Maybe Mrs. AnnMarie Cross can answer this one. Can I get the InterLink USB Cable separately? This would be best to use on my new laptop. (It has a 32mb Nvidia video card )

There will be an interlink upgrade package for existing owners, yes.

Sincerely,
Mrs. AnnMarie Cross
Senior Manager, Proprietary Service and Support
Great Planes Model Distributors
[email protected]
www.greatplanes.com
www.bestrc.com

Thanks, AMC! When?

Hello Elwood,
I checked with GP and they advised that the Interlink will go on sale around March 26,2002,or sometime during the end of March. The gal I talked to said she had one on her computer and it worked realy great.I called Tower Hobby's and got mine reserved.I think the up grade Interlink for G2 is about $80.00
Hope GP can keep up with the demand when It comes out, I think alot of G2 users will be buying it.
Hope this answers your question.
NEDYOB

why waste 80 bucks buying a usb upgrade when u can buy a usb joystick converter for 10 bucks

I have the transmitter-interface version of G2. I really like using my new JR 8103 to fly G2... I'm getting used to the feel of the TX before the season starts. The interface plugs into the parallel port... and supposedly you can attach a printer to the other side. Well... my Epson Stylus Pro-XL will not operate with the interface in place. So, when I want to use G2, I have to disconnect my printer. When I want to print (or any of the other computers in the house want to print... mine gets shared on our home network), I have to disconnect the TX-interface.

A few questions for AMC or anybody else... will a generic USB parallel converter work with G2's TX-interface? If so, is that supported by GP? Will this new USB upgrade from GP work in place of the TX-interface? Are we getting something more than a USB-to-joystick converter for our $80? The latest flyer looked like it may include a new transmitter that allows you to plug in your real TX if you want. Was that just my imagination?

Thanks!

Andy

HELLO ANDY,
NOT MUCH IS BEING SAID ABOUT THE INTERLINK CABLE RIGHT NOW.I GUESS GP IS KEEPING MOST OF IT QUIET UNTIL ITS RELEASE DATE.AS MY PREVIOUS POST READ,I DID TALK WITH A REP AT GP AND SHE ADVISED THE DATE IT WILL GO ON SALE,AND THAT THE INTERLINK IS A NEW TYPE OF TX WITH A 3 WAY SWITCH, A KNOB FOR ADJUSTING PITCH FOR HELE'S,AND THE OTHERE TWO SITCHES FOR RETRACTS & DR.THERE WILL BE A CABLE THAT WOULD HOOK UP TO YOUR OWN TX AND GO TO THE RF TX AND THEN TO THE COMPUTER. MY DILEMA IS, I BOUGHT THE INTERFACE CABLE FROM TOWER BACK IN DECEMBER OF THIS YEAR.I WASN'T ADVISED OF THE NEW INTERLINK CONTROLER AT TIME AND DIDN'T LEARN OF IT UTILL A WEEK OR SO AGO.ANYWAY THATS REALY NOT A PROBLEM, BUT THE PROBLEM I HAVE NOW WHEN MY PRINTER IS HOOKED UP TO THE INTERFACE CABLE, MY OWN TX WON'T WORK.SO I AM MAINLY USEING THE RF TX TO FLY MY G-2.MY NEW INTERFACE CABLE I PUT BACK IN THE BOX AND THAT IS WHERE IT IS AT TODAY. I HAVE PUT IN MY ORDER FOR THE INTERLINK CABLE AND AM ANXIOUSLY AWAITING ITS ARRIVAL.IM SHURE THERE WILL BE ALOT OF PEOPLE THAT WON'T BUY THE INTERLINK CABLE AND JUST USE THE INTERFACE CABLE OR THE BASIC TX THAT REALFLIGHT PUT OUT.
THE NEXT FEW MONTHS WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THE INTERLINK CABLE WORKS OUT POPULARITY WISE THAT IS.
NEDYOB

Andy

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you could get a second
parallel port for your computer at much less than $80.
Then you have a dedicate port for your printer, and another
for the Tx interface.

jr8103dt,

That is an option. I even have a couple printer cards laying around, so the cost would be nothing. But, I have no free ISA slots on my computer, nor any free IRQ's, plus it was difficult enough to get everything in my computer to be happy with each other (TV card, sound card, network card, video card, plus all the built-in stuff). It required manually forcing some IRQ's to specific things.

As it stands, I currently have an operational USB port and that option won't risk making win98 mad at me again. Good suggestion though!

Andy

Andy,
You are right--installation of additional parallel port card can be a headacke.
A simplier solution would be to buy a USB-to-Parallel-and-many-others hub. I've got one made by Xircom (TigerDirect was selling them real cheap, something like $9.99). I've diconnected the printer from the real LPT1 port and hooked it up to the "virtual" parallel port on the USB hub. Works great!
Boris

If you have a spare pci slot, and can get a pci lpt card, don't worry about the irq's, since pci will share.

Bluesky, thanks for verifying! For $10 it's worth trying.

Elwood, change that "will share" phrase to either "should share" or "might share" and I will agree with you completely! Almost 30 years of computer experience has taught me the difference between will and should.

Oh yes, add the PCI SCSI card that drives my filmscanner to that list of cards in my computer. Surely already more cards than anyone needs!

Andy

Andy,
I haven't tried G2 interface with "virtual" parallel port on PC hub!
I moved the printer there instead.
I'm not sure about G2, but FMS didn't like the "virtual" parallel port. Obviously, it tried to access the LPT1 directly, thus, it didn't like the software layer, which emulates the parallel port.
I suspect that the similar situation is with G2.
But, again, my HP 648C is happy on "virtual" LPT2 and the "real" LPT1 is available for the interface cable.
Boris

"will share" "should share", "might share". I wonder if Uncle Bill read the PCI specs!

I know what you mean. Computers are not machines, so much as loose collections of components held together with little screws that hopefully will not take too many years off of your life.

This is why I prefer big machines form big blue.

Happy to answer the questions...

the new upgrade is:
the newest version of G2
a transmitter interface
AND a controller
all running of the USB port with a very easy, quick run installation and setup.

Sincerely,
Mrs. AnnMarie Cross
Senior Manager, Proprietary Services and Support
Great Planes Model Distributors
[email protected]
www.greatplanes.com
www.bestrc.com
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