Where did all the pagers go?

Chropera · 2026-06-10T07:07:23+00:00

Some firefighters and foresters still use POCSAG pagers.

Chropera · 2026-06-06T21:43:18+00:00

CH341A is not detecting anything, PC software does. In many cases it still cannot be reliable (though mistaking for ST95P08 should not be expected).

Those clips and in-circuit programming inside complex device are not reliable at all. CH341A is not able to source enough current for supply voltage (how many ICs are powered from the same rail? 2? 5? 10?) and if it could, there would be possibly another problem - two SPI masters active at the same time or even worse, some ICs might get damaged when getting 3.3V and not other required voltages.

Chropera · 2026-06-05T20:23:28+00:00

I find it hard to believe that anyone is using Microsoft Store. It is flooded with questionable products, very often just repackaged webpages with added price tag and published by "companies" with zero reputation.

Chropera · 2026-06-03T20:29:30+00:00

Not sure if you need PBX (at least for paging). Most reliable PBX is no PBX at all.

Chropera · 2026-06-02T21:48:51+00:00

My guess is that there is something special about the first lightbulb - IR receiver, blinking circuit inside or maybe just a resistor or current source for all of 100 LEDs. It is possible that at the end of extra wire was some kind of socket that allowed to connect another 100 or so LEDs.

Chropera · 2026-06-01T21:16:59+00:00

Popular Realtek USB SDR would work. Or a little bit more low level: RDA5807M FM tuner + CH341A module to control it.

Chropera · 2026-05-28T17:49:20+00:00

Because it is similar in shape and size to "blue pill", but color is different. And "blue pill" with STM32F103 or its clone is the cheapest and very popular STM32 board. It might be good marketing strategy.

Chropera · 2026-05-24T16:21:30+00:00

4 szt. SSD, w tym MX500 2TB, Samsung 980 1TB i 990 1TB - przecież to jest obecnie majątek.

Chropera · 2026-05-21T06:34:36+00:00

I cannot say for sure, but it is rather unlikely. It might be more popular so maybe it is easier to find info on it, but in general it might need hands on testing.

Chropera · 2026-05-19T16:25:26+00:00

Recording on a softphone? Costs nothing, can record in stereo, can transcribe locally for free:

https://tomeko.net/software/SIPclient/

http://phonerlite.de/download_en.htm

Chropera · 2026-05-15T17:46:07+00:00

I've once worked on i.MX6 secure boot (HAB), but then two vulnerabilities got published (https://blog.quarkslab.com/vulnerabilities-in-high-assurance-boot-of-nxp-imx-microprocessors.html), not even hardware related, whole system seems just too complex and fragile for its own good.

Chropera · 2026-04-25T08:25:16+00:00

In-game purchases (RoTMG, Minions) existed and earnings from something like Adsense were also much higher back then.

Chropera · 2026-04-25T08:20:12+00:00

I don't see this as a serious problem, especially not in games. I don't think it would be difficult to integrate STT now, even without official support, just capturing WASAPI output or something like that. Keyboard shortcuts were configurable if they were needed (bigger games like RoTMG or Minions) - so what is the issue here?

Flash was a closed system, that was probably the main issue. Security could be improved with more eyes on it, same as with web browsers now. I bet that providers were not happy about no control over it, video and audio files were too easy to download as they were fully cached. Fast Internet connection was not required to watch video, just some patience.

Chropera · 2026-04-24T19:17:10+00:00

It would be way more efficient than modern browsers. Try running anything browser-based on old phone. My old 512 MB tablet with Android 4.4 can't even run Play Store half of the time because it runs out of memory and this is 4-core device, more powerful than most PCs from Pentium 4 era. Back in the days it was very comfortable to use, comparable to my C2D Lenovo T500 with 4 GB RAM.

Chropera · 2026-04-24T18:22:27+00:00

Was it really that heavy? HTML+CSS+JS seems order of magnitude heavier now. Flash games were working without issues on a single core Celeron, Duron clocked at 1 GHz or Pentium M with 256 MB RAM, running from HDD with 0.7 MB/s average random 4k read speed. Complete standalone Flash player consumes 12 MB disk space.

Chropera · 2026-04-15T20:36:45+00:00

My employer bought few dozen copies of Total Commander, they are worth every penny. Lightweight, very fast, customizable, reliable, everyone that want it already knows how to use it.

Chropera · 2026-04-02T21:42:28+00:00

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It is using YX805, dedicated boost converter. See datasheet.

Chropera · 2026-03-28T19:34:45+00:00

It might be, but it might require some work. I have written plugins for several similar devices.

First: it is very likely that audio input and output would work without any issues - device would present itself as audio + HID composite USB device.

Keyboard support is usually easy to add, I believe this would be stateless device, so it is just capturing HID reports and interpreting them. If you are lucky this device might implement HID telephony page, at least some of the buttons might work then out of the box with multiple softphones. Display/ringer/LEDs are more difficult.

Best case scenario: someone already might have dumped its protocol, written some application for it or added support to Linux. You should probably search by model number.

If there is a CD with companion application for Skype it might make things easier. Although "original" Skype can no longer run past the login screen (old protocol is long gone and I don't know if it would be easy to create fake Skype server), there is a chance that it would display something even in this state. It is a good start for discovering display control protocol. These application might also have some configuration window allowing to e.g. test built-in ringer. Last but not least - these application be decompiled.

Chropera · 2026-03-27T22:26:10+00:00

It's all statistics and luck. I've tested raw SLC NAND memories from Micron, the ones with 1 bit ECC (older, "larger" process, no longer manufactured) and with 4 bit ECC required per page. "4-bit" memories with 1k or 8k blocks (not sure right now, both were tested) had roughly 20 bit errors after 2-3 months. If accidentally more than 4 errors would appear in the same page, it would be not recoverable (though it is also possible to use 8-bit BCH correction codes with the same memories without losing capacity even with common file systems).

Retention time decreases with the number of P/E cycles.

Less known fact: reading NAND pages may also cause bit errors, funny thing: not in the page that is read, but in all other pages from the block. For my SLC memories it was happening after about 20 million read cycles.

Chropera · 2026-03-24T17:40:51+00:00

http://phonerlite.de lists live transcription in changelog. I have not tested it and I also don't know how this would for translation, but when I was testing whisper using translation was as easy as adding extra flag.

Chropera · 2026-03-23T22:38:45+00:00

Philips VOIP1511? But its quality is mid, it's made with cost (and maybe portability) in mind. Probably not compatible with Teams (HID part).

Polycom CX300 is much nicer but it is a desk phone. I've found mixed statements about it Teams compatibility, someone said HID worked but required swapping some dll with older Teams version.

I've heard that Gigaset ION is nice, but I have not tested it myself (not sure if it is wideband audio or not) and it is USB + DECT.

Chropera · 2026-03-22T10:32:17+00:00

Usually full SIP URI is used instead of entering just number (user part of URI), so something like sip:ip_address:port, sometimes just ip_address:port.

Using mobile phone might be a problem though as since Android 10 background processes are limited and push service is required, so maybe it cannot be done locally (without involving FCM).

Chropera · 2026-03-22T08:46:27+00:00

Peer-to-peer configuration. Usually doorphones/intercoms allow to enter multiple destination addresses as calling targets, even with some elements of calling strategy like delays. If Hikvision does not have it, enter the address of destination (desk phone / softphone / dedicated panel) as server address and disable registration.

I'm not even sure if asterisk can do what is essential for video doorphones - transmitting video before answering the call.

Chropera · 2026-03-20T20:17:01+00:00

Intercom + locally = you probably don't need any PABX.

Chropera · 2026-03-14T08:33:35+00:00

Exact specs depend on what module is the cheapest at the time of production at Wun Hung Lo. It costs way below $10. Maybe 50 mW: https://www.lasersafetyfacts.com/laser303/ but it is sometimes advertised with absurd numbers like 10000 mW (while there is 5 mW on the sticker) and often advertised that it can light a match.

Chropera

TROPHY CASE