[RTTY] RTTY equipment configuration question

[William G. Lisk]

I am investigating RTTY for the first time and am seeking advice regarding equipment configuration.

I have an Icom IC-7000 and an IC-7100 and was looking at ways to use them for RTTY.  Each has an RTTY mode.  Using that mode with true FSK seems preferable, because it takes advantage of the filters built into these radios for RTTY and narrows the passband to minimize noise and interference.  

The problem is the apparent lack of a good way to use a modern PC in this configuration.  Users report best results with a PC’s RS232 serial port.  Most modern PCs (like my laptop) don’t have them.  And most USB to serial adapters are reported by users as not working well for 45 baud TTY.  The Timewave and Rigblaster interfaces cost hundreds of dollars and are overkill for my application.  I just need the capabilities of a dumb terminal, PTT, and ideally be able to have a log file of any QSOs.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Bill
KC2EMH