise and each compromise has its own good and bad points.
>>>
>>> If you intend to use multiple programs simultaneously, for example, a suite like DXLab, the small screen will be the biggest handicap. Multiple programs require a lot of screen real estate or the operate spends an inordinate amount of time toggling between applications. At times, the 21" monitor on my shack PC is cluttered and insufficient. I sometimes wish for multiple monitors. A tablet or netbook would be useful for mobile or rover operations where the operator needs only one or two applications.

That 21" color set cost $4000 and took 2 men and a well grown boy to 
carry in.  The picture was poor by today's standards and with tubes 
maintenance was a two or three times a year event.  My last CRT was a 
27" "portable" that I could barely lift. I now have 25 to 27" monitors 
with resolution close to twice HDTV for less than $200.  I have a 40" 
HDTV that I can carry under one arm.

| Also, I constantly wish for more RAM. Multiple applications need 
memory and my 4GB RAM is insufficient. The PC is living on virtual 
memory which slows |response. On 12/1/2013 8:47 AM, Larry Brown wrote:

You have to be careful when they start swapping out memory to disk. That 
can slow many programs by a factor of 10 or more. Much more for large 
programs.
With the mother boards, CPUs, video cards, memory and power supplies, it 
is quite easy to build high performance computers although it's also 
easy to end up with one that has to go under or beside the desk.   Look 
up New Egg or Tiger Direct for components. Computers are far simpler to 
assemble and configure than those of 10 or 15 years ago. That's not to 
say that any one can do it, but if a person has enough smarts to become 
a ham and operate some of the more sophisticated modern rigs, you should 
be able to build a computer.

  I run 16 and 32GB of high speed ram for a bit over a 100 dollars. My 
first computer had a 1 MHz 6502 with 48K of dynamic ram that cost $27 
for a 16K X 1 chip. One bank was over $400 list and it had 4 banks.  
$1600 for less than one of today's chips.  If I could have gotten 
today's memory and CPU performance based on those chips they both would 
have been well in excess of a million dollars.

BTW That $4000 TV in 59 was worth $31,778.69 in today's dollars.  No 
wonder we waited so long to get one.
That today's electronics have so many more features for far less makes 
the difference far more glaring

By way of comparison, that 1MHz 6502 with 48K cost $4000 with out a 
monitor or keyboard.  Today, that $4000 will let me build 2 computers 
using 8 core, 4.4 GHz processors, 32GB of very fast RAM, A 
multiprocessor GPU with 3 GB of DDR5 RAM, several 2 TB HDs and a 250-500 
Gig SSD system drive, a wireless keyboard and mouse along with 25 to 27" 
2 to 5 ms monitors, and enough software for Windows 7 U, An entire 
office suite, and the ability to run my stations SO2R However that 1980 
$4000 is worth $11,973.98 in today's dollars.

The PS is 750W to a KW. The video cards take close to 300W and will 
drive TVs through HDMI connections.  Most will drive two or 3 monitors 
at a time.  Makes Flight Simulastors much more interesting.

They will also run your station, log contacts, decode digital and CW as 
well as aid in tune up when switching bands using a Vector Network 
Analyzer such as the AIM 4170C all at the same time.  The CPUs are a bit 
fragile and covered with pins (they ave an unbelievable number of pins 
on the bottom)  so you must be careful when handling them.

73

Roger (K8RI)
>>>> I've been looking at the new Kindle eReaders and it got me to thinking about tablets or netbooks to use for rig control,logging and other ham software. I like the idea of less space used compared to a laptop or desktop . What do you use or what should I stay away from.
>>>>
>>
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