Larry,
I found it very convenient to have one computer dedicated to ham
radio. I shopped online and found a small desktop profile (not
standing "tower") compaq with a 300MHz Pentium III with about 128MB
RAM. I bought it for about $50.00 and put in 256MB more RAM and a
450MHz Pentium III CPU. Note that the 300MHz would have been fast
enough but the increased RAM is helpful. I also added a second
Serial COM port card (giving me 4 ports) and a SoundBlaster 16Bit
card - rather than use the "built-in" sound card. I could have found
a used tower with all that in it or even a brand new machine for a
few hundred more - but I liked the small footprint of the
mini-desktop.
I picked that size/speed/cpu because it seemed to qualify for most
ham software system/hardware requirements and qualify for my limited
budget requirements.
Next, and this is one reason to keep it separate from your other
software (but on the same hub for internet access), I run it with
Windows 98SE instead to XP Pro that is on my other machine. That's
because I believer 98SE has less overhead "services", was a very
stable OS, and again, satisfies most software system requirements.
The computer only has a 2GB hard drive and I should have increased
that when I had it open. But 2GB is plently if I use it for just Ham
stuff. The only non-ham software I have on it are Eudora email
client, Firefox web browser, spybot, and ad-awave.
For ham software I have N4PY's software for controlling the Argo V as
well as HamRadioDeluxe (free), DxLab's Commander (free) and a few
others. For CW work I have CWGet and CWType (DXSoft). For DX I have
BandMaster DXAtlas and a variety of free spotting programs. For PSK I
have MixW and about many free PSK and SSTV applications.
To round it out, I've recently started playing with WaveClone. This
software, from the DXSoft people, creates a "virtual sound card" for
each application. That is, if you use more than one sound card
application you will find that you must close one application before
starting another - in order to release the sound card to the second
application. WaveClone gives each application access to the same
sound card at the same time. Again - this is only handy if you have
different sound card applications for different modes and can't wait
for one application to close to open the other.
Note that the more you have running at once - the more CPU/RAM you
need. But today's CPU speeds and RAM/HardDrive configurations are
usually far more than sufficient.
Finally, Apple has just released its Mini-Mac - about 3 inches high
and six inches square. There is no "sound in" but you can get an
external USB sound "card" and plug it in. Often these external USB
sound cards are recommended anyway to get the sound card out of the
computer (less noise).
There is Mac software, multimode, by BlackCat, for PSK and others.
Also, MAYBE, you could run VirtualPC to simulate a PC operating
system on the Mac and run all the other PC ham software.
I've seen 14 inch LCD displays on sale for $150. The mini-Mac, a 14"
LCD, and a small, no frills, keyboard makes a pretty small footprint
- if it works (no money to check it out).
Have fun with the Argo. You might have to move it some distance from
your chair if you want to run it from software because its hard to
break the "turning knobs" habit even though the particular control
might actually be easier (like band switching) with a mouse click.
73,
Paul
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