KVM switch

[Tim S]

Andy Dingley coughed up some electrons that declared:

Not forgetting duty cycle - the more "pro" ones will go longer without cutting out, but for DIY it's not so much of an issue.

I agree on the wire feed - nothing worse than a stuttery wire.

I think I used CO2 exclusively. I was so impressed compared to my abortive efforts with sticks that I was happy.

Mine was a low end Cebora - and it was *very* reliable. Nice wire feed speed control and current control gave repeatable results.

I do empathise with Dave though - rusty car thickness steel is probably the hardest. Landrover chassis is more pleasant and a bit of 1/8" angle is very satisfying.

Cheers

Tim

[John Rumm]

Have a look at the Rextron ones. They do some USB/PS2 hybrid jobbies that can handle both. I use a 4 way dual head switch from them and the video quality is very good. The only annoyance I find (and it will probably be quite handy for you) is the switch combination is - which can be a bit awkward on some games...

[John Rumm]

The keyboard actually generates separate key down and key up scan codes each time you press or release a key.

[John Rumm]

I plug the phone into the computer for sending texts! ;-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Intersting. Didn't notice that function on the Nokia suite.

I have an ancient prog that lets you send text via dial up. Confuses the other end as you can't do a reply to it. ;-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Ah - that's interesting. I bought it secondhand off Ebay with no instructions - just the existing keystrokes needed.

[Roger Mills]

Sadly, I don't think you can change the 'hot' key. I've got a Belkin KVM, which I haven't used for a while but have still got the instructions. From memory I thought you *could* change the key sequence - but, on re-looking, I can't find any reference to it.

On reflection, it would probably need a DIP switch or similar or enable a different key sequence to be selected.

[John Rumm]

Its in the sony ericcccsssssonn one - like a mail app with inbox, outbox etc. Might be worth grabbing the latest version of your software and seeing if it has something similar.

It was quite handy when sending instructions to the SiL the other day on resurrecting her mac after it disappeared up its own tail pipe. It made it easy to paste detailed instructions and stuff into a text that was six SMSes long etc,

Yup, there are some web sites that will also let you send SMS as well.

[Mike Barnes]

It's there, and has been in every version I've used over the years. On the version I currently have (7.1.18.0) it's File: Message then click on the envelope-and-star icon. If you haven't found it before I can't say I'm surprised because Nokia PC Suite is one of the trashiest pieces of PC software I've come across.

What surprises me is that there aren't any landline phones with QWERTY keyboards for texts. Perhaps someone can post how to make one?

[Adrian C]

Amstrad Emailer thingy

190329928929

[Mike Barnes]

I've got one as it happens. But it doesn't send texts, at least not in any useful sense. It dials a premium-rate number and connects to an Amserve modem which accepts your text and sends it out from some weird number, causing great damage to your phone bill and confusion to the recipient.

But the QWERTY keyboard is *great* for accessing the phone book. I've never come across anything anywhere near as good. Which is why I continue to use it as an ordinary phone despite the fact that it insists on dialling that premium-rate phone number every ten days. And if anyone could come up with a DIY solution to *that* problem, I'd also be interested.

[Owain]

If you've got fewer than 50 numbers then a Trent (or a Tyne) would do the job nicely. One-touch access to dial the number.

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[Dave Plowman (News)]

Ah - great. The Ebay one should be here next week so I'll get back to you if it doesn't work. Thanks very much for the offer, Huge.