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