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ToolboxThu, Jun 14, 2001; by Inge Johannessen.electronics All updates while on the road are done with the following pieces of equipment, all of which of course will have to work together:
Canon Digital Ixus camera, connected via cable to the USB port (when transferring pics) Nokia 6210 GSM phone, home network is the Norwegian company Telenor. The Nokia has an inbuilt modem, I connect it to the Toshiba via the COM port and the so-called DLR-3P cable, this since my laptop lacks an infrared port. The Nokia 6210 supports so-called HSCSD, which has the interesting effect that the dataline will use up to 4 GSM channels, and is therefore able to connect at speeds up to 55kbs. It makes a difference. Unfortunately not many GSM networks support the service, which according to Ericsson is very simple to set up, a software change to the GSM base stations is all that is needed. Apart from with my Norwegian home network Telenor, I have used HSCSD with Orange UK, KPN Orange in Belgium, and with Türkcell in Turkey! The only network that I could use high speed with on this trip, has been KPN-Orange Belgium. None in Holland supports the service (also not KPN), and none in France. When on a not HSCSD capable network the speed I get is the usual 9600 bps. When I have access to a fixed phone line I update myself. For Internet connection, I use free Internet service providers that I have collected over the years, most of them are listed on web-sites that list free ISPs. The quality varies a lot, and it is worth testing out a few to see how they work in practice. If you are interested in usenet (which I am), some even do not support newsgroups, or at least do that in a way that does not work. For Holland I am using myweb.nl, and for France freesurf.fr. They both work very well and are free. And of course I set up these accounts in outlook express, and access my normal (Norwegian account) via POP3 connection. The above (including chargers, extra phone cables and what have you) fill one of the large pannier bags. bike maintenance I have not bothered to bring extra spokes and also not a freewheel remover, this is mainly because I was not able to find a freewheel remover that worked while in Holland; and also because I have had the bike now for about 10 years and never lost a spoke. The wheels are built like fortresses with extra thick spokes. There is of course an element of risk in not having spoke spare parts, but that is the situation. Apart from that I have tools for fixing most things. Spare parts are:
the old gear system (does not handle all gears, but should be OK as spare) double set of gear wires double set of brake wires one spare 27 * 1/4 tire one spare inner tube toolbox for fixing punctures The above fills most of one of the front pannier bags.
Dear Sir,
I found your article regarding connection to the internet via a mobile phone, because I'm having difficulty doing it myself.
I to own a Nokia 6210 (as of yesterday) and have a Dell 5000e Inspiron which has an IR port. Trouble is, so far I can get the ISP's number to be dialed on the Phone, but I think it's missing the dial tone normally needed. I also attempted to ring the ISP just using the mobile, and it didn't work, I just get a wrong number noise.
I'd be grateful for any comments or suggestions you may be able to make, as this is really annoying me!
Look forward to hearing from you and have a happy new year.
All the best,
Chris
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Last update: Thursday, June 14, 2001 at 10:02:54 PM. |
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