Tech Talk
Milt Hull
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More Than One Machine?
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 If you are like most of the User Group membership and have been involved with computers for many years like myself, then you have more than one machine. There are several reasons to have more than one machine including having one machine do MP3 while you have another keep backups of your data. All this when your main machine might be your new one that you have not got quite up to speed yet and some of your older programs might still be on your old machine. There are several problems with having more than one machine and the biggest problem is space. Having two, three of even more machines take up room in your office or home. I personally have sixteen machines not including my Laptops. This seems like a lot but since I use KVM switches in my office, I only have two desks in each office and each desk have four machines hooked up together using Keyboard, Video, Mouse (KVM) switches help saving me room to support all these machines. I am down-sizing though with the building of my new Servers. I am getting rid of my Novell Servers and my Linux machine and one of my old monitoring workstation. I am going to only have my five main server and four workstations.
Having only four workstations still presents problems with room and creates another problem. That of Sound and Speakers! Each machine has a set of speakers and they don't make a switch box made for sharing speakers. Well they do, but it is not feasible. Let's say you have one machine to sound off a WAV file each and every time you get an email. Then you purchase a switchbox that directs sound from one input machine to your set of speakers. The only problem is that you can only have one machine on at anytime. So therefore your email machine does not tell you when your email has arrived. I first thought I would make my own switchbox with a set of diodes allowing all inputs into the same set of speakers. Then I thought of something!
Consider a mixer! If you purchase a small Stereo Mixer and input each and every machine into your mixer as a stereo mix, then all the machines can sound at the same time providing you with more room and all sounds will work consecutively. Even though I am not really a supporter of Radio Shack, they have a small Stereo Mixer for around $150.00. Stereo, however, is the keyword here. You can purchase several different brands of mixers and most are made for mixing microphones. Few are made with stereo inputs. So you have to make sure it has support for Stereo inputs.
 I personally purchased a Pro Mixer that supported Microphone-Mixing as well as Stereo Mixing because of the price and quality of the unit. I found a 12 channel (4 Microphone and four Stereo Line inputs) Mixer made by Behringer for about $140.00. This is a Professional Mixer in a small format that is packed with many features found in much larger units. And it is not bigger than a legal size ream of paper. It looks complicated but really is easily connected with the right connectors. All inputs from all your machines could be connected to all the inputs using the first four microphone hookups as line inputs. This would give up to six machines sound through one set of powered speakers. I highly recommend the use of a small mixer to help keep you desk clear of all those speakers that all your machines us.
Mixers come in all different shapes and sizes. Do you research carefully and find the one just right for your needs.
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