Free42 is a free, open source emulator of the HP42S scientific calculator. The 42S is a nice little RPN, scientific calculator that got me through my engineering education. Well, a sharp programmer by the name of Thomas Okken has written this nice emulator that runs on your PC (as well as Macs, Pocket PCs, Palm Pilots, and the Sharp Zaurus).
Click the link below to find out how to get and install this neat calculator.
Here is a neat video that I came across about how radio works. It is from 1937 and made by CBS and sponsored by General Motors. I think the animations are great for being made in 1937.
The heavy and large (but inexpensive) HP Laserjet 4Si
Up to this point, our main computer printer has been a HP Photosmart D5360 inkjet. It is a very nice printer, but as you probably know, the price of ink is outrageous. I refill my own ink cartridges, which helps; but, that is a pain, and the whole deal is still expensive.
99 percent of what we print, does not need to be done with color. My boss bought an old laser printer from the state surplus, and it works great to print those everyday things that don’t have to be in color. Yesterday, I went to the monthly state surplus garage sale and picked up a huge behemoth old HP Laserjet 4Si laser printer for twenty bucks. It also included a new toner cartridge that was still in the box. I figured, if it happened to work, it was a steal with the extra cartridge included. I found prices for used Laserjet 4Si’s on the Internet for $400 to $550 dollars refurbished, depending on what accessories were included. This printer has the duplex module, and high speed parallel interface modules included, along with 8 megabytes of RAM.
I got some help putting it into my car. When I got home, I used a hand truck to haul it into the house, and into our “library” where our family compter is located. I dug around my junk box and found a centronics style parallel printer cable (since this computer interfaced with a parallel port), and plugged it in. The printer seemed to power up correctly, and my hope rose.
I do not run the Windows operating system on our home computers. They run on UbuntuLinux. I ran the printer configuration utility on Ubuntu, and it immediately recognized the printer as an HP Laserjet 4Si, and downloaded the proper driver for it. Wow, “it just worked”!
I ran some test pages, and the printer ran perfectly. Other than the paper cost, now my kids can print the stuff they want to print, and we have enough toner to last the life time of the printer.
I found the user manual on the Internet. This printer prints on both sides, has slots for two paper trays. I have two “letter” size trays and a “legal” size tray that will fit in it. It has a slot for hand fed items like envelopes. What a deal! We have a small table with a lamp on it next to our computer operating desk. The printer fit nicely on the floor under the table.
Our HP Laserjet 4Si in our Library
Now, we can print all the stuff we want to, and use the more expensive inkjet printer when we need a nice color report or photo. If you need an inexpensive printer for day to day printing, consider one of those old laser printers you see at that garage sale or auction. If you can get it working, it will be well worth it. John.
I spent a couple of days on the roads in Eastern Montana. While out there, I spotted this old abandoned house with a tower attached to it. It is just begging to be put to good use once again. And, I would be willing to be the one to put it to good use. I’m not sure how I could find the owner, or how I would get it across the state; but it is something to keep my mind occupied for awhile anyway. Click on the picture to see a larger view. Then, click on the little green arrow at the bottom of the picture to see the picture at full zoom. John
If you frequent McDougallsHome.net, you may have seen the widget displayed above. What is this “Ubuntu 8.10″ thing?
Your computer, that you are looking at right now, has an “operating system” that controls the computer and runs the programs you want to run. On your computer, the operating system is probably Windows XP or Windows Vista. Ten percent of computers have an operating system called OS X. Those computers are Macs. Besides Windows and OS X, there are many other operating systems out there. One such system is called Linux. A few percent of personal computers have Linux on them. Ubuntu is a type of Linux and the computers in our house all have Ubuntu on them.
A new version of Ubuntu Linux is about to be released. It is version 8.10, meaning 2008, and the 10th month. This version representation is very nice when trying to determine what version of Ubuntu one has.
The neat thing about Ubuntu and most other Linux version, is that it is FREE. And almost all the programs that run on it are FREE. It is also EXTREMELY EASY to install new programs and to delete old ones. With the help of a free program called Compiz, the Desktop environment (what you see on the screen) is WAY COOL, with multiple desktops, that rotate from one to another. It has many special effects that are just plain neat! Click the picture of my desktop above to see what it looks like.
Linux is also a safer operating system. Mostly because only a percentage of computer users use Linux, it is not a big target for virus’s and other bad stuff that happens so often on Windows computers. Our kids love it too.
So, I am excited about the new version of Ubuntu that is about to come out. If you are tired of expensive software, and bad malware, and want a cool looking desktop, try out Ubuntu.
I recently went to Moldova on a short term missions trip. While there, I found a nice 24 hour clock for sale. It is very large with the digits nearly two inches high, and the digits are very bright. Although, it is wired with a European 240 Volt plug on it, it works fine on our 120 Volt, 60 Hz power. It is a nice new addition to the Ham Radio Shack.
The 240 Volt European style plug will have to be changed.
I don’t normally copy posts from other blogs, but I thought this one was worth mentioning. This is from the ARRL web site at http://arrl.org
On Sunday, September 21, Bob Williams, N7ODM, of
Bozeman, Montana, was just tuning around on 40 meters, giving his rig a
test just before a scheduled QSO with his brother Rich, K7URU, in
Spokane, when he heard a faint CW signal around 1 PM (MDT): Glenn
Russell Ruby Jr, W7AU, of Corvallis, Oregon had broken his leg and was
using a portable radio and Morse code to send out a call for help.
Williams said he was able to understand the injured man’s code even
when his signal became very weak. Click Here for Full Story at ARRL.org
Tags: ARRL, Ham Radio, N7ODM, W7AU
Click the picture to see more of this Montgomery Ward Airline Radio
I love to collect old radio items. I don’t really go out of my way to find them, but when they find me, I am very interested in picking them up if they are not too hard on my bank account. I found this beauty at a garage sale today. There were a couple of other radios there also, but I have a family to feed so I purchased only one. The radio was from Montgomery Wards and has the label “Airline” on the back. I have not had a chance to really dig into the innards or look for information about the radio yet. The radio is a dual bander consisting of the broadcast band and the shortwave band from 5.75 to 17 Mhz. Click the picture to see a slide show of the details. If you know anything about this radio, please leave me a comment.
Linux HowTos and Gadget Reviews: How To Install Free42 in Ubuntu
I don’t normally copy posts from other blogs, but I thought this one was worth mentioning. This is from the ARRL web site at 
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