On 2/9/07, Robert Bruninga bruninga@usna.edu wrote:
Does anyone have a PCR-1000 ICOM remote controlled receiver?
How long can the serial port cable be? I heard it was operating at something like 112,000 baud and could not be run the 200 feet to our roof. This makes it a deal breaker.
Was the limitation the RS232 being voltage-based, or was it a timing thing, Bob?
There are commercially-available converters to go from voltage-based "RS" standards to current-based ones if it's just a distance limitation brought on by the low voltages and cable loss.
I would think as long as you could get the signal there and back, since RS232 is asynchronous -- the converters would work.
(But you probably already knew that...)
I just Googled for "RS232 extender" and this comes up, for example: http://www.ramelectronics.net/HTML/EXT-RS232.htm
They don't say, but they're probably just converting from RS232 to RS422 or RS485.
Googling "RS232 to RS422" yields this: http://www.simplycheap.com/videoanalyddconv002.html And it actually says it supports the speed you need.
Those are cheaper. Gotta love anything at a website called "simplycheap"! (GRIN)
Only worry would be timeouts in the application layer of the protocol, and I doubt at your distances it would be a problem. Can you get power up on the roof or nearby enough to power the remote converter unit?
Nate WY0X