USB to serial cable adapters

Many court reporters are still using serial cables to run realtime feeds to attorney laptops in court. Since few laptops manufactured in recent years will have a serial port, an adapter will be needed.

However, as I noticed recently during the setup of audio visual equipment for a trial in New York state court, these adapters will not 'plug and play'. You'll need to have the correct drivers which may not be easy to locate online, particularly if you are stuck with an adapter unmarked with any brand name or model number.

Bring your own adapters and hold onto the disc with the drivers! This technological anachronism may not be manufactured by a company that posts them on the web!

at trial . . .

Just beginning a two month long trial so I only have time for a few quick tips:

• your Apple watch can still receive a phone call when your iPhone is shut down. Take it off wifi to prevent it from making a minir disturbance.

• stamping exhibits with page level numbering may remove bookmarks.

• OnCue appears to be the electronic presentation software most favored by trial techs these days because of its superior video clip editing tools.

Line conditioners

Most people will have a used a power strip with a surge protector at some point - this will shut off an electrical current when the power becomes too high.

If you are setting up audio-visual equipment in a courtroom or other building with an older electrical system it may be wise to also use a line (or power) conditioner which will control the voltage which hardware receives. More modern electrical systems will have line conditioners built-in, but many older facilities will lack them.

Low voltage dips will put stress on electrical devices and cause them to fail. A line conditioner will keep the voltage with a safe range.

A typical line conditioner will look like this model:

The power cords from multiple laptops, printers, and other devices can be plugged into the line conditioner, and the line conditioner's power cord will be plugged to a wall outlet.

The line conditioner should have warning lights which indicate when the power is too high or too low.