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NSARC Club Meeting 11/8/2010
HAM and Chips
! About me" Bas Rijniersce, VE7RIJ" Licensed April 2008 (NSARC Basic Course)" Working with computers since age 8" Earning money in Information Technology (IT) since 1996" My hobby is also my work
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NSARC Club Meeting 21/8/2010
What is a PC
! Wikipedia, December 2009“A personal computer (PC) is any general-purpose
computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator”
! No restrictions on form factor" “Normal” desktop" Laptop" Netbook" Handheld
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NSARC Club Meeting 31/8/2010
What is a PC: Some examples
! Gaming PC" Custom built" Expensive" Lot’s of cooling" Lights!
! This machine is built by Alienware (now Dell)
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NSARC Club Meeting 41/8/2010
What is a PC: Some examples
! Standard PC" Cheap" Commodity" Wide range of capabilities
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NSARC Club Meeting 51/8/2010
What is a PC: Some examples
! Lots of special “PC’s”
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NSARC Club Meeting 61/8/2010
What do I find inside
! What we find in a PC" Motherboard" Power supply (PSU)" RAM" CPU (with cooler)" Hard disk" Video Card
! That is a short list, nice and easy then?
! Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
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NSARC Club Meeting 71/8/2010
What do I find inside
! XT, AT, ATX, Mini-ITX, Nano-ITX, BTX
! PC Main, ATX12V, Molex, mini molex, SATA, 6-pin
! DDR, DDR2, DDR3, SO-DIMM, PC2100, PC2700
! Intel, AMD, Socket F, S754, AM2, LGA1156, Core2
! SATA, PATA, SSD
! ATI/AMD, Intel, nVidia, HD5750, 9800GT, GTX260
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NSARC Club Meeting 81/8/2010
Let’s have a look inside
! Motherboard
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NSARC Club Meeting 91/8/2010
Let’s have a look inside
! CPU
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NSARC Club Meeting 101/8/2010
Let’s have a look inside
! Hard disk" PATA
" SATA
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NSARC Club Meeting 111/8/2010
How to choose components
! CPU is the main choice" Select a dual core CPU (my personal preference is intel Core 2)" One core for Operating System, one core for user processes" CPU choice limits motherboard choices (ie Core2 = LGA775)
! Memory" Type determined by chip/motherboard choice" At least 2 gigabyte, 4 is not that more expensive
! Harddisk" SATA is current standard" Even smallest disk is big enough" 7200 RPM" SSD (Solid State) is getting affordable and provides a major boost to
responsiveness
! Videocard" Irrelevant unless you plan high end games (no Solitaire does not count!)
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NSARC Club Meeting 121/8/2010
Interface to radio
! Generally two interfaces needed" Audio interface" Radio control interface
! Audio interface is generally the AUX port of your radio to the soundcard in your PC
! Radio control interface is generally from the CAT port of radio to the COM port in your PC
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NSARC Club Meeting 131/8/2010
All standardized
! NO!! !" Every radio manufacturer has it’s own CAT
command set" Every radio has it’s own CAT pin-out and
port (although more similarities there)" Every radio has it’s own audio pin-out and
port (although more similarities there)
! But interfaces exist to make our life easier" Rigblaster by West Mountain
Radio probably most commonly used
" Several products available
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NSARC Club Meeting 141/8/2010
Rigblaster example
! Rigblaster Plug and Play" Audio interface" CAT interface" Supplies virtual comport
! Left side is USB (black plug) and audio
! Right side is audio cable! Right side is radio
specific CAT cable (not shown)
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NSARC Club Meeting 151/8/2010
Upper Side Band?
! USB = Universal Serial Bus! Used to connect peripherals
" Mouse" Keyboard" Digital camera’s" Hard drives
! Different plugs! Can supply 5V @ 500mA (2.5W)“buspower”! USB 2 = 480 Mbit/s (USB Hi-speed)! USB 3 = 3200 Mbit/s (USB Super-speed)! Cable max 5mtr, max 32 devices
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NSARC Club Meeting 161/8/2010
COM ports
! Most new PC’s do not have a “real” com port anymore
! Most radio’s do not yet come with a USB connection for CAT
! You need to buy a USB – Serial adapter in order to connect your radio (or an interface like Rigblaster P & P)
! I have good experience with Startech line of products
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NSARC Club Meeting 171/8/2010
Audio ports
! Most PC’s have a built in audio card
! Quality of these cards generally not to good
! Adding a second (better quality interface) has other benefits" Windows sounds go to primary
audio interface and not your radio" If a USB interface, can be moved
between PC’s
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NSARC Club Meeting 181/8/2010
How to make it all work
! Experiment, Experiment, Experiment
! Ask questions during club meetings
! We are looking into adding a forum section to the NSARC website as a way to ask/answer questions
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NSARC Club Meeting 191/8/2010
Questions / Demonstration