Does anyone own a Rotel integrated amp or preamp (or any other brand),
having the RS-232 port (RJ-45 cable to COM port on PC) and is actually using
it? Rotel's website already has a free software available for download, with
a graphical interface, allowing to control your Rotel from the computer, as
you would with the remote. The only problem is that the software wasn't made
for the model I am interested in, the RC-1090 preamplifier, but for some
other Rotel model. However, the Rotel web site does have the RS-232 protocol
(specs for commands to send) for every featured model.

I've been searching the web, looking for ways to send bits to the RS-232
port, without success. Ideally, I would like to be able to do that through
the Windows shell, because if this was possible, I could code a web
interface in php, running locally on my computer, accepting commands,
sending them to the windows shell through php, and have the windows shell
send the bits to the Rotel RC-1090.

I did find ways to do it through a Macromedia Director projector, and I do
know how to code Lingo, but this all seems like I am giving myself more
trouble than needed.

I have also found 2 softwares on the web that could be of some help, but
they don't seem to offer such good solutions. For the record, those are
EzCom2Web and LookRS 232.

The obvious thing to do would be to code this thing in C, which has, I
assume, API's for serial port communication, but unfortunately I don't
happen to be a C coder...

What's the simple way to make the RS-232 port actually usable on Rotel gear?
I haven't asked Rotel about it, I figured I would ask here first. I am very
conscious that this post might fit better in a computer programming mailing
list, but since it directly concerns a piece of audio gear, I figured I
might get lucky and walk into an audiophile who's also a programmer.

Thanks for any help/comments/idea, please forgive my lousy English.