In the near future I'll need my nw9440 with MC3.0 and Mojo SDI to control a D-Beta deck. To do this I need RS422 for deck control. Since the laptop does not have a 232serial port, I'm looking at either a PCMCIA card with 232 serial port or a USB to Serial converter cable. Anyone have any luck, good or bad, with either of these to get deck control? Any suggestions? Thanks.

USB is better. Save your PCMCIA for storage controller or other high bandwidth devices. Keyspan is brand commonly used in the Avid world.

 

 

I have used a USB to Serial converter which worked well. Used it on my desktop but should work with your laptop. Converters are dirt cheap so no harm just trying.

If it works in Africa it'll work anywhere.

"If it works in Africa it'll work anywhere ..."

Amen to that.  I've shipped four Avid systems to Lusaka, and I'm amazed how how well they've done, and how well they've held up.

Dave ... to answer your PM, I've never actually used the Addneda USB-Rosetta.  However, the Addenda RS232-RS422 Rosetta Stome has been the gold standard for decades for PC-based Avids.  I'm maiking an educated assumption that their USB version is equally good.

davewruck:

In the near future I'll need my nw9440 with MC3.0 and Mojo SDI to control a D-Beta deck. To do this I need RS422 for deck control. Since the laptop does not have a 232serial port, I'm looking at either a PCMCIA card with 232 serial port or a USB to Serial converter cable. Anyone have any luck, good or bad, with either of these to get deck control? Any suggestions? Thanks.

 ....Yeah. Use the HP advanced or standard docking station. Docking Station has a COM port. You can use an RS 232 to RS 422 converter and all is well. We use our nw 9440 with base station COM port to a generic RS 422 converter and plug that into our Panasonic AG 7750's RS -422 port and all is well with Drop and Non-Drop frame VHS cassettes. Also works perfectly with Sony BetaCam SP machines.

 

My Dell Precision M90 does not have any serial ports, so I use an Addenda USB to 422 adapter.  It works exactly as advertised.  No problems to date.

Hey guys, a late followup here but thought it would be nice to throw this out there for anyone curious enough. Thank you all for the good suggestions - in the end I went with the Addenda RS-USB/4 for my nw9440 laptop. For $68, it seemed like the best deal around since it involved only one cable. Using the other USB to 422 connectors mentioned here required a few different plugs and cables to achieve the same goal. They may have ended up being cheaper but it was more connections to deal with on the road.  And as it turned out, installation of the Addenda was simple and nearly instantaneous! However, as told to me by the salesperson at Addenda, this is all great for XP32bit but their drivers are having comaptibility issues with Vista. So, in conclusion, the Addenda is a most exellent choice for USB to 422 control if you're on XP.