[PCR-1000] USB/Serial and dongles

Thu, 13 Mar 2003 19:38:51 -0500

Thanks Tim.

I guess the bottom line is that (as is always the case) the honest folks =
pay
the price. =20

Marty

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] =
[mailto:[email protected]]
On Behalf Of Tim Thornton
Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2003 7:15 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [PCR-1000] USB/Serial and dongles

USB/Serial adaptors
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
The problem is that there can be a significant and variable latency with =
USB
serial adaptors. Some, like the Quatech ones, allow you to adjust this,
though reducing the sampling period obviously puts more load on your =
system,
and generally some USB/RS232 devices work a lot better than others.
With the Bonito software it talks to their switchbox at startup and =
expects
a reply within a given time - if this is not delivered, you get a =
receiver
not found message and the program doesn't run. Bonito have addressed =
this in
Board Terminal, and possibly in Radiocom 5.2 as well, but only by =
increasing
their time-out so we do still get some problems.
If possible use a PCMCIA serial card, as we have found no problems with
these at all, with Bonito or with other software packages.

Dongles
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
First, remember that most software licences allow you to run the =
software on
just one PC, so if you want to run on a different PC yuo should =
uninstall
from the first one.
We have products that use both hardware and software copy protection, =
and
each has their advantages.
Software solutions keep the cost down and (obviously) require no =
hardware.
Some are transferable to other machines, and others are not. And there =
is
always the problem of the guy who replaces his hard disk or upgrades his
operating system.
Hardware devices allow you to install the software on as many machines =
as
you want, and just move the dongle around. They are impervious to =
changes in
the computer configuration, and a lot more flexible, but do add to the =
cost.
And why do it? Wel originally we didn't on our own software, but when we =
got
people phoning up and saying that they decided to buy a software package =
(in
this case Radiocom) just because it had copy protection and they =
therefore
couldn't just copy it from their friend who had shown it to them. This
attiude just makes software more expensive for those who are honest =
enough
to pay for their software, as the development costs need to be recovered
somehow.

Tim Thornton

Marine Computing International Ltd
www.marinecomputing.com
Tel +44 (0)23 8045 8047
FAX +44 (0)23 8045 8057
_________________________________________________________________
PCR-1000 Mailing List
Post Address: [email protected]
Subscribe / Unsubscribe:=20
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/pcr-1000
Mailman FAQ and Users Guide
http://mailman.qth.net/faq.htm