I opened the package, and I was pleasantly surprised.

First the basics, the board looked good, compact and clean. It was well packed in a static free bag wrapped in static free bubble wrap.

The unit included a plug-in power supply. No need to search for one, just plug it in, and the power is there.

There were 2 Ethernet cables. One cable (standard manufacture) that allows me to connect the board to my hub. The other one allows me to connect the board directly to the RJ-45 connector on the PC. I may not need that, but if I want to be isolated from the net, that seems to be a good feature; a point-to-point Ethernet to debug the system.

The serial interface cable looks fine.

There is a neat single sheet NetBurner CFV2-40 Quick Start. This page has a 12-step process for using the PC and software and the board to get up and running fast. Good idea. This set-up process uses a utility to program the IP address for the board in its non-volatile memory.

Having the major items in-house, I plan to get a Plexiglas base and cover to protect the board. Those, along with a little hardware and I'll be ready to run.

I also need to load the CDROM that arrived in the package, and install all the software I will need.

So I was impressed taking the item out of the box. Now I need to make it work for me. Here was my plan: Mount the board between 2 pieces of Plexiglas. This is mostly done today. Bought the Plexiglas at a local plastic shop: TAP Plastics. Got some spare parts at Fry's and Haltek. Problem: I wanted nylon screws to attach the board to the Plexiglas base. I have some, but I will need some of a smaller (4-40) diameter to fit in the holes on the board. Should not be a problem, but I don't have them yet. Failing this, I plan to test anyway, but very carefully.

I wanted the board securely sandwiched between the Plexiglas for safety, as I plan to keep it online constantly. This is the one problem of a board level item; it needs to be secured for use. Still, lack of a few screws is not a big problem. Things are actually going well.

This was the critical day. I got an IP address to use.

I finished up some work mounting the board between the Plexiglas pieces to protect it.

I followed the manufacturer's instructions labeled: NetBurner CFV2-40 Quick Start. Powered up the unit,

Went to my browser, typed the URL, and it worked!

The programmed default page came up. I tested its functions. Played tic-tac-toe, illuminated selected LED's on the board read DIP switch states. There was a test of the number of loads of a page, and a reflection of the information on my browser that I was using. All worked. At this point I was impressed.

So the next step is to begin some real work using the system, on the net!

The Board, Mounted, Ready

The board is front/center. It is mounted between 2 sheets of Plexiglas. To the left(blue) is the network cable.

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