[GTALUG] computer hardware testing tools.

[Karen Lewellen]

More terrific information, thanks for providing  these details.
One thing I would love to find, but am unsure where to look, is the 
technical repair manuals for the reading edge.
That is because there is an entire set of onboard diagnostic tools, 
including  ones that test the port connection from  the side of the edge 
itself.
I would absolutely not play with these without the manuals, its the only 
path I have to  reading print and using a computer.
No on the characters, they are not showing on screen, and overflow the 
character buffer when they reach the edge, so I clear them.  Its random 
circumflex and letters and run together spoken stuff.
My thought was power  because my computer sometimes freezes as well.
Based on your wisdom here, I am going to go with the actual surge 
protector  avenue..and wait for  a 
better  idea UPS wise.
Truly wish I had a way to test my serial port outside of the reading edge 
too, that way I would know which is the issue.
Thanks,
Karen


On Wed, 19 Jul 2023, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:

> Thanks for more description of your device problems.
>
> I take it that a "sudden spark in speach" is a click or a pop.  That's not
> going to be part of the signal from serial port.
>
> Garbled text sent to your synthesizer needs more analysis.  That also
> isn't a typical serial signal error caused by power.  Computers with bad
> power mostly crash.
>
> Does your synth log the input anywhere?  Can you go back and review what
> the input was when the output was garbled?
>
> I'm not expert in UPSes.  I think that any under $100 are quite limited in
> capacity.  My guess is that $200 would get you one of suitable capacity.
>
> Here's an inexpensive one that would work but only for very small loads
> (like a modem):
> <https://www.amazon.ca/SCHNEIDER-ELECTRIC-APC-Protector-BE425M/dp/B01HDC236Q/ref=sr_1_5>
> I think that has hard to replace batteries too.
>
> There are a lot of things to know about UPSes.
>
> - is the output waveform a square wave, a rough approximatin of a sine
>  wave, or a sine wave?  Some devices care and some don't.
>
> - what kind of power filtering / conditioning does the unit provide?
>
> - how much wattage (affects the load you can put on it)
>
> - how much capacity does it have?  (affects how long devices can run
>  during a blackout)
>
> | From: Karen Lewellen via talk <talk at gtalug.org>
> | To: D. Hugh Redelmeier <hugh at mimosa.com>, GTALUG Talk <talk at gtalug.org>
> | Cc: Karen Lewellen <klewellen at shellworld.net>
> | Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2023 08:48:52 -0400 (EDT)
> | Subject: Re: [GTALUG] computer hardware testing tools.
> |
> | The feedback  term was provided by one of the folks helping me troubleshoot.
> | How I am tracking this is  based on what happens to my  reading edge, which
> | has its own set of diagnostic tools.
> | The errors are serial port related, sudden sparks in speech, garbled text sent
> | to  my synthesizer, which seem to coincide with say someone  making a power
> | change upstairs.
> | I am on my second computer experiencing the problem,  with the edge itself
> | perfectly fine.
> | Since power flow is the only factor I can influence, and I am having other
> | power issues elsewhere in the space, I want to address that first to the best
> | of my ability.
> | So, let me translate this into short term or mid term options.
> | Keeping in mind that I must install any choice myself are there say on amazon
> | Canada,
> | 1. a UPS unit less than $100 that  is small, just for my office stuff that I
> | can simply plug in, without knowing anything about the circuits?  or
> | B, a better quality surge protector  / power bar, that might help short term,
> | again below $100?
> | thanks,
> | Kare
>
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