[Elecraft] USB to serial angst

[Julian, G4ILO]

The thing about the RS-232 interface is that it doesn't limit anyone's
options.You can use it with an RS-232 port on the computer, or with a USB
interface via an adapter. You can also use it for remote control over
Ethernet using one of the couple of "remote rig" products I've seen
advertised recently in QST for $200 or so (which incidentally is probably
some indication of how much more we'd all have to pay if Elecraft had chosen
this communication method in the K3, regardless of whether we needed the
function.) The RS-232 adds the least cost to the price of the radio for
those who wish to use it for nothing other than updating the firmware. On
both flexibility and cost, the choice of RS-232 wins hands down over all
other options.

How so much angst can be caused over having to buy an external interface -
which costs little more than the price of a straight RS-232 cable - amazes
me. The driver issues would not be resolved by moving USB hardware inside
the radio. In fact they would be made worse, by making it impossible for
users to try alternative options. The responsibility for resolving the
issues would be put on to Elecraft, who doubtless would have to restrict the
size of the problem by deciding to support only the most commonly used
computing platforms.

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Julian, G4ILO. K2 #392  K3 #222.
* G4ILO's Shack - http://www.g4ilo.com
* KComm - http://www.g4ilo.com/kcomm.html
* KTune - http://www.g4ilo.com/ktune.html

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