[CQ-Contest] Mode 516 Suggestions

[David Robbins]

can i disagree also??  i want ethernet direct to the radio, that can work with
dos, windows, and many other os's. the 7 logging computers i have here have
ethernet and rs-232 but not usb.  add an audio streaming interface and the radio
is 'internet ready'.

Joe Pontek wrote:
> 
> I whole heartly disagree. The port on the radio should remain RS-232.
> A computer is not the only hook up to a radio. If you remote control
> a radio with a modem, it will use an RS-232, not a USB.
> 
> Best regards de K8Joe"Palooka" & Beverly
> Joe & Bev Pontek, Sr.
> 26441 Devaney Road
> Arcadia, IN 46030-9532
> USA
> 317-984-7388
> FOC 1743  FISTS 7625
> K8JP V31JP VP5/K8JP VP5JP K8JP/VA2 ex-K8HKM
> Read the "Contest Traveler" in The National Contest Journal
> http://sites.netscape.net/v31jp/homepage
> also: k8jp at arrl.net & v31jp at contesting.com
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-cq-contest at contesting.com
> > [mailto:owner-cq-contest at contesting.com]On Behalf Of Bill Coleman
> > Sent: Friday, 06 July, 2001 13:13
> > To: QRP; cq-contest at contesting.com
> > Subject: [CQ-Contest] Mode 516 Suggestions
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I sent the following message to Ten-Tec in reply to their call for
> > suggestions on the new Model 516:
> >
> >
> > One thing I believe you ought to consider is eliminating the DB-9 RS-232
> > interface in favor of a USB interface. There are several good reasons for
> > this:
> >
> > * In 1998, Apple introduced the iMac. One of the features of this machine
> > was a complete abandonment of all legacy I/O channels. Instead, Apple
> > stressed the use of USB, and later FireWire. While you might argue that
> > no hams use Apple computers (and that would be incorrect - I use them),
> > other Intel-based computer manufacturers have followed suit. Indeed,
> > Compaq and a number of other manufacturers have introduced "legacy-free"
> > PCs. Thus, it is pretty clear that in the future, serial ports may no
> > longer be standard equipment on PCs. (Apple hasn't shipped a computer
> > with a standard serial port since 1999) Granted, one can get adapters to
> > add serial ports, but such interfaces may not be mainstream in the future.
> >
> > * The RS-232 interface is an asynchronous, character oriented interface.
> > There is no error-checking on characters sent or received. Because of
> > this, it is certainly possible that the radio may fail to function
> > because of mis-interpretation of a garbled command. Hand-in-hand with
> > this is the fact that the protocol to speak to the radio isn't terribly
> > well-defined -- each software vendor has to implement his own version of
> > the protocol and some will be better than others.
> >
> > In contrast, USB offers an error-corrected interface that operates in a
> > functional manner. A driver library on the host computer would have
> > direct calls from software applications. It would then encode the proper
> > commands to the USB device, and interpret the responses. There's no need
> > for vendors to try to implement the protocol. (Unless they were trying to
> > write USB drivers for other operating systems)
> >
> > * The RS-232 interface is very slow. Typical rates of 4800 or 9600 bps
> > are used. USB is fast, offering speeds of 1.5 to 12 Mbps. At these data
> > rates, it is possible to send the radio AUDIO as well as the control data
> > across the interface. This opens up a whole new category of computer
> > control applications.
> >
> > * USB has become ubiquitious. Chip sets to support USB ought to be cheap,
> > perhaps cheaper than chip sets to support RS-232. At least USB has no odd
> > power requirements, such as the differential voltages required for RS-232.
> >
> > Even if you do not see fit to support USB in the Model 516, I suggest you
> > hold it in consideration for future Transceivers. Serial is on it's way
> > out. USB appears to be here for the long haul.
> >
> > Thank you for the consideration.
> >
> >
> >
> > Bill Coleman, AA4LR, PP-ASEL        Mail: aa4lr at arrl.net
> > Quote: "Not within a thousand years will man ever fly!"
> >             -- Wilbur Wright, 1901
> >
> >
> > --
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> >
> 
> --
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-- 
David Robbins K1TTT
e-mail: mailto://k1ttt@berkshire.net
web: http://www.k1ttt.net
AR-Cluster node: 145.69MHz or telnet://k1ttt.net


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