[Premium-Rx] better receivers.

[John Miles]

> I've learned the hard way that an instrument dependent upon PC control is
> soon obsolete.  The special card (ISA, PCI, etc) that goes in the PC and
> will only talk with certain versions of Windows will render the whole
> instrument useless when it craps out, or you can't buy PCs with
> <insert bus
> standard here>, or you can't buy that version of Windows anymore,
> etc.

Agreed 100%.  That's why I'm such a fan of Ethernet.  Ethernet ain't going
NOWHERE.  If receiver owners had the sense to insist on open protocols (and
preferably open-source control software) from the manufacturers, the
obsolescence question would be moot.

> I am not sure that I agree with John as many/most receivers have GP-IB -
> IEEE-488, a standard interface that has been and will be with us for many
> years to come - it has limitations and is relatively expensive -
> but it has
> stood the test of time and now can be accessed using USB
> converters.  Surely we should encourage manufacturers to
> implement such an
> interface - has the patent run out yet or is it evolving?

I'm sure that the patents are expired, at least in the US.  GPIB has indeed
stood the test of time, but it is slow and (apart from some proprietary
solutions) non-routeable.  It is a shame to require the control operator to
be within a few dozen meters of the hardware.

IP over Ethernet is the right solution for almost all remote-control
applications, IMHO.

-- john KE5FX