nanog mailing list archives
Re: Tech Laptop with DB9
From: Brandon Martin <lists.nanog () monmotha net>
Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 16:45:32 -0500
On 11/10/2014 03:59 PM, Eugeniu Patrascu wrote:
Prolific based USB-to-Serial adapter
Anecodotally, I recommend against Prolific-based solutions. While doing some embedded dev work, I quite unintentionally found a specific data pattern that would reliably get corrupted by the Prolific cable I had. After several hours of debugging my software, finally resorting to a 'scope to verify that the data on the line was correct, I chucked it in the trash after I found that it worked fine with my 1st-party FTDI cable. Probably should have kept it and tried to isolate a minimal test case, but meh.
1st party FTDI cables can be had with bare wire ends on them. With a little effort, you can crimp an 8P8C directly on and have yourself a Cisco-style cable that's very reliable and includes traffic indicator lights in the USB molded housing. I think you can also get them pre-wired to DE9 connectors. They've got RS-485 and RS-422 options, too. I buy them from Digi-Key - not the cheapest place by any means, but you know for sure that they're real.
I've had good luck with FTDI on all OSes. No drivers needed on (modern) Linux, and the drivers are easy to work with on all versions of Windows that I've used with them (XP, 7). Dunno about MacOSX, but I think there's at least options.
YMMV, of course. FTDI got in some hot water recently by intentionally bricking 3rd party clones of their stuff in a Windows driver update.
-- Brandon Martin
Current thread:
- RE: Tech Laptop with DB9, (continued)
- RE: Tech Laptop with DB9 Darden, Patrick (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 Octavio Alvarez (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 Roy (Nov 10)
- RE: Tech Laptop with DB9 Kate Gerry (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 Justin M. Streiner (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 Jutta Zalud (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 Job Snijders (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 Max Clark (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 Matt Palmer (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 Max Clark (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 Eugeniu Patrascu (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 Brandon Martin (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 joel jaeggli (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 John Schiel (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 Bacon Zombie (Nov 10)
- RE: Tech Laptop with DB9 Kate Gerry (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 Matt Palmer (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 John Schiel (Nov 10)
- RE: Tech Laptop with DB9 Darden, Patrick (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 Matt Palmer (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 Michael Brown (Nov 10)
- Re: Tech Laptop with DB9 Stepan Kucherenko (Nov 11)