USB To Serial Converter Cable Question

[Kilroy]

What controller does the Tripp Lite use?

Good question, alm.

Actually, you've got me curious about this. I'm actually looking at my USA-19HS right now, and....I think I might be able to safely spudge this puppy apart for a bit of a look see. I'll let you know what I find.

[Kilroy]

Got it...the main USB>serial converter controller IC is a Texas Instruments TUSB3410.

And...the RS-232 line driver IC is a Texas Instruments MAX3243EC.



Looks like all good stuff in here...and I managed not to wreck the enclosure in the name of science.

[T4P]

What controller does the Tripp Lite use?

In my experience PL2303-based USB to serial tend to work just fine for many applications. I even got them to work with Fluke RS-232-IR adapters that draw power from the handshaking lines. Don't expect them to work with bit-banging or applications requiring more than the bare basics of the RS-232 spec. The random COM port assignment in Windows can be a problem, and I've also had issues with occasional hangs in Windows (unplugging and replugging would fix it).

I like the PCI/PC-Card RS-232 interfaces much better for critical work. I've had good luck with Quatech PC-Card RS-232 interfaces, although they were expensive ($100+). Be careful with ExpressCard, this bus also contains a USB interface, so ExpressCards may also be USB-serial adapters in disguise.

I still use USB to RS-232 interfaces for hobby use, however. They are much more convenient and much cheaper.

It's tough to find a old laptop with a PC Card unless i look to the T61 , nevertheless my usb to serial does everything , bit banging and the like and yet ?
Mine's using a chip from Analog Devices , AD213 and that's the only thing i can find , it's a encased type device . ( I took some time to see the part number )

[Kilroy]

Once you exhaust the lone COM port you are lucky to have on a computer sold within the last 5 years, you have no choice.  Even a PCI card operating as an ISA compatible interface is not quite the same, and in any case is limited to 4 possible ports.  If you want more than that, you need some sort of media converter.  USB to serial is not ideal, but it is closer to to transparent than any of the alternatives.

Totally agree with you.

Actually, for a great all in one tool for serial/parallel comm work I use A21 and T30 Thinkpads. They work great for all my work a day electronics, data logging, CPLD, MCU programming, PLC, CNC  comms and programming...and the list goes on. They are rugged, reliable, modular, have quality components and are nice and snappy on a tuned XP Pro install. Extremely versatile, useful computer for all things electronics...and you should be able to pick one up for the price of a Tripp Lite USA-19HS if you keep an eye out. Also, best keyboard feel ever for when you have a lot of HDL or C to hammer out.

Honestly, a working PL2303 or an FTDI chip using the VCP drivers gives you essentially perfect emulation from the standpoint of a user-mode windows application.  The latency is considerably higher, but windows doesn't give you guaranteed latency even with a hardware port.  This isn't a problem if you are doing normal serial communication, but will totally hose you if you want to bit-bang a different protocol on the control lines.  The solution is to not do that.  Use a microcontroller to implement the interface and use the serial port to send commands to the micro.

Right, again.

In the end, I think it's more comfortable sticking with the hardware. Sure, it's not perfect, but bit banging inevitably distracts the processor, which is never ideal from an efficiency stand point.

[westfw]

>> the main USB>serial converter controller IC is a Texas Instruments TUSB3410.
Which frequently has downloadable firmware contained in the driver, making any device using it even more dependent on the driver than normal.  For instance, there have been a fair number of problems using the TI-provided "CDC/ACM" firmware (as used on the various TI eval boards) with non-Windows systems.
(A lot of otherwise reasonable chip vendors seem to neglect the non-Windows environments.  FTDI is doing a REALLY GOOD JOB, imo.  Prolific, OTOH, is common enough that the OS vendors support IT. if you get a real chip, anyway.)

[Lance]

How about Microchip brand stuff? Anyone had any experience with their RS232 to USB converter hardware?

[gxti]

Microchip's MCP2200 works great, the only downside compared to FTDI parts is that it requires an external oscillator.