Re: [M100] T102 Current Drain
I don't have any real measurements to back this up, but someone might find this anecdote useful. I feel like my 102's AA battery life was much better after I cut out the internal NiCd cell. This idea is supported by the fact that it again seems to go through batteries faster since I replaced the backup battery with a new one. Worth noting I run the machine on Eneloop NiMH cells, not alkalines. On Tue, Apr 27, 2021, 20:51 Peter Noeth wrote: > I know this has been discussed before, but I was doing some testing on my > T102 regarding current drain to gauge external battery life. I made an > external 4D cell alkaline pack I use when watching TV and playing with the > computer a few years ago, and was thinking of upgrading the capacity. There > is no convenient A.C. outlet near by to my viewing position, hence the > battery pack. > > I measured this on a 32K Tandy 102 w/REX installed. > >- 0.4mA - Computer off, no peripherals connected >- 66.5mA - Computer on running a BASIC program, no peripherals >connected >- 67.2mA - Computer running a BASIC program and printing to my DPU-414 >thermal printer >- 71.8mA - Computer running REXMGR, no peripherals connected >- 114.7mA - Computer running a BASIC program, printer connected but >powered OFF >- 130mA - Computer running a BASIC program with Unitek Barcode Wand >connected > > I am sure a M100 would give similar results, but maybe a little higher in > some cases, due to the T102 being mostly surface mount components and the > circuitry optimized somewhat over the M100 > > The surprise was the marked current increase with the printer connected, > but powered OFF. There is obviously some sneak current paths if the printer > is not ON. Likely in the printers Centronics interface chip. This is good > to know if trying to maximize battery life. > > The current draw increase with the Unitek Barcode Wand connected was > expected, due to the fact that it has a very bright red LED, that is on all > the time. The RS Barcode wand likely draws less when its button is pressed > to turn on the dim LED. I like the Unitek wand better, as it reads codes > that are not black on a white background, like on food cans and potato chip > bags. Radio Shack just private labeled the HP wand for the 41-C calculator, > which was low power and expecting white paper barcode labels and program > listings. > > Regards, > > Peter >
Re: [M100] T102 Current Drain
The only way I can see the memory battery making any real difference in the AA battery life is if you use the machine so infrequently that the battery is allowed to go flat. Then when you put a new set of AA batteries in they will have to charge the memory battery up completely. Jeff Birt From: M100 On Behalf Of Alex ... Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2021 3:27 AM To: m...@bitchin100.com Subject: Re: [M100] T102 Current Drain I don't have any real measurements to back this up, but someone might find this anecdote useful. I feel like my 102's AA battery life was much better after I cut out the internal NiCd cell. This idea is supported by the fact that it again seems to go through batteries faster since I replaced the backup battery with a new one. Worth noting I run the machine on Eneloop NiMH cells, not alkalines. On Tue, Apr 27, 2021, 20:51 Peter Noeth mailto:petern0...@gmail.com> > wrote: I know this has been discussed before, but I was doing some testing on my T102 regarding current drain to gauge external battery life. I made an external 4D cell alkaline pack I use when watching TV and playing with the computer a few years ago, and was thinking of upgrading the capacity. There is no convenient A.C. outlet near by to my viewing position, hence the battery pack. I measured this on a 32K Tandy 102 w/REX installed. * 0.4mA - Computer off, no peripherals connected * 66.5mA - Computer on running a BASIC program, no peripherals connected * 67.2mA - Computer running a BASIC program and printing to my DPU-414 thermal printer * 71.8mA - Computer running REXMGR, no peripherals connected * 114.7mA - Computer running a BASIC program, printer connected but powered OFF * 130mA - Computer running a BASIC program with Unitek Barcode Wand connected I am sure a M100 would give similar results, but maybe a little higher in some cases, due to the T102 being mostly surface mount components and the circuitry optimized somewhat over the M100 The surprise was the marked current increase with the printer connected, but powered OFF. There is obviously some sneak current paths if the printer is not ON. Likely in the printers Centronics interface chip. This is good to know if trying to maximize battery life. The current draw increase with the Unitek Barcode Wand connected was expected, due to the fact that it has a very bright red LED, that is on all the time. The RS Barcode wand likely draws less when its button is pressed to turn on the dim LED. I like the Unitek wand better, as it reads codes that are not black on a white background, like on food cans and potato chip bags. Radio Shack just private labeled the HP wand for the 41-C calculator, which was low power and expecting white paper barcode labels and program listings. Regards, Peter
Re: [M100] Packet radio like it's 1987
Alex, Can you help me with a similar setup? I think I found a TNC like yours in the garage. Where do I get a cable for the radio? What radio are you using? Can I use a cheap Baofeng for this or do I need an HF radio? Thanks, Jeff On Wed, Apr 14, 2021 at 11:54 AM Alex ... wrote: > Figure this would be a fun one to share with the [M100] list. :) > > I recently bought a big box of random ham radio packet gear which included > a bunch of old TNC modems and assorted cables. Unfortunately, it turns out > the quad serial port card in my desktop PC is dead. > > Enter the Tandy 102 to the rescue! I was able to test all 4 of the TNCs on > the air and sent a test email from the T through a local Winlink RMS node. > > This whole exercise got me wondering if the built-in Bell 103 modem could > be adapted for HF packet radio use. Has anybody tried that yet? > > Pictured in the attached photo is the Tandy 102 hooked to a MFJ 1274 > modem, monitoring Network 105 traffic on 7104khz. > > -Alex >
Re: [M100] Packet radio like it's 1987
Sure, I'll give it a shot. To connect the TNC to the Model T, you'll need a cable with two DB-25 male connectors, or the right adaptors and dongles to get an equivalent. In my setup I have a DB25 male to DE-9 female cable on the T102, then a DE-9 gender bender, and another DE-9 female to DB-25 male cable plugged in to the TNC. Double check with an ohmmeter or continuity test if you're unsure what kind of cable you have. Try 1200 baud 8-N-1 first (STAT 58N1E in TELCOM) and power on the TNC. It should print some kind of banner with the ROM version it is running and then give you a "cmd:" prompt. If it does, try a couple of commands from the documentation to set it up with your callsign, etc. If you don't get the banner and prompt, or you see a bunch of gibberish, try different baud rates and other settings until something legible comes through. My radio is a Yaesu FT-857D and I wired the cable to connect it to the TNC myself using the manual for both machines as a reference. The Kantronics and MFJ TNCs I have all came with instructions about which pins do what in the documentation. For the Baofeng, you might be able to find an appropriate cable online somewhere, depending on the radio. For something super cheap like a UV5R, it'll probably cost as much as the handheld itself, and I'm cheap, so I'd probably just butcher one of the (frankly awful) earphone/mic cables that come with them and use that to wire it up. It might be necessary to adjust some of the trimpots on the TNC to get the audio levels right before transmitting. Again, check the manual for details. You don't need a HF rig if there's any local packet stations near you on VHF or UHF. If you just want to test RX and see if it will decode packets, try setting some of the MONITOR settings on the TNC to ON and tune to 144.39Mhz. If there is anyone using APRS near you, you might hear packets there. In my county, there's a network of digipeaters that has pretty wide coverage on this frequency so there's always packets every few seconds with weather station reports, locations of people driving around, info about local repeaters, etc. Another place to look is the RMS list for Winlink email. You can find a list of stations running those nodes here: https://www.winlink.org/RMSChannels - Winlink's documentation on the subject sucks, but if you CONNECT to one of these nodes, there's some simple commands like "LM" or "B" that you can use to get around without a proper Winlink client. Try "HELP". At this point you've got the Model T as a dumb terminal for packet radio. Somebody more handy with BASIC than I could probably write up a program to display the APRS weather reports nicely or make a proper WL2K mail client. :) Hope that helps! -Alex On Wed, Apr 28, 2021 at 6:51 PM Jeff Gonzales wrote: > Alex, > > Can you help me with a similar setup? I think I found a TNC like yours in > the garage. Where do I get a cable for the radio? What radio are you > using? Can I use a cheap Baofeng for this or do I need an HF radio? > > Thanks, > Jeff > > On Wed, Apr 14, 2021 at 11:54 AM Alex ... > wrote: > >> Figure this would be a fun one to share with the [M100] list. :) >> >> I recently bought a big box of random ham radio packet gear which >> included a bunch of old TNC modems and assorted cables. Unfortunately, it >> turns out the quad serial port card in my desktop PC is dead. >> >> Enter the Tandy 102 to the rescue! I was able to test all 4 of the TNCs >> on the air and sent a test email from the T through a local Winlink RMS >> node. >> >> This whole exercise got me wondering if the built-in Bell 103 modem could >> be adapted for HF packet radio use. Has anybody tried that yet? >> >> Pictured in the attached photo is the Tandy 102 hooked to a MFJ 1274 >> modem, monitoring Network 105 traffic on 7104khz. >> >> -Alex >> > -- Disclaimer: Any resemblance between the above views and those of my employer, my terminal, or the view out my window are purely coincidental. Any resemblance between the above and my own views is non-deterministic. The question of the existence of views in the absence of anyone to hold them is left as an exercise for the reader. The question of the existence of the reader is left as an exercise for the second god coefficient. (A discussion of non-orthogonal, non-integral polytheism is beyond the scope of this article.) Thanks /usr/games/fortune
