Ethernet to S/P/USB hubs?

[koputai]

Hi Folks,

I'm after a communications hub to live out on the pier, and I don't even
know if such a thing exists.

Essentially I want to run power and ethernet from the shed to the pier,
and at the pier have USB, Serial, and Parallel connections.

USB for guide camera and DSLR
Serial for EQ6 control
Parallel for an old SBIG camera

Does such a thing exist? I know I could buy a small format PC and have
that out on the pier, but then I'd still need USB to serial and USB to parallel
adapters.

Any hints?

Thanks,
Jason.

[ZeroID]

Parallel is short distance only, 5 meters is max normally and good luck finding a PC with parallel these days. At work we use a 'Legacy Adapter' with clips on under the laptop to provide serial and parallel connections. (Product support requirements).
USB and serial have their own issues but are manageable.

[AndrewJ]

Gday Brent

Its actually still relatively easy to get a mobo with native parallel ( and serial ) but they exist as headers on the board.
( ref pretty much any mobo with a B75 northbridge chip )
All you need is a wired adapter and you are away.

Also, there are cards that can be fitted if reqd to give it.
The biggest problem is if you need specific drivers or low level access,
as W7 onwards makes direct access difficult

Andrew
who just built a new PC with real serial and parallel ports

[koputai]

Thanks guys.

Actual PC's aren't a problem, and I already have such a beast on standby in the shed. The issue is that I want Serial/Parallel/USB to be out at the pier, and a full size PC just isn't an option out there. What I really really want is a box that provides Serial/Parallel/USB that I can feed with power and network connections, so it can be like a remote I/O box for the main PC in the shed.

Cheers,
Jason.

[michaellxv]

Have a look at www.blackbox.com.au (http://www.blackbox.com.au) they have options for serial and usb, but I could not see one for parallel port. I'm excluding the print servers as I don't think they will do what you want.

I think the right laptop/PC with everything you want would be better otherwise you are probably looking at multiple boxes each requiring power and a network connection to a small switch. Read lots of cables. And it would probably cost as much or more than a small laptop.

[rogerco]

The "box" you need will be a computer which you will probably access remotely. Only a computer would be able to handle the data processing required to get all those protocols transmitted over the network. That being said it doesn't have to be a big computer. I don't have the link to them at the moment but there are computers as small as about 6" square by 1" think (thicker in the new measurements ;)).

This:-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856110105

is the sort of thing I mean but you would need to search out one with the legacy ports you need.