I use a Lenovo Thinkpad 410 as my shack computer. I maxed out the RAM
to 8 gb. I bought it from their off lease/refurb website. I am now
experimenting with using it with some digital modes on VHF, and it works
fine for computer logging. I run it under Windows 7 64 bit.
When I emptied out my cousin's house after her demise, I found a 1999
vintage IBM Thinkpad in a case on the floor. It had been dropped and
kicked a bunch and I wound up reinforcing the display hinges with
epoxy. I plugged it in and fired it up and it worked. It had a small
hard drive in it, and was set up for her job at the railroad and was
running under WIndows ME. I had an older and larger IDE laptop drive,
so I formatted it, and installed Windows 2000 pro. Then, I maxed out
the RAM to 256 megabytes. It runs a Pentium 233 MHz processor. It
still works fine for word processing and some spreadsheets, so I will
keep it. It now runs under XP. It is a real testament to the
durability of the Thinkpads.
Steve WA9JML
On 10/28/2017 3:36 PM, rick@dj0ip.de wrote:
I concur with Jim.
The fear that Lenovo would fail to keep up the excellent product quality and
service that IBM had with its ThinkPad line (luckily) proved unwarranted.
IMO they are as good now as they were then.
I was a Dell fan for many years but only of their business line of products.
Consumer products are consumer cr@p, regardless of who builds them.
They use Tier-2 components which means when it's time to buy, the OEM buys
from the cheapest bidder that day. Identical computers from different
production runs may be completely different on the inside.
Business machines use only tier-1 components and simply last a lot longer.
They use identical components throughout their product life, unless
something becomes unavailable.
The keyboard is much more rugged and the plastic around them is a lot
tougher, built for the road.
But you pay the price; at least double.
What I have done each time I need a new computer is buy the most powerful
off-lease (= 3 year old) business laptop. Previously I was buying Dell
Latitude but in the meantime I tend to favor Lenovo, but only their ThinkPad
line.
I have 4 Laptops, my XYL has 2. All are Thinkpads or Latitudes except for
one HP business laptop.
AND here I differ from Jim: for the first time EVER I bought a tiny (Ultra
Small Form Factor) Lenovo desktop for my shack, rather than a laptop. The
reason was ergonomics. The operating desk only supports the keyboard. A
riser supports a huge monitor. It was simply a better fit than the laptop.
When I buy off-lease, I pay about half price and get one year warranty, but
it is still more expensive than an similar new consumer laptop. And it's
worth it.
73
Rick, DJ0IP
-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Jim Brown
Sent: Saturday, October 28, 2017 9:39 PM
To: tentec@contesting.com
Subject: [TenTec] New Computer
On 10/28/2017 11:21 AM, denton sprague wrote:
am due for a new one here and am wondering which one with its power supply
is least likely to create rfi.
Over the last 20 years, I've owned at least 6 different generations of
T-series Thinkpads. All have been pretty well behaved with respect to RFI,
but I do recall having a problem with weak signal work on 2M with one of
them in a very quiet environment. I DO wind AC and DC cables for the PSU
through #31 cores, and I do the same with extension video cables. BTW --
wired Ethernet cables also radiate noise at both HF and VHF. So do internet
modems and WiFi routers. Chokes can suppress the HF and 6M components, but
you may need to get serious if the cables are close to antennas.
Note that these comments are based on having computers in close proximity to
antennas in very quiet locations for county expeditions, and with a 160M
vertical right outside my shack. If something in the shack is noisy, I'll
hear it on that antenna!
The last time I studied consumer product reviews (a year or two ago),
Thinkpads scored near the top for reliability, and I've gotten good warranty
service the few times I've needed it. Documentation is very good -- both
user manuals and service manuals are online. Accessories are also widely
available, but are fairly expensive. I've bought genuine Lenovo docking
stations and port extenders from the big auction site for 30-50% of retail
cost. Some new, some off lease.
Lenovo has a website and sells direct. I strongly suggest that you study
their product line and look for their occasional sales. I've bought five
laptops that way over a period of 6-8 years, and always at a discount of at
least 20%. That shack computer was at a discount of about 50%
BTW -- the last time I bought a computer that wasn't a laptop was about
1999, and it was a loaded 2-processor Dell running Win2K. A major virtue of
laptops is their built-in battery backup! UPSs tend to be RFI generators,
and most go through batteries because they overcharge them.
73, Jim K9YC
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