Re: Re: Serial port expansion

["Paul Gordon" <paul_gordon@xxxxxxx>]

OK, I got the 2-port PCI card from www.netshop.co.uk
(http://www.netshop.co.uk/cgi/foxweb.exe/cgicode?prod=PCI200H&clk=tx)
for
£31 all inc. Despite what it says on that URL, there *is* Win2K support -
it
came with W2K drivers in the box. It installed and configured flawlessly
via
PNP, and showed up as COM3 & COM4 in device Manager.

It gave me a bit of a fright initially, as any devices I hooked up t  it
were not seen, - when I put the temperature logger on and monitored it with
Hyperterm, I just saw garbage coming in. - I had t  have a fiddle around
with some of the FIFO buffer settings (the driver for this offers
considerably more config options than a "standard" serial port) -
(The tip
is t  move all 4 sliders to about the mid-point). After a few minutes
fiddling, I (purely by chance) came across the right settings, and
instantly
saw my temperature readings come flooding in!

So far, so good, - that gives me 4 COM ports, but I actually need 5... I
tried hooking up one of my USB-serial adapters that I got from M**lins, and
in proper USB style, it attempted t  auto-install the drivers as soon as I
plugged it in, but the driver install consistently fails (with a less than
helpful error message). Unfortunately, there is NO indication of the OEM
for
the device, and no URL (or anything helpful) where I can try t  get some
support (typical M***lins!), and I'm damn well not going t  play their
50p/minute support line game!

So, I have a choice: - order up another of the 2-port PCI cards, and try t
get 2 of them working concurrently, or, attempt t  find another USB-serial
adapter that I might have a bit more luck with...

Does anyone have any recommendations for USB-serial adapters which
definately work with W2K?.. - (Hint: this one does not..
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Pictures/26/3/07TJ6003.JPG
)

I'll probably order up another 2-port card anyway, just in case, (I'm sure
I'll always be able t  find a use for it!)

Cheers.

Paul G.



>
>Action do a 4 serial + 2 parallel for £56 + vat but none in stock at
>moment.
>http://www4.action.com/cgi-bin/product.x5?CATNO=779365
>
>Mark
>
>--- In ukha_d@y..., "Paul Gordon" <paul_gordon@h...>
wrote:
> > I'm sure I remember someone mentioned last week in this thread
>about a
> > 4-port PCI card... I didn't pay too much attention t  it at the
>time, as I
> > didn't think I needed one, but now I may do after all... Anyone
>still have
> > the link?
> >
> > Cheers.
> >
> > Paul G.
>
>


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