-------------Original Message----------------- Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2001 23:17:52 +0100 (BST) From: ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) Subject: Re: Network protocols - RS232 Serial ----------------------------------------------------- Well, I guess Product*S* is appropriate after all... They did indeed make quite a few different combinations, as well as the PrintDirector and DeviceDirector Printer/Terminal port sharing units, but I don't see yours listed in any of my literature; musta been older or newer than mine. I do see an NC7 (4S/3P) and some of the MultiSpool Print Directors were S/P combos. These are serial-only single-board babies, 16 RJ-45's along the back of the board, using standard DIP 256x1 RAMs. When you look at it, it sure doesn't look like $3000 worth... Now if they'd put some LED's on the front panel, say 4 per port, all blinking away merrily... We used them in two applications: One was collecting data from a bunch of AIM65's (later replaced by PC's) monitoring stock thickness in a brass rolling mill and sending it to a central Cromemco (also later replaced by a PC), and the other was a bond trader who used them to broadcast news of a new issue to his clients over dedicated lines, so some of them have been modified to simultaneously broadcast 1 port to the other 15 ('cause ya couldn't have one client getting the news before another, even at 9600 baud; that's how hectic the bond business is). mike