QUATECH ThinkQ QSE-100D-BA 4 Port RS-232 Serial Server (CHEAP!)

That barionet made me think really hard about how I can add more serial ports without spending too much money, so I started browsing eBay, and found this serial device server which converts 4 serial ports to IP. Buy It Now price is $25 with $8 shipping, but I offered $20 and he accepted. The one thing I didn't realize is that it needs a power supply, but I used an old one from a dead DLink 8-port switch. Power supply has to be 5VDC supporting 2A (mine is 2.3A I believe).

I received mine yesterday, and played with it, and must say I am really impressed. The device even supports initiating a tcp connection as a client (haven't tested this yet), and is pretty flexible.

I have already tried it with my SAI UPB PIM and Ocelot, which work great (tried locally, and from a remote location using a VPN connection). The plan is to also hook up the W800RF32 and the NetCallerID hardware.

The seller seems to have good ratings, here is the auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...E:B:BOC:US:1123

Obviously the device is used, but considering the new price is between $300-$400, you can't find a better deal. I do recommend you update the firmware, just make sure you stay within the major version (i.e., if yours came with 4.0, use the 4.26 update, you can't update to 5.x).

Drivers/Manual:
http://www.quatech.com/support/drivers.php#server


Tell them CocoonTech sent you (eventho I do not have any affiliation with this seller) ray:

Disclaimer: this device works for me, but please make sure you read the auction description before buying. I don't want to get any packages which make ticking noises

I also purchased two of these units. Are you using their software for the virtual com port setup?

I am for now, but they support 'generic' applications as well, such as the popular HW_VSP software.

Just picked up two, I'll post when they come in.

New Link to Auction. The link above was for an expired auction.

I grabbed a couple of these a couple of weeks ago after reading about them in this Homeseer thread.

They work great with Linux (Ubuntu 8.04, Fedora 11) and WinXP (native and virtualized through ESXi), I've had no problems what-so-ever.

Terry

That thread has been around for a while. With all the Homeseer users on this board, one would hope they would share this info with the CT community

I ordered my 2nd one, which is shipping today, definitely a great product.

Yes I saw the thread on the HS site and purchased a couple and getting ready to test some remote HA between FL and IL. Great little box.

I also grabbed two of these. Due in a few days!

Dan (electron) said:

That thread has been around for a while. With all the HomeSeer users on this board, one would hope they would share this info with the CT community

I ordered my 2nd one, which is shipping today, definitely a great product.

Click to expand...

Dan you need to stop by the HomeSeer message board more often I'm sure the users weren't intentionally keeping this from this message board.

Dan (electron) said:

I am for now, but they support 'generic' applications as well, such as the popular HW_VSP software.

Click to expand...

What is HW_VSP software? I'm new to these devices so what software is required to run these devices?

Rupp, the QSE-100 comes with the drivers, so there isn't much to worry about. The Quatech drivers encapsulate the serial data, so if you want to do 'raw tcp', you would use something like HW VSP. I usually use v2, haven't played with v3 yet.

Has anyone found a cheap source for power supplies for these? I want to buy a bunch more, but am running out of 5V supplies.

I purchased my power supply from all ellectronics.

FYI I offered $15 apiece, with 2 total (so $30), and got counter-offered @ $20 apiece....so seems like $20 is a lower limit at this point (unless you try higher quantities).

It's still a better deal than using the bing.com 10% off using the buy-it-now.

As soon as I get home and verify I have a 5v wall wart, I'll probably be accepting the counter. Then again, if I need to, I can just use a PC power supply, right? That's got 5v and plenty of amps. But I'd still need the actual plug.....but I think I have a few of those laying around.