USB to serial adapters. Do they work?

[videobruce]

It's my understanding they don't. At least not all of them or all the time.
I have a Laptop without a serial port and a device with one I want to use. It is a audio RTA;
http://www.phonic.com/partner/modules/p...lor/products_detail.php?product_id=131

The Laptop does have 3 USB 2 ports. I have seen adapters as low as $7;
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=USB2RS232&cat=CBL

and others as high as $60. I also see this;
http://stores.tomshardware.com/rating_g...rev.php/product_id=1549619/id_type=M//

I'm running XP Pro on the laptop only because I have to (the touchpad and keyboard won't work with 2k even though HP shows drivers for 2k ).

Input here. I can't imagine the RTA needing a really high xfer rate.

 

[John]

Get the cheapest one you can find. However not all devices will work thru the adapter. I can't give you a list because it varies. Are you feeling lucky?

 

[1kayaker]

I agree with John...
they are very hit / miss. If they work, they work. If they don't, they don't. I've seen it both ways.

 

[tvarad]

I used the BAFO BF-810 USB-Serial adapter to connect a modem with a serial port to my USB only laptop. Worked flawlessly for me.

 

[BladeVenom]

You could try emailing them, and see what they have to say.

 

[nightowl]

I have an IBM one that came with my laptop and it works fine for console connections. The only problem that I have with it is that my laptop will blue screen if I unplug the adapter when TeraTerm is still running.

 

[RobsTV]

Tested several. Most are junk.

But, this thing works perfectly:
GWC UC320 USB 1.1 to Serial Converter Cable Accessory

I use it with Dell i9200 and Garmin GPS, and it is great.
Also tried it with smart card iso programmer, and again worked flawlessly.
Get it.

 

[BrandonV1]

Download This file

http://www.floridaprobe.com/downloads/ser2pl.sys

Save it to the C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\ folder, resart the computer and reconfigure your device, the adapter needs to be installed first for this to work. It should work any adapter but you never know.

This worked with an old Blackberry and it was orignally for some dental tool.
Might apply for other devices too.

Best of luck.

 

[gaidin123]

Originally posted by: RobsTV
...
But, this thing works perfectly:
GWC UC320 USB 1.1 to Serial Converter Cable Accessory

Agreed. That's the one I have and it's worked great for console ports on several types of devices (cisco + others) as well as funky old modems.

Gaidin