Hpc's Part Deux
By. |\smodian ><

	It's me again, once again writing another fun filled with HPC's.
To those of us who have one of those handy dandy portable devices.
I have done a bit more studying about These wonderful devices, and
have some more facts to bring to light.  Tonights highlights will
be Alternate power sources and hidden doodads and menus.

-=- Alternate power supplys when using PCMCIA modem w/o AC power -=-

	One problem with HPC's is the inability to sustain a PCMCIA modem
connection for more than 1 hour.  When you go over one hour the
batteries usually die.  for those of you not familliar with HPc's they
usually take 2 "AA" batteries.  Rechargeable batteries work fine under
normal load, however do not have the same staying power of regular alkaline
batteries. 
        A simple solution is to get High Capacity NiCad batteries.  They
will probably out last the Regular NiCads by a bit, but not by too much.
A better solution is to use those expensive Energizer High Energy
Lithium cells.  It might be a good idea to have some as a spare for
emergencies, but if you're on the road alot I would suggest an external
power pack.  Most manufacturers sell a NiMh Battery for roughly 30 to 50$.
and would be a good idea if you got the cash.  If you dont have the cash
but you have an old 7.2 V NiCad "racing battery" along with the charger,
and have a few bucks for parts and enclosures you can build your own
rechargeable power supply.  To knock the 7.2 v battery down to a useable
voltage, simply make a Voltage regulator box via a LM309k 5V regulator.
run a coaxial lead to a matching plug for yer power input and volia!  Keep
in mind that each HPc is different and yours may require a different
voltage/current.  Also Keep in mind what happens when  a person screws up
the power input <ZZZZT!!!> no more HPC.  Also keep in mind that I ain't
responsible for what you fuch up... so don't come cryin to me about your
deep fried investment.  If it were up to me I'd use the mail order one!!!

Another novel idea was utilized by Axon during the last 2600 meeting.
Axon took an un interuptable power supply <an UPS> and plugged his 
HPC into it via a power cord.  By the same token, if a person had an 
external modem and a Null modem adaptor, and hooked it up with the
special propritary serial cables that come with the HPC. the person 
wouldn't have to worry about the drain on the batteries.  OF course you
could just bring a big spool of extention cord and a power strip but 
thats too obvious.

<NOTE> Due to the low cost of purchasing the extended rechargeable battery
usually about 50$ and the startup cost of building a box would be about
the same.  So unless your really straped for a battery I really suggest
you use the manufacturers battery.  Hince no schim, unless some one can
get me a schem on the LM309k chip.

Another Note, a company called Modem Express carries special battery
powered modems.  They supposedly can be reached at (612)-553-2075.

-=- Secret Menu of Cassiopia/Pc Comp. death-=-

Heres a neeto thing to destroy a Compaq/cassiopia's memory.  Some time
A HPC will lock up so bad it wont even boot.  The solution to that is
killing everything on the HPC.   This fix is simply an alternative to
pulling out the memory batteries and the work batteries.

step 0: back up everything!
step 1: Turn Off HPC
step 2: press all at once Ctrl,Caps, Shift, On, and RESET

from the menu you can blow the ram away to a factory state.
to exit the menu press reset.

..
well thats in in the way of neeto factoids...
I'd like to point out some items from the previous article I did about
palm tops.  The RED box aspect was feild tested by an anonymous being,
and they communicated to me that the method worked.  In addition, I have
found several telnet clients and ftp clients, as well s a FTP and WEB Sever.


Both the Telnet Client and the Ftp Client are available from Ruksun
software technologies.  (http://www.corus.com)  I picked up the Ftp from
a Win CE  web page.  Some good pages to look at are

ce.computra.net
www.windowsce.com
www.jimmy.com

and some stuff like that...  I found some of the kewlest stuff on a
japanese page which is run by Eiichiroh Itoh.

http://www.oohito.com/



-=- Kewl stuph in da werks for hpc's!!! -=-

*	Theres a 80186 Emulator in the works for the sh3 & the mips
        in the pre-alpha-nonexistant state
        <see http://www.pyram-id.demon.co.uk>


-=- Projects under way by |\smo -=-

*       PPP'ing to a linux box via the Serial Port
        <The linux alternative to Syncing with WIn 9x>

any way, Happy New year and safe driving!
-=- |\smodian >< -=-
<EOF>