Best Linux newsgroup?

[Joerg]

On 2019-08-27 14:36, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:

tirsdag den 27. august 2019 kl. 01.37.01 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:
On 2019-08-26 16:17, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 27. august 2019 kl. 00.56.15 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:
On 2019-08-26 14:22, pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if
a Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in
Linux but that maybe just isolated cases.

You could maybe run Windows in a VM--that way you can probably make
the virtualized HW something Signalhound can cope with.


It doesn't work because of USB latencies. Many people have tried, failed
and even the Signalhound engineers said it can't be done. Those guys
leave a very knowlegeable impression.


I mostly run Qubes 4.02, which is a privacy/security-oriented Xen
distro with VM support for Fedora, Debian, Whonix, and Windows. Good
medicine.


I might do something similar, maybe Virtual Box because I've used it in
the past, if it turns out that I can't get the scanner part of my office
printer going via WINE. The Linux driver does not support that part of
the machine. Then it seems Linux has a problem with various microscope
cameras and such. Cheese as well as Webcamoid either do not recognize
any of them or just one and then no data transmission. So that may need
Windows in a VM. Probably XP because then I don't have to buy another
Win 7 license. I got lots of XP licenses. Seems MS wants to charge extra
if it runs in a VM in addition to dual-boot.

Then there is the Labjack, SCADA and so on. I opened a large can or
worms with this Linux transition but now I am committed. Because I am
not a computer guru I started well before the big precipice in January.


a refurb lenovo with 8GB ram and a windows license is few $100


I rather not have a laptop at the lab bench. What I have now is really
space-saving. A desktop deep under the bench, no chance to even bang up
a knee, the monitor hovers 10" above the back of the table on a special
"crane" post. The very flat keyboard and mouse slide under the lowest
level of an Ikea rack, totally out of the way. There is even space for
2-3 dogs under the bench.


not a laptop, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkCentre-M82-Professional-Refurbished/dp/B073GVZTSQ

That would work. Or better yet this one with Windows 10 Home because the
Windows 10 would get ditched anyhow:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N12D432

It has to be able to run Windows 7 so there can't be any hardware in
there that doesn't have a driver for it.

However, as I mentioned I am not at all a proponent of a throw-away
mentality. If a system is good enough for a certain purpose I do not see
a reason to throw it away and replace it with something bigger.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

 

[Lasse Langwadt Christense]

tirsdag den 27. august 2019 kl. 23.53.20 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:

On 2019-08-27 14:36, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 27. august 2019 kl. 01.37.01 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:
On 2019-08-26 16:17, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 27. august 2019 kl. 00.56.15 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:
On 2019-08-26 14:22, pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if
a Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in
Linux but that maybe just isolated cases.

You could maybe run Windows in a VM--that way you can probably make
the virtualized HW something Signalhound can cope with.


It doesn't work because of USB latencies. Many people have tried, failed
and even the Signalhound engineers said it can't be done. Those guys
leave a very knowlegeable impression.


I mostly run Qubes 4.02, which is a privacy/security-oriented Xen
distro with VM support for Fedora, Debian, Whonix, and Windows. Good
medicine.


I might do something similar, maybe Virtual Box because I've used it in
the past, if it turns out that I can't get the scanner part of my office
printer going via WINE. The Linux driver does not support that part of
the machine. Then it seems Linux has a problem with various microscope
cameras and such. Cheese as well as Webcamoid either do not recognize
any of them or just one and then no data transmission. So that may need
Windows in a VM. Probably XP because then I don't have to buy another
Win 7 license. I got lots of XP licenses. Seems MS wants to charge extra
if it runs in a VM in addition to dual-boot.

Then there is the Labjack, SCADA and so on. I opened a large can or
worms with this Linux transition but now I am committed. Because I am
not a computer guru I started well before the big precipice in January.


a refurb lenovo with 8GB ram and a windows license is few $100


I rather not have a laptop at the lab bench. What I have now is really
space-saving. A desktop deep under the bench, no chance to even bang up
a knee, the monitor hovers 10" above the back of the table on a special
"crane" post. The very flat keyboard and mouse slide under the lowest
level of an Ikea rack, totally out of the way. There is even space for
2-3 dogs under the bench.


not a laptop, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkCentre-M82-Professional-Refurbished/dp/B073GVZTSQ


That would work. Or better yet this one with Windows 10 Home because the
Windows 10 would get ditched anyhow:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N12D432

It has to be able to run Windows 7 so there can't be any hardware in
there that doesn't have a driver for it.

However, as I mentioned I am not at all a proponent of a throw-away
mentality. If a system is good enough for a certain purpose I do not see
a reason to throw it away and replace it with something bigger.

don't need to replace, just have more systems and skip the hassle of dual booting

 

[Joerg]

On 2019-08-27 15:05, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:

tirsdag den 27. august 2019 kl. 23.53.20 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:
On 2019-08-27 14:36, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 27. august 2019 kl. 01.37.01 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:
On 2019-08-26 16:17, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 27. august 2019 kl. 00.56.15 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:
On 2019-08-26 14:22, pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if
a Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in
Linux but that maybe just isolated cases.

You could maybe run Windows in a VM--that way you can probably make
the virtualized HW something Signalhound can cope with.


It doesn't work because of USB latencies. Many people have tried, failed
and even the Signalhound engineers said it can't be done. Those guys
leave a very knowlegeable impression.


I mostly run Qubes 4.02, which is a privacy/security-oriented Xen
distro with VM support for Fedora, Debian, Whonix, and Windows. Good
medicine.


I might do something similar, maybe Virtual Box because I've used it in
the past, if it turns out that I can't get the scanner part of my office
printer going via WINE. The Linux driver does not support that part of
the machine. Then it seems Linux has a problem with various microscope
cameras and such. Cheese as well as Webcamoid either do not recognize
any of them or just one and then no data transmission. So that may need
Windows in a VM. Probably XP because then I don't have to buy another
Win 7 license. I got lots of XP licenses. Seems MS wants to charge extra
if it runs in a VM in addition to dual-boot.

Then there is the Labjack, SCADA and so on. I opened a large can or
worms with this Linux transition but now I am committed. Because I am
not a computer guru I started well before the big precipice in January.


a refurb lenovo with 8GB ram and a windows license is few $100


I rather not have a laptop at the lab bench. What I have now is really
space-saving. A desktop deep under the bench, no chance to even bang up
a knee, the monitor hovers 10" above the back of the table on a special
"crane" post. The very flat keyboard and mouse slide under the lowest
level of an Ikea rack, totally out of the way. There is even space for
2-3 dogs under the bench.


not a laptop, something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkCentre-M82-Professional-Refurbished/dp/B073GVZTSQ


That would work. Or better yet this one with Windows 10 Home because the
Windows 10 would get ditched anyhow:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N12D432

It has to be able to run Windows 7 so there can't be any hardware in
there that doesn't have a driver for it.

However, as I mentioned I am not at all a proponent of a throw-away
mentality. If a system is good enough for a certain purpose I do not see
a reason to throw it away and replace it with something bigger.

don't need to replace, just have more systems and skip the hassle of dual booting

Yes, I could add another box. Being around retirement age I'd like not
to collect more stuff though. Ideally reduce to less stuff

If Linux behaves then I may need the Windows boot only rarely, for
example to run the spectrum analyzer for an EMC pre-compliance job. If
Linux doesn't behave I'd be forced to Windows 10 and then I don't need
dual-boot.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

 

[Robert Baer]

Joerg wrote:

On 2019-08-26 16:17, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 27. august 2019 kl. 00.56.15 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:
On 2019-08-26 14:22, pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if
a Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in
Linux but that maybe just isolated cases.

You could maybe run Windows in a VM--that way you can probably make
the virtualized HW something Signalhound can cope with.


It doesn't work because of USB latencies. Many people have tried, failed
and even the Signalhound engineers said it can't be done. Those guys
leave a very knowlegeable impression.


I mostly run Qubes 4.02, which is a privacy/security-oriented Xen
distro with VM support for Fedora, Debian, Whonix, and Windows. Good
medicine.


I might do something similar, maybe Virtual Box because I've used it in
the past, if it turns out that I can't get the scanner part of my office
printer going via WINE. The Linux driver does not support that part of
the machine. Then it seems Linux has a problem with various microscope
cameras and such. Cheese as well as Webcamoid either do not recognize
any of them or just one and then no data transmission. So that may need
Windows in a VM. Probably XP because then I don't have to buy another
Win 7 license. I got lots of XP licenses. Seems MS wants to charge extra
if it runs in a VM in addition to dual-boot.

Then there is the Labjack, SCADA and so on. I opened a large can or
worms with this Linux transition but now I am committed. Because I am
not a computer guru I started well before the big precipice in January.


a refurb lenovo with 8GB ram and a windows license is few $100


I rather not have a laptop at the lab bench. What I have now is really
space-saving. A desktop deep under the bench, no chance to even bang up
a knee, the monitor hovers 10" above the back of the table on a special
"crane" post. The very flat keyboard and mouse slide under the lowest
level of an Ikea rack, totally out of the way. There is even space for
2-3 dogs under the bench.

Plus I try not to needlessly throw stuff away. The purchase of a used
Nvidia graphics card should fix this once it gets here in a few days.
$12 including shipping. Nice thing is, this comes with a splitter cable
so I can hook up a 2nd monitor to, for example, watch some slow moving
measurements. Or maybe a mountain biking video on Youtube.

* I am very interested in this splitter cable business.
Would you be so kind to spell out the graphics card nomenclature, the
driver used, and cable source?

Thanks.

 

[Phil Hobbs]

On 8/26/19 6:56 PM, Joerg wrote:

On 2019-08-26 14:22, pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if
a Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in
Linux but that maybe just isolated cases.

You could maybe run Windows in a VM--that way you can probably make
the virtualized HW something Signalhound can cope with.


It doesn't work because of USB latencies. Many people have tried, failed
and even the Signalhound engineers said it can't be done. Those guys
leave a very knowlegeable impression.

In Qubes/Xen you can do a USB passthrough, so that the VM controls the
hardware without a virtualization layer. That way you could have
virtualized video and hardware USB.

<snip>

Then there is the Labjack, SCADA and so on. I opened a large can or
worms with this Linux transition but now I am committed. Because I am
not a computer guru I started well before the big precipice in January.

The Labjack Linux library is okay--it just doesn't have some of the
higher level comfort functions. Once you use wrapper functions to
reproduce them, it's pretty comparable.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

http://electrooptical.net
http://hobbs-eo.com

 

[Lasse Langwadt Christense]

onsdag den 28. august 2019 kl. 08.17.04 UTC+2 skrev Robert Baer:

Joerg wrote:
On 2019-08-26 16:17, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 27. august 2019 kl. 00.56.15 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:
On 2019-08-26 14:22, pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if
a Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in
Linux but that maybe just isolated cases.

You could maybe run Windows in a VM--that way you can probably make
the virtualized HW something Signalhound can cope with.


It doesn't work because of USB latencies. Many people have tried, failed
and even the Signalhound engineers said it can't be done. Those guys
leave a very knowlegeable impression.


I mostly run Qubes 4.02, which is a privacy/security-oriented Xen
distro with VM support for Fedora, Debian, Whonix, and Windows. Good
medicine.


I might do something similar, maybe Virtual Box because I've used it in
the past, if it turns out that I can't get the scanner part of my office
printer going via WINE. The Linux driver does not support that part of
the machine. Then it seems Linux has a problem with various microscope
cameras and such. Cheese as well as Webcamoid either do not recognize
any of them or just one and then no data transmission. So that may need
Windows in a VM. Probably XP because then I don't have to buy another
Win 7 license. I got lots of XP licenses. Seems MS wants to charge extra
if it runs in a VM in addition to dual-boot.

Then there is the Labjack, SCADA and so on. I opened a large can or
worms with this Linux transition but now I am committed. Because I am
not a computer guru I started well before the big precipice in January.


a refurb lenovo with 8GB ram and a windows license is few $100


I rather not have a laptop at the lab bench. What I have now is really
space-saving. A desktop deep under the bench, no chance to even bang up
a knee, the monitor hovers 10" above the back of the table on a special
"crane" post. The very flat keyboard and mouse slide under the lowest
level of an Ikea rack, totally out of the way. There is even space for
2-3 dogs under the bench.

Plus I try not to needlessly throw stuff away. The purchase of a used
Nvidia graphics card should fix this once it gets here in a few days.
$12 including shipping. Nice thing is, this comes with a splitter cable
so I can hook up a 2nd monitor to, for example, watch some slow moving
measurements. Or maybe a mountain biking video on Youtube.

* I am very interested in this splitter cable business.
Would you be so kind to spell out the graphics card nomenclature, the
driver used, and cable source?

it's not really a splitter, the graphics card has two video outputs on a
single special connector, the cable converts that connector to two DVI connectors

it no different than putting multiple graphic cards in the computer and
works in any non-ancient OS

 

[Joerg]

On 2019-08-28 09:05, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:

onsdag den 28. august 2019 kl. 08.17.04 UTC+2 skrev Robert Baer:
Joerg wrote:
On 2019-08-26 16:17, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 27. august 2019 kl. 00.56.15 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:
On 2019-08-26 14:22, pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if
a Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in
Linux but that maybe just isolated cases.

You could maybe run Windows in a VM--that way you can probably make
the virtualized HW something Signalhound can cope with.


It doesn't work because of USB latencies. Many people have tried, failed
and even the Signalhound engineers said it can't be done. Those guys
leave a very knowlegeable impression.


I mostly run Qubes 4.02, which is a privacy/security-oriented Xen
distro with VM support for Fedora, Debian, Whonix, and Windows. Good
medicine.


I might do something similar, maybe Virtual Box because I've used it in
the past, if it turns out that I can't get the scanner part of my office
printer going via WINE. The Linux driver does not support that part of
the machine. Then it seems Linux has a problem with various microscope
cameras and such. Cheese as well as Webcamoid either do not recognize
any of them or just one and then no data transmission. So that may need
Windows in a VM. Probably XP because then I don't have to buy another
Win 7 license. I got lots of XP licenses. Seems MS wants to charge extra
if it runs in a VM in addition to dual-boot.

Then there is the Labjack, SCADA and so on. I opened a large can or
worms with this Linux transition but now I am committed. Because I am
not a computer guru I started well before the big precipice in January.


a refurb lenovo with 8GB ram and a windows license is few $100


I rather not have a laptop at the lab bench. What I have now is really
space-saving. A desktop deep under the bench, no chance to even bang up
a knee, the monitor hovers 10" above the back of the table on a special
"crane" post. The very flat keyboard and mouse slide under the lowest
level of an Ikea rack, totally out of the way. There is even space for
2-3 dogs under the bench.

Plus I try not to needlessly throw stuff away. The purchase of a used
Nvidia graphics card should fix this once it gets here in a few days.
$12 including shipping. Nice thing is, this comes with a splitter cable
so I can hook up a 2nd monitor to, for example, watch some slow moving
measurements. Or maybe a mountain biking video on Youtube.

* I am very interested in this splitter cable business.
Would you be so kind to spell out the graphics card nomenclature, the
driver used, and cable source?

it's not really a splitter, the graphics card has two video outputs on a
single special connector, the cable converts that connector to two DVI connectors

The specuial connector is a DMS-59. You have to have an adapter or
splitter to connect anything to that.

it no different than putting multiple graphic cards in the computer and
works in any non-ancient OS

Exactly but I got the version with VGA outputs because that's what I
need. Robert, if you need one they still have some:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NVIDIA-NVS-300-Dual-Monitor-VGA-Graphics-Video-Card-HP-Lenovo-Acer-Dell-SFF-GPU/264342559925

These also come in a different offer with DVI and I have even seen them
shipped with both types of splitters but you can only insert one at a
time. It's actually pretty nifty because you can configure the same card
for different monitor input.

The one detail I do not like about this card is the two electrolytic
caps placed so closely to the heat sink and right in its air stream. Not
so good. But they can be replaced and properly relocated if needed. If
it gets toasty (which I doubt with my kind of use) I'll also mount a
heat deflector at the bottom because many motherboards such as mine have
a whole slew of electrolytic caps placed right next to the PCI 16e slot.
Heat sink side, of course. Beats me why because that is where the
graphics card usually goes. Somehow engineers make those mistakes over
and over again. On our Hammond organ they placed the big electroltyic
beker right next to the hot rectifier tube. That borders on masochism

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

 

[Joerg]

On 2019-08-28 13:45, Joerg wrote:

On 2019-08-28 08:13, Phil Hobbs wrote:
On 8/26/19 6:56 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2019-08-26 14:22, pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if
a Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in
Linux but that maybe just isolated cases.

You could maybe run Windows in a VM--that way you can probably make
the virtualized HW something Signalhound can cope with.


It doesn't work because of USB latencies. Many people have tried,
failed and even the Signalhound engineers said it can't be done. Those
guys leave a very knowlegeable impression.

In Qubes/Xen you can do a USB passthrough, so that the VM controls the
hardware without a virtualization layer. That way you could have
virtualized video and hardware USB.


Interesting. That might allow running Signalhound Spike in a VM.
However, it is also like a princess on the pea when it comes to zippy
graphics card access because some calcs seem to be run there. I had to
order a new graphics card just because of that one software.


snip

Then there is the Labjack, SCADA and so on. I opened a large can or
worms with this Linux transition but now I am committed. Because I am
not a computer guru I started well before the big precipice in January.


The Labjack Linux library is okay--it just doesn't have some of the
higher level comfort functions. Once you use wrapper functions to
reproduce them, it's pretty comparable.


Me and programming, two very different things. I need a ready-to-go
SCADA package that can take the Labjack data right in. IOW it needs to
have a Labjack communications module like DAQFactory from Azeotech does.

Right now I am just kicking the tires. My wife's PC is now Linux-only
and will stay that way. With mine I just had the umpteenth setback.
Mundane stuff such as VLC Player and Kamosa refuse to run after install.
Very cryptic error message and people in the Linux NG can really
pinpoint the cause.

I meant can't pinpoint the cause. Looks like it's real bugs.

... Other than reverting to older versions I'll try snap
so I get away from these dreaded dedendency "fixes" that the Linux
installer does.

If this all becomes too tedious I might go back to Windows but as usual
Windows 7 and a VM with Linux in there, for stuff where Windows 7 can't
be trusted after Jan 2020.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

 

[Joerg]

On 2019-08-28 14:24, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:

onsdag den 28. august 2019 kl. 22.36.30 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:
On 2019-08-28 09:05, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:

[...]

it no different than putting multiple graphic cards in the computer and
works in any non-ancient OS


Exactly but I got the version with VGA outputs because that's what I
need. Robert, if you need one they still have some:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NVIDIA-NVS-300-Dual-Monitor-VGA-Graphics-Video-Card-HP-Lenovo-Acer-Dell-SFF-GPU/264342559925

These also come in a different offer with DVI and I have even seen them
shipped with both types of splitters but you can only insert one at a
time. It's actually pretty nifty because you can configure the same card
for different monitor input.


DVI is the more universal option it also has the VGA signals, you just need a different cable to the monitor

I think you can get adapters. However, I'd like to keep things simple
and non-bulky. This PC will never have a monitor setup that goes beyond
VGA capabilities.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

 

[Lasse Langwadt Christense]

onsdag den 28. august 2019 kl. 22.36.30 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:

On 2019-08-28 09:05, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
onsdag den 28. august 2019 kl. 08.17.04 UTC+2 skrev Robert Baer:
Joerg wrote:
On 2019-08-26 16:17, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 27. august 2019 kl. 00.56.15 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:
On 2019-08-26 14:22, pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if
a Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in
Linux but that maybe just isolated cases.

You could maybe run Windows in a VM--that way you can probably make
the virtualized HW something Signalhound can cope with.


It doesn't work because of USB latencies. Many people have tried, failed
and even the Signalhound engineers said it can't be done. Those guys
leave a very knowlegeable impression.


I mostly run Qubes 4.02, which is a privacy/security-oriented Xen
distro with VM support for Fedora, Debian, Whonix, and Windows. Good
medicine.


I might do something similar, maybe Virtual Box because I've used it in
the past, if it turns out that I can't get the scanner part of my office
printer going via WINE. The Linux driver does not support that part of
the machine. Then it seems Linux has a problem with various microscope
cameras and such. Cheese as well as Webcamoid either do not recognize
any of them or just one and then no data transmission. So that may need
Windows in a VM. Probably XP because then I don't have to buy another
Win 7 license. I got lots of XP licenses. Seems MS wants to charge extra
if it runs in a VM in addition to dual-boot.

Then there is the Labjack, SCADA and so on. I opened a large can or
worms with this Linux transition but now I am committed. Because I am
not a computer guru I started well before the big precipice in January.


a refurb lenovo with 8GB ram and a windows license is few $100


I rather not have a laptop at the lab bench. What I have now is really
space-saving. A desktop deep under the bench, no chance to even bang up
a knee, the monitor hovers 10" above the back of the table on a special
"crane" post. The very flat keyboard and mouse slide under the lowest
level of an Ikea rack, totally out of the way. There is even space for
2-3 dogs under the bench.

Plus I try not to needlessly throw stuff away. The purchase of a used
Nvidia graphics card should fix this once it gets here in a few days.
$12 including shipping. Nice thing is, this comes with a splitter cable
so I can hook up a 2nd monitor to, for example, watch some slow moving
measurements. Or maybe a mountain biking video on Youtube.

* I am very interested in this splitter cable business.
Would you be so kind to spell out the graphics card nomenclature, the
driver used, and cable source?

it's not really a splitter, the graphics card has two video outputs on a
single special connector, the cable converts that connector to two DVI connectors


The specuial connector is a DMS-59. You have to have an adapter or
splitter to connect anything to that.


it no different than putting multiple graphic cards in the computer and
works in any non-ancient OS


Exactly but I got the version with VGA outputs because that's what I
need. Robert, if you need one they still have some:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NVIDIA-NVS-300-Dual-Monitor-VGA-Graphics-Video-Card-HP-Lenovo-Acer-Dell-SFF-GPU/264342559925

These also come in a different offer with DVI and I have even seen them
shipped with both types of splitters but you can only insert one at a
time. It's actually pretty nifty because you can configure the same card
for different monitor input.

DVI is the more universal option it also has the VGA signals, you just need a different cable to the monitor

 

[Joerg]

On 2019-08-28 08:13, Phil Hobbs wrote:

On 8/26/19 6:56 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2019-08-26 14:22, pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if
a Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in
Linux but that maybe just isolated cases.

You could maybe run Windows in a VM--that way you can probably make
the virtualized HW something Signalhound can cope with.


It doesn't work because of USB latencies. Many people have tried,
failed and even the Signalhound engineers said it can't be done. Those
guys leave a very knowlegeable impression.

In Qubes/Xen you can do a USB passthrough, so that the VM controls the
hardware without a virtualization layer. That way you could have
virtualized video and hardware USB.

Interesting. That might allow running Signalhound Spike in a VM.
However, it is also like a princess on the pea when it comes to zippy
graphics card access because some calcs seem to be run there. I had to
order a new graphics card just because of that one software.

snip

Then there is the Labjack, SCADA and so on. I opened a large can or
worms with this Linux transition but now I am committed. Because I am
not a computer guru I started well before the big precipice in January.


The Labjack Linux library is okay--it just doesn't have some of the
higher level comfort functions. Once you use wrapper functions to
reproduce them, it's pretty comparable.

Me and programming, two very different things. I need a ready-to-go
SCADA package that can take the Labjack data right in. IOW it needs to
have a Labjack communications module like DAQFactory from Azeotech does.

Right now I am just kicking the tires. My wife's PC is now Linux-only
and will stay that way. With mine I just had the umpteenth setback.
Mundane stuff such as VLC Player and Kamosa refuse to run after install.
Very cryptic error message and people in the Linux NG can really
pinpoint the cause. Other than reverting to older versions I'll try snap
so I get away from these dreaded dedendency "fixes" that the Linux
installer does.

If this all becomes too tedious I might go back to Windows but as usual
Windows 7 and a VM with Linux in there, for stuff where Windows 7 can't
be trusted after Jan 2020.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

 

[Phil Hobbs]

On 8/28/19 11:13 AM, Phil Hobbs wrote:

On 8/26/19 6:56 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2019-08-26 14:22, pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if
a Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in
Linux but that maybe just isolated cases.

You could maybe run Windows in a VM--that way you can probably make
the virtualized HW something Signalhound can cope with.


It doesn't work because of USB latencies. Many people have tried,
failed and even the Signalhound engineers said it can't be done. Those
guys leave a very knowlegeable impression.

In Qubes/Xen you can do a USB passthrough, so that the VM controls the
hardware without a virtualization layer.  That way you could have
virtualized video and hardware USB.

snip

Then there is the Labjack, SCADA and so on. I opened a large can or
worms with this Linux transition but now I am committed. Because I am
not a computer guru I started well before the big precipice in January.


The Labjack Linux library is okay--it just doesn't have some of the
higher level comfort functions.  Once you use wrapper functions to
reproduce them, it's pretty comparable.

Simon tells me that the Labjack Linux code is at
<https://github.com:labjack/exodriver>, and that at least the Python
bindings are easy to use.

(Meself, I haven't used the Labjack for much since I dumped Windows.)

Cheers

Phil Hobbs


--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

http://electrooptical.net
http://hobbs-eo.com

 

[bitrex]

On 8/26/19 1:51 PM, Joerg wrote:

For people who are switching to Linux, in my case Lubuntu, what is the
best English-speaking NG for software and which one for hardware related
stuff?

I participate in two German groups. The software group is great though
not many there who use Lubuntu. The hardware group has only little
traffic left.

Right now I'd like to migrate my lab bench PC to Linux but that gets
complicated. It also will need (and now has) Windows 7 in dual-boot.
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer does
not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if a Nvidia
NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in Linux but that
maybe just isolated cases.

Later more fun will come up, such as how to get a Labjack plus SCADA
setup going in Linux. The Labjack is hardly known in Europe so I'd need
a more local North American newsgroup.

I like Linux 85% of the time except for e.g. I have a laptop with an
Xubuntu install that works flawlessly for months and then one morning
you start it up and the equivalent of the "Start" button is gone on the
desktop and the backlight brightness control keys on the keyboard no
longer work.

Why? who knows! It did and then it didn't. hardware? software? searching
for answers is just many forum and Stack Exchange posts of throwing
terminal commands/scripts at the issue until something sticks. you won't
find a problem just like yours and nobody will know why similar ones
happened, either.

 

[Joerg]

On 2019-08-28 21:51, Phil Hobbs wrote:

On 8/28/19 11:13 AM, Phil Hobbs wrote:
On 8/26/19 6:56 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2019-08-26 14:22, pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if
a Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in
Linux but that maybe just isolated cases.

You could maybe run Windows in a VM--that way you can probably make
the virtualized HW something Signalhound can cope with.


It doesn't work because of USB latencies. Many people have tried,
failed and even the Signalhound engineers said it can't be done.
Those guys leave a very knowlegeable impression.

In Qubes/Xen you can do a USB passthrough, so that the VM controls the
hardware without a virtualization layer. That way you could have
virtualized video and hardware USB.

snip

Then there is the Labjack, SCADA and so on. I opened a large can or
worms with this Linux transition but now I am committed. Because I am
not a computer guru I started well before the big precipice in January.


The Labjack Linux library is okay--it just doesn't have some of the
higher level comfort functions. Once you use wrapper functions to
reproduce them, it's pretty comparable.

Simon tells me that the Labjack Linux code is at
https://github.com:labjack/exodriver>, and that at least the Python
bindings are easy to use.

(Meself, I haven't used the Labjack for much since I dumped Windows.)

If I get Linux to behave (seems a long slog) I'll try it in a VM because
the Labjack's USB isn't always time-critical.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

 

[Gerhard Hoffmann]

Am 28.08.19 um 23:30 schrieb Joerg:

I think you can get adapters. However, I'd like to keep things simple
and non-bulky. This PC will never have a monitor setup that goes beyond
VGA capabilities.

I once installed Win7 on a virtual machine that only knew VGA
at that time. The button for accepting Microsoft's license
conditions was outside the visible range of the display.

If you knew it had to be somewhere, some blind clicking below
the screen then finally happened to do the job.



Gerhard

 

[Joerg]

On 2019-08-28 23:35, bitrex wrote:

On 8/26/19 1:51 PM, Joerg wrote:
For people who are switching to Linux, in my case Lubuntu, what is the
best English-speaking NG for software and which one for hardware
related stuff?

I participate in two German groups. The software group is great though
not many there who use Lubuntu. The hardware group has only little
traffic left.

Right now I'd like to migrate my lab bench PC to Linux but that gets
complicated. It also will need (and now has) Windows 7 in dual-boot.
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if a
Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in Linux
but that maybe just isolated cases.

Later more fun will come up, such as how to get a Labjack plus SCADA
setup going in Linux. The Labjack is hardly known in Europe so I'd
need a more local North American newsgroup.


I like Linux 85% of the time except for e.g. I have a laptop with an
Xubuntu install that works flawlessly for months and then one morning
you start it up and the equivalent of the "Start" button is gone on the
desktop and the backlight brightness control keys on the keyboard no
longer work.

Why? who knows! It did and then it didn't. hardware? software? searching
for answers is just many forum and Stack Exchange posts of throwing
terminal commands/scripts at the issue until something sticks. you won't
find a problem just like yours and nobody will know why similar ones
happened, either.

That seems to be a serious issue with Linux. On my wife's PC the audio
for Youtube quit after a Lubuntu update.

I can't even start mundane software like VLC Player and Kamoso right
now. The GUI will not throw any error message, just refuses. The
terminal lists cryptic stuff such as this:

VLC media player 3.0.7.1 Vetinari (revision 3.0.7.1-0-gf3940db4af)
[00005630820fd570] main libvlc: Running vlc with the default interface.
Use 'cvlc' to use vlc without interface.
QApplication: invalid style override passed, ignoring it.
Gdk-Message: 14:18:44.724: vlc: Fatal IO error 22 (Invalid argument) on
X server :0.

Re-installs end with "you have held broken packages". All this doesn't
leave a very professional taste but unfortunately the time of Windows 7
which is last known good to me) will end in January.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

 

[bitrex]

On 8/29/19 9:50 AM, Joerg wrote:

On 2019-08-28 23:35, bitrex wrote:
On 8/26/19 1:51 PM, Joerg wrote:
For people who are switching to Linux, in my case Lubuntu, what is the
best English-speaking NG for software and which one for hardware
related stuff?

I participate in two German groups. The software group is great though
not many there who use Lubuntu. The hardware group has only little
traffic left.

Right now I'd like to migrate my lab bench PC to Linux but that gets
complicated. It also will need (and now has) Windows 7 in dual-boot.
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if a
Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in Linux
but that maybe just isolated cases.

Later more fun will come up, such as how to get a Labjack plus SCADA
setup going in Linux. The Labjack is hardly known in Europe so I'd
need a more local North American newsgroup.


I like Linux 85% of the time except for e.g. I have a laptop with an
Xubuntu install that works flawlessly for months and then one morning
you start it up and the equivalent of the "Start" button is gone on the
desktop and the backlight brightness control keys on the keyboard no
longer work.

Why? who knows! It did and then it didn't. hardware? software? searching
for answers is just many forum and Stack Exchange posts of throwing
terminal commands/scripts at the issue until something sticks. you won't
find a problem just like yours and nobody will know why similar ones
happened, either.


That seems to be a serious issue with Linux. On my wife's PC the audio
for Youtube quit after a Lubuntu update.

I can't even start mundane software like VLC Player and Kamoso right
now. The GUI will not throw any error message, just refuses. The
terminal lists cryptic stuff such as this:

VLC media player 3.0.7.1 Vetinari (revision 3.0.7.1-0-gf3940db4af)
[00005630820fd570] main libvlc: Running vlc with the default interface.
Use 'cvlc' to use vlc without interface.
QApplication: invalid style override passed, ignoring it.
Gdk-Message: 14:18:44.724: vlc: Fatal IO error 22 (Invalid argument) on
X server :0.

It still happens sometimes but it's so, so much better than it used to
be. Similar probs occasionally happen on Windows 10 too. Ubuntu has
gotten better, Windows (IMO) has gotten a lil worse since Win 7, headed
towards parity on the cryptic-faults.

Re-installs end with "you have held broken packages". All this doesn't
leave a very professional taste but unfortunately the time of Windows 7
which is last known good to me) will end in January.

On the upside when it works the way it's supposed to, which to be fair
is most of the time, a lighter-weight Ubuntu distribution like Xu makes
a i7 laptop with 12 gigs of RAM and an SSD "feel" like you have a
machine with the oomph that you paid for when running LTSpice or Octave
or doing big file transfer operations.

I like its minimalist look and interface a lot, I'm okay with flashy
icons and 3D accelerated graphics on a media center or video gamez PC
desktop in the way MacOS and Win 10 and Ubuntu with gnome or KDE are,
stock, but on a work machine it's distracting.

Win 10 is a combination of some nice features and UI improvements that I
don't mind using when it works right either, and on a
power-consumption-no-object screaming desktop workstation, it's actually
pretty nice.

but it's also just a big beast of an OS. And OEMs are still installing
it on cheaper laptops with 5400 RPM drives which is a criminal thing to do!

 

[Jan Panteltje]

On a sunny day (Thu, 29 Aug 2019 06:50:24 -0700) it happened Joerg
<news@analogconsultants.com> wrote in <gsq3goFhh5uU2@mid.individual.net>:

That seems to be a serious issue with Linux. On my wife's PC the audio
for Youtube quit after a Lubuntu update.

I can't even start mundane software like VLC Player and Kamoso right
now. The GUI will not throw any error message, just refuses. The
terminal lists cryptic stuff such as this:

VLC media player 3.0.7.1 Vetinari (revision 3.0.7.1-0-gf3940db4af)
[00005630820fd570] main libvlc: Running vlc with the default interface.
Use 'cvlc' to use vlc without interface.
QApplication: invalid style override passed, ignoring it.
Gdk-Message: 14:18:44.724: vlc: Fatal IO error 22 (Invalid argument) on
X server :0.

Re-installs end with "you have held broken packages". All this doesn't
leave a very professional taste but unfortunately the time of Windows 7
which is last known good to me) will end in January.

Unix, as with all things it helps to have some in depth knowledge

I do not use VLC, I consider it 'from kindergarten for kindergarten'
I use mplayer most of the time for testing things
then xine for movies, ffplay for more difficult stuff,
and ffmpeg for re-encoding and some editing
There are many more programs for that, transcode,and I normally compile from source
Upgrades? No.
Many upgrades are broken, recently had a fight with Debian developers
about how they broke old the xforms program, told them to stuff it
and I compile old xforms from source as I always do,
they wanted me to rewrite some program I wrote for the broken version, I refused.

My main system is slackware, now that will not help you but at least it is sane
mostly the work of one person who has been at it from the beginning, so it just works,
FOR ME it works.

I have one partition with latest debian where most things do not work right
but the browser is the latest
uname -a
Linux panteltje10 2.6.37.6 #3 SMP Sat Apr 9 22:49:32 CDT 2011 x86_64 Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2430M CPU @ 2.40GHz GenuineIntel GNU/Linux

So, am on the laptop now from far away in space, ssh -Y to the home station with NewsFleX.

Linux is just fun, anything is possible, it is not for complainers.

I was thinking maybe bitrex's disk was full ...
But as you see from uname -a 2011 version 64 bit slackware on laptop..
If I needed (and I was just on youtube and also just played a satellite program),
yes via ssh too, like this
in first terminal start the player
netcat -l -p 1024 | mplayer -

In second terminal ssh to home base and start the sat source somewhere (skip sets the start point):
dd if=Astra1_Sat1_a.13h57.29-8-2019-246m.ts bs=1000000 skip=1000 | netcat -v 192.168.178.20 1024

192.168.178.20 is the IP of this laptop, 1024 some port that is open (not fire-walled
netcat is great.

It is all up to you, yes I have 21 years experience with Linux and longer with Unix.
Get a good book on Unix (did that long before Linux existed) and when I started
with Linux on the PC that and a lot of notes was a great help.
Basics, just like electronics.
You have to know the basics.
Couple of years, what I liked and why I moved to Linux was the free gcc compiler
command line interface and X separate, write my own programs, open source.

If you want a cooked dinner I dunno, even MS stuff has a learning curve.

Just thoughts

Now lets tsee if the intergalactic link will send this without the flux capacitors.

 

[Robert Baer]

Joerg wrote:

On 2019-08-28 09:05, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
onsdag den 28. august 2019 kl. 08.17.04 UTC+2 skrev Robert Baer:
Joerg wrote:
On 2019-08-26 16:17, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 27. august 2019 kl. 00.56.15 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:
On 2019-08-26 14:22, pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if
a Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in
Linux but that maybe just isolated cases.

You could maybe run Windows in a VM--that way you can probably make
the virtualized HW something Signalhound can cope with.


It doesn't work because of USB latencies. Many people have tried,
failed
and even the Signalhound engineers said it can't be done. Those guys
leave a very knowlegeable impression.


I mostly run Qubes 4.02, which is a privacy/security-oriented Xen
distro with VM support for Fedora, Debian, Whonix, and Windows. Good
medicine.


I might do something similar, maybe Virtual Box because I've used
it in
the past, if it turns out that I can't get the scanner part of my
office
printer going via WINE. The Linux driver does not support that
part of
the machine. Then it seems Linux has a problem with various
microscope
cameras and such. Cheese as well as Webcamoid either do not recognize
any of them or just one and then no data transmission. So that may
need
Windows in a VM. Probably XP because then I don't have to buy another
Win 7 license. I got lots of XP licenses. Seems MS wants to charge
extra
if it runs in a VM in addition to dual-boot.

Then there is the Labjack, SCADA and so on. I opened a large can or
worms with this Linux transition but now I am committed. Because I am
not a computer guru I started well before the big precipice in
January.


a refurb lenovo with 8GB ram and a windows license is few $100


I rather not have a laptop at the lab bench. What I have now is really
space-saving. A desktop deep under the bench, no chance to even bang up
a knee, the monitor hovers 10" above the back of the table on a special
"crane" post. The very flat keyboard and mouse slide under the lowest
level of an Ikea rack, totally out of the way. There is even space for
2-3 dogs under the bench.

Plus I try not to needlessly throw stuff away. The purchase of a used
Nvidia graphics card should fix this once it gets here in a few days.
$12 including shipping. Nice thing is, this comes with a splitter cable
so I can hook up a 2nd monitor to, for example, watch some slow moving
measurements. Or maybe a mountain biking video on Youtube.

* I am very interested in this splitter cable business.
    Would you be so kind to spell out the graphics card nomenclature,
the
driver used, and cable source?

it's not really a splitter, the graphics card has two video outputs on a
single special connector, the cable converts that connector to two DVI
connectors


The specuial connector is a DMS-59. You have to have an adapter or
splitter to connect anything to that.


it no different than putting multiple graphic cards in the computer and
works in any non-ancient OS


Exactly but I got the version with VGA outputs because that's what I
need. Robert, if you need one they still have some:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NVIDIA-NVS-300-Dual-Monitor-VGA-Graphics-Video-Card-HP-Lenovo-Acer-Dell-SFF-GPU/264342559925


These also come in a different offer with DVI and I have even seen them
shipped with both types of splitters but you can only insert one at a
time. It's actually pretty nifty because you can configure the same card
for different monitor input.

The one detail I do not like about this card is the two electrolytic
caps placed so closely to the heat sink and right in its air stream. Not
so good. But they can be replaced and properly relocated if needed. If
it gets toasty (which I doubt with my kind of use) I'll also mount a
heat deflector at the bottom because many motherboards such as mine have
a whole slew of electrolytic caps placed right next to the PCI 16e slot.
Heat sink side, of course. Beats me why because that is where the
graphics card usually goes. Somehow engineers make those mistakes over
and over again. On our Hammond organ they placed the big electroltyic
beker right next to the hot rectifier tube. That borders on masochism

Thanks.

 

[Robert Baer]

Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:

onsdag den 28. august 2019 kl. 08.17.04 UTC+2 skrev Robert Baer:
Joerg wrote:
On 2019-08-26 16:17, Lasse Langwadt Christensen wrote:
tirsdag den 27. august 2019 kl. 00.56.15 UTC+2 skrev Joerg:
On 2019-08-26 14:22, pcdhobbs@gmail.com wrote:
Long story short the software for the Signalhound spectrum analyzer
does not like its Intel G33 graphics chip. So I have to find out if
a Nvidia NVS 300 would work. There are reports that it's tough in
Linux but that maybe just isolated cases.

You could maybe run Windows in a VM--that way you can probably make
the virtualized HW something Signalhound can cope with.


It doesn't work because of USB latencies. Many people have tried, failed
and even the Signalhound engineers said it can't be done. Those guys
leave a very knowlegeable impression.


I mostly run Qubes 4.02, which is a privacy/security-oriented Xen
distro with VM support for Fedora, Debian, Whonix, and Windows. Good
medicine.


I might do something similar, maybe Virtual Box because I've used it in
the past, if it turns out that I can't get the scanner part of my office
printer going via WINE. The Linux driver does not support that part of
the machine. Then it seems Linux has a problem with various microscope
cameras and such. Cheese as well as Webcamoid either do not recognize
any of them or just one and then no data transmission. So that may need
Windows in a VM. Probably XP because then I don't have to buy another
Win 7 license. I got lots of XP licenses. Seems MS wants to charge extra
if it runs in a VM in addition to dual-boot.

Then there is the Labjack, SCADA and so on. I opened a large can or
worms with this Linux transition but now I am committed. Because I am
not a computer guru I started well before the big precipice in January.


a refurb lenovo with 8GB ram and a windows license is few $100


I rather not have a laptop at the lab bench. What I have now is really
space-saving. A desktop deep under the bench, no chance to even bang up
a knee, the monitor hovers 10" above the back of the table on a special
"crane" post. The very flat keyboard and mouse slide under the lowest
level of an Ikea rack, totally out of the way. There is even space for
2-3 dogs under the bench.

Plus I try not to needlessly throw stuff away. The purchase of a used
Nvidia graphics card should fix this once it gets here in a few days.
$12 including shipping. Nice thing is, this comes with a splitter cable
so I can hook up a 2nd monitor to, for example, watch some slow moving
measurements. Or maybe a mountain biking video on Youtube.

* I am very interested in this splitter cable business.
Would you be so kind to spell out the graphics card nomenclature, the
driver used, and cable source?

it's not really a splitter, the graphics card has two video outputs on a
single special connector, the cable converts that connector to two DVI connectors

it no different than putting multiple graphic cards in the computer and
works in any non-ancient OS

Oh. Sort of like using a GeForce 8400 (Svideo/VGA/DVI-I) or a GeForce
8600 (Svideo/2-DVI-I).
Thanks.