USB to serial

DGiudici

I have a USB to serial cable that I got about 2-3 months ago and then just got the Discovery kit with the BOE and such. When trying to program / identify the BS2 it can not find it.

Has anyone had similar problems? It should seem that it shouldn't matter what kinda of usb to serial converter you would have, its just sending serial data right?

Is it a reqiurment to use the usb to serial converter that parallax sells on their site? Or are there any other lower cost alternatives or would it be possible to use their drivers or something?

Jon Williams

You probably need to load the VCP (virtual com port) drivers so the software can find the port.· Here's a link to the document that explains how to do it:

http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/acc/USBInstallWinXP.pdf

Note that XP is a little funky and will sometimes ask you to do the installation twice; after the second time all will be fine.

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Jon Williams
Applications Engineer, Parallax

Forrest

It's been mentioned many times on this board than a lot of USB to serial converter's don't work with the Stamp because they don't fully conform to the RS-232 spec. The FTDI adapters do work with the Stamp, and I've had good results with the Keyspan USB to serial adapter.

DGiudici

i tried what jon mentioned but to no avail. How much are the keyspan usb to serial adapters? and with the FTDI or the keyspan will it act like a normal serial port, because not only do i plan to program the BS2 with it but i need to be able to use it as a regular com port for VB programing (the way i am going to interact with my BS2, eventually).

allanlane5

Yup, the Keyspan unit definitely acts like a really good serial port under VB6.

It gives you full control of all handshake lines, too.

I'm sure the FTDI works just as well, if not better, but I haven't personally used it with VB.· There's no reason it shouldn't work, though.

Post Edited (allanlane5) : 9/24/2005 8:54:21 PM GMT

Jon Williams

If the FTDI adapter didn't work, I wouldn't think the Keyspan will do anything for you. I use the FTDI adapters/drivers all the time with VB and other languages. If Keyspan was better than FTDI, we'd have that in our catalog. I suggest you give our Tech Support team a call on Monday and let them walk you through it. You already have the adapter, might as well get it to work.

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Jon Williams
Applications Engineer, Parallax

DGiudici

i do not have the FTDI adapter... i have adapter i got a couple months ago that is not the FTDI... I was wondering about how to get my current adapter to work. Or if there is another low cost alternative to get my bs2 to work with my laptop.

The ports are "there" i can go in to my device manager and it says that it is there it just can not find the Stamp...

Any suggestions... or am i left with getting the FTDI adapter?

Jon Williams

Sorry, my mistake -- if it's not FTDI then I do not know how to help you; we have been through nightmare after nightmare with USB-to-Serial adapters and finally settled on FTDI because it always works.· A lot of cheap adapters work fine for PIMs and general serial, but the BS2 requires signaling that is fully RS-232 legal, but not always supported by some USB-to-Serial adapters.

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Jon Williams
Applications Engineer, Parallax

Bruce Bates

DGuidici -

To borrow part of your message, here's the way I understand it:

You can buy a any number of "low cost alternative" devices which call themselves USB to Serial adapters that meet some of the easier to meet RS-232 specifications, or you can buy a worthwhile USB adapter, which meets or exceeds ALL the RS-232 spcifications to "get my bs2 to work with my laptop", but you can't do both. Regardless of whether they've used it for Stamp programming or not, I've never heard of anyone who was unhappy with the USB to serial adapters that Parallax recommends. On other programming forums, I've even seen it said "Get the FTDI adapter - Parallax uses them, and I'm sure you can't go wrong with it".

I've often felt that folks confronted with this USB-to-Serial adapter quandry are somewhat irked, or put off by having to purchase something "special" to program the Parallax Stamps, so let me say this. In the over ten years I've been dealing with Parallax, I've never seen them recommend or require anything that wasn't absolutely necessary, and what they recommend, whether purchased from them or not, is of the highest quality necessary to get the job done, and no more costly than that. I'm reasonably sure no one at Parallax is getting rich selling USB to Serial Adapters

Regards,

Bruce Bates

Newzed

I agree with Bruce.· After much looking around, I went with Parallax and their USB to Serial adapter.· After I downnloaded and installed the FTDI per their· instructions, it has worked perfectly.· I learned a long time ago that if Parallax says "This is what you should use", then I use it.· There is no company I trust as much as I trust Parallax and their products.· For fifteen years they have never let me down.

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Sid Weaver
Do you have a Stamp Tester yet?
http://hometown.aol.com/newzed/index.html

·

DGiudici

Thank you all so much, you guys have helped out a bunch.

DGiudici

I purchased the FTDI adapter and it works like a charm...

Thanks