USB to Serial for APC UPS

[cdh123]

Hi,

I have ordered a refurb?d UPS just recently (SU1000XLNET). I would like to be able to plug it into my PC. The only way to do that is via a serial cable on the back. Here?s some specs:

http://www.apcc.com/resource/i...m?base_sku=SU1000XLNET

My computer doesn?t have a serial port on it. I was wondering if I could use a standard USB to Serial cable to plug this in? I found one from APC but it?s like $40. I?d rather not pay that for a cable if I didn?t absolutely have to. Here?s the one that?s expensive:

http://www.buy.com/prod/APC-Se.../loc/101/10239407.html

There are loads of these cables on the ?Egg for much less money, like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16812203018

Now, I have searched through the customer reviews and found that many of these cheaper cables either don?t work or work for only a little while before losing the connection. I don?t know if this is the cables fault, the PC?s fault or just user error. What I?d like to know is if there is any real reason to buy the $40 cable over the $8 cable? Is there some sort of specification that I need to have on the cable for it to work properly? Any advice at all would be welcome.

Thanks!

 

[bigsnyder]

Go with the cheaper cable. I would also recommend you check these out over at monoprice:

Cable 1
Cable 2
Cable 3 (only 3ft long)

I haven't bought any of these particular cables, but everything I have bought from them have been top notch.

 

[cdh123]

Hey that's great! That's what I needed to know. That store looks like it's got great reviews too:

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/monoprice

which is always a plus in my book. Thanks for the advice! Very much appreciated

 

[zixxer]

+1 for monoprice.

I used to work for a company that makes a product that must be interfaced via serial so I was given the task of testing these stupid cables. I've used 10-15 different brands and I can say with pretty much 100% certainty (as of a year ago anyway) that there are only 4-5 different manufacturers. The ones I purchased from monoprice all seemed to work.


This may have changed, but at that point you HAD to install a driver - xp didn't have native support for any of them.

Personally, I'd go this route:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16815166003


However, I do want to add that I've bought a TON of stuff with monoprice and the only time I've had a problem it was really related to the manufacturer not monoprice (quad 4 coax connector doesn't fit quad 4 connector)

 

[mooseracing]

Radioshack and walmart have the IOgear Serail to usb converters as well. I have never had an issue with a serial to usb, but I've always had issues with lost communication to APC batteries, home and business.

 

[Modelworks]

USB to Serial converters work as long as the manufacturer of the device your connecting to used it for just standard serial communication.
The problem is that there are other ways of using the serial port for communication that are not standard , and those devices will not work with usb to serial.
Some UPS use those non standard methods.
Some devices communicate with power they get from the serial port which will definitely not work with usb to serial.

 

[gsaldivar]

I've used Monoprice for years - great site. Never had a problem with them, and the quality of their cables is excellent.

 

[arcas]

Do be aware that DB9 connector on a SmartUPS is -not- a standard serial port. APC, in their infinite wisdom, decided to customize the pinouts slightly so that you can't use a standard DB9 serial cable. These cables cost a lot more than they should so I strongly encourage you to build your own 940-0024C serial cable. You can get the pinouts in the documentation section at http://www.apcupsd.org. Once you have this cable, just plug it into a $3 USB<-->DB9 serial converter and you're good to go.

Edit:

You can get solderable DB9 connectors for about $0.25/ea online (you'll need 1 male and one female) and the DB9 hoods costs about $0.50/ea online. Use a piece of cat5 for the cable itself and for the two little shunts (pins 1&4 and pins 7&8 on the DB9F side). So conceivably you could build a 940-0024C smart cable for under $2.