[Elecraft] How 'bout a USB interface?

[Ed Tanton]

That's exactly my point John... who really wants to do any of that crap? I 
certainly don't. I don't actually want my CPU to run my radio. If I did, 
I'd just stick to the Internet and forget Ham Radio. I see very little 
difference between chat rooms and CPU-controlled radios.

But what I want doesn't matter. What DOES matter is how many people want to 
do a given thing, and what would they do it with, if they could. Certainly 
with the more-or-less LOSS of serial ports as a standard item on PCs, and 
the adoption of the USB port as THE current interface standard, it IS 
possible that manufacturers-such as Elecraft-should think about USB. But 
you know what? As I said earlier, w/o sufficient demand, and w/o programs, 
it simply is NOT going to happen.

There are many folks who do like to have CPU interfaces for certain 
applications (obviously I'm not one of them) like real-time-contest-logging 
and RTTY... but specialized apps are NOT about to get software written for 
them w/o someone picking up the gauntlet and writing those apps. And it's 
obvious it'll have to be the guys who WANT those apps to happen. Without 
them it isn't that there is little likelihood of changing from serial port 
to USB ports... there is NO likelihood whatsoever.

Furthermore, WIN 2000 PRO multi-tasks very nicely, thank you. Even with a 
DSL-router, one of my college sons home for the summer on the chat room 
stuff any time he's home, and me with MS Office Shortcut Bar/Eudora 
Pro/Adobe Photoshop 6/ONTRACK Power Desk Pro/ and Opera 6 open 
simultaneously, I haven't had the slightest problem opening several DOS 
windows for other tasks.

So, what incentive is there for spending that much hardware-design-change 
money and software-design firmware-change money for 1 or even for 100 
people? Without AVAILABLE software, why would any manufacturer consider 
spending all that money? That number does not compute-even through a USB port.

Lastly, this dead-horse is about flogged to death, I think. I'll try and 
restrain myself from now on to private communications.


73 Ed Tanton N4XY <n4xy@earthlink.net>

Ed Tanton N4XY
189 Pioneer Trail
Marietta, GA 30068-3466

website: http://www.n4xy.com

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