Matthew Chao writes:
> Hi, Martin.  I'm looking for an accessible scanner; any current
> ideas?  And what about using USB interfaces instead of serial ones,
> as many systems no longer come with serial ports, and the
> USB-TO-serial adapters can be a little sketcy.--Matt, N1IBB.
I haven't been scanner shopping since about 2008 but I think the
BCD396 portable scanner and BCD996 may still be available. I
bought an 8-port usb/RS-232 converter several years ago and it
got a glancing blow from a big lightning strike and died so I
replaced it last year with a newer 8-port converter and both
worked great on a Linux box.
	As for scanners that have a USB port instead of a serial
port, I don't have any experience with them but if they emulate
a dedicated RS-232 converter, they should work on most systems.
	You'll almost have to just try one and see if it works
since there is no one single design.

Martin