[Elecraft] Give us a network interface

[Guy Olinger K2AV]

There are PCI-X multiserial cards available that plug into the forward
section of PCIx16 video slots.  These are readily available and PCIx16
is not going away anytime soon being a very popular video format.  The
demise of serial ports is overstated. Thankfully the serial port is
not being pushed by new game designers, extending speed and changing
behavior to suit a new game every other week like USB.   Worry about
this interface when video card people give up on PCIXnn slots.
Industrial users are interested in spending money on new equipment and
then using it for free for twenty or thirty years.  It is the
extremely expensive industrial peripheral equipment that will keep
serial ports in use for another decade or two.  If it costs them
money, industrial users would just as soon Microsoft walked off a
cliff.  Their engineers are really nasty about spending money based on
someone else's consumer-grade eye-candy.  There's
hope-you-will-buy-my-new-gizmo salesmen TRYING to drive a market, and
there's financial reality.

There is a REASON why TV graphics are confined to a 4x3 box on a high
def 16x9 presentation of a sports game.  MOST people are watching on a
converter ahead of a 4x3 box.  My wife has our 16x9 TV in the game
room on the PS3.  According to her, I have to wait for the big 31 inch
4x3 to fail before putting up a 50 inch in the living room.  The set
has a super-video input fed with a digital converter that has S-video
out, and it is actually very sharp.  The marketeers don't want you to
know what you can so with S-video and a converter box.  They don't
want you to know about serial ports either.  No volume in it. No
money.

Wierdness with my K3 connected to my computer went away when I quit
using USB in favor of a PCIX serial card.  I picked serial 1 and 2
which are assigned by the OS at bootup, not juggled in the air,
depending on whatever in the USB way.  A whole bunch of now and then
weirdness that would never trouble-shoot just went away and the serial
ports just run.  No wheezes, no dropouts, no weirdness, no drop
connects, no freezeups, no nuthin.  Just run.  What a concept.

These are cheap cards.  Do a google search on "PCIX serial card".
Over 1.8 million hits.  Many manufacturers.

73, Guy.

On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 12:08 PM, G. Beat <gregory.beat at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>
> There are Ethernet (TCP/IP) terminal servers supporting at least one RS-232 port
>
> as well as additional A/D lines readily available on market for less then $100 (proper qty).
>
> Some even support two RS-232 ports.
>
>
>
> Just need to look at inside cover of Circuit Cellar monthly magazine or
>
> a recent issue of Elector magazine (now available in the USA)
>
>
>
> The chips are inexpensive -- typical radio amateur knowledge to use them -- rare !
>
>
>
> Greg
>
> w9gb
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: elecraft-request at mailman.qth.net
> Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 11:00:05 AM
> Subject: Give us a network interface (Wayne Burdick)
>
>
>
> As long as PCs have USB ports, and as long as there are USB to RS232
> adapters available, then the K2, K3, and other rigs having RS232
> control will be 100% supported. No one need worry about installing an
> RS232 card in their computer.
>
> Future Elecraft products will have additional I/O options, possibly
> including USB and/or Ethernet, but I can't make predictions beyond that.
>
> It is also possible for the K3's present digital daughter board to be
> replaced with one having USB, Ethernet, or a combination of I/O ports.
> We might look at this. Of course we would continue to offer the
> existing unit, with RS232, as long as there is a need for it.
>
> Thanks for all your thoughts on the matter.
>
> 73,
> Wayne
> N6KR
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:Elecraft at mailman.qth.net
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html