[rescue] Wanted - Lantronix or other "serial server"

[Ethan O'Toole]

> Just to throw it out there, if you are running Cat5 from all the random
> points of interest to a central switch (with no
> intermediaryswitches/hubs), a PortMaster with a hand full of RJ-45
> adapters on either end might suffice...

Ah yes.. The way this setup will be, one sign is on the 2nd floor, and
then 2 on the 18th floor separated by fiber.

I found 4 of the Lantronix units via feeBay, so I should be good.

I tried to use a portmaster PM2E-20 some months ago, and it didn't work
well at all. The LED signboards use some control characters. For the life
of me, I couldn't do a tcp connection thru the portmaster and pass the
data (basically output from a perl script). So yea, the Lantronix units
might not work either :-) If they don't, then I will revert to plan A
which was NetBSD on embedded boards strapped to the back. My main beef
with that is the power supply setup is a bit messy.

> I understand this may be an application where the need to be on
> accessible local nets with routers/switches between points of interest,
> but I just wanted to mention that you can run RS-232 signals quite far
> over Cat5 wiring...

Last time there was a Hope, we actually didn't have enough cable... so I
used part cat5, then soldered it to connectors to use Microphone XLR
cable. Had to slow it down to 1200 bps, but the data got there :-)