I need some free advice from more experienced hands than me. Rumor has it
that Santa is going stuff a new laptop into my stocking soon. Hey dude, I'm
getting a Dell! That's great from a PC stand point (although I'm not
looking forward to the Vista learning curve!), but now I need to address rig
interface issues.
The laptop has no serial ports, nor a PCMCIA slot which I currently use with
a dual serial card, only USB ports. Sooo, some new interfacing issues need
to be addressed. I've been doing a little research on the internet and
think I've boiled it down to two paths, but looking for advice on which way
might be better.
1. Go the USB to serial adapter route. This would let me continue using my
Rigblaster Plus interface, but I would need at least two adapters or a
single two port adapter, for keying and rig control. Byterunner has several
two port models, but I'm not sure if any of them would handle FSK. I can't
find anything about serial adapters at the Belkin website, so maybe they
have discontinued their line? I have found several different brands of PC
docking devices on the internet, some with a single serial port of unknown
ability. Anybody have any experiences with either the Byterunner serial
port adaptors or docking station serial ports?
2. Dig a little deeper into the piggy bank and opt for something like a
microKeyer II. This would surplus the Rigblaster Plus and IC CT-17 level
converter, but would make interfacing easier (I think!) by coming directly
off a USB port. The only concern I have here is the fine print a the end of
the microKeyer II features description that says:
Due to differences in features and control protocols among transceivers, the
support software (microHAM USB Device Router) may not implement decoding of
operating mode and/or frequency, automatic selection of mode, frequency/mode
dependent configurations, and/or FSK for all supported radios.
My radio is an IC-756PRO. I think this would not be a problem, but not
really sure. Anyone out there with advice please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks,
Gary AL9A
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