MiniSport Laptop Hacker - Vol 6A                  14 Dec 92

You folks have been great!  The incoming information is cascading.  I am
anxious to assemble some of the ideas and send the next volume out.  Every-
thing from using kids' foam blocks for briefcase padding to add-on jumper
mods to the back of the circuit board.  I have all the back volumes avail-
able to copy onto disk, too.  I've had several inquiries.  Send me a disk
(3" or 5") and I'll get it back to you.  Please include a SASE to keep this
low-cost for me.

The unexpected news, however, is related to my real job.  I fly for the Air
Force and I'll be departing tomorrow for you-can-guess-where.  The plan is
to be back the first week in February.  That's why this issue is manually
typed in as 6A.  6B will be the "real" Volume 6 by the time I get back.

Not the least of folks to thank is Chuck, WB7NNF, who hosts me as my home
BBS.  I just was reminded that he has been manually forwarding my ALLUSA
bulletins.  I think his outbound links are running automatically again, but
you sure might send him (or your own home BBS sysop) a thank-you for the
custom work.

73, Brian, ka9snf@wb7nnf.#spokn.wa.usa or Internet ka9snf.spk.wa.us

------------------  original MLHacker series divided here ----------------

MiniSport Laptop Hacker - Vol 6B
8 Feb 93

Thanks to KA9SWW, N8LUF, KA9CAP, N7FTM, N8NUY, WJ8T, and N9KRS for sending
me information (I don't know it all) or queries (I know what people are
interested in).  Special thanks to WB7NNF (my home BBS) for taking care of
the inbound mail while I was out of town!

>>> CULTURE
Boy, is it great to be back!  Even with all the trouble we have as a coun-
try, I am again convinced there is none better.  Be glad you live here!  My
trip to Saudi Arabia was educational.  I got to refuel the F117 Stealth
Fighters pre- and post-strike on the January raids and got to see real
capital punishment in action.  The Saudis execute criminals in the downtown
square by kneeling them down and slicing their heads off with a huge sword.
That is something that I needed to witness only once.

>>> ADMINISTRATIVE
MLH Volume 6A was notice saying that I would be gone for a couple of
months.  Volume 6B resumes the normal style, and from here they will con-
tinue to be numbered sequentially.
.
I've received a number of requests to provide back issues of ML Hacker.  I
don't want to inappropriately burden the packet networks, so I've hesitated
sending back issues to everyone that asks.  I could see this getting out of
hand when somebody sees Volume 23 and asks me to send the preceeding 22!
Pending recommendations from my local host sysop, I'll go with the follow-
ing policy.  If you're a sysop (your callsign is the first in the message
routing), I'll send back issues through packet so you can post them to be
downloaded locally.  For other individuals, I've got three options.  I'll
1) send them to you on disk through the mail or, 2) via packet to your host
sysop if he/she asks, or 3) over landline Internet.  If you use the disk
method, send me a disk and postage to get it back to you.  My address is
Brian Mork, 6006-B Eaker, Fairchild, WA 99011.  I moved in fall '92, so
older callbook addresses are now obsolete.  If you use the Internet method,
query me via ka9snf@visual.spk.wa.

>>> ACQUIRING YOUR OWN
I started the MLH series as a forum for owners.  This was an incomplete
goal.  A number of folks are reading the series to determine *if* they
should buy one!  The general concensus is that the ML is serving a lot of
people well.  The pros are definitely out weighing the cons.
.
My 2Mb ML accompanied me to Saudi Arabia and survived 2 months of being
banged around in a soft case briefcase.  I provide some cosmetic barrier by
putting it inside of a lawyer legal size fanfold folder.  I carry extra
disks (2" and standard sizes), null modem cable, male/female cable conver-
tors, power supply, and parallel printer cable.  This has to be the essence
of the laptop.  With a "software" TNC and small handheld, you can't have
much more of a portable packet station.
.
In September, I made an 18-hour non-stop car trip from Merced, CA to Spo-
kane, WA.  I had a PK232, an FT-290, and the MiniSport on the passenger
seat. Boy did I have fun!  I used a 5/8 wave whip on top of the car and had
range enough to log onto several BBSs while passing through.  It was a bi-
zarre feeling to be linked into the amateur networks while travelling down
the road.  That day, the Shuttle happened to have just launched into orbit
and I listened to status updates on local 2M repeaters.  When I got into
Oregon, word was out that they were up on packet.  I tuned up my mobile
system and listened.  I heard two orbits overhead, although the signal was
too weak to copy.  With planning, you could do mobile packet into outer
space.  What technology we have at our finger-tips!!
.
By far the biggest problem with the Minisport is with power supplies.  The
Li batteries cause a lot of grief.  Weak or dead batteries have causes se-
rial ports to fail and have caused AC power supply output problems.  If you
have mysterious problems, pull both the NiCad and the Li batteries for sev-
eral hours.  Buy new Li batteries (RS 23-166) and fully charge the NiCads.
.
Prices are between the buyer and the seller.  For guidance, I'll throw out
a few numbers.  I was fortunate to buy my MLs from a primary source.  Work-
ing computers were $50 or $100 (1 or 2Mb).  Non-working were $30 or $75.
Power supplies were $30.  No docs.  No guarantee.  No returns.  Cheap, but
harsh!  I spent an entire Saturday (5:30am to 9:30pm) driving to Benton
Harbor, MI and back home.  In following weeks, car loads of people were
dropping in on Surplus Trading Corp.  I've been informed they have no more.
.
A secondary level of surplus dealers is offering them in the $200 range
with a 90-day warrantee.  One of the first dealers in Michigan to sell them
at hamfests was selling them for $100 or $200 with no power supply.  They
were dumped on the surplus market in Michigan and seem to be most plentiful
in the Midwest.  Current prices hover around $150 to $200.  The 2" floppy
disks are expensive: minimum $4 before postage, etc.  Try Rex Television
(Worth, IL, 708-448-5558) or R&R Computers (Bellbrook, OH, 513-848-4681).

>>> SIMPLE HELPFUL INFORMATION
Your contributions to the MLHacker don't have to be complicated or techni-
cally superior.  I knew that CTRL-ALT-DEL would reboot the system and allow
access to SETUP if the ESC key was pressed.  I now know that CTRL-ALT-INS
will bring up the Zenith monitor (pre-boot) program without having to
pounce on the ESC key.  Little things like this help those of us without
manuals.
.
Does anybody have a Tech Ref Manual (Zenith part 595-4354)?  How much did
it cost?  Several people have indicated they have other manuals.  Is it ok
to pass your name onto others so they can contact you?
.
I will transfer information from/to the 2" disks for people if you make it
a no-cost operation for me.  Send me the necessary disks & return
mailer/postage, etc.
.
If you let the NiCad batteries drain, your Lithium batteries will be
drained in a very short time.  Use the NiCads until you get the red light
blink & beep, then charge it up all the way!  From experience, I know that
2 months of inactivity will drain the NiCads and the Lithium batteries.

>>> UPCOMING
COMM & PARALLEL LINKS, SHRINKING YOUR FAVORITE SOFTWARE, MINIMUM BOOT
FILES, BOARD REVISIONS, and more DISASSEMBLY and PINOUTS.
..
73, Brian, ka9snf@wb7nnf.#spokn.wa or Internet ka9snf@visual.spk.wa
