[Elecraft] RS232 vs USB yet again...

[Rick Johnson]

One more thought.....
Most would be surprised to discover that there is a serial port on your
motherboard on a lot of desktop computers.  All you need do is purchase
a cable with a DB-9 and a mounting for the back of the computer.  I found
the cable at TigerTronics for a couple of bux.

73,
Rick W3BI

> Date: Sat, 12 May 2012 10:56:18 -0400
> From: tpcj1r03 at crocker.com
> To: n4ua.va at gmail.com; elecraft at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] RS232 vs USB yet again...
> 
> 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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