On 2005-02-03 06:50:16 +1100, Rodney Myrvaagnes said:

On Wed, 2 Feb 2005 19:23:33 +0100, "Meindert Sprang"
wrote:

"Rodney Myrvaagnes" wrote in message
...
The cheapest notebooks all have ethernet NICs in them. A PCI NIC is
under $15 retail nowadays.

You obviously do not get the point. A NIC for in a PC is a dumb device and
needs network drivers on the PC to operate. That is called the TCP/IP stack.
You cannot simply hook up a cheap NIC to a tiny microcontroller in an
instrument and expect it to run a TCP/IP stack. It simply does not have the
memory and the processing power for that. And indeed, it is also a matter of
numbers. PCI NIC are produced in much larger quantities than marine
instruments.

Meindert

I do get the point. A PIC-12 microcontroller (0.20 USD?) couldn't
handle the stack, but it wouldn't run most instruments either. If you
are spending, say 5 USD for the controller and memory, an incremental
increase in clock speed and memory, say 0.50, would easily accommodate
it. But not 15 year old parts.

I still think the long product cycle and small volume are the
determining factors, not the present day cost of the technology.

If a company as big as Furuno, already conscious of the value of
ethernet, sees a competitive advantage in adding it to existing
equipment, it will depend on what the current processor inside a
particular instrument is.

If the processor architecture is a still-developing family, they may
be able to add TCP/IP without changing the board design or the
firmware significantly. If it is some antique, like the 8085s I found
in some instruments (networked, BTW) on a boat I bought used in 1989,
It would probably require a total redesign, and they wouldn't do it
until such redesign is happening for other reasons.



Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a

"Religious wisdom is to wisdom as military music is to music."

See my previous post on CAN bus implementation. If ethernet is so damn
ubiquitous and so cheap why the hell has it not taken over the factory
floor or the automotive industry? Yes there are a small number of
ethernet devices which support process automation but not many. Horses
for courses and TCP/IP is not it for the marine environment except for
the military who can do anything with your tax dollars ;-)

--
Regards,
John Proctor VK3JP, VKV6789
S/V Chagall