1237c9ae9bee
tech



Hello Roy - 

RJT>> I've been fussing around with the linux box, looking at
RJT>> what I have to do to get a router/firewall going. One of
RJT>> the things I wanted to do was to get the silly box
RJT>> talking to the modem. So after fiddling with setserial
RJT>> and other stuff, telling CMOS to enable the first serial
RJT>> port, etc. I hooked that modem up and tried to get a
RJT>> response out of it. 

RJT>> Nothing. 

RJT>> So I took a look at the ribbon cables. The one for the
RJT>> port I was trying to use (the 9-pin one) was connected to
RJT>> a pin header, and I'm not sure what that one's for -- USB
RJT>> maybe? There were also a couple labeled COM1 and COM2,
RJT>> with *nothing* connected to the former, and the 25-pin
RJT>> port connected to the latter. 

RJT>> Also a parallel port connector in there, empty. Guess I
RJT>> gotta fix that one of these days if I ever hope to hook
RJT>> up a printer to this machine! 

RJT>> And in the middle was the one for the floppy cable. I
RJT>> pulled that one out, to get it out of the way, fixed the
RJT>> others, and then spend an absurd amount of time trying to
RJT>> bring the system up only to see "Floppy Drive(s) Fail" on
RJT>> the bootup screen. 

RJT> > :-( 

RJT>> Got it off by one row, off by one pin, all sorts of
RJT>> nonsense,  and if I have a choice the next time I buy a
RJT>> MB, I WANT SHROUDED CONNECTORS SO I CAN AVOID THIS
RJT>> NONSENSE! :-) 

RJT>> Then after all that, the serial port _STILL_ isn't
RJT>> working. Not ever having used them in this box, with this
RJT>> MB, I'm now now sure any more whether these ribbon cables
RJT>> are the ones that are supposed to go with the MB or not. 

RJT>> At that stage I gave up on messing with that machine,
RJT>> hooked the modem up to the other one instead, ftp'd
RJT>> minicom over there, and got a response out of the modem.
RJT>> I'll fiddle with it there for now, look at doc files on
RJT>> the other machine, and we'll see how it goes from here. 

RJT>> Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to mess with the
RJT>> hardware any more... 

What I'm reading tells me that the heat you have been
mentioning in that room that is excessive is affecting you.
Humidity may be interfering with the connections of various
wires and cables (water is a catalyst for corrosion and so is
heat). 

In the shops where tooling is being constructed to very close
tolerances a wise supervisor remains aware of these factors and
like it or not must accept lower productivity to prevent
destroying an otherwise good project on those days when the
heat is excessive. People must slow down and take greater care.
Check, check again, and then check one more time and it's very
frustrating but necessary when the heat is beating you down. 

In the patternshops where I served my apprenticeship the air
conditioning would sometimes get carried away and we would need
to wear flannel shirts in mid-summer to be comfortable.  The
entire shop was air conditioned, not just the offices. :-)

>
>        ,                          ,
>      o/      Charles.Angelich      \o       ,
>       __o/
>     / >          USA, MI           < \   __\__
 

___ * ATP/16bit 2.31 * 
... DOS the Ghost in the Machine! http://www.undercoverdesign.com/dosghost/

--- Maximus/2 3.01