From: Cottrell, Eric (ecottrell_at_doble.com)
Date: Mon Oct 16 2000 - 11:57:22 EDT
Hello,
No I did not get a 600e, A20, or T20 for $50, that search still continues.
I do like to go to computer shows and ham fleamarkets (my ham call is
WB1HBU).
This last weekend was a double dose of a computer show in Marlborough, Ma
and
the last MIT ham fleamarket of the season (I see another list member goes
there as
well). Some area computer vendors go to both computer and ham events as
computers are very popular at ham fleamarkets.
I have noticed in the past months that thinkpads seem to be showing up more.
Of course there are the older 486 stuff like 750 and 755 (Even 700s and
720s). Lately I
have been seeing more 380s, 385s, and 760s. At MIT there was even a 300 MHz
600 for under $900. Also some Thinkpad accessories are showing up as well.
At the computer show there was a company selling some broken 560s (P133 I
believe) for $80. They were missing stuff like mouse buttons, etc, and did
not
have batteries (or whatever goes in the bottom right area in front). Looks
good for
someone needing a part. In looking over the pile of other Thinkpads (which
is interesting
because they mostly look the same and I had to open them up to get the
model)
I came across a 365XD that looked whole for $50. The guy said it did not
boot
up. I have a 365ED so I have the needed accessories like battery, floppy,
and
AC Adapter. I took a chance. The 365XD is a P120 with a 800x600 TFT screen
compared to a 120 586 (P90 equiv.) DSTN screen. The first thing I noticed
is the
screen did not work so I used a monitor. The unit had what I hoped was a
power-on
password but I could not get it to clear. I finally took out the CMOS
battery for about
10 minutes and I fixed that problem. I found the unit had 24 megs of memory
and
the disk was upgraded to a two GB hard disk. I also found a Megahertz 33.6
modem/10bt lan
combo card in the pcmcia slot. It runs Win95 with about a gig free on the
drive.
Having dealt with display problems with my old 365ED, I popped open the lid
but could
not find anything. I struggled to get the "ad" covers off so I could check
out the other
end of the cable. Part of the cover looks like it should have been removed
as there
is printing with a url and it partly covers over the "real" cover. I found
that this "ad" cover
should not be removed. Anyway I got the covers off and found one of the
display
connectors was partly out of it's socket. After I put it back in place and
reassembled
the unit works.
The only remaining problem was the tendency for the unit to go into suspend.
It seems
switch that is used to suspend when the keyboard is lifted was not being
closed securely.
I put a bandaid on it (literally). I noticed on my 365ED (with a new
Keyboard) that there is
a plastic square in the area of the switch on the 365XD (switch position is
different on
the ED). I also find the mouse buttons need to be pressed harder to make
them work
on the XD so the keyboards may be swapped.
Now I need to get a dongle for my new card. I am going to try my mapping
software on
the XD to see if the 800x600 TFT screen is better when mobile. Not bad for
$50.
73 Eric
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