[APML] a bit OT - serial ports & autoguiders

["Joseph O'Neil" <joneil@multiboard.com>]

	Reading posts abou the ST4 autoguider, I have found something that may 
affect some of you.

	To make a long story short, I bought a DSC kit to install on my mount, and 
when I was ready to test the electronics before final installation, I found 
out the hard way, that my 6 month old IBM Thinkpad laptop has NO serial 
ports.  Yep, that's right, no serial port.  2 USB ports, parallel and just 
about every other port in the world, but no serial port.  Boy, do I feel 
*really stupid* right about now.

	I did some digging and apparently in the rush to USB, serial ports are 
very quietly disappearing off  some laptops, and even some low end, new 
desktops.  I never knew this.  One programmer I know also predicted the 
demise of the paralell port within 5 years as everything moves to USB or 
whatever new standard they will have in that time.    I hope he is wrong.

	Now you can buy a USB to Serial adaptor from Belkin for about $75 US, but 
I have not tried one yet to see how it "talks" to my DSC unit.  Sadly it 
probally costs something  like a buck or two for the companies to build a 
serial port into a computer in the first place.
	Where it comes on topic here, is many cameras and autoguiders use serial 
ports, no?

	I am  not a programmer (been a long time since my days in dos & pascal), 
but from what I am told, programming for USB is a lot more complex than for 
a serial port, so some of my programmer friends are less than 100% happy at 
this prospect, and as a result, many thrid party products using serial 
ports may take some time to switch over.  It's one thing if you are 
MicroSoft and have the resources to keep up, but entirely another for a 
small company to do so.

	It's not just astronomy - I have a friend who programs navigation software 
for pleasure boaters where you plug your GPS into your laptop - and yes, it 
uses a serial port.  So do many other "non-mainstream"  applications.  	So 
just a friendly heaps up, if you are looking to buy a new laptop for use in 
the field, make sure it has a serial port or buy one of those Belkin USB to 
Serial port adaptors.  Maybe some of  the new DSC and CCD cameras will come 
USB ready, but there are a ton of used cameras, DSC units, and the like out 
there, in perfectly good working order, and you will need a serial port or 
an adaptor to make them work.

	One last comment, at the risk of flogging a dead horse, in an oft-handed 
way,  this is a prime example of why I think film should never be abandoned 
entirely in favor of digital, in any feild.   Mind you, I am preaching to 
the choir here, as the old saying goes, but for new people on the list 
considering which way to go, think about it.
	You can always buy a new film scanner to scan your negatives and slides 
every two-four years, but what happens to the person  who buys a brand new 
digital camera (daytime or astronomical use), spends a few grand on it, and 
in 5 years time discovers none of the new computers being sold will "talk" 
to his camera?  What if Belkin stops making thier USB to serial port 
adaptor in 3 or 4 years?    Don't get me wrong, I think products like the 
ST4 and ST6 are phenominal,  CCD is the way to go for planetary imaging, 
and I have a nice new Olympus digital camera and it's great for what I use 
it for, but I figure on a 2-4 year life expectancy before I replace it, 
whereas if I buy a new lens for my 35mm Nikon, I count on a lifetime of 
use, accidents notwithstanding.
	I think the only way to buy anything computerized or digital - scanner, 
printer or camera, for pleasure or business use,  is to go at it with the 
mindset of getting maybe four years max out of it before you replace it. If 
you figure a way get longer use, excellent, and more power to 
you.   However, by that time, for dumb s***s like me who don't think to 
check for a serial port on a new laptop, something better will be out or 
you will be unable to get parts/repairs for your older unit, or maybe USB 
ports will have gone the same way serial ports are going today.
:)
joe






http://www.oneilphoto.on.ca
http://www.multiboard.com/~joneil


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