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Name: Jon Kinne

Virtual Serial Port Driver

• industry: electronic systems development
• location: Traverse City, Michigan, USA
• representative: Jon Kinne, Software Consultant/Tester/Trainer
• gifts from Eltima: VSPD XP Single license

Victoria Veligodsky: For what reasons did you start looking for this kind of software product?

Jon Kinne: I am testing a new software program from Nobeltec which allows sailors to more-accurately know and plan for the next turn they must make, and allows them to record the particular sailing characteristics of their own boat so that the information can be used to help them make better sailing decisions in subsequent voyages. I needed a way to input NMEA sentences into the Nobeltec program on my laptop, without actually being on the sailboat.

Victoria Veligodsky: In which ways did you perform your search for this product? Or how did you find out about it?

Jon Kinne: Virtual Serial Port XP was recommended by a friend of mine, Meindert Sprang, the founder of Customware

Victoria Veligodsky: Did you like our product right away or did you try using other products before picking our solution?

Jon Kinne: I briefly tried a product called Virtual Null Modem, but it caused my system to run erratically so I discontinued it. I was particularly impressed by how easy it was to install VSPD and how well it ran on my system, causing no interference. The technical documentation was very good, and I especially like how quickly the support staff responds to any questions that a customer has. Other companies sometimes don't respond for several days, and prompt technical support is very important to me.

Victoria Veligodsky: Do you still continue using our software now? What are you using it for exactly?

Jon Kinne: I run a program called NEMA Talker (www.sailsoft.nl) which allows me to create NMEA sentences which simulate the actual sailing conditions on the boat. I output these sentences on Virtual COM8, created with VSPD XP, and then I use the other port in the virtual pair, virtual COM9, to input the data into the Nobeltec program for testing. At the same time, I output data from a virtual wind instrument program on VSPD XP virtual COM10, and then input it to the desktop display on virtual COM11.

Victoria Veligodsky: What other advantages do you get from using it?

Jon Kinne: Without it, I would have needed to run the data-generating software on another computer and connect via a hardwire cable to the laptop, or I would have needed to find a cable that would take output from serial port COM1 and input that data back into one of my USB ports. Luckily, my friend at Customware recommended this great Eltima product, and the problem has been solved quickly, efficiently and economically.

Victoria Veligodsky: Thanks Jon for your time and interest in our case study.

Jon Kinne: You are welcome Victoria! I liked the idea of a case study, so everybody can share their own experience in using Eltima's products.