[TRLog] Minimum PC requirements for TRLOG

[D. R. Evans]

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On 26 Nov 2001 at 8:15, Kenneth E. Harker wrote:

> 
> On Mon, Nov 26, 2001 at 07:50:45AM -0600, Rich Beckwith wrote:
> > 
> > Can anyone tell me the minimum PC configuration for TRLOG?  I tried to run
> > with a PIII 266 and 64MB of RAM during the SS, but TRLOG kept stalling in
> > S&P mode.
> 
> Intel 80286 or better CPU 
> 640K RAM 
> 2MB of free disk space for program files 
> MS-DOS 3.1 or newer operating system 
> 
> http://www.qth.com/tr/requirements.html
> 

That is theory. The practice is that you'll need quite a bit more than a 
286, although your machine should be fine.

You can ask Tree for a specially compiled version for slow machines. I 
expect that he doesn't like doing this any more (I run such a version on my 
20MHz 386), and it really still doesn't behave particularly well. With the 
stock build there are indeed delays at inopportune times (in S&P and CQ 
mode). These started happening when Tree changed the overlay structure a 
while back. I have often felt that the change was mistake -- I guess that 
it freed more memory, but it made the program unusable on old machines, and 
I have never been in a situation where memory was a problem, so I have a 
one-sided view of the affair.

I spent this past weekend using the stock TR build on a 33MHz 486 and a 
50MHz 486 at a fun multi-multi. Both machines displayed an annoying 
hesitancy at certain points in a QSO, but nothing like as bad as my poor 
old 20MHz 386.

The guess about slow disks may have something to it. My 386 certainly has 
an especially slow drive, so swapping bits of the program in and out leads 
to especially poor performance.

  Doc  N7DR

PS I think that in the next edition of the manual I shall add a caveat to 
the requirements, giving another set of specs that are the practical lower 
bound for CW contests on the stock build. Anyone any idea what those 
requirements ought to be?

PPS I realise that most people are running much faster machines and don't 
see any of these problems. For those of us using old hand-me-downs in the 
shackk, though, these are real issues, so it would be good for the manual 
to provide some practical guidance.




- ----------------------------------------------------------
D.R. Evans N7DR / G4AMJ                      N7DR@arrl.net

A dead lawyer in a Colorado ski resort and an Australian detective 
who doesn't play by the rules: 
   "All Or Nothing" is now available. 
See http://www.sff.net/people/N7DR/drevans.htp for details.
- ----------------------------------------------------------


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