We have used telephone ( cat-3) cables 2000 feet from one end of our office
to the other end of a machine shop.  19200 baud with no reported problems.

-------------------------------------------------
Larry Simonsen                Phone: 801-489-2450
Flowserve Corporation     Fax: 801-491-1750
PO Box 2200                    http://www.Flowserve.com
Springville, UT 84663      e-mail: [log in to unmask]
-------------------------------------------------
All opinions expressed herein are my own and reflect, in no way, those of my
employer.

 -----Original Message-----
From:   Ray Cotton [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:   Monday, January 24, 2000 3:08 PM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Re: Distance Limitations

I have also used RS-232(shielded) over 300 feet, not a problem

Best Regards
Ray Cotton
Business Consultant



 -----Original Message-----
From:   HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]]  On
Behalf
Of Neal Kazmi
Sent:   24 January 2000 20:33
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Re: Distance Limitations

At 02:08 PM 1/24/00 -0600, you wrote:
>What are the distance constraints on DTC's as opposed
>to the limitations on a LAN? I have a second building
>going in that will be used primarily for shipping and
>as such need only have 2-3 terminals, but is stretching
>the limit on my LAN. If I could get another 100 yds in
>some fashion I'd be ok.

I'll answer this the two ways DTCs can communicate:

For the network side, usually I get above 100 Meters on a Cat 5 cable.  You
should be able either switch the DTC to twisted pair or use a transceiver.
If you are going to add a transceiver and cost is not a problem, use Fiber
Optic (10BaseF or FOIRL) cable between the buildings. There are also
twisted pair extenders for 10BaseT. Extending the 10Base2 (ThinLAN) beyond
the specification can affect everyone on the segment.

For serial connections, most specifications show 25 feet. I have seen
people use 1000+ feet of cable for RS-232 from an HP terminal to a DTC. I
have seen people fry cards in the DTC when the ground potential of the two
buildings was very different (Denver).  Always use some form of electrical
isolation between building unless you are assured that the grounds are the
same. Serial cables can be isolated or extended with Fiber Optic also, but
if you are going to that expense, use a network cable.

Hope it helps,
neal
800-682-0200
<http://www.minisoft.com>