Well, it's come round to that time again, when the shack laptop had to be replaced with a modern unit. The old HP notebook has done very well for about seven years but is now just a little too slow for comfort.
Inevitably, a lot of software installed over the years is no longer really in use. FLdigi, which I used a lot at one time with keyboard-keyboard modes like OLIVIA, hasn't been opened since the FT8 revolution and the consequent collapse in anyone much to exchange messages with. So I guess that won't be replaced for the time being.
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| New laptop! It's not much of a shack, as we don't plan on staying at this location very long. |
WSJT-X, of course, had to be installed on the new machine. Whilst this was easy, I did encounter a strange glitch at the end of a FT8 transmission, where the laptop would key the rig off at the correct moment, but then momentarily key it on again. The messages weren't affected, but it was irritating
I thought the system sounds might be involved, but it was in fact down to the sound level setting on the computer for the USB soundcard output (I'm still using the excellent ZLP Electronics units, though my newer interfaces are Digilink Nano) was too high. Reducing this to around 20% of maximum output solved the problem entirely.
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| No power-hungry laptops for /p! Raspberry Pi is the solution here. |
And there we go! Back to normal on the laptop front, even though most of my activity is now /p from the car on the beach, or a backpack, which uses a Raspberry Pi. Sadly, with the current post-pandemic supply problems, you'll be hard-pressed to find much of any of the aforementioned items in stock!
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