[Elecraft] How 'bout a USB interface?

[Phil Wheeler]

Not my cup of tea, I fear.  RS-232 works fine for my rig control needs.

I'd rather Elecraft espend their creative talents elsewhere.

Just MHO :-)

73, Phil

John Clifford wrote:

>There are two major themes in this 'discussion'....
>
>Those who question the utility of USB over RS-232 offer up the 'dongle'
>approach.  Sure... if the only reason for USB support is because you don't
>have enough serial ports on your computer.
>
>I started this thread because I believe that USB offers some real advantages
>over RS-232.  In order to utilize those advantages, we are going to have to
>change the paradigm of 'rig control' to something beyond what it is now.
>
>We all know that some rigs excel in certain areas, while others show
>different strengths.  The Holy Grail of rig control programs (the One True
>Program or OTP) would allow the user to use the transmitter from one rig,
>and the receiver from one (or more) other(s).  Perhaps different
>transmitters could be used depending upon mode.  How about a PSK program
>being able to simultaneously monitor QSOs on several different bands... and
>being able to conduct simultaneous QSOs on several different bands?  These
>are just some of the things that USB could facilitate.  Sure... a good
>programmer can make anything do anything... but why fight RS-232 when you
>can switch to USB?
>
>The stepping stone would be to define a meta-control language, provide
>USB/RS-232 interfaces with onboard firmware (or allow for downloading of
>rig-specific drivers) to translate the meta-language into rig specific
>variants, and then create the USB/rig support class(es) for the various
>popular OSes.  Eventually, when the rig manufacturers see the light (and
>support USB and the meta-language directly) the stepping stones go away.
>
> 
>