[Elecraft] RS232 vs USB yet again...

[Eric Swartz WA6HHQ - Elecraft]

[thread closed]
See the post I just made under a similar subject line for details.

Eric
List Moderator
www.elecraft.com
_..._



On May 12, 2012, at 7:56 AM, John Ragle <tpcj1r03 at crocker.com> wrote:

> George...
> 
> You're quite correct. I have one of these, currently in storage, waiting 
> for the day when my DELL XPS 420 shuffles off the mortal coil. 
> Fortunately, for $20 I could install a PCI board in the XPS 420 that 
> gives me a pair of COM ports, which I also did. My Parthian comment 
> about "planning for the succession" includes worries about the several 
> other PCI and PCIx boards I have in active use, most particularly the 
> frame grabber that allows me to 'window' my P3 operation.
> 
> Thanks for bringing up the Edgeport boxes. They seem to be very well 
> thought out.
> 
> John Ragle -- W1ZI
> 
> =====
> 
> On 5/12/2012 9:07 AM, George Dubovsky wrote:
>> One of the still-plentiful, proven, and inexpensive Edgeport boxes 
>> (USB to 4 or 8 RS-232) would seem to obselence-proof your station.
>> 
>> 73,
>> 
>> geo - n4ua
>> 
>> On Sat, May 12, 2012 at 8:48 AM, John Ragle <tpcj1r03 at crocker.com 
>> <mailto:tpcj1r03 at crocker.com>> wrote:
>> 
>>    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
>> 
>>    --
>> 
>>    Sent from my lovely old Dell XPS 420
>> 
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> 
> -- 
> Sent from my lovely old Dell XPS 420
> 
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