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PRODUCT SHOWCASE Gigabit Ethernet Switch and Interface Card I t’s all very well having a 100Mbs office network but if lots of users are trying to access a single server at the same time, things can get very slow indeed. The answer to this problem is to have a 1-gigabit link to the server to eliminate this bottleneck but until recently, such links have been quite expensive. Not any more – prices have fallen over the last six months and the hardware is now quite affordable. Slotting into this category is the Edimax ES-5108D Fast Ethernet switch from MicroGram Computers. This switch features a single 1-gigabit port plus eight 10/100Mb ports, all capable of operating at both full and half duplex. All ports are auto-negotiating and an array of LEDs on the front panel indicates port status. The unit comes in a solid metal case, has its own internal power supply and comes complete with a power cord and a users manual. Of course, having a 1-gigabit port is not much use without a matching interface card at the other end – ie, in the server. The Edimax EN-9210TX 1-Gigabit Ethernet Adapter is suitable here. This 32-bit card plugs into a standard PCI slot, can operate both full and half-duplex, is fully auto-ne- AUDIO MODULES broadcast quality Manufactured in Australia Harbuch Electronics Pty Ltd 9/40 Leighton Pl. HORNSBY 2077 Ph (02) 9476-5854 Fx (02) 9476-3231 70  Silicon Chip gotiating and supports Windows 98/ Me/NT/2000 Netware Server 4/5 and Linux. Supplied with the card are all the necessary drivers for these operating systems plus an instruction manual. The Edimax ES-5108D Fast Ethernet Switch (Cat. 11353) costs $639.00 (incl. GST), while the Edimax EN9210TX-32-Gibabit Ethernet Adapter (Cat. 11359) sells for $139.00 (incl. GST). For further information, contact MicroGram Computers, PO Box 8202 Tumbi Umbi, NSW 2261. Phone (02) 4389 8444, fax (02) 4389 8388 or visit www.mgram.com.au Automated video signal analyser Tektronix has recently released the world’s first fully-automated component analog video signal analyser that measures high-definition, progressive scan and PC format signals for consumer video equipment manufacturers, video network operators and others that require fast and repeatable testing. The VM5000HD provides fast, accurate and repeatable video measurements in 1080i, 720p, 480p, and SXGA formats utilising multiple industry-standard video parameters, without the need for complicated instrument set-ups, algorithm selection, time-consuming manual measurements or tedious results correlation. It can make 100 different para- metric measurements in eight specific test categories within 10 seconds so that product performance can be objectively assessed. It also offers a unique high-definition matrix test signal set for the creation of standardised test signals including colour bars, multi-burst, sweep and five other signal types, for testing in Y/Pb/Pr and RGB color space. Contact NewTek Sales Pty Ltd on (02) 9888 0100 for more information. www.siliconchip.com.au The mother of all remote controls Is your coffee table littered with remote controls? Get rid of them and just use this single remote control instead. It can control up to 16 audio-video devices – including a TV set, DVD player, CD player, satellite receiver and VCR – and features a touch-sensitive backlit LCD panel, making it perfect for home theatre set-ups. Press a button to select a device and the large LCD panel instantly changes its control icons to suit. The device comes programmed with a huge range of popular remote control codes and for most devices, it’s simply a matter of entering a 4-digit code from the supplied list. Alternatively, the unit can be used to select the code automatically during setup or it can learn from your existing remote controls. Other features include a macro function (up to 60 commands), automatic switch-off, the ability to re-label individual devices and the ability to classify channels into groups (eg, news, movies, etc). It even has an inbuilt clock and calendar. This mother of all remote controls is available from Altronics for $269.00 (Cat. A 0990) for $269.00. Phone 1300 797 007 or visit www.altronics.com.au 2-Channel Digital Oscilloscope Yokogawa has recently introduced the DL1620 2-channel digital oscilloscope, featuring 200MHz bandwidth and a maximum sampling rate of 200Msample/s. The DL1620 is small, portable and weighs less than 4kg. Users can control the instrument from any network connection using the inbuilt web server and 100 Base-T Ethernet connector, or they can control it using a PC via a USB, RS-232 or GP-IB interface. The DL1600 offers three types of removable media: floppy disk, ZIP disk or Type II PCMCIA card and comes with an inbuilt printer as standard. The maths function computes values in real-time when the instrument operates in roll mode. That means that when measuring slow signals, the calculated values are determined and displayed immediately, rather than having to wait for the measurement to finish. Inbuilt probe power for use with Yokogawa’s current and differential probes is optionally available. And an optional Waveform Viewer program lets users view waveform signals on a PC just as they appear on the DL screen. Contact Yokogawa Australia Pty Ltd, Private Mail Bag 24, PO North Ryde, 1670. Phone (02) 9805 0699. www.siliconchip.com.au April 2003  71