USB Cable

[andy198712]

thinking of buying this one

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-adaptor-c ... 336c5766e1

i emailed to see if it would work with my mac, as my cheapie one isnt... and if i've got to faff around to get it to work alot i kinda feel it will drop out while in use ect...

anyway, this was the response i got

Hi Andy.

It is an FTDI based chipset so should just plug in and work, if not FTDI have Mac drivers on their web site.

Regards,

Chris

not heard of FTDI...? sound good?

cheers

[Dale M.]

FTDI is industry acronyms of the 'chipset' inside converter cable....

Google search "FTDI Chipset" for more information....

Almost any USB to RS-232 (serial) converter should work... The being said, there is a few that have had troubles getting computer to "talk" to MS through adapter..

There is a mention of these problems in several message threads, also solutions...

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic ... 6&t=135688

Don't bother to trouble shoot connection issues though, until you are sure you have one....

Dale

[andy198712]

well i've got one of the cheapy cables and it wont talk to my mac, and i cant seem to find the right drivers for it to work either.... quite anouying, so a fresh start and possible plug and play seemed tempting i must say!

[Dale M.]

Have you tried loading a "terminal" program and do a loop back test per other thread I mentioned?

Dale

[Steve Arndt]

get one that uses the prolific driver, they work nice

[MinamiKotaro]

I had the one that DIY sells and it didn't last very long. I got a cheap one at Office Depot and it has served me well.

[Steve Arndt]

This works
http://www.adafruit.com/products/18

Plus lady ada rocks.

s

[andy198712]

get one that uses the prolific driver, they work nice

thats what i have

[andy198712]

Have you tried loading a "terminal" program and do a loop back test per other thread I mentioned?

Dale

i tried a loop back but think i did it wrong as i only bridged two pins.... will try the one from that link.

when its plugged in, this is what my tester says



does that make sense to you Dale?

[Dale M.]

I don't use a tester, don't own one.... Just put computer in terminal mode ( TTY ?) and "find" rs-232 port... IF Terminal program is in local echo mode you will get two of every character you type on screen if loop back is working, of not working only a single character... If local echo is off, you get one character for each you type when it is working .... IF loop back is removed you get no characters....

The real issue here is knowing what COMM PORT computer has assigned to USB converter and supplying the COMM PORT number to the "tuner" software ( or terminal test software) ...

Do not know much about Apple internals (assume you are on MAC because of mention of MAC drivers) but with windows machine, COMM PORT can be almost any port number between 1 to 8 with usually being about 4 or 5 BUT it can vary depending on how many "serial" devices or USB devices on ones system may have....

A loop back plug can be simply a female plug with terminal 2 & 3 shorted together...



The image above shows a "full option" plug but you only need 2 & 3 looped (TX-RX data) for any testing..

http://www.lammertbies.nl/comm/cable/RS-232.html

Your USB adapter may be bad or not.... But you have to learn how operating system of computer "connect" usb adapter to software through its own internals... That alone can be source of a lot of frustration....

Dale

[andy198712]

i'm a newbie in computer stuff if i'm honest.

when i plug in my cable, i look in system profiler and i get this, no differance if i have the MS plugged into it, loop back pins bridged ect....

USB2.0-Ser!:

Product ID: 0x7523
Vendor ID: 0x1a86
Version: 2.54
Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec
Location ID: 0x04100000 / 2
Current Available (mA): 500
Current Required (mA): Unknown (Device has not been configured)



i've got this driver
ProlificUsbSerial v2.2.0 in my extentsions folder, which i would have thought would do it..... my cable says HL-340 on it and thats it, although i beleive it to be a prolific chipset.....

ideas greatly accepted as i'm pulling my hair out

[Dale M.]

That is only telling you computer knows the USB/RS232 converter exists (knows its "connected")....

Have you tried pushing data through the USB/RS232 converter using a "terminal" program ( tty or Vt 100 or something similar) ....

Using date terminal software and loops around plug concept works on windows machines, should work on Mac....

Unfortunately I'm not hardware/operating system (internal) familiar with a MAC but I assume it handles data terminal software and data the same as PC for getting it in/out of a comm port....

Does your system actual assign a COMM PORT number (should be something one through 8) and is the comm port the correct one put into terminal/tuner software...

You need to find a website that has gurus that "know" about USB and data ports and how to test them on a MAC....

Dale

[andy198712]

sort of like a ping test for internet yeah?

i'll work out how to try that, i dont have much luck with terminal, never really worked out how to use it as it always says unkown ect ect good time to learn i feel!

[Dale M.]

First do not assume your HL-340 cable is a Prolific chip set.... I can not find any info that states the HL-340 is prolific chip set.....

The information you provided is only telling you computer knows the USB/RS232 converter exists (knows its "connected")....

Have you tried pushing data through the USB/RS232 converter using a "terminal" program ( tty or Vt 100 or something similar) ....

Using data terminal software and loop around plug concept works on windows machines, should work on Mac....

Unfortunately I'm not hardware/operating system (internal) familiar with a MAC but I assume it handles data terminal software and data the same as PC for getting it in/out of a comm port....

Does your system actual assign a COMM PORT number (should be something one through 8) and is the comm port the correct one put into terminal/tuner software...

This is what a windows machine tell me when I plug in a USB/SERIAL converter...

usb-serial.jpg

You need to find a website that has gurus that "know" about USB and serial data ports and how to test them on a MAC....

EDIT:... Try here...

http://www.planet-rcs.de/article/mac_serial_port/
http://plugable.com/2011/07/12/installi ... -mac-os-x/

Dale

[andy198712]

cheers buddy,

the problem i'm having is that although it knows something is plugged in, it cant use it, and i think its a driver issue....

i'm hopefuly going to send it a mac guy (the cable) he'll work out the drivers and send it and send it back..... or i'll buy an FTDI (i think thats right) chipset cable and that should be better....

the anouying thing was that i got a mini CD with the drivers on it with the cable but only for windows and they didnt have one for a mac.

i appreciate your help on this dale!

once its talking i can flash on Extra to my ms1 and get somewhere!