Hello, I suppose this sort of qualifies as electronics design...
We're looking at splitting the signal from a laptop's serial port in a way that is probably going to need some electronic support. The signal is actually ASCII output from a court reporter's laptop. Data travels one way only, out from the reporter.
There's a passive system that's basically just a plastic splitter box , but it limits to five outputs and is intended for temporary use around a table.
These folks, however, want a permanent install in a larger room, so there's maybe 10 - 12 drops and perhaps a few hundred feet of cable. We suspect that's a bit much to push from the laptop and want to be sure that the data never fades or corrupts on the line and that nothing ever gets damaged. There's lots of excess cat5 cable installed under the room, so if that can be used installation should be simple..
Does anyone know of readily available devices for such a task?
Thanks!
-pk