[Dxspider-support] Nubie Questions

[charlie carroll]

Steve:
Here's a few of my opinions for your questions...  First a comment.  You
seem to be implying the Spider runs only on Linux.  Maybe I'm reading
too much into your comments, but Spider will run under either Linux or
Windows.

1. I happen to use the Suse distribution.  Others I know use Redhat,
Debian, and Mandrake.  Redhat and Suse seem to be the most popular.

2. Don't know about alternatives, but I run now just as you described...
cable modem, Linksys router, and a couple of ports forwarded through the
router.

3. I don't have any real low-end experience with Linux.  Something on
the order of 150-166 might be the least that would be acceptible using
Windows.  Others might comment on low-end Linux installations.  Right
now I am using a 500 MHz PC for my node.  It loafs.  Take a look at the
upper right graph at:
http://dxc.k1xx.com/mrtg/stats.html.

I initially ran my node under Win98 and then switched to Linux.  There
was a noticable improvement in performance.

4. I can't answer for anyone in those 4 states regarding a connect. 
However, let me say this.  The filter capability in today's DXSpider
almost makes it irrelevant where you connect.  You can connect almost
anywhere and then filter the spots, announces, etc to see just what you
want to see.

5. Regarding AX25... I am still pretty new to Linux myself.  My initial
2 attempts at learning Linux were with RedHat.  I never got over the
AX25 hump.  Too many questions and not enough good documentation.  On my
third attempt, I changed to Suse which has AX25 built in (only need to
select AX25 at config time).  This let me get both Suse and Spider up
and running and learning.

My 2 cents worth.

73 charlie, k1xx