Question about serial port header

[John Connor]

I want to get this motherboard and it says it has 1 x serial port header. How do I go about setting up a serial port? Is it a card that I must buy?

 

[PottedMeat]

all the electronics are there on the motherboard, they just didn't put in the port on the back so you'll need a cable like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA2C50U33343

just make sure it's long enough to reach one of your unused slots.

 

[John Connor]

So that's how they do it. Yeah, What if it ain't long enough? Do they sell longer cables? I imagine that the header would be near a PCI card slot though. Would be really dumb if it wasn't.

Looking at the motherboard I think it's the port labeled COM, not sure. http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4481#ov

 

[PottedMeat]

i see a port COMA on the bottom and the cable is 10" so it seems it's long enough to reach most of the expansion slots.



mine had COM1 opposite the lower slot and i had to cut up an old ide cable to make it to an empty slot

 

[MTDEW]

Page 6 of the manual for that motherboard lists COM port cable (Part No. 12CF1-1CM001-3*R) as an optional accessory.
GA-Z87X-UD3H manual pdf
Gigabyte Accessory page
Not 100% sure all pin-outs are the same (universal) for all mobos, so it may be worth double checking just to be sure.
(You can click on Pin Definition in that Gigabyte Accessory link to see the pin-out.)

If they are universal, then the one PottedMeat linked is probably the best price you'll get.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Just be aware some of those headers use crappy serial chipsets that really don't work well. I ended up having to get an FTDI USB to serial adapter for someone because the onboard serial was garbage.

 

[John Connor]

Wow! Thanks for the responses. I never thought that the pin outs could be different. I sure hope the onboard works well. The reason I need it is for programming two way radios and running specific software.

 

[MTDEW]

Wow! Thanks for the responses. I never thought that the pin outs could be different. I sure hope the onboard works well. The reason I need it is for programming two way radios and running specific software.

They probably are universal.
I just know if it were me, I'd check to be sure.
Because with my luck, I'd be the one to own the only motherboard where they're different and you need to buy their branded cable. :biggrin:

 

[John Connor]

I'll probably just but the one from Gigabyte.

 

[alkemyst]

In all honesty, a USB to Serial adapter is going to be the way to go. Serial ports can be finicky esp. no as they are an after thought.

 

[Engineer]

In all honesty, a USB to Serial adapter is going to be the way to go. Serial ports can be finicky esp. no as they are an after thought.

In the industrial world, USB generally sucks compared to a built in (or PCMCIA, expresscard, etc) serial port. Have had many issues with USB vs built in, even to the point of killing an $800 HMI while sending the program to it several years ago.

 

[John Connor]

In all honesty, a USB to Serial adapter is going to be the way to go. Serial ports can be finicky esp. no as they are an after thought.

The software I'll use most likely needs raw data and not converted.

 

[Torn Mind]

As an aside, I must say that those serial header cables have been around a long time. There was a serial and parallel header in the Pentium II machine I still have.

 

[John Connor]

I don't understand. A Pentium II would most likly have onboard serial and parallel on the back.

 

[John Connor]

I decided to go with a PCI-e serial card.