[Elecraft] RS232 vs USB yet again...

[John Ragle]

It is very rare that one can find a modern PC desktop that comes with 1 
or more RS-232 serial ports, just as it is becoming more and more 
difficult to find stock desktops with expansion slots on the MoBo. 
Laptops, at least newer than my ancient IBM Thinkpad, are even less 
likely to be equipped with RS-232 ports. This puts hams in an invidious 
position -- either use some old clunker of a desktop that came with 
RS-232 equipment, or find an expansion board that will plug into the 
MoBo of a moderately old tower, or use a USB-->RS-232 converter and go 
modern.

Regarding the various items of Elecraft equipment, the choice between 
USB and RS-232 seems to have had very little to do with relative merits. 
It is not "which one is better?" but "which one is more suitable?" 
Apparently a substantial fraction of the brethren use superannuated 
desktops because this is a reasonable financial option. Another fraction 
of us use modern-day laptops, even though they promise half the 
performance at twice the price of a modern desktop. When the choice is 
between USB-->RS-232 conversion and RS-232-->USB conversion, the former 
is more readily available (the USB->RS-232 converters) than the latter. 
Again, this is just a marketing matter.

Unfortunately, not all USB-->RS-232 converters are usable; some are 
"more equal than others" (apologies to George Orwell). A lot of the 
previous fuming and fussing over this topic has concerned specific chip 
sets and manufacturers of these converters. This is where the archived 
to-and-fro is of most utility. At first I was also a bit put off to 
discover that Elecraft relied on what I thought of as antiquated 
hardware, but in retrospect, I have gone over to the dark side and 
embraced the DB-9. I have used Firewire, USB, and RS-232, and find I 
much prefer the latter. I am fortunate to have a desktop with expansion 
slots, though in a bit of a quandary planning for the succession.

John Ragle -- W1ZI

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