Thread: No Serial Port
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Unread 08-01-2003, 18:58
Lloyd Burns Lloyd Burns is offline
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FRC #1246 (Agincourt Robotics)
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Join Date: Jun 2001
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Location: Toronto
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The trick is to avoid the "PDA adapter" (USA19Q, US$37 list) from Keyspan and get the "high-speed serial" (USA19QW, US$57 list) adapter from that company. The PDA adapter was translucent blue, the serial, translucent black(?)

The documentation for the hssa talks about the delay in getting a "Stop Sending" from the target device back through the USB/Windows interface, a delay of about a millisecond. "At 9600 bps, this is only a character". they say, but at higher speeds, perhaps 100 characters that are potentially sent and forgotten by the host, but never heard by the target device.

The adapter is, after all, only a software/hardware simulation.

North of the Border -----
The Parallax site has a serial adapter (not the Keyspan) for sale for US$22, but UPS International 'service' costs US$44, making the "inexpensive" part cost about Can$100 TNIP. A local dealer, CompuSmart, sells the Keyspan USA19QW for Can$80 TNIP.