In a previous post, I showed you how to setup Metatrader so it sends SMS text messages to your mobile phone, for free. This is very useful if you want to know when price hits a certain level while you are out and about.
But what is the best way to set up a dedicated computer to send out SMS alerts? I’m not sure if there is a best way, but this is what I did and it works for me. Here are some of the benefits:
- Cost effective – The computer is cheap and has more than enough power for what you need it to do. It also uses only about 8% of the electricity that a full sized desktop does.
- Small – The computer takes up very little space, it is about the size of a paperback book.
- Accessible – You can access the server from almost any computer with and internet connection to set your alerts. This means any remote PC, Mac or Linux computer and even some mobile phones.
- Security – Since this computer will only be used to send alerts, you do not have to leave your main computer on and exposed to the internet.
Sound good? This is what I did:
First, I purchased a nettop. This computer costs about $200 and is really small. I bought an Acer Aspire Revo 1600. Click here
They are about the thickness of a paperback book and can easily fit on a bookshelf. These computers are supposed to be for surfing the web and doing email, so they are a little under powered, but they work great if you are just going to run Metatrader on them.
From what I read, they pull about 8 Watts compared with 100 Watts with a regular desktop. This will save a little on your electricity bill.
At first, you will need to hook up a monitor, keyboard and mouse but after you get everything set up, you can disconnect everything except the power cord and the network cable because you will be controlling it remotely.
Because they are so cheap, there is no wireless on them. However, I think you can buy an internal wireless card for this computer or they also have external USB wireless adapters if you really want one. Click here
The nettop comes with XP Home already installed, so just install Metatrader and set it up the way you like it.
The next thing you need to do is to be able to connect to it remotely. Now this can be a little tricky but stay with me.
If you are like most people and will be running this behind a DSL or Cable modem then you need to do a couple things to make it accessible from outside your home.
The first thing you need is No-IP. The IP address is what identifies a computer on a network. Since a DSL or Cable modem does not give your computer a public IP address, we have to figure out a way to find the computer on the internet.
I use no-ip.com for this. It is a free service and it works well. Click here to visit their website and get instructions on installing the client. There is a small program that you have to install on the computer and there are some adjustments that you have to make to the router that is connected to your DSL or Cable modem. The free version requires you to renew it every 60 days, but it is a small price to pay.
The next thing you need is a VNC program. This will allow you to connect remotely and control your desktop. There are several programs out there, but I use UltraVNC.
This is also free and you can install a VNC client on another computer or even your mobile phone to access your computer at home. I have a VNC iPhone app and I can connect and control the computer right from my phone. You will be using the address you get from No-IP to connect via VNC.
If you are wondering why we cannot use Remote Desktop in Windows to connect to the computer, it is because XP Home does not allow RDC. You can upgrade it to XP Pro but it is kind of a hassle.
It might take a little experimenting to get it working, but it is worthwhile if you trade a system that requires alerts to be sent out. I set my signal levels in Metatrader and get a text message on my phone when those levels are hit.
Hope you found that useful. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.
If you enjoyed this article, you might also like:
Category: 
Tags: 
