Interested in going wireless?

[jrz_dad]

I've been looking at this combination for our Judge system. I was thinking I could use the Blueport XP and hook it to the starting electronics (serial port) of the Judge and then use the Bluetooth USB for the PC. Now I'm not an electronics wizard by any means - I'm just searching for an off-the-shelf option of replacing that serial cable (since my PC no longer has a serial port).

Would any of you smart guys out there take a look at this and let me know if you think this would work with The Judge and DerbyMaster Race Software....


http://www.gridconnect.com/blueportxp.html
http://www.gridconnect.com/bluetooth-usb.html

[gpraceman]

I'm just searching for an off-the-shelf option of replacing that serial cable (since my PC no longer has a serial port).

You could try out one of these devices to go wireless or use a USB to Serial Adapter.

If you do go the wireless route, get a device with the FTDI USB to serial chip. Then it does not need to use the bluetooth stack (a bit buggy) on your computer and is supposed to be automatically installed by Windows (XP and Vista).

[gpraceman]

http://www.gridconnect.com/blueportxp.html
http://www.gridconnect.com/bluetooth-usb.html

You can probably get these from the manufacturer for less.

For the timer end http://www.rovingnetworks.com/firefly.php
For the computer http://www.rovingnetworks.com/rnusbx.php

http://www.rovingnetworks.com/buynow.php

[SlartyBartFast]

Here's another option that timer manufacturers could easily incorporate:

A serial to Bluetooth board.
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc ... ts_id=8474

Or what looks like a very inexpensive Serial to WiFi board:
http://www.rovingnetworks.com/buynow.php
And SparkFun has the same board at the same price:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc ... ts_id=8869

$69 dollars for the component isn't bad.

Might just have to order one at the same time I order my microcontroller:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc ... ts_id=8971
and a few big 7-segment displays:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc ... ts_id=8530


This is getting expensive......



PS: LOL! You beat me to the punch GPraceman.

[Eskimo Joe]

Agreed.
Afterall, there are 10 kinds of people:
those that get it
and those that don't.