Date   : Thu, 03 Jun 2010 06:10:43 +0200
From   : rick@... (Rick Murray)
Subject: Borked network

On 02/06/2010 18:27, J.G.Harston wrote:

> I'm in the middle of moving house, and have got enough computer
> kit at the new place to plug it all together and get it working.

Not a bad looking place, but... I dunno... Those energy-saving bulbs 
just always seem out of place wherever they are.


> Plug all the netowkr cables together and everything complains
> about 'Network jammed'. Grrr.

Try unplugging all but the machines you actually need, then knock the 
clock back a bit. You ought to find a rate that provides a slow but 
functional network.

Actually... I'd first unplug everything, then short out pins on one of 
the end-of-the-line sockets using a paperclip, and hook a multimeter to 
the other end of the line to check all is well. A damaged earth line can 
mess things up, and if my old cable was anything to go by, they're 
fairly brittle. Also, prone to disconnection in a socket box if the 
cable was cut and tonked (instead of insulation being stripped, and the 
tonking done with the cable intact).


 > Who went and left the terminators plugged into the network in Sheffield?

:-) I'd be looking up a schematic! It's just a few resistors, right? 
[SJ-style passive terminator] At the very least I'd try to 'salvage' 
resistors to get similar, poke half-paperclips into at least one end 
socket, and twist around the resistors to form a circuit [*]. Solder 
optional, but highly recommended!


 > Working on two kitchen tables just doesn't do it:

For a true geek, any flat surface will do. ;-)



Best wishes,

Rick.

* - It might sound horrendous, but those older ones here will no doubt
     recall that most valve radios were built using stuff kludged
     together with a lot of bare wires; either printed circuit boards had
     not been invented, or they were unsafe at valve operating voltages.
     I also had, a long time ago, a Tektronics dual trace storage scope,
     also valve era, that was simply astonishing inside. Racks and racks
     of... I don't know how to describe it. Two rods of ceramic that had
     gold pits. Components were strung across like a ladder. All arranged
     so there were rather fewer flying leads than you'd think. Many of
     the components had gold legs. It was a real work of art, it's a
     shame it gave up the ghost, was too heavy to bring over (even dead)
     and I never got photos of the inside.
     But, um, yes. PCBs are for wimps. :-)

-- 
Rick Murray, eeePC901 & ADSL WiFI'd into it, all ETLAs!
BBC B: DNFS, 2 x 5.25" floppies, EPROM prog, Acorn TTX
E01S FileStore, A3000/A5000/RiscPC/various PCs/blahblah...