[amsat-bb] Re: Icom PCR-1000 PC controlled receiver

[Nate Duehr]

On 2/9/07, Robert Bruninga <bruninga at 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