An RS232 port in the hand is worth acquisition

New from Tescina, the DataGet RS232 cartridge for the Visor is the first full implementation of a standard PC serial port for a Palm handheld.

New from Tescina, the DataGet RS232 cartridge for the Visor is the first full implementation of a standard PC serial port for a Palm handheld.

The DB9 port is the same as the one on a laptop.

All nine pins are supported, so connecting scales, pH meters, voltmeters, spectrophotometers and other RS232 devices is easy.

With eight signals (TXD, RXD, CTS, RTS, DTR, DSR, RI and CD), four data lengths (5, 6, 7 and 8bit), three stop lengths (1,1.5 and 2bit), and five parity options (none, odd, even, one and zero) the cartridge can accommodate almost any RS232 device.

It operates to 230.4Kbit/s and has software and hardware flow control.

The AutoWake technology Tescina pioneered with the Mitutoyo and Starrett cartridges is included in the RS232 cartridge.

The user can leave the Visor off, while still monitoring the serial port for activity.

When new data arrive the handheld automatically turns on to process the data.

To accommodate high speeds, an onboard buffer offloads work from the Visor.

The buffer also lets the user connect at up to 115.2Kbit/s without hardware or software handshaking.

The DataGet software has a new RS232 wizard for configuring the hardware.

Only the most common options are built into the software to make it easy for the average user to setup and use.

The software can also interpret ASCII data as separate numeric measurements.

In announcing this new product, Oliver King-Smith, President of Tescina said, "This keeps with our philosophy, of making DataGet the most versatile handheld data collection system at any price".

ESD protection shields the cartridge from static shocks.

To protect the Visor and DataGet cartridges from physical shocks, Tescina offers the GummiGuard cases.

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