Re: [Advert] [BulkBuy] Low Cost RS232 Serial to EthernetConvertors

[ian.bird@xxxxxxx]

Hi Stephen

There are a few guys including myself working on Ethernet enabled gadgets
with interfaces to other whatevers. These include the Dallas 1 wire temp
sensors and I expect I/O ports. You could then connect the I/O to relays
for the valves and monitor the temperature with the stat. In my case this
sort of device speaks xAP (text based protocol) and the plus points here
are
1) standard Ethernet  infrastructure
2) no serial one to one limitations
3) will work with your own application from  a PC
4) can be interfaced into a lot of other applications with a connector and
some help from the xAP or xPL guys.

etc. etc.

It is a fair bit of work but would do the job rather well I think. Of
course you will have to wait for myself or one of the folks working on this
to produce something to sell. The down side with anything Ethernet is it
seems to cost around 100 minimum per module. You might be able to justify
this with the added functionality offered though.

Sadly you need mass production numbers (millions) to produce stuff at the
prices we see PC components. As an example I have to pay about a tenner for
a network chip, I can buy a network card for a PC with the same chip on it
for a fiver. Drives me up the wall for one.

Have fun

Ian




---------+----------------------------------->
Stephen
<yahoo@stephenorme.frees
erve.co.uk>

13/01/2004 23:02
Please respond to ukha_d

---------+----------------------------------->
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To:       ukha_d@yahoogroups.com
cc:
Subject:  Re: [ukha_d] [Advert] [BulkBuy] Low Cost RS232 Serial to Ethernet
Convertors
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




On Tue, 6 Jan 2004 15:03:39 -0000, you wrote:

>http://www.lantronix.com/products/ds/mss100/index.html
>
>They are a device about the size of a cigarette packet that allow a
>serial port to be placed anywhere on your Ethernet network and appear
as a
>'virtual' serial device within Windows using the (free download)
Lantronix
>Redirector software. This means that any RS232 serial device can be
placed
>remotely on your network - even over WiFi 802.11 - and still appear as
if
it
>was local attached to your PC.

Hi,

These sound great but after thinking about it a bit more I wonder: if
you have got lots of spare cable in situ ready to connect one of these
to, why not just wire a serial port into that cable directly? Isn't
the beauty of serial transfer that it can go over long distance?

One day I'd like to have serial thermometers and r232 controlled
radiator valves in every room; this device sounds wonderful but would
cost a fortune if I bought one for each room!

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