Getting Recharged Up in the Rockies

A national park campground is an unlikely place to write a computer column, but that’s where I find myself. My family and I are on a “working” vacation. I work while they vacation.

But I can’t complain. After all, I’ve spent the last 10 days touring the U.S. and Canadian Rockies.

In addition to my family and our camping gear, the car and trailer are packed with a portable notebook PC, a printer and a device to connect the PC’s modem to pay telephones along the way.

Before we left on the trip, I used LapLink Pro to transfer software and data from my desktop machine to my portable PC. The $169.95 program, from Traveling Software (800-662-2652), allows you to transfer files between two IBM-compatible PCs by connecting the machines with serial or parallel cables supplied with the software. The program is easy to use and quite fast. Data is transferred at 200 kilobits per second if you use the serial port, or up to 500 kilobits per second when connecting via the parallel ports.

The software also allows you to transfer files via the phone, as long as both PCs are equipped with modems. Additionally, the company provides software for transferring files between two Macintosh computers or between a Mac and an IBM-compatible machine.

Even though I’m on “vacation,” I still need to sign on to various on-line services and electronic mail systems so that I can file stories and check for messages. The notebook PC’s internal modem is designed to plug into a standard modular telephone jack, but those are hard enough to find in hotels, let alone campgrounds.

To solve the problem, I brought along a Konexx Coupler (Model 203) from Unlimited Systems Corp. of San Diego (619-277-3300). At a suggested retail price of $149, the device is a small coupler with two rubber cups that connects your modem to the handset of most kinds of phones.

In addition to a standard pay phone, it works with the odd-shaped handsets that often are found in hotel rooms or overseas. There is a cord that connects directly to the modem’s phone (RJ-11) plug.

Once the coupler is in place, you can usually use the communication program’s regular auto-dial feature to make the connection. Cellular phones, some pay phones and phones that have special digital dialing systems may require you to use the dial to connect to the service before turning matters over to your communications software. The modem is designed to work at up to 9,600 bits per second, although that speed might not be attainable with all phones, especially pay phones.

I’m not doing too much printing on the road (my wife prefers that I hand-write the post cards), but, when I do, I use the Diconix 701 transportable printer ($549) from Eastman Kodak (800) 344-0006. The 5.6-pound printer operates at 300 dots per inch, the same resolution as most laser printers. The output quality is quite good, though it’s not as crisp as laser printing. It operates at two pages per minute (half the speed of the least-expensive Hewlett-Packard laser printer) and works with regular sheet-fed paper. You can load up to 30 sheets at a time.

The printer comes with software called a printer driver that allows you to use it with Microsoft Windows. I tested it with several Windows programs and it did a good job with both text and graphics. The unit works with AC current or an optional rechargeable battery. Kodak also makes the Diconix 180SI, a 3.5-pound printer ($399) for IBM-compatible machines, and the 3 3/4-pound ($449) M150 Plus for the Macintosh computers. The output of these ink-jet portable printers is comparable to low-end dot matrix printers. The M150 Plus and 180SI both work with AC current or standard C batteries.

When I use portable computers on business trips, I charge the batteries at the hotel overnight. But national park campgrounds don’t always offer electrical hookups, so I have to ask the rangers to help me find a place to plug in. Once charged, I have about 2 1/2 hours before the batteries die. That’s OK. These technological wonders are great, but they pale in comparison to the natural wonders of Yellowstone, Banff and Glacier parks that I’ve seen on this trip.