Announcing "The Serial Box" serial port-splitter and amplifier interface

[Bob Wilson, N6TV]

 Product Announcement

My new "Serial Box" (S-BOX) is a passive serial port Y-splitter and
amplifier interface box.  It does for 9-pin serial ports what my Y-BOX does
for the K3 15-pin ACC port, and more.

The S-BOX can provide automatic band changing and frequency tracking from
any modern transceiver to any Elecraft, ACOM, or SPE automatic amplifier
(if supported by their CAT or CI-V monitor).  It also works with the
SteppIR control boxes, the SDR-IQ, and other devices designed to "listen
in" on serial port traffic between a computer and a transceiver.  By
default, only the RS-232 RXD and GND lines of the secondary serial ports
are wired in parallel to the pass-through port, so there's little potential
for RS-232 communications conflicts.

Details, photos, examples, schematics and an order form link may be found
here:

https://bit.ly/S-BOX


Each S-BOX can be custom wired and labeled to match your specific hardware
interface requirements.  But, the S-BOX is also flexible enough to be
easily rewired in the field, as needed, when your hardware changes, with no
need to obtain new custom interface cables.

*For K3/K3S owners*, the S-BOX can provide one or two independent FSK RTTY
+ PTT keying interfaces, or an easy interface to an SPE or ACOM amp. with
automatic frequency tracking, without requiring any custom-made interface
cables.  It can also be used to remotely "power on" a K3 or K3S, with no
Remote Rig box required.

*For KX2 and KX3 owners*, it can be used like a "Docking Station,"
providing computer-generated CW keying over the DTR pin of the same serial
cable that is being used to control the radio, using only economical
TRS-to-RCA stereo cables and a standard serial cable or a USB-to-Serial
adapter, no WinKey required.  The S-BOX also makes it easy to connect the
KX2 or KX3 to an automatic linear amplifier without the need for any
custom-made or home-brew cables.

*For KPA500 and KPA1500 owners*, the S-BOX makes it easy to connect the
XCVR or PC DATA connectors to the KX2 or KX3, or to non-Elecraft
transceivers (Kenwood, Icom, FlexRadio), for automatic band changes and
tuning, without having to rely on the "RF sense" feature.  No hand-built
"Cross-Over-Serial" cables required.  The S-BOX can also be used to
remotely and independently "power on" or "power off" a KPA500 or KPA1500,
with no Remote Rig box required.

The S-BOX includes four internal NPN open-collector keying circuits (CW,
PTT, FSK), optionally keyed via any of the serial port TXD, DTR, or RTS
pins using logging software, so you can key CW over the rig's serial cable,
even if the radio doesn't support that feature (e.g. KX2, KX3,TS-590S,
IC-7700, IC-7800).  One can also key CW or FSK RTTY via a separate serial
port, or key two different radios independently, using one or two serial
ports and a single S-BOX.

FYI, my other product, the Y-BOX, is still in production, and is especially
useful to owners of the K3/K3S, KAT500/KPA500, or KPA1500 and SteppIR (see
https://bit.ly/Y-BOX).  The S-BOX can optionally be "daisy chained" to the
Y-BOX, via a standard M/M DE-15 cable, or connected using RCA patch
cables.  Connecting the two is mostly useful if you need FSK/PTT serial
keying or the K3 Remote Power ON feature.

Thanks to Elecraft and all the Elecraft owners for your continued support
of these projects and these reflectors.

73,
Bob, N6TV
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