Computer for programming (DOS) HT1000, Sabers, etc...

[4-crime]

I was wondering if anyone knows where to pick up an old laptop with DOS on it for programming my old Sabers and HT1000's or if anyone has one that they are looking to get rid of. My toshiba t1910 crapped out on me. I checked eBay but I really didn't see anything. Any help you guys can give is much appreciated!

 

[rescue161]

Older laptops are getting tough to find in good shape. The hinges on all but one of mine are now broken. I guess plastic really isn't meant to last a lifetime...lol The one that is not broken is a Toshiba Tecra 8000. It programs everything I throw at it. I have it configured as a dual-boot to DOS & Windows 2000. It is SLOW in Windows 2000 for things like CPS, but works great in DOS for RSS. I did get a Toughbook and it seems to work fine too to program the older radios in pure DOS. It works a lot better on the CPS radios too as it has a fairly fast processor.

What exactly crapped out on your laptop? You could probably replace it with an older Toughbook and only run DOS.

 

[scaseyjordan]

Used Laptop/Computer DOS Compatible...

Check Value Village, Goodwill, Salvation Army. They often have 2nd and 3rd generation Pentium based CPUs for a few bucks. They might not have hard drives, but they could be fixed up. Also check with eCyclers in your area. Ecycling is becoming large business now and most have so many units they willl just give you one with no hard drive.

 

[4-crime]

Thanks for the tips guys. I will hunt around.
I don't really know what happend to my t1910. When I turn it on it boots up than a screen pops up that says exception 6. Your computer has attempted to execute an invalid instruction due to an error in one of your programs, a conflict between programs, or a conflict between a program and a hardware device. It also says press T to terminate the program or R to reboot. I tried both of those things and even turned the comp on and off again but this still pops up. I am not able to access anything on the computer.

 

[mancow]

Make a dos boot usb stick and you can use a newer computer. I use a 1.1 gig CF18 Toughbook for everything except ancient X9000 stuff, even sabers. The key is having a real 9 pin comport which is rare these days.

 

[rescue161]

Yep, real serial port as mancow suggested. Even the CF30 that have has a real serial port.

 

[wsykes41770]

You might want to check a few pawn shops. I've seen several older laptops in pawn shops over the years at pretty reasonable prices. Most of them were $150 or less.

 

[RCMA]

I was wondering if anyone knows where to pick up an old laptop with DOS on it for programming my old Sabers and HT1000's or if anyone has one that they are looking to get rid of. My toshiba t1910 crapped out on me. I checked eBay but I really didn't see anything. Any help you guys can give is much appreciated!

You can check with local PC repair shops, let them know to call you if they get hold of an old PC. These 386, 486, P1, P2's are not going to be in stock at most shops, they can't make money on them. Yard sales will always find you an older PC. Even flea markets I've gone to have a few vendors with them.

eBay is your best bet. The last few yrs I've seen the amt of older PC's become quite small and many no longer are in very good shape, broken hinges, missing parts, etc... If you are patient and willing to buy something other than a Toshiba you'll find a good condition laptop. Took me two weeks of searching numerous times a day to find an almost mint condition PC that will run DOS and scanners well

Also ask relatives and neighbors if they have or know someone who has an old PC. I found several this way. You might want to look into the error msg you get on your PC, maybe you can just reload the OS to fix it. If it's hardware then you have a whole 'nother issue to deal with.

This is "sick" - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Working-Tos...081?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b6bad089 He wants $1000 for the same PC you have! Gotta be a typo!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toshiba-Sat...848?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c6207af68 Is this one any good to U? Still quite pricey for a 486 PC but he has a Best Offer option. Look at Micron, Gateway, Libretto, HP, Compaq for older PC's. There were a bunch of laptops made back in the day that had slow processors. eBay has tons of them but you need to use the right search parameters to find them.

Check your township and County recycle centers to see if they will allow you access to the recycled PC's they've taken in. There are also a few "Green" PC recycle stores on the Web, you might get lucky.

 

[MTS2000des]

You can check with local PC repair shops, let them know to call you if they get hold of an old PC. These 386, 486, P1, P2's are not going to be in stock at most shops, they can't make money on them. Yard sales will always find you an older PC. Even flea markets I've gone to have a few vendors with them.

eBay is your best bet. The last few yrs I've seen the amt of older PC's become quite small and many no longer are in very good shape, broken hinges, missing parts, etc... If you are patient and willing to buy something other than a Toshiba you'll find a good condition laptop. Took me two weeks of searching numerous times a day to find an almost mint condition PC that will run DOS and scanners well

Also ask relatives and neighbors if they have or know someone who has an old PC. I found several this way. You might want to look into the error msg you get on your PC, maybe you can just reload the OS to fix it. If it's hardware then you have a whole 'nother issue to deal with.

This is "sick" - Working Toshiba T1910 Antique Computer/ Laptop | eBay He wants $1000 for the same PC you have! Gotta be a typo!

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices Is this one any good to U? Still quite pricey for a 486 PC but he has a Best Offer option. Look at Micron, Gateway, Libretto, HP, Compaq for older PC's. There were a bunch of laptops made back in the day that had slow processors. eBay has tons of them but you need to use the right search parameters to find them.

Check your township and County recycle centers to see if they will allow you access to the recycled PC's they've taken in. There are also a few "Green" PC recycle stores on the Web, you might get lucky.

those epay sellers are turds. this stuff isn't made of gold. at the end of the day, they are antiquated computers that are still plentiful.

one good source of older laptops are hamfests and computer shows. and you have the added bonus (unlike epay) of powering it up and seeing it work BEFORE you hand over your money. I picked up several 1910's for $20 a piece at the Atlanta hamfest last year, all of them worked fine (except for the batteries). Just sold my last one on Batlabs to a fellow ham.

the biggest concern is the hard drives, which are getting senior by today's standards. finding IDE hard drives, let alone the small 40-120MB ones these machines will accept, is going to be the next challenge. The older hard drives don't have the lifespan of modern drives.

good thing most RSS can run off a floppy disk.

 

[4-crime]

Thanks for all the tips guys! I actually just picked one up on eBay for 46 Bucks with shipping.

HP OMNIBOOK 4000CT RARE AND COLLECTIBLE LAPTOP. 100% WORKING | eBay

This should do the trick!

 

[4-crime]

You can check with local PC repair shops, let them know to call you if they get hold of an old PC. These 386, 486, P1, P2's are not going to be in stock at most shops, they can't make money on them. Yard sales will always find you an older PC. Even flea markets I've gone to have a few vendors with them.

eBay is your best bet. The last few yrs I've seen the amt of older PC's become quite small and many no longer are in very good shape, broken hinges, missing parts, etc... If you are patient and willing to buy something other than a Toshiba you'll find a good condition laptop. Took me two weeks of searching numerous times a day to find an almost mint condition PC that will run DOS and scanners well

Also ask relatives and neighbors if they have or know someone who has an old PC. I found several this way. You might want to look into the error msg you get on your PC, maybe you can just reload the OS to fix it. If it's hardware then you have a whole 'nother issue to deal with.

This is "sick" - Working Toshiba T1910 Antique Computer/ Laptop | eBay He wants $1000 for the same PC you have! Gotta be a typo!

Toshiba Satellite T1960CT 486 laptop computer | eBay Is this one any good to U? Still quite pricey for a 486 PC but he has a Best Offer option. Look at Micron, Gateway, Libretto, HP, Compaq for older PC's. There were a bunch of laptops made back in the day that had slow processors. eBay has tons of them but you need to use the right search parameters to find them.

Check your township and County recycle centers to see if they will allow you access to the recycled PC's they've taken in. There are also a few "Green" PC recycle stores on the Web, you might get lucky.

Yes I saw that laptop on eBay for 1000 bucks! That has to be a joke! If not, that's crazy!

 

[dgruver911]

Trying to build up laptop for HT1000 programming

On a somewhat related note, wonder if anyone has any ideas...

I have a Panasonic CF-47 (Win98 booting to DOS by default) that I use to program the several remaining HT1000's we have in the County. Wanted to build up a backup in case the primary died, but running into a problem. I have 2 spares that we still had around here from former MDT use. I have tried DOS 6.2 and Windows 98, both with the same result. The RSS does not see the RIB box, and when connected to the com port the rib data light is lit solid as long as the computer is in DOS mode. Under Win98 if you go into windows the RIB light goes out, but RSS it still can't see the RIB. Any thoughts?

 

[hhrj]

Check the bios setup to see if the com port is enabled. During boot the key to press for bios should be indicated on the screen. If the com port is enabled then boot to Win98 and go to system, device manager, com ports. You may see a warning sign that the device is not available or does not have the drivers installed. Check the port settings.

In dos you can also use Mode to set up the com port, type MODE COM1:9600,N,8,1 enter.
Then try running the rss.

Good luck,
Ron