NYCPHP Meetup

[David Krings]

Jerry B. Altzman wrote:
> USB->serial connectors are cheap, plentiful, and work like a charm in 
> Windows and Linux.

Cheap - true, plentiful - true as well, work like a charm - well,not if you 
need real RS232C. When I worked at IR we had an adaptor for programming 
elecrtronic locks and it required a true serial port. The vast majority of USB 
to serial converters we tried were fakers or just plain junk. Most of them 
could run a seril mouse, but that was about it. The only one we found that 
works fine is the Belkin F5U103, which I think Belkin no longer makes, but it 
is still sold. That thing looks like crap, but it works well and is fast. The 
only other good, fully compatible serial port for a laptop I know of is the 
SocketCOM Ruggedized Serial I/O card. Supposedly, the Port Authority USB to 
Serial adaptor from CablesToGo works as well, but I know who tested that one 
back at IR and I recommend to opt for that one only when it can be returned or 
is cheap enough that it doesn't matter.

Honestly, most of the USB to serial convertes have a USB cable and a D-Sub 9 
pin connector commonly found for serial ports, but that is it for most of the 
"converters".

David