GPIB-ENET controllers by NI are on and off available on eBay for about $200. I would think there is a market for an ethernet/GPIB controller in that price range.
I also second the RS-232 option. While the USB-parallel interface chip has the potential of being much faster (which is great when there is a fair amount of data to download, such as a spectrum analyzer or a scope display, or with fast A/D converters for instance), there are many applications where the speed is not that critical, such as controlling signal generators, power meters, frequency counters and the like because these instruments have internal setup or acquisition times that are in the order of or slower than the communication time. As someone pointed out, a Serial-USB adapter cost only about $10 (www.geeks.com), and I would not mind having a GPIB-Serial device, and attach a Serial-USB if I want to. Once you provide USB only, that's it, it will be USB or nothing. The one drawback of a Serial only controller is that you probably need a separate power supply. It's not the end of the world though. It's not an absolute obligation either. I have a pair of IOTech Micro488/P controllers that are powered from the serial port. They use a Motorola 68HC05 chip internally and work well, even with the serial port from my Dell laptop. The command set is simple and effective, I would recommend it. When bought new, these IOTech serial controllers cost an arm, both legs and an eye... eBay to the rescue :-) Didier Christopher Hoover wrote: > "Prologix" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> I am in the process of designing a GPIB-Ethernet controller. You think >> that >> will be of any interest? >> >> Abdul >> > > Yes, very much so. Of course price is key. > > -ch > > _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list time-nuts@febo.com https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts