[TenTec] USB -> RS232

[al_lorona@agilent.com]

> 
> You may want to check your USB com port base address and IRQ 
> status.  If they're not in the "traditional" areas, e.g. COM1 @ 0x3f8
> IRQ4, the control packages may not work.  I've had this problem in 
> the past, both with USB and PCI serial devices.
> 
> It might be possible to force the USB com port settings to 
> something like COM3 or COM4 via Windows' Device Manager.
> 
> Al, K2ZN

Ah, Windows. There was an recent editorial in one of the computer magazines saying how, after all these years, Windows is still not any easier to use, really; still not where it needs to be in terms of plug-it-in-and-go. Yet, the GUI is packed full of icons, shortcuts, accelerator keys, hidden menus, animation, colors, right-click, and on and on... none of which serves the basic robustness of the operating system, nor its user-friendliness, but serves to make the OS larger and larger. "Windows expands to fill the available space," as they say. I still need to reboot my machine (Windows 2000) periodically to recover stability after an application does something illegal.

I used to be a UNIX engineer. All I ever heard from users and people learning the operating system was how cryptic it was. And it can be. But you know what? That's what a computer science degree is for: to train you to deal with complexity and computer languages. And you know what? We had machines that had been running for well over a year without once being restarted (don't say 'reboot' around UNIX people; they will pooh-pooh your obvious PC background) and they showed not the slightest sign of instability or unpredictable behavior. 

Roughly speaking, PC's running Windows at 1 GHz or more with gobs of RAM are about as fast as 200 MHz UNIX machines. This alone is an indication of the efficiency of the system. When Windows/NT came out, it was billed as finally ready for 'mission-critical' applications. That's not quite true. If I were in intensive care, I would not trust the operation of my respirator to Windows NT. Give me an old, beat-up UNIX box any day. I'll sleep better.

I wonder how many people would trade in their Windows computer with its glitzy desktop for a machine with a non-Windows operating system that *worked*, no matter what, did everything you needed it to do, never crashed, never hung up, allowed multiple users to log in, and the only 'penalty' was that you had to give up some conveniences?

A really good analogy is a shiny new KenSuCom with dozens of cool knobs and buttons, but that chops dits on CW and has horrible phase noise and intermodulation.

I really hope you get your USB-to-serial converter going. 

I feel much better now that I got that off my chest.

Al  W6LX