139 lines
6.0 KiB
Plaintext
139 lines
6.0 KiB
Plaintext
MiniSport Laptop Hacker (TM) - Vol #27. June 1995
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To discourage pecuniary interests, Copyright (c) 1995 Brian Mork
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>>> ADMIN
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A compendium of all issues are available from ftp.cs.buffalo.edu as
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\pub\ham-radio\mlhackXX.zip, or on SimTel archives (eg. oak.oakland.edu)
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as \SimTel\msdos\packet\mlhackXX.zip. The XX in the filename indicates
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the last issue number, and replaces the previous convention of using
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mlhacker.zip for all compendiums.
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Notice my email address has changed and the direct dial data line has
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been terminated. The administrative overhead of maintaining
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personalized "electronic superhighway" access has been too much. I'm
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hunkering down, and consolidating all my activity into one commercial
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account just like everybody else. I still only have regional access.
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If you have a recommendation about which national or international
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provider provides the most complete, powerful, and lucid text based
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access to Internet, I would love to hear it.
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January through May have been quiet months - no MLH volumes were issued.
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Sorry about the delay to those of you who asked. No I haven't fallen
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off the face of the earth! February was vacation time for the family,
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driving across this great country one more time to visit friends and
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family. March and April were spent in Alabama at a military "middle
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management" school. May sort of dissolved into a lot of catch-up
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activity, and <poof!> I find it's already June. Time flies! August
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through December I expect to be busy at a military Space Tactics School.
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I'm not sure what network access I've have there. I'm sure I'll bring a
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small packet radio station, but I may not have Internet access.
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>>> AUTOMATED PULLUP FROM THE BOOTSTRAPS
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I don't buy lithium batteries anymore. When the NiCd batteries die, the
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entire RAM disk dies. I've developed some batch files that will rebuild
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the entire environment in under 3 minutes. I've used them for over a
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year, but now they incorporate the Stacker setup discussed in the
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previous issue. First, you need to make a removable disk with the
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following files:
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CONFIG SYS 38 12-30-94 2:48a
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AUTOEXEC BAT 128 12-30-94 2:20a
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STACKER COM 47266 6-27-91 1:12a
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SCREATE COM 2762 6-27-91 1:12a
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SCREXEC EXE 38565 6-27-91 1:12a
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SCREXEC2 EXE 27974 6-27-91 1:12a
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SETUP1 BAT 257 12-30-94 3:18a
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SETUP2 BAT 15 12-30-94 3:05a
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SETUP3 BAT 102 12-30-94 3:16a
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SCHECK EXE 30646 6-27-91 1:12a
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PKUNZIP EXE 23528 3-15-90 16:52p
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UTIL ZIP 84904 12-30-94 12:34a
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Just power up the brain dead minisport (only disk C:), stick in the
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removable disk with these files and enter the command "A:SETUP1". But
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what's in the customized files? Below I list the name, followed by the
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contents of each file that isn't a .COM or .EXE file:
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CONFIG SYS 38 12-30-94 2:48a
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device=d:\stacker.com d:\stacvol.000
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AUTOEXEC BAT 128 12-30-94 2:20a
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@echo off
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echo BjM (InCrea) P autoexec.bat
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path c:\;d:\;e:\util
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prompt $p$g
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verify on
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e:
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set lfbrowse=l
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set lfedit=ed
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SETUP1 BAT 257 12-30-94 3:18a
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c:format d:
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c:label d:
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a:screate d:stacvol.000 /s=1.2 /m
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copy a:config.sys d:\
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copy a:stacker.com d:\
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copy a:setup2.bat d:\autoexec.bat
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copy a:fastwire.cfg d:\
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copy a:scheck.exe d:\
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echo Auto warm boot to recognize disk E: and continue setting up.
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SETUP2 BAT 15 12-30-94 3:05a
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a:\setup3.bat
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SETUP3 BAT 102 12-30-94 3:16a
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e:
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mkdir util
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cd e:\util
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a:pkunzip a:util
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cd \
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c:label e:
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copy a:autoexec.bat d:\
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d:\autoexec
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UTIL ZIP 84904 12-30-94 12:34a
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This file has zipped up version of your favorite utilities you'd like
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copied into a subdirectory on disk E:, with automatic reference via the
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MS-DOS PATH command.
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>>> BREAKING INTO BATTERY PACKS
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A standard ZA-1-2 battery pack is 13.2cm wide, 2.7cm tall, and 5.5cm
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deep. Orient it in front of you so the black round charger connection
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is to the left. The metal contacts are on the bottom, also toward the
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left side of the pack. The manufacturer's label is on the top. If you
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pull loose the manufacturer's label, you can reach into the battery pack
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and touch the thermal cutout switch wired between two of the five series
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cells.
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If you want to do anything else (like replace a cell), you'll have to be
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more aggressive! The top section of the case has an approximately 1mm
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lip that slides down inside the lower case, all around the edge. Use a
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thick blade knife that won't bend. Slip it into the seam around the
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periphery of the pack, push inward and lift the handle of the blade
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upward to crack the glue seal in several places. The goal is to pull
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the lower case away from the inner lip of the upper case. My case had
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only spots of glue - three across the front, three across the back, one
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on the right and one on the left.
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All the cells are lined up on the right side of the pack, next to each
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other, with no space between. The left 1.5cm of the pack contains a
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circuit board containing the three contacts showing on the bottom, the
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board mount charging jack, and a tiny surface mount 0.1uf capacitor. I
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didn't look on the bottom of the board because I'd have to desolder all
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three slide tabs to do so.
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The cells are the same size as a standard C-cell NiCd battery. They all
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have solder tabs. I've had good luck purchasing new batteries from E.F.
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Yost & Co, 2211D Parview Rd, Middleton, WI 53562, 608-831-3443. If you
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replace one battery, replace all five of them using the same brand and
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model of battery. I'm a battery consumer just like you are, and don't
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like buying what I don't need. I even keep all my 1sees and 2sees out
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in the garage. Nevertheless, every time I replace a single cell, I'm
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back into the pack a few months later repeating surgery. My opinion.
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Please provide feedback! * Internet bmork@comtch.iea.com
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* ARO Net KA9SNF@ka7fvv.#ewa.wa.usa
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73, Brian * 6006-B Eaker, Fairchild, WA 99011 USA
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