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[TenTec] New Computer

To: tentec@contesting.com
Subject: [TenTec] New Computer
From: Jim Brown <k9yc@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Reply-to: k9yc@arrl.net, Discussion of Ten-Tec Equipment <tentec@contesting.com>
Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2017 12:39:21 -0700
List-post: <mailto:tentec@contesting.com>
On 10/28/2017 11:21 AM, denton sprague wrote:
am due for a new one here and am wondering which one with its power supply is 
least likely to create rfi.

Over the last 20 years, I've owned at least 6 different generations of T-series Thinkpads. All have been pretty well behaved with respect to RFI, but I do recall having a problem with weak signal work on 2M with one of them in a very quiet environment. I DO wind AC and DC cables for the PSU through #31 cores, and I do the same with extension video cables. BTW -- wired Ethernet cables also radiate noise at both HF and VHF. So do internet modems and WiFi routers. Chokes can suppress the HF and 6M components, but you may need to get serious if the cables are close to antennas.

Note that these comments are based on having computers in close proximity to antennas in very quiet locations for county expeditions, and with a 160M vertical right outside my shack. If something in the shack is noisy, I'll hear it on that antenna!

The last time I studied consumer product reviews (a year or two ago), Thinkpads scored near the top for reliability, and I've gotten good warranty service the few times I've needed it. Documentation is very good -- both user manuals and service manuals are online. Accessories are also widely available, but are fairly expensive. I've bought genuine Lenovo docking stations and port extenders from the big auction site for 30-50% of retail cost. Some new, some off lease.

Lenovo has a website and sells direct. I strongly suggest that you study their product line and look for their occasional sales. I've bought five laptops that way over a period of 6-8 years, and always at a discount of at least 20%. That shack computer was at a discount of about 50%

BTW -- the last time I bought a computer that wasn't a laptop was about 1999, and it was a loaded 2-processor Dell running Win2K. A major virtue of laptops is their built-in battery backup! UPSs tend to be RFI generators, and most go through batteries because they overcharge them.

73, Jim K9YC



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