Device Control via Keyspan Adapter

[StevieP]

Hi, I was going to post over at Decks, etc. forum, but this one seems far more hopping and isn't really that off topic :O)

Just a quick question: I'm going to be working on a G4 (Quicksilver, AFAIK) system that needs deck control (RS-232) for a BetaSP Machine. A Sony DSR-40 will be used for signal passthrough via FW, and a Keyspan USB Serial adapter will be used for the RS-232 connection to the deck.

What I'm not sure of is the cable that's required. Is it just a standard RS-232 cable, or is there a specialized one required, from Pipeline? I seem to remember dealing with this in the past and it being very complicated, that a regular cable wouldn't work and we had to have one shipped in from the US.

Is this still the case? Can someone using a similar setup let me know? I'll contact Keyspan also, but not sure how fast their replies are. If I find out before I get a reply, I'll post back with the answer.

Thanks to anyone,

Steve

[Ned_Soltz]

It is really just a simple RS232 modem cable available from your local computer store. Depending upon the gender of each terminal, you might need a gender-chaging adaptor. Remember that the cable goes from Mac to the betacam deck.

I don't know about complicated cables; did almost the exact set up a couple of months ago and used a modem cable from CompUSA to connect a BMD card to UVW-1800 and passed video through a deck with SDI out and into the BMD card.

Ned Soltz
2-pop Guide

[StevieP]

[ QUOTE ]
Remember that the cable goes from Mac to the betacam deck.


[/ QUOTE ]

Meaning male to female? Yeah, at this point I'm not even 100% sure of the exact deck being used (have yet to get into the studio) but just wanted to see about this specialized cable theory, which I was guessing *does not* hold water because I've read a ton of posts over at CC regarding Keyspan and not one mention of a specialized cable. Frankly, I think it's outdated information, probably dating back to B&W G3 days.

Thanks, Ned. I'll post back once I get the machine up and running (hopefully) to let you know how it worked.

Steve

[Ned_Soltz]

Great, Steve. Let me know when you get it running. Make certain that you set your device control in FCP for serial rather than Firewire. Good luck.

Ned