Ethernet, Fiber, and my Skunkworks Bailout Proposal
Before I get down to the serious subject of communication technology, I've gotta get something off my chest.
Ever had an engineering project that was so incredibly super cool you could pee your pants... it would increase efficiency, it would reduce defects, it would cut energy costs, reduce downtime, it would save you 17 trips from one end of the plant to the other each week, and it made absolute perfect sense to anyone who would actually LISTEN....
...but you could get no funding for it?
Dang frustrating, isn't it?
So here's my proposal:
Everybody else can get all the federal bailout funds they want, as long as Uncle Sam bails out yours and my virtuous, un-funded skunkworks projects.
We're not even asking for hundreds of billions of dollars. We're only asking for a few thousand bucks per person.
Deal?
Let's all journey to Washington DC together. We'll all pile on hundreds of Greyhound buses and call it the Million Engineer March.
Now then, onto the business at hand.
One of the most popular subjects of conversation these days is FIBER. I think fiber is real cool. You can run an arc welder, a CB radio and a Tesla coil right next to it and there's not a single dB of noise on the line. Not a single packet lost.
Plus, Serial-Over-Fiber is also growing in popularity. Who says the signal's gotta be Ethernet?
With our Fiber Optic Modems, any two pieces of RS-232 or RS-485 equipment can communicate full or half duplex over two fibers at a distance up to 2.5 miles (9 miles on single-mode!).
Industrial 232/422/485 to fiber converters:
http://bb-elec.com/product_family.asp?FamilyId=103
Want a port-powered version for your RS-232 application?
http://www.bb-elec.com/product_family.asp?familyid=36
-Public utilities present demanding applications for Ethernet, especially Traffic Control. Temperatures are extreme, there are often high voltages nearby, and data requirements are increasingly sophisticated.
Ultra-rugged EIR series copper to fiber Ethernet converters meet NEMA TS1/TS2 requirements for traffic control equipment:
http://www.bb-elec.com/product_multi_family.asp?MultiFamilyId=38
-Remember the story of Bob Metcalfe drawing the concept of Ethernet on a napkin back in the 70's? Remember the battles between various protocols and networks, like Ethernet vs. Token Ring? The battles were finally won and now Ethernet is EVERYWHERE.
Sometimes I catch myself wondering things like... "I wonder how many TCP/IP packets are zinging around somewhere right this very second? How many were transmitted? How many received? How many packets were lost forever? And... what happens to lost packets anyway? Do they go to heaven?"
(I know, only uber-geeks like me ponder such questions.)
Once it's in TCP/IP it can go anywhere, and any Ethernet node is game. All you need is a flexible port. We have just such a product:
www.bb-elec.com/elinxconfigurator
You configure it - we build it! Build an Ethernet switch or media converter to your specifications. Don't settle for a two box solution to get an unusual combination of copper and fiber. Simply configure the switch you need to perfectly fit your application and we'll build it.
Each fiber optic port is a "Flexible Port" that you can configure with the exact connection you need. Configure each flex-port to any combination of multi-mode, single-mode 15 km, 40 km, 80 km, ST or SC fiber or copper RJ45.
Now you can finally get that 8 port switch with two single-mode and one multi-mode port, or that 3 port switch that perfectly fits your system. We can manufacture one piece or any quantity. Your product is built and shipped within days, not weeks.
Test drive it for yourself at www.bb-elec.com/elinxconfigurator
-When I go to the outdoors store, I can't help but pick up some piece of must-have camping gear to help scratch my wilderness itch (I get a similar itch at the hardware store, and the music store, and the motorcycle shop…hmmm). B&B has the equivalent of that for all Fans of Fiber Optic, here:
http://bb-elec.com/product_multi_family.asp?multifamilyid=87
Each assembly is Optical Fiber Nonconductive Riser and can be used between floors through cable risers or elevator shafts. (Not for air plenums, though.)
OK, one last thing before I go.
The best products always start out as skunkworks projects. It's always a secret in the inventor's mind long before the committee approves it, right?
That, my friend, is actually the litmus test.
If some unsung engineer hero has been dreaming about it during his fishing trips and time in the restroom, it's sure to be a lot more coherent, better planned and executed, than something cooked up by a conference room full of people.
So... whether you get a Skunkworks Windfall from Uncle Sam this year or not, keep that dream alive. Your idea may be the next Ethernet-on-a-Napkin story.
Happy Connections,
Mike Fahrion
(815)433-5100
support@bb-elec.com
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