I have tried many USB to RS232 adapters.
The Startech Brand is the ONLY one I have found that works with;
All PLC Brands, AllenBradley, Siemens, Modicon, etc. etc.
Servos, Indramat, Siemens, AB, etc. etc.
I have tried MANY Brands. None of them work for Controls Engineering. I think it is because most of them are tested for the most popular purpose, which is PDA syncing.
If you are looking for one of these for Programming of any Industrial Device, Then this is the One.
Be warned though, One of the Sellers I bought from CablesOnline right here on Amazon switched the Brand on me without warning me, and the brand they sent me did not work. So after you place your order send a message to the Seller Stating that you must have Startech Cables. Unless you are using them for PDA sync then buy anything.
Hope this Helps. StarTech USB to RS232 DB9 Serial Adapter Cable - M/M (ICUSB232)
This is a good solid adapter. I am using these in a manufacturing plant and they stand up to heat, humidity, and vibration. The pig tail is just the right length.
Installation - you must first download the driver package. The company website, StarTech, has the most current driver available there (their website is a bit strange to navigate, you have to enter the exact model number for this adapter to get to the driver download page). Install the driver package. Then plug in the adapter. It doesn't matter what OS you are using, follow those steps and you will have no problems getting this to work. The drivers are fine from Windows ME all the way up to Win 7. I am using this adapter on XP, 2000, and 7 (32 bit).
Remember that if you pull out the USB end of the adapter and plug it into a DIFFERENT USB port on your computer (or in a hub) the adapter WILL be assigned a new COM port. That seems counter-intuitive and can be the reason a device might work fine, but then mysteriously stop working the next time. Each USB port on your computer is a different hardware address, and Windows understands it to be a whole new device, so it assigns the adapter a new com port number.
The best way to troubleshoot the thing is to download a copy of Tera Terminal. It is a highly recommended program for Windows 7 (HyperTerminal is not included in Win7). Tera Terminal allows you to test the serial connection. After using both for a while now, Tera Term is a much better program and much easier to use than HyperTerminal. I will switch even for non Win7 computers.
There is another USB to Serial adapter, TRENDnet USB to Serial Converter TU-S9 (Blue) that uses exactly the same driver. In my estimation, they both use exactly the same chip inside the adapter. The StarTech adapter comes in older packaging, the USB cable is shorter around 4 inches, and it looks older school - kind of that old iMac Bondi Translucent Blue look. After my testing on both of these, you could use them interchangeably, shop based on price.
I bought this cable to update the firmware on my Harman Kardon AVR 254, as it one of the cables HK recommends. It works fine but with a little help. The screw-ins on the cable match the screw-ins for the AVR (both are female and stick out the height if the pins) and keep the plug from inserting, a bit of a dilemma until I used some pliers and pulled off the facing of the cable, thus exposing only the pins. I then (carefully) plugged it in and it worked great, updating my firmware. The drivers came included but are on a mini-CD, so if you have a slot loaded drive such as I have, then you need to download the software from [..]. All in all it did exactly what it needed to do after a little finagling with some pliers, just be careful not to damage the pins.
This device really works as a true UART compliant RS232 port. It really works on my hardware designs. It works in my Gateway laptop with Windows Vista with no problems. Also I use it to program many microcontrollers. I recommend it!
This cable is junk! The drivers worked on windows XP, and the computer recognized the cable. But the device that I plugged into the cable connects to the computer fitfully at best, and now it won't connect at all. I also know by testing that both the computer and the device are working properly. So the bottom line is this device doesn't work.
I bought this cable for use as an interface for a ham radio keyer. It interfaces perfectly between my Macintosh and the RS-232 controlled keyer.
I find no reason to suggest a more expensive or feature-laden cable. This one does the job. Very high value for money.
Purchased to update firmware on my Harman Kardon AVR254 and AVR354. This was recommended cable by HK so I purchased it. After down loading the drivers from StarTech cable and beginning update process on the receiver I received upload failed message. Tried multiple times using 3 different laptops. Two running XP and one Win7. Finally contacted customer support. After 40 minutes in chat session the support analyst stopped responding to any of my chat notes. Finally got frustrated and closed chat. Cable does not work and service is terrible, will not purchase StarTech cables in future.'
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