[TenTec] field day from hell, now where to find a cheap, usable laptop - what about PDAs ?

[w4chl at amsat.org]

Another source, aside from eBay that I have found very reliable and low 
priced:
http://www.PCSurplusOnline.com

I just checked and they have are currently out of stock, often have some 
2-3 generation old IBM ThinkPads or Toshiba laptops available. 

The other option is to look for PDAs such as the Cybiko or older 
Palm/Handspring devices. Former are $12-15 for serial port version, 
$25-$25 for newer USB version and have available programs for ham radio & 
free development kit (SDK) for Win32 or Linux. Latter have quite a few 
software programs written for hams, but is there a reasonably priced SDK 
that's any good ? 

PARC is working on rig control with Cybikos with the C language SDK, we 
welcome  other hams joining our efforts, check out the web site below !

Wish we had some of these PDAs with log merge capabilities for FD !  Its 
on my list to work with the club, but its low on their list. APRS 
enhancement, perhaps even ARDF oriented programs are of greater interest.

Cheers & 73s de Mark W4CHL
Chapel Hill NC  USA   http://rtpnet.org/parc