At 10:35 PM 08/03/08, you wrote: > On a quick look at the available controllers around the SCOM 7330 > looks like a fairly new kid on the block. I wonder if anyone has > had any experience with this model or SCOM as a whole? -Mike
Anywhere else I'd call that a trolling message... Asking repeater owners which is their favorite controller is akin to asking about religion. My own experience is that owners prefer the one that they had their first really positive experience with, learned the ins and outs of, and are loath to change due to the learning curve. My first controller was programmed with solder - it drove a tube-based 2m repeater receiver and transmitter so it had a tube-based COR and PL decoder, everything else was Agstat pneumatic time delay relays, clock motor timers, and KRP DPDT and 3PDT relays. It had a rotary dial (!) autopatch and a a 6m remote base. My second controller was another relay beast only it used DIP relays, 555 timers, and TTL logic. My third was a home-brew wire-wrapped Z80 single board computer that drove a crosspoint audio switch and ended up with 27,000 lines of assembly code. Then I found ACC, Creative Control Products, Link and Scom, in that order. The Scom family goes back through the MRC100 (about 1984), the 5K, 6K, 7K and now the 7330. I've used the 5K, the 7K and the 7330 and all are totally reliable. The random reset problem I had was traced back to a bad solder joint in a cable - not their problem, but at one point they were ready to exchange the controller. I blew up a 7K by accidentally shorting the +12 buss to the +5 buss, and Bob had it fully operational, and back in my hands in a week. The 5K, 6K and 7K are fully supported to this day. How many manufacturers actually support their early products to that level? The 7330 is the newest (it's been in beta test since thanksgiving and been in formal release for under 6 months) and the firmware has not caught up with all of the hardware features (like the A-to-D ports). The programming is straightforward. Some of the more advanced features are not covered in the manual as well as they could, but the book is advancing just like the firmware is. On the other tentacle, there is a 650+ member yahoogroup mailing list that is full of helpful people, all of which have "been there , done that". There is some more info at <http://www.repeater-builder.com/scom/scom-index.html> The S-COM Factory Supported email list is at: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scom-controllers/join> What other manufacturer has the chief programmer reading the official list? When I first started programming the 7K I asked a few questions (that in retrospect look really stupid) and I had an answer in under 12 hours. How is that for support? Mike WA6ILQ
