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Does anyone know what cable this UPS uses?

A

Adrian Tung

Golden Member
Well, I got my APC Back-UPS 650, and it comes with a serial port to connect to my PC. According to the manual, I need an RS-232 serial cable.

Well, it seems that no ordinary serial cable will work. According to the Knowledge Base at APC's website, it says that I need a special "APC Smart-signalling Serial Cable" that comes with the software. Problem is, their software is free to download and they're selling the stupid cable for USD39!!!

I tried to plug in a regular serial cable but it didn't work. Anyone knows the wiring of APC's cable? Perhaps I could modify my cable by rewiring a few connections....


Thanx,
🙂atwl
 
APC Cable Info. The only difference is that the pins are flipped.

I work for the company that provides much of the "smart" chips in the UPSes. I was given an explaination once of why the pinbout is different but the rum and eggnog is making things hazy right now.

Windogg
 
When I got my Back-UPS Pro 400, it came with 2 cables. One was a 'diagnostic cable' and the other was used for normal operations, that is communications between the UPS and the system. Is the RS-232 the 'diagnostic cable' or the other?
 
This is screwy. Just route a few pin signals and APC is charging an insane amount for their cable!

Thanks for the link, Windogg. I'm most certainly going to make full use of the info!


🙂atwl
 
Adrian, did you get the UPS new or used? I got the same exact UPS and mine comes with the serial cable. I just need to hook it up to my PC's serial port and it detect the UPS automatically. Mine comes with the APC software as well. Preety cool

eRr
 
My father called up to see about buying a cable for his Smart 700 and they said it should have come with it (it was one of the older ones that DOES NOT come with a cable) and they sent him one FREE.
 
eRr:
No, my UPS doesn't come with the serial cable. I even checked the manual, it says that the cable comes with the software, and that I have to contact APC for ordering info.

Windogg:
I tried the cable hack, and it didn't work right. My PC just automatically went into hibernation each time I tried to start up. I double-checked my cable connections and I find nothing wrong... perhaps the cables are reversed, because it's the loop-backs on pins 7-8 and 1-4 that are causing the shutdowns because the female part connects to my serial port, and the male part connects to the UPS.

BTW Torminator, I'm from Malaysia... not to practical for me to ask one from you, yes? 😉


🙂atwl
 
Update:
I tried everything including killing the two loopbacks. Nothing works. Guess I'll have to try and get APC to give me a cable now.... 🙁


🙂atwl
 
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