New member checks in & hopes for some dock & usb adv

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Hello All,
Just thought i would step in & say hi.
I am now the very proud owner of my first ever thinkpad, Its a T42 Ive had it for about a week & am really impressed.

Ive been searching this wonderful forum avidly since getting it & just want to say what a great place it is and many thanks to all you guys for doing such a great job & keeping the standard of chat so high.

A couple of things i would like some advice on if you could be so kind? I mainly use it for web browsing & music playback & have a couple of external hard drives that i am still in the process of filling with all my CDs. Initially i wasnt impressed with the sound quality, Ok i can take it that the speakers arent up to much but even when routed through my external speaker set up it was very poor in quality & the output was noisy/buzzing . Music & sound has always been very important to me so i wanted to sort this out as soon as possible & i was trying to get to the bottom of why this was the case. I read many posts in the forum & came across one that said their noise problem was caused by a poor quality psu so i decided to try on battery power through my speakers & Viola problem solved!!
Turns out my psu is a cheapo replacement and it only ouputs at 16v - 3.5a ( the orig is 4.5a) and this was causing the noise issue. Anyway decided i must get a proper psu & a dock also would be quite nice so i could fix up some leads from it to my home entertainment stack & perch it there. Luckily found a port replicator 11 & genuine IBM psu on ebay for just over £10 including shipping, arrived yesterday, bargain!!
Sorry for the rambling Now for the questions, I would really like to primarily keep the dock on my HE stack but this will involve hooking the T42 up to it probably 3 or 4 times in a day to recharge/play music, using it on battery for other stuff when not docked, will this cause any problems or increase the chances of damaging it?
Can anyone give me advice on docking it, basically how to? I know this probably sounds daft but im scared stiff of damaging it in the process & even though i have watched the video on the lenovo site i cant seem to get the knack of it. In fact ive only sucessfully docked it once so far!! (no arrow on the dock to match the one on the machine)
Also i seem to be very unlucky mmn maybe clumsy is a more apt description with usb ports perhaps cause im always unplugging & plugging in? The usb on my last laptop broke & out of 6 on my desktop only 2 are now still working!!! I have a hub & would like to leave that in place permanently on the dock with my 2 external drives (powered) & maybe also my phone & camera leads always in place. Will this be a strain on the docks usb connector or is it preferable to unplugging & plugging back in all the time? I know there has been some issues with usb failure on these laptops & was hoping to protect mine as much as possible.

Thanks for taking the time to read this rather long & boreing post, best wishes Andre (UK)

[poshgeordie]

Hey Andre - great to see you here and welcome to the forums from up here in Newcastle.

Some interesting comments on adapters - at work I use one of those cheap multi-voltage AC mains adapters with the interchangeable connectors as sold on eBay.

I was recently repairing a Toshiba Satellite using one of these, and found that the mouse touchpad hardly worked. I even tried another touchpad.
It was only when I accidently restarted it on battery that the touchpad worked properly again.
Switching back to the mains adapter I found that I needed to touch something metal on the laptop to make the touchpad work properly.
Subsequently using the manufacturer's adapter, I noticed that it had a third earth wire connection on the mains cable, whereas the cheapy one has just live and neutral. it also worked fine too.

These mains adapters use switch mode (SM) technology which creates a high current DC output (in a physically small package) consisting of a high frequency 'pulse' train.
In a well designed SM adapter the pulses are smoothed out using filtering circuitry, which removes the high frequency elements from the DC output (conducted interference), as well as providing shielding around the whole adapter to prevent those high frequencies and their harmonics from being radiated and causing interference to other equipment (radiated interference).

One big advantage of using an adapter with a three wire mains cable (with the earth cable) over a two wire one (with only live and neutral), is that the earth wire will be connected to the internal shielding and will greatly reduce any radiated interference.
Also connecting the filtering circuitry to earth as well makes it much more effective than one with no earth.

In the UK and many other countries, there are strict regulations as to the maximum permitted level of the conducted and radiated interference. Non-compliant items are not allowed in the country.
The multi-voltage one I use for work originated from China, and has the various compliance marks on the case.
From my 'testing' I very much doubt it's actually UK compliant.

A badly designed or non compliant adapter will cause all sorts of strange problems. A spiky - badly filtered - DC supply will cause noisy audio because those high SM frequencies will turn the otherwise steady supply to be 'bouncing' rapidly up and down at the SM frequency - anything other than smooth.
Swamping the laptop with high levels of radiated frequencies will interact with all sorts of components inside the laptop and will interfere with any frequency generating circuit (oscillators).
When I'm listening to my cassette player, I get a loud hum which is generated by the combination of the internal cassette oscillator and the SM adapter interference frequencies mixing together and producing a resultant frequency in the audio band

Apologies for the length of this post, but it's a very interesting subject for me!

BTW I'm looking into replacing the cheap adapter with a multivoltage 120W AC Kensington one. They look like they use two wire mains cables.
Also I see that there are distinct US and European models, which infers that US ones are not compliant in Europe. This would indicate that the Euro versions must have extra or different components to achieve compliance.

Does anyone have any experience of the Kensington adapters?

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Many Thanks for the response Nick very kind of you & Its nice to know theres people on here from the UK & even the mighty north (my aunties from newcastle) as i know its mainly US based on here.
Interesting take on the PSU situation you definately know your onions very impressive! So would i be right in thinking that you are saying even though my replacement does have a 3pin attachment cable (it is a china made model) therfore the earth may not be wired & that could be causing the problem?
Another idea you mentioned & i concur with was that maybe the cheap cable wasnt shielded & that may possibly have been causing the interference? I used to work as a sound engineer & know that having the correct balanced & shielded cables (both audio leads & mains) can make a big difference.
I have managed to finally get the hang of docking it now anyway so thats good (i really was treating it with kit gloves, i can see why so many get attached to these & being my first it was almost like i was handling a newborn ) only real problem is the extra usb on the port replicator doesnt seem to have enough power to run my devices.
I will continue to read the forum to pick up more hints & tips along the way, unfortunately i wont be able to contribute as much as i would like, due to an injury a couple of years ago it is very difficult for me to type nowadays (sadly because of this i also had to quit my job & a degree course i was doing at the time) But i can manage a touchpad quite well so i will at least be able to take in all the good advice & hopefully chip in now again.
Thanks again
Kindest regards Andre

[poshgeordie]

Really sorry to hear of your injury, but pleased to see you around here!

Coincidences! I too was a sound engineer - what are the chances of two of us from the UK, both having a somewhat unusual job, and chatting like this?!

My stuff on the previous post must have been a bit like teaching grandmothers to suck eggs (now that'll get our American cousins wondering what that means!!).
I used to do type approval testing to get UK and foreign approvals to gain permission to sell our electronic stuff.
I then moved into a more complex area along the same lines, where such things as damping switch mode noise played a part.
Yes shielding is important, but you can end up with situations where the shielding itself ends up as a radiating aerial and just makes things worse, so it's also down to electronic design and physical component placement etc.

Re TP PSU's - the Chinese ones are generally poor radiation-wise. I have a Chinese IBM badged one I use for my personal TP's and it's great at stopping the wireless mouse and keyboard on my desktop from working, even with the mouse / keyboard pressed up against the receiver box.

I would strongly suggest that you get a 2nd hand genuine one off eBay or via the Marketplace here.
Check out this one currently on ebay - looks good and well priced too; cloverleaf mains lead looks overpriced though...

I've never used a docking station - maybe I should!

<EDIT> Try this cloverleaf on eBay

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Many Thanks for the reply Nick & the condolences re my injury yeah it really sucks that as somebody who always has been enthralled by technology i can no longer be so involved, but nevermind hey life goes on.

Yeah also it is quite a coincidence that we were at one stage both engaged in the audio field, erm testing 1,2 sibilance
Thanks for the 'heads up' on the psu situation i dont really need another at the moment as the one that came with my port replicator/dockalso fits the thinkpad so i can use that ok, but if i decide i need another i will certainly adhere to your advice. Also as the usb on the port replicator 11 i have doesnt seem powerful enough Im going to keep my eye open for a cheap mini dock as i believe this has extra power for the usb ports. A little suprised you havent tried a dock but then again they arent really a must have item, having said that you can pick them up very cheap nowadays so i suppose that may have influenced my purchase somewhat .
Getting back to PSUs the one on my external hard drive has just gone kaput (12v 1.5a) [censored]! Thing is i have another couple hanging around with the same fitting, its actually the same as the thinkpad. One is a 12v 1.25a that works on my desktop but doesnt if i attach to the T42 (maybe the usb ports on the thinkpad arent as powerful?) I also have a 12v 3.5a one & was wondering if you could offer any advice on if it would be ok to use that or if the higher powered output could damage either my hard drive or the usb ports?
Thanks again
All the best

Andre

edit: Just noticed my post has been moderated because of expletives! Must have pretty vigilant swear catching software on this forum as the word i used only began with D & rhymed with pram. just pointing this out incase people thought i was some sort of outrageous potty mouth. Anyway i apologise & if i need to vent my frustration in future i will try to find a more apt phrase.
mmn perhaps some UK colloquiallisms might be in order

[poshgeordie]

>Sibilance > What we used was "BBB-a-sssss, Drums, Cccc-ornfla-kkk-e-sssss" yeah seriously (letters separated for 'clarity')!!
Felt a right prat doing it too!
An oldy but goodie:
Q: How may sound engineers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: One, two; one, two.

Right, having got completely off topic (probably now have a ******Off topic deletion by moderator******* LOL!! If you get too many do they send you a You've-been-a-naughty-person ticket which has to be paid within 14 days? Alternatively you've got to correctly answer questions in the Linux thread for the next 7 days!!)

Re getting a genuine PSU - I was hoping it might sort out the original audio quality problem, since running on batteries could be a bit of a pain.

Your kaput PSU and the higher rated one - definitely OK to use the 3.5A one.
What that rating means is that it will deliver up to 3.5A; therefore if your external drive needs only 0.5A, then it will supply what the drive needs, not shove 3.5A up its derriere (French expletives warning here!).
Main thing is that the adapter plug's the same. If it's wrong PM me & I'll sort it - you're buying the first round!!

Mmm I think the rest of the Thinkpad World does need to be dragged kicking and screaming back to the origin of the English language.
I guess we'd better start with Geordie or Yorkie.
Any replies to this - remember to mind your p's & q's!

Well it's almost sunny here so must be raining in York (my bitter experience - never been there when it hasn't poured and once even flooded!).
Cheers and speak soon

Nick

[suba]

Just a left field thought for you from another UK member!

There are two options currently on ebay which might be of interest to you for various reasons ..... (tap in thinkpad dock)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/IBM-LENOVO-THINKP ... 0297664143

Dedicated separate uprated psu and four usb ports - two powered


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-IBM-ThinkPad- ... 0277045379

Integrated uprated psu and four usb ports - two powered - hard drive and sound card capable etc Cost £300 new now £30 new!

If you enter either FRU number on Google for more detailed information.....

[poshgeordie]

I'm almost tempted, but since I've only running Ubuntu on this T30, it says Linux isn't supported for the docking station.
I may just get one anyway at that price!

[suba]

Have you checked out the info on ThinkWiki on these?

[poshgeordie]

Have you checked out the info on ThinkWiki on these?

Just too good to miss the Dock II so I've bought one - don't know whether to thank you or wish I'd never read your post!!

Thanks for that & there's still 5 left.

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Thanks for the heads up on the psu Nick. And of course your witty anecdotes regarding any sound matters are always appreciated, Cornflakes made me chuckle . Sibilance yeah it can be somewhat cringeworthy during the testing, i remember doing a free outdoor event in Glasgow & some likely lads in the crowd hurling constant banter my way all the way through the proceedings (ground swallowing me wouldve done nicely also).
Also Some very nice phrases in the links you provided & im sure most would fox our american cousins!
As for the swearing mmn maybe your right & french is the way to go , however this would probably upset our friends across the pond even more. Still cant believe my word was deemed unsuitable, if its good enough for Clark Gable in 1939 its good enough for me, but alas it is now gone with the wind! erm sorry

suba Hello, Many Thanks for links to the docks really appreciated, it was especially useful to know that 2 of the usb ports are powered & should therfore fit my needs nicely. unfortunately moneys too tight to mention at the mo ( & no i dont like simply red!) but i will hopefully get probably a mini dock at some stage.

Oh Nick now i see you have taken the plunge & grabbed a dock (nice one) maybe you could be so kind to give an update on how you get on with it? It looks like a really great piece of kit. Hey I even put a very cheeky bid in for one the same on ebay a couple of weeks back, At the time i was thinking my noise problem was caused by the onboard sound chip so i figured i could maybe try that style dock with a half decent external pci sound card that i had hanging around? Anyway never won it & turns out the pci card i was thinking of is full lenghth so doubtful it would fit anyway? Also think that this type of dock unfortunately will be a little too big for my needs as my unit isnt very deep & ive only got an inch to spare using the port replicator 11.

Talking of old soundcards think ive still got an isa one somewhere (remember them?) i used it on my first proper pc a pentium 133 with win95. I actually did quite a lot of sound stuff using that card & it was fairly cutting edge at the time,Yeah cost around £200 back then & is probably worth about 50p now!!

regards Andre

[poshgeordie]

Ca va bien Andre?

One of the longest events we did was the World Athletics Veterans Games at Gateshead Stadium, where we had tons of amplifiers & speakers for the events - all the equipment had to run off batteries when in the stadium coz there was no mains. We worked our socks off for over 2 weeks but it was an amazing time with wall to wall sunshine and just being there with these world class veteran athletes who we got to know quite well.

Anyway - on topic - my Dock II arrived today and work stopped! it took a bit of working out how to fit the T30 onto it, and there is definitely a technique to getting it on and off.
Size-wise I'd say it's depth is about 3/4 the depth of the TP so the whole package has some depth to it. If you want I'll give you the measurements.

For me running on Linux, I don't see that I'll be able to configure whatever I put in the expansion slot, but having the various ports through to the back panel is very useful.
Also like the built in power supply and being able to turn the TP on and off from the dock.
first impressions are good and worth the price being charged.

I was having a look through the backs of the shelves and found a load of old motherboards fron ECS complete wtih Athlon CPUs (I think around a Gig). suspect they were removed to update customers machines and I think they would be quite good for servers or the like.
One of the worst mistakes I made was to throw out a 386 box which was full of great big onboard memory chips and other ancient discrete components. I think the reason I got rid of it was because the monitor was smashed.

Great to hear from you Andre and many thanks Suba for the heads up on the Dock.

[davidspalding]

I <3 my Dock II. I burn discs in a MultiBurner in the UltraBay slot (with adapter), and a second HDD in the UltraBay Slim slot, for temporary write files and caching ... works like a dream, and doesn't get the laptop too hot.