At 6/19/2008 09:10, you wrote: >This was what I was told over 30 years ago...why put a micro on a >repeater...a waist. In the commerical world where get input key >transmitter yes a micro a waist. > >Well I did and it opened up all kinds of possibilities. We wanted a >tail...add hardware or add software...want a timeout, add hardware or add >software...want a tail beep, add hardware or software...want control, add >lots of hardware or software with a DTMF IC...want remote base/link add >lots of hardware or software with 2 transitors...CW ID add lots of >hardware or software. These are the old simple stuff, but very quickly >software base control becomes much cheaper and simpler. > >The with the PC you got all that power including sound card, internet for >Echolink/IRLP, etc. > >However, the better repeaters pay more attention to RF side, but a >controller can be fun to play with and can have important expansion features.
The "no moving parts" PCs are a good choice for this application: no fans or HDD to wear out, & low power consumption & heat generation (example: http://www.solarpc.com/silar.html). Not much CPU speed or non-volatile storage, but you don't need either for a repeater controller. Bob NO6B
