The Trusty DIN Rail & My Crusade Against Velcro

In the movie "Pretty Woman," Richard Gere plays Edward, 
a ruthless businessman who hires a street-smart escort,
played by Julia Roberts.  Vivian ends up thawing Edward's 
frozen Wall-Street heart.

Near the beginning there's a scene where Vivian is riding 
in Edward's Lotus and she says, "Man, this babe must corner 
like it's on rails."

I'm sure most people thought of train rails, or
roller coaster rails.

But me - I thought of DIN Rails.

Yeah, I know, that sounds silly.  Driving a car
on DIN Rails.  

But think about it for just a minute.  What could 
be better, as you're careening on a hairpin turn, than 
your tires hugging the edges of a trusy brass DIN Rail? 
If it's good enough for your equipment, it's certainly
good enough for a luxury automobile.

Come to think of it, in our affection for GPS systems, 
fiber optics and missiles that strike with razor 
precision, the sweet old romance of DIN Rails has been lost.  

After all, doesn't a brand new panel with a tidy 
rack of wire terminals and pushbuttons take you back 
to a kinder, gentler age... a time when Ward Cleaver 
came home, gave June a peck on the cheek, and played 
catch in the back yard with Wally and the Beav before 
suppertime?

Well us folks at B&B ain't living in the 50's, that's for sure.  
But we sure are tired of all those cheesy Velcro-mount 
Ethernet switches that go into a funk when somebody 
drops 'em on the floor, or turn to Jell-O if the temp goes over 
100 degrees F.  Personally, I'm on a mission to stamp 
out that kind of nonsense.

So for today's DIN Rail issue, we've got a linup
of tough-enough, DIN-Rail-mount gear that can shake,
rattle and roll with the punches:

*DIN Rail Mount Industrial Ethernet switches:

No self-respecting panel designer will velcro a 
consumer market switch into a nicely done enclosure. 
The IASW5P is a 5 port Ethernet Switch. DIN Rail mount, 
wide-input power supply and compact design make it an easy 
fit into your Industrial Ethernet application. Models are 
available with most any port configuration you could imagine. 

http://www.bb-elec.com/ieswitch_chart.asp?src=e072903v1

*Convert RS-232 to 485, inside your panel:

A recent update to what's probably the world's best- 
selling Industrial RS-232 to RS-485 converter makes the 
485LDRC9 an even better fit. Now sporting a vivacious 
DB9 connector in addition to its terminal block connections, 
it's easier than ever before to quickly connect without 
fabricating cables.  Plus, temperature range is further 
extended to -40 to +80 degrees C. 

http://www.bb-elec.com/product.asp?sku=485LDRC9&src=072903v1

*Convert RS-232 to Current Loop:

Dating back to the Wild West, analog current loop still 
snakes its way into new applications today.  The 232CLDR is 
any easy fit into your panel. Easy terminal block connections, 
active and passive loop configurations and wide-input power 
supply make an easy snap-on to your DIN rail: 

http://www.bb-elec.com/product.asp?sku=232CLDR&src=e072903v1

*Protect your gear from ground loops and spikes:

With the weather we've had this year, our tech support staff 
has been working overtime in grief management. Too many 
innocent, unprotected serial networks are being preyed on by 
a dangerous, organized electron movement known as lightning. 

B&B's support staff implores you: Protect your innocent 
networks, before it's too late! 

http://www.bb-elec.com/product.asp?sku=HESP4DR&src=072903v1
    
Questions?  Comments?  We always love to hear from
you.  Email us at support@bb-elec.com.

Still enamored with DIN Rails,

Mike Fahrion
B&B Electronics

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