RS-232, USB, and Pink Flamingo Kitsch
Dearest Friend & Subscriber,
2007 year marks the 50th birthday of the the King of Lawn Ornaments, the Pink Flamingo. Right up there with Velvet Elvis, it's the ultimate icon of American pop culture nostalgia.
Ever heard of "Flocking"? Flocking is when you come home from your morning jog on your 40th birthday and find forty pink Flamingos in your front yard. A gentler, yester-year alternative to Toilet Paper In Your Shrubbery.
I'm sad to report that the Pink Flamingo factory in Massachusetts USA, Union Products, has closed its doors. Apparently the cost of resin and electricity got out of hand and it just is not profitable to produce these lovely birds anymore.
But just like our own trusty RS-232 ports, the Flamingos live on. In the front yards and back yards of America and every country in the free world, each pair of plastic pink flamingos symbolizes independence and freedom. Freedom to conform to the tastes of the 1950's rather than the insistent fashions of Now.
Calvin Klein is not for everyone, you know.
Is the Pink Flamingo's lawn-ornament reign over? Heavens no. Pink Flamingos will live on for decades in antique shops and Ebay auctions. And every Modicon or Siemens PLC with a DB-9 connector, churning out parts in factories around the world, is a testament to the never-say-die spirit of the Serial Port.
Before it was declared "obsolete" by Bill Gates and friends, the Serial Port gave birth to USB.
While USB in itself isn't a perfect industrial bus due to distance limitations and a handful of other factors, it's an ideal bus for adding serial ports to a system. Seems like most everyone that uses a laptop for field service has one of our isolated USB to serial converters by now.
What about embedded and industrial PC's? These specialty PC's are finally loaded with USB ports now, just like the stuff you buy from Dell. And there's no easier way to add serial ports to an embedded PC than with these new two and four port, fully isolated USB to RS-232, 422 and 485 converters.
http://www.bb-europe.com/product_family.asp?FamilyId=334&ee03062007
This is a Plug-and-play way to add RS-232, RS-422, RS-485 ports complete with Isolation between the serial port and USB port as well as between each serial port. 2000 volts on single port units, 3000 on multiport units. No external power required, fully powered by USB bus.
Pluggable terminal blocks on all RS-422/485 models. DB9's on RS-232 models.
Engineering Dept. Quietly Overtakes B&B Electronics .....
We've currently got our tech department ripped up for some remodeling. We've been hiring engineers and still looking for more (email me if you're interested). And because we've got to make some room, we've got people tucked into nooks and crannies for the duration of the construction.
Can't say for sure, but I've got a hunch there's a Pink Flamingo tucked away in one of those cubicles somewhere. As a matter of fact, don't tell anybody but we're thinking of flocking Don (El Presidente) for his 4 year B&B Electronics Anniversary.
If you've got a pair of Flamingos you'd be willing to donate - or if you've just got a serial port you need to make immortal - we're standing by ready to take your call.
support@bb-europe.com or 353.91.792444.
Towards Bigger and Better and More Flamboyant Kitsch,
Mike Fahrion
support@bb-europe.com
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