KUSB to Serial

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KUSB to Serial

Ken817821
Bill, I realized all of that, but

my real concern is the note that said Prolific is not going to supply Vista drivers - contact your cable manufacturer.

It makes me nervour about using KUSB cables.

Sometimes "progress" makes things too complex, and the oldfashioned way is best.

Ken
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Re: KUSB to Serial

k0wa@swbell.net


Ken,

The way I read the Vista warning....you are on your own.  

Vista has so many problems that I cannot tell you what kind of headache it is for IT people.  I know many IT shops are just not going to Vista although many home computers are beings shipped with Vista.  I don't know if that is because the Gorilla says so, or what.

I am using the USB adapter from Elecraft with XP and have no trouble communicating with the rig.  Always works through the update and through other programs...N1MM Logger...HRD...etc.

I would also advise you that going serial to serial is a good bet as Don W. expressed here on the reflector.

But with Vista....it is a crap shoot from my experience with the product.  I will not go to it until there is at least Service Pack 2 or 3.

YMMV

Lee - K0Wa



In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply.  If you don't have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense and use it.  If you can't find any Common Sense, ask for help from somebody who has some Common Sense.  Is Common Sense divine?
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RE: KUSB to Serial

AC7AC
In reply to this post by Ken817821
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Re: KUSB to Serial

w7aqk
In reply to this post by k0wa@swbell.net
It might be helpful to know what computer folks are using when they indicate
problems with a KUSB or other USB to serial device.  I have several of these
devices, and some work with some computers but not with others.  I think it
is as much as problem with specific computers as it is with the operating
system.

I have mentioned this before, but I seem to have more luck with a couple of
Belkin USB/serial adapters than with most others.  The two I have are models
F5U109 and F5U409.  I think at least one of these was intended for use with
PDA's, but it sure works on my laptops.  Furthermore, Belkin does have
updated drivers for Vista for these two adapters.  A couple of my laptops
(mine and my wife's) are newer, and have Vista, much to my chagrine.  But I
use mine to update my K3, and it has no problem doing so.

I had lots of trouble with a couple of older Sony computers when I needed to
connect serial devices to them.  The Belkins worked, but others didn't.
Also, a Toshiba laptop which I replaced last year with a new HP, balked a
good bit on setting up the one or more of the other adapters.  But the
Belkins again seemed to work best.

One thing you must make sure of is that your computer is looking at the
right comm port.  That was an almost constant problem when I tried hooking
up an Icom PC1000.  If you go to "Control Panel", and then to "Device
Manager", you can view the setup your computer has made for the USB adapter.
See what port the adapter is looking at, and what the K3 is wanting.  You
can probably change your computer's selection to match if it isn't matched
already.  I may be wrong, but I think ports 3 or 4 are your best bets
typically.  You can also adjust the transfer speed at this point.

Also if, when you go to Device Manager and check your USB adapter settings,
you see a little yellow flag over the device listing, you probably have a
driver issue, and the device is not properly installed.  That's a bigger
problem, and you will undoubtedly need to either try reinstalling, or find
better drivers.

Dave W7AQK

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lee Buller" <[hidden email]>
To: "Elecraft Reflector" <[hidden email]>
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008 8:28 AM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KUSB to Serial




Ken,

The way I read the Vista warning....you are on your own.

Vista has so many problems that I cannot tell you what kind of headache it
is for IT people.  I know many IT shops are just not going to Vista although
many home computers are beings shipped with Vista.  I don't know if that is
because the Gorilla says so, or what.

I am using the USB adapter from Elecraft with XP and have no trouble
communicating with the rig.  Always works through the update and through
other programs...N1MM Logger...HRD...etc.

I would also advise you that going serial to serial is a good bet as Don W.
expressed here on the reflector.

But with Vista....it is a crap shoot from my experience with the product.  I
will not go to it until there is at least Service Pack 2 or 3.

YMMV

Lee - K0Wa



In our day and age it seems that Common Sense is in short supply.  If you
don't have any Common Sense - get some Common Sense and use it.  If you
can't find any Common Sense, ask for help from somebody who has some Common
Sense.  Is Common Sense divine?
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re: KUSB to serial

Mike Scott-7
In reply to this post by Ken817821
Ken,

If you are concerned about USB to serial adapter compatibility why not just
order a real serial interface card for your computer?

I did this for my Windows XP Dell machine. I found that the cost of a serial
I/F card was cheaper than a USB adapter and any compatibility worries
vanish.

 

Mike Scott

AE6WA Tarzana, CA

K3/100 SN508

 

 

 

Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2008 08:38:46 -0600

From: "Ken" <[hidden email]>

Subject: [Elecraft] KUSB to serial

To: <[hidden email]>

Message-ID: <000801c89598$6d0cc460$0302a8c0@none10xs8cc7ms>

Content-Type: text/plain;     charset="Windows-1252"

 

I am wondering which way to plan for K3 updates -- USB port or serial port
on your computer.

 

I am concerned about XP or Vista software being up to date for supporting
the USB port.    

 

Maybe someone with more experience can interpret the cryptic notes on the K3
software page related ot prolific.

See the big red IMPORTANT and the related URL for prolific.

 

Ken K5WK

 

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Re: KUSB to Serial

ac0h
In reply to this post by k0wa@swbell.net
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Real serial ports are always better.
Next new computer I build will more than likely not have good old
fashioned serial ports. I will purchase an expansion card to get them.

I'm one of those IT types.
My company won't be going to Vista anytime soon and it's a BIG company.
MS may have run out the string on this one. They may be shoving it down
consumers necks on every PC purchased, but those that have a choice are
sticking with XP. Just bought the wife a new Dell. It was in the house
15 minutes before I'd started wiping the drive and loading XP.

I have a Vista machine (enterprise) on my desk at work. I use it for
email. All my real work gets done with XP Pro and Linux.

Lee Buller wrote:
|
| Ken,
|
| The way I read the Vista warning....you are on your own.
|
| Vista has so many problems that I cannot tell you what kind of
headache it is for IT people.  I know many IT shops are just not going
to Vista although many home computers are beings shipped with Vista.  I
don't know if that is because the Gorilla says so, or what.
|
| I am using the USB adapter from Elecraft with XP and have no trouble
communicating with the rig.  Always works through the update and through
other programs...N1MM Logger...HRD...etc.
|
| I would also advise you that going serial to serial is a good bet as
Don W. expressed here on the reflector.
|
| But with Vista....it is a crap shoot from my experience with the
product.  I will not go to it until there is at least Service Pack 2 or 3.
|
| YMMV
|
| Lee - K0Wa


- --
R. Kevin Stover, ACØH
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Re: KUSB to Serial

M0XDF
Yep same here, except the only place we have Vista is inside a fire-
walled eng. lab - you know, we are spraying water on the wall all the  
time !
:-)
--
The high minded man must care more for the truth than for what people
think. -Aristotle, philosopher (384-322 BCE)

On 4 Apr 2008, at 13:33, R. Kevin Stover wrote:
> I have a Vista machine (enterprise) on my desk at work. I use it for
> email. All my real work gets done with XP Pro and Linux.

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Re: KUSB to Serial

Simon (HB9DRV)
Whereas I have to test my *free* software on W2K, XP and VISTA.

At least Windows 95/98/SE/ME is dead and buried :-)

Simon Brown, HB9DRV

--------------------------------------------------
From: "David Ferrington, M0XDF" <[hidden email]>

> Yep same here, except the only place we have Vista is inside a fire-
> walled eng. lab - you know, we are spraying water on the wall all the  
> time !
> :-)
 
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Re: KUSB to Serial

Neill Taylor
In reply to this post by ac0h
If I may return to the original topic: Ken asked about experience of
connecting a K3 via a USB port to Vista.  My experience is wholly
positive.  I picked up a standard USB-to-serial "adaptor" at my local
supermarket while doing my grocery shopping.  It cost under 25
euros.  Plugged it into my laptop running Vista, it automatically
downloaded the driver from the MS Windows Update site and works
perfectly with the K3.

It does seem to use the Prolific chip, judging by messages I saw as
the driver was installing.

73

Neill
F5VLD / G4HLX

K2 #2425
K3 #289

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Re: KUSB to Serial

David Woolley (E.L)
Neill Taylor wrote:

>
> It does seem to use the Prolific chip, judging by messages I saw as the
> driver was installing.
>

One thing to note here is that Prolific are obviously a B2B (business to
business) supplier.  When they say that they can't supply drivers to
consumers, they don't mean that the driver doesn't exist but just that
their business model is not set up to provide things directly to consumers.

(Some such vendors will make drivers available for download, which is
generally OK as long the OEM cannot cutomise the relevant parts of the
hardware.  Also, interestingly a lot of Windows drivers aren't really
drivers, but rather parameter files that tell the real driver that a
particular USB ID requires, for example, a USB serial driver.)
--
David Woolley
"The Elecraft list is a forum for the discussion of topics related to
Elecraft products and more general topics related ham radio"
List Guidelines <http://www.elecraft.com/elecraft_list_guidelines.htm>
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