Here's the more latest:
1. prolific has a new version of their driver as of April 2009. It fixed
my bug this week.
See http://prolific.com.tw/ and follow the usual product/support/download
links until you get somewhere like this:
http://www.prolific.com.tw/eng/downloads.asp?ID=31
2. ftdichip.com does seem to be the best stuff out there.
3. I'm using the Windows Java Serial Com Port Driver
from http://www.engidea.com/blog/informatica/winjcom/winjcom.html
It is much, much better than RXTX and very appropriate for removable
serial ports (USB serial ports).
-Stosh
Reply by ●June 12, 20082008-06-12
On Jun 12, 3:36=A0pm, cs_post...@hotmail.com wrote:
> Link?
>
> VID? =A0PID?
OK here's the latest.
I finally got the driver working. There wasn't an error in the driver
itself, but rather in its intructions.
When you first plug the device in, Windows uses one of its built-in
drivers for it, and that doesn't work. The driver intructions actually
acknowledge that Windows will use the wrong driver, so it (tries to)
show you how to manually set the correct driver, but there's an error
in the instructions that leads you to doing the manual installation
wrongly.
Anywaaaaaaaaaaaay, I got the driver working properly. Next I opened my
program that actually interfaces with a serial port, but it wouldn't
work. I also tried it on a desktop computer that has two other built-
in serial ports, but it still didn't work.
I might try using the device with HyperTerminal to see if I can even
do simple communication between two PC's. If that doesn't even work, I
won't stop til I get a full refund.
VID =3D 0x04b4
PID =3D 0x5500
I've tried looking up this VID and PID combo but it seems that it's
registered to the microcontroller inside than device rather than to
the device itself.
Has anyone here got any experience with a cheap USB to RS232 adapter
that works perfectly as if it were an in-built serial port? If so, I'd
appreciate if you could send me a link for it.
Would anyone here on this group be interested in keeping a list of
"Recommended cheap electronics"? I myself could definitely add a few
products to it that are extremely cheap but work perfectly.
Reply by ●June 12, 20082008-06-12
On Jun 12, 9:35 am, Tom=E1s =D3 h=C9ilidhe <t...@lavabit.com> wrote:
> But if he's just going to send me the same driver, (which by the
> way I can just download from the internet), then I've told him not to
> waste his time and to just give me a refund.
Link?
VID? PID?
Reply by ●June 12, 20082008-06-12
On Jun 12, 8:49=A0am, Don McKenzie <5...@2.5A> wrote:
> On xp:
>
> Control Panel>Hardware>device Manager>Ports(Com & LPT)
> Click on the new com port that has been created
> =A0>port settings>advanced>com port number.
>
> "Even if it says in use", just select it from the drop down menu.
>
> Only rule: Don't choose a com port that is already in use on your system.
Thanks Don, I've tried this. The problem is the the "Port Settings"
tab is non-existant. The driver CD that I got with the device has an
error in the ".inf" file. The device cost me less than 5euro (5euro =3D
about 8 US dollars), but that's no excuse to put up with faulty
merchandise. I've gotten cheap electronics off eBay before and they've
work prefectly. I got a USB floppy drive for 10euro and it's
absolutely perfect, and it's even faster than old floppy drives. I got
a USB to serial ATA adapter also and it has lightning fast transfer
speed and it only cost me about 4euro.
I corrected the error in the driver's "inf" file and then tried to use
it but now I get an error saying "Device cannot start", which is
usually indicative of a physically damaged part.
I'm beginning to suspect that the seller is dodgy and that he's
deliberately selling non-functional parts for cheap in the hope that
the buyer will just chuck it in the bin if it doesn't work and forget
about it. Sure, if I buy something for 2euro then I'm not overly
concerned if it doesn't work, but then this will tarnish the actual
good market there is for cheap electronics, which is why I'm not going
to let this go.
Anyway I've been in contact with the seller. He didn't reply to my
first e-mail so I made the second e-mail more noticeable. He replied
to me saying that he's willing to send me out a "replacement driver".
I told him, if the driver is different, to send it out and I'll try it
out. But if he's just going to send me the same driver, (which by the
way I can just download from the internet), then I've told him not to
waste his time and to just give me a refund.
(By the way, the driver that you download from the internet has the
exact same error which renders the device inoperable)
If he beats around the bush I'll just take up a dispute with PayPal.
Then I'll take my 5euro and buy a cheap adapter that actually works.
Then I'll contact eBay and let them know that I suspect a seller is
deliberatly selling devices that don't work.
> I got a USB to RS232 adapter off eBay. I'm using it in Windows so it
> comes up as a COM port. The only problem is that the device appears as
> COM5, but all the old programs I have only work with ports COM1 to
> COM4. When I go to Device Manager, the device shows up as a COM port
> under "Ports", but when I got into the properties for it, it does
> _not_ give me the normal option of being able to choose the COM port
> number.
>
> The adapter device is baby blue in colour and has a silvery white
> cord, here's an exact picture:
>
> http://www.keuren.eu/images/49.K.USB-RS232.JPG
On Jun 11, 4:49=A0am, "PhilW" <p...@microcoin.com> wrote:
> It looks like a device I have that has a Prolific chipset in it.
> If you want, I could give you the install disk zipped up.
Yes please :D If you could send it to:
t_o_e AT l_a_v_a_b_i_t DOT c_o_m
remove all underscores.
Reply by ●June 11, 20082008-06-11
"Tom�s � h�ilidhe" <toe@lavabit.com> wrote in message
news:0009e9db-85aa-4a4b-b812-b588a445ad78@8g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
>I got a USB to RS232 adapter off eBay. I'm using it in Windows so it
> comes up as a COM port. The only problem is that the device appears as
> COM5, but all the old programs I have only work with ports COM1 to
> COM4. When I go to Device Manager, the device shows up as a COM port
> under "Ports", but when I got into the properties for it, it does
> _not_ give me the normal option of being able to choose the COM port
> number.
Port selection is normally shown under Port Settings -> Advanced.
Do you have the advanced dialog at all? If yes, what is listed?
Another issue is that your USB-RS232 adapter got COM5 in the first place
because COM1-COM4 was reserved at the time of installation.
So once you do find the COM port selection, COM1-COM4 will appear as (in
use). To circumvent that problem, do the following:
- Set environment variable DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
- Open device manager, select "show hidden devices" from the view menu.
- You can now see & uninstall the unused ports.
Leo Havm�ller.
Reply by PhilW●June 11, 20082008-06-11
"Tom�s � h�ilidhe" <toe@lavabit.com> wrote in message
news:0009e9db-85aa-4a4b-b812-b588a445ad78@8g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
>I got a USB to RS232 adapter off eBay. I'm using it in Windows so it
> comes up as a COM port. The only problem is that the device appears as
> COM5, but all the old programs I have only work with ports COM1 to
> COM4. When I go to Device Manager, the device shows up as a COM port
> under "Ports", but when I got into the properties for it, it does
> _not_ give me the normal option of being able to choose the COM port
> number.
>
> The adapter device is baby blue in colour and has a silvery white
> cord, here's an exact picture:
>
> http://www.keuren.eu/images/49.K.USB-RS232.JPG
>
> The reason I give a description and picture is that it seems to be a
> VERY common device sold all over the world by many different
> companies. So I'm wondering if anyone has a decent driver for it to
> use in Windows XP, a driver that will make it appear as though it were
> just another COM port (specifically allowing me to set it to COM1).
>
> Sorry I know this post isn't exactly all about embedded systems but
> I've tried a few different drivers from the web and I haven't had any
> joy yet.
>
> ...or then again if anyone knows of a way of setting the COM port
> number in Windows XP, I'm all ears. I've tried the normal method of
> going into Device Manager and clicking properties on the port, but it
> doesn't let me choose the number for the port. Also it doesn't seem to
> have normal Windows Registry entries that would allow you to set the
> port number (e.g. HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\blah blah)
>
> In other news, I also got one of those USB to Serial ATA adapters
> and it works perfectly, lightning fast transfer speed. I haven't tried
> it out yet on a drive that has partitions but I'll let you know how it
> goes.
It looks like a device I have that has a Prolific chipset in it.
If you want, I could give you the install disk zipped up.
regards
Phil W
Reply by Tim Wescott●June 10, 20082008-06-10
On Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:55:27 -0700, Tomás Ó hÉilidhe wrote:
> I got a USB to RS232 adapter off eBay. I'm using it in Windows so it
> comes up as a COM port. The only problem is that the device appears as
> COM5, but all the old programs I have only work with ports COM1 to COM4.
> When I go to Device Manager, the device shows up as a COM port under
> "Ports", but when I got into the properties for it, it does _not_ give
> me the normal option of being able to choose the COM port number.
>
> The adapter device is baby blue in colour and has a silvery white cord,
> here's an exact picture:
>
> http://www.keuren.eu/images/49.K.USB-RS232.JPG
>
> The reason I give a description and picture is that it seems to be a
> VERY common device sold all over the world by many different companies.
> So I'm wondering if anyone has a decent driver for it to use in Windows
> XP, a driver that will make it appear as though it were just another COM
> port (specifically allowing me to set it to COM1).
>
> Sorry I know this post isn't exactly all about embedded systems but I've
> tried a few different drivers from the web and I haven't had any joy
> yet.
>
> ...or then again if anyone knows of a way of setting the COM port number
> in Windows XP, I'm all ears. I've tried the normal method of going into
> Device Manager and clicking properties on the port, but it doesn't let
> me choose the number for the port. Also it doesn't seem to have normal
> Windows Registry entries that would allow you to set the port number
> (e.g. HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\blah blah)
>
> In other news, I also got one of those USB to Serial ATA adapters
> and it works perfectly, lightning fast transfer speed. I haven't tried
> it out yet on a drive that has partitions but I'll let you know how it
> goes.
I believe that the FTDI chip is the popular one for that use; you might
try their web site to see what can be seen.
--
Tim Wescott
Control systems and communications consulting
http://www.wescottdesign.com
Need to learn how to apply control theory in your embedded system?
"Applied Control Theory for Embedded Systems" by Tim Wescott
Elsevier/Newnes, http://www.wescottdesign.com/actfes/actfes.html
Reply by robe...@yahoo.com●June 10, 20082008-06-10
On Jun 10, 6:55=A0pm, Tom=E1s =D3 h=C9ilidhe <t...@lavabit.com> wrote:
> I got a USB to RS232 adapter off eBay. I'm using it in Windows so it
> comes up as a COM port. The only problem is that the device appears as
> COM5, but all the old programs I have only work with ports COM1 to
> COM4. When I go to Device Manager, the device shows up as a COM port
> under "Ports", but when I got into the properties for it, it does
> _not_ give me the normal option of being able to choose the COM port
> number.
>
> The adapter device is baby blue in colour and has a silvery white
> cord, here's an exact picture:
>
> http://www.keuren.eu/images/49.K.USB-RS232.JPG
>
> The reason I give a description and picture is that it seems to be a
> VERY common device sold all over the world by many different
> companies. So I'm wondering if anyone has a decent driver for it to
> use in Windows XP, a driver that will make it appear as though it were
> just another COM port (specifically allowing me to set it to COM1).
>
> Sorry I know this post isn't exactly all about embedded systems but
> I've tried a few different drivers from the web and I haven't had any
> joy yet.
>
> ...or then again if anyone knows of a way of setting the COM port
> number in Windows XP, I'm all ears. I've tried the normal method of
> going into Device Manager and clicking properties on the port, but it
> doesn't let me choose the number for the port. Also it doesn't seem to
> have normal Windows Registry entries that would allow you to set the
> port number (e.g. HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG\blah blah)
>
> =A0 =A0 In other news, I also got one of those USB to Serial ATA adapters
> and it works perfectly, lightning fast transfer speed. I haven't tried
> it out yet on a drive that has partitions but I'll let you know how it
> goes.
If you can't correct the application, try Googling for "windows serial
port mapping", there are a number of shareware utilities which purport
to help with this problem.