Commander X16

On 4/10/2022 at 2:26 PM, BruceMcF said:

a "proper" RS-232C connection

I've dealt with a whole bunch of improper "proper" RS 232 devices in my life. I use to have a book that was more or less a lookup/cross reference of a ton of devices to what their actual pin-out were so that a person didn't have to sit down a work one's way through. RS-232 was perhaps the worst standard in that no one checked/enforced compliance, unlike today where standards like USB make life vastly easier. Of course standards are changed/improved over time and fragment till the next one comes along to replace it. 

I was once part of a company that was manufacturing a DTE device. The put one full serial port on it implemented in hardware, and a second one with only Tx, Rx and Gnd wired up. When a customer asked for a  second full serial port, management came to the team and asked if it could be done by implementing it in firmware without redesigning the device/circuit board. ? 

Anyway, for the hobbit who is running RS-232 over longer distances they would/should be aware that RS-232 isn't the ideal standard and choose devices/interfaces that were designed for the distance and the environment they are deploying in. 

PS - yes, you choose your words carefully, but others are sometime vague or unaware.

 

On 4/10/2022 at 4:00 PM, Edmond D said:

Anyway, for the hobbit who is running RS-232 over longer distances they would/should be aware that RS-232 isn't the ideal standard and choose devices/interfaces that were designed for the distance and the environment they are deploying in. 

Hey now. I hope you mean hobbyist. 

Sometimes, that's all you have available. Of course, converting to RS-422 (or even to Telnet, via terminal adapter) for longer runs can be helpful, but that's not always practical when using hardware devices that don't involve computers. 

 

On 4/11/2022 at 1:08 PM, TomXP411 said:

On 4/10/2022 at 6:00 PM, Edmond D said:

Anyway, for the hobbit

Hey now. I hope you mean hobbyist. 

?

Oh, and regarding communications links, there's always RS-485...

Whatever's better than current loop. ? 

On 4/11/2022 at 11:08 AM, TomXP411 said:

Hey now. I hope you mean hobbyist. 

I was out trolling for some humour. ? I suspect now I'll be watched by some evil eye. 



Anyway, for those here for the long run, they'll know that any physical communication media has its limitations and will adapt. 

On 4/11/2022 at 2:08 PM, TomXP411 said:

Hey now. I hope you mean hobbyist.  ...

While I freely admit my feet are a little hairy, they are not that hairy.

And, yes, when what you want to use lets you choose from a bespoke 8bit parallel interface, SPI, and a UART, getting an adapter to take the UART to +/-12v is often the most direct workable connection for longer runs. I love SPI, but I don't want to run it from a first floor room to a basement bench (even American/Chinese first floor, never mind European first floor).

On 4/11/2022 at 12:11 PM, kelli217 said:

?



Oh, and regarding communications links, there's always RS-485...



Whatever's better than current loop. ? 

I have been using RS-485 with my PTZ cameras, and that's pretty handy for longer runs. I've even been considering connecting a PTZ joystick to my PC as a macro keypad (yes, I'm weird) using a RS-485/RS-488 USB UART. 

Anyone up for Toilken Ring? ?

I just couldn't resist. 

Whole bunch of communication devices - http://www.nationaldatamux.com/Gandolf.htm  - I believe I've used some of them in my past retro days. 

If 12 Volt is important  You can always have a barrel connector taking current from a 12 v transformer with a small voltage regulator for the 5V lines.

PC power supplies have minimum load requirements to regulate correctly. The original IBM PC power supply (192W) had a minimum load requirement of 7A on the 5v line (35W). Modern supplies are going to have much lower minimums, but pulling only 0.5W from a 300W is going to be problematic. Is the PC case/power supply still part of the plan?

On 4/13/2022 at 10:26 AM, SolidState said:

Is the PC case/power supply still part of the plan?

There was a case being planned see 


 but it was later shelved ? . Search the forum for more info.  I assume that the prototype boards are being run off of modern productized supplies, so I don't have a concern that when the X16 ships that one would have to source/construct a custom supply.