[TenTec] IC 7800/FT2000D/TenTec-?

[Martin Ewing]

Most any USB - serial adapter should work with the Orion.  They emulate the 
old-fashioned serial port pretty well.  From what I hear, you only run into 
problems if you are using the serial line in exotic timing-dependent ways.

I use a Keyspan 4-port unit with no trouble.  The main complexity is in the OS 
driver software.  Keyspan supports Linux in addition to Windows.  That's 
important for me.

Legacy PC hardware (ATX, ATAPI, IDE, AGP, and all that) will be around for a 
long time (in this business, that means more than 2 years!) because of the 
installed base.  New systems will be switching over pretty fast to the new 
standards.  For quite a while there have been "legacy free" corporate PCs 
without SIO or PIO ports.

For a radio manufacturer, USB seems like a no-brainer.  It's probably as cheap 
as serial, and what percent of user PCs don't have USB in the Orion / IC-7800 
market?  Even better, I would like Ethernet (or WiFi??) as an easy way to work 
the radio over longer distances and from multiple computers.  (That's the jack 
to watch on the '7800.)

Then, we'll have to worry about putting our rigs behind firewalls, to keep 
hackers, spam, and viruses out.  But you will be able to let the "Dolly Parton" 
folks log in to your rig and debug the firmware on the spot.

73, Martin, AA6E
---------
> From: "Rick Westerman" <Rick at dj0ip.de>
...
> I fear the serial port's days are numbered!
> 
> What we need to come up with is a list of good USB2 to Serial
> adapters (make and model number) that work with the Orion.
>