On April 22, 2011 at 22:27, bcf1963 said...
You're a funny guy. You are telling me that every soldered DB9 connector has been pinned out right? I can't believe that even you believe that. If you are going to get it wrong with the adapter, why will they get it right with the soldering iron? Seems like bad thought process to me.
I've been told I'm a funny guy. You strike me as someone who is angry and feels the need to try to start a flame war on the internet in an attempt to prove you are smart. Sad really.
Yes, I have not had one cable pinned incorrectly since we moved to soldered connectors from RJ to DB conversion connectors. I don't really care whether you believe me or not. You have a right to your opinion and I have a right to mine. I know what I have seen and have no need to prove myself to you. As to your question of why soldering would be more accurate than pinning out an adapter I will try to explain in a way that you may understand. When a guy has to solder he will not grab an adapter off the van or out of his tool bag that may be pre-pinned. Unlike Stamp our guys dont sit down and pin out adapters ahead of time and mark them. Since they are forced to solder a connector they know what wire is on what pin and make certain they get it right every time. If I ask what color wire is on pin 2 they can tell me. I can double check them if needed. I can have them build the connector as I want it with thumb screw posts or simple screws for securing the connector. I have fewer connection points as well. This has worked for us where the RJ to DB connector did not and resulted in many wasted hours of troubleshooting. I don't really care if you approve of my process or not. It really is none of your business.
To me the adapters allow a clean neat setup for little time input, and allow the wire to be used for other purposes. This is more efficient in terms of money and time.
This is a personal opinion and applies only if the adapter is pinned correctly. When it is not then it is a huge waste of time. The same can be said for a solder on connector but I have experienced fewer mistakes when a guy has to actually think about how he is pinning out a cable. Not every installer is as organized as Stamp. Those that I have dealt with found it easier to learn to solder than to remove pins from a RJ to DB adapter. Pins can be broken, which the installer may or may not notice. IF this happens then it just increases the troubleshooting time. I stated a personal opinion about soldered connections. I stand behind MY PERSONAL OPINION that they are a better connector.
More misinformation. There is nothing in the RS232 specs that say things won't work over 50'. What is even worse, is you say Serial Communications. RS485 is serial communications, and blows your 50' out of the water.
[Link: arcelect.com]You really are a hostile individual. Anger management should be in your future. I didn't address RS-485 or RS-422 as the title of the thread is "RS 232 for Dummies". Considering the title I tried to keep the response simply and with guidelines. Had you bothered to read my follow up post you would have noted that I corrected myself. I have read the 50' length in many places on the internet and in books. I misquoted spec. It happens, people make mistakes. I corrected myself. Why such attitude? While I may have made a statement that was wrong it was not damaging. I have experienced many situations where RS-232 worked fine at 200 wire feet and times when it didn't work at 30'. Of the times it didnt work correctly at low wire feet count it was always a CAT cable. The longer lengths were of true serial cable. Even then I have had a few issues crop up at 65' of true serial cable at 2400 baud. Having a wire length in you mind, whether true spec or not, is a good thing for someone just getting started with serial communications. Telling a newbie that he can run a wire for 200' and have it work only to have him do this and it not work is going to cost him money. With thousands of systems under my belt I will always follow my experience and spec a system with RS-232 runs of less than 50'. IF I need to go longer than that I will add the appropriate gear to extend the length. Generally speaking we always spec in a separate processor for remote serial devices. We then communicate TCP between the processors.
You even discuss RS485 later in your response, but fail to address that it will work over longer lengths. Seems like you are applying "DirecTV installer mentality". The same mentality where DirecTV installers are told that CCS RG6 will not work, so they attempt to charge the customer to rerun the cable. Those of us who understand why DirecTV doesn't use the CCS, realize that on short runs, it will work just fine. Unfortunately, you are falling into this trap of spouting absolute numbers without understanding when they are valid.
Again, this is not a discussion of RS-485 or RS-422. I tried to keep things simple since the post title is "RS 232 for Dummies". I mentioned it casually and in my follow up post I corrected myself. How you draw a comparison to RG6 and a DTV installer with my mistake is grasping for straws. My guess is that you simply wanted to try to insult me further to make yourself feel like a bigger person. Hope it worked for you. I find your argument to be childish at best.
No, they didn't have to be switched to IR... you just don't know the tools to get the job done. I guess this is another situation where the Non-pro DIYer has to teach the Pro! LOL
In such a situation, you could keep the serial communication, for a minimum amount of money, and have a rock solid connection. Two of these bi-directional RS232 to RS485 converters, and for less than $50, you can run the serial data rate up to 115.2KBaud.
[Link: serialcomm.com]And this is why you are a non-pro DIY... "and for less than $50". The actual cost would be much greater than $50 once you figure in the time it takes to order, ship, postpone the job, piss off the client, more install time that has to be eaten, rolling a truck to a job again, etc. Look man, sometimes you have to get the job done in the amount of time alloted and within the budget allowed. IR conversion was a solution that could be implemented onsite and still kept us on target for budget. You haven't taught anyone anything, other than the fact that you have a need to try to insult people on the internet. Based on your DIY comment I would assume that your tactic is to try to prove your worth in this forum. I personally am not impressed. Yes, converters could be used. I could have converted to IP or implemented a fiber solution as well as the RS-485 converters. I could have delayed the job by many days to do this and postponed having a working system for the customer. Did the switch to IR instead of RS-232 make a difference in the operation of the system? Not to anyone but me, the programmer. Typical of a DIY person you think of solutions without basing them on real world working conditions. Pros have deadlines and promises to keep. As a DIY you have all the time in the world to tinker around with a system until you get it right. You have no money on the line outside of your own wallet.
