USB - Serial adapter

[Jimmins]

I have Win XP SP2 pro and my laptop has no serial ports. I bought a Walkera 22E and a trainer cord with software. I would like to use a USB - Serial adapter but I have tried everything and can't get anything to work.
PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[shaul_eiz]

Why won't you use the Audio input? Try it with .

[harikeshpk]

i have a jr transmitter, i have a serial cord for it my laptop doesnot have a seial port.

i am using an adapter BAFO 810 converter for plugging the cord into the usb port of my computer. FMS works fine on this setup.

harikesh

[hunk_ktm]

harikesh,
can you please tell us what TX you have and which heli?
And how did you figured the FMS part with your TX and cable to the laptop. Pictures will be a great. Any info will be a help.
Thanks.

[phildc]

If the connection works, it means that you have a real serial signal, created by a microcontroller in the cable, or sometimes directly by the transmitter. This signal uses pin 2 for data on the D-Sub 9 pin connector..
A serial connection driven by interrupts on the ring pin (pin 9) would not work with a serial to usb converter.

If it is pic serial 19200 bps protocol, you can look at it with

Just select the COM port your converter uses, and do Action=start. the values are in decimal, so you will recognize the synch (x'FF') as 255, and then the various channels, until the next synch comes.

Do 'clear' to receive a new set of data whan you are ready.

Phil.

[hunk_ktm]

I have a serial to USB converter. When using the above analyser, as I switch on the TX on COM4 it displays 0 and then if I move the sticks around, it doesnot displays anything. As soon I switch the TX off...It displays numbers like 0 124 255 176 4 ....and I repeated the same thing and numbers kept changing(switching my transmitter off and on with movement of sticks). Does this means that my adapter(USB - serial) is driven by Interrupts. If yes, please recommend me the adapter to get for my TX to work with FMS. I did found that PPjoy and PICjoy do detect the signals but only when I switch on and switch off my TX.
Any help plz.

[phildc]

"... 124 255 176 ..." looks like a serial signal, 255 being the synch, 176 the value for channel 1, a.s.o. until you reach the next 255. Does the number of values between two '255' synchro's fit the number of channels of your radio? Do a test with a stick at one end, press 'clear' look at the value, then do it again with the same stick at the other end.
You tell us that this signal is only present with the radio OFF. Maybe this transmitter is automatically powered on as student when you insert the plug, and you should not power it ON as a student or to play a simulator?

Phil.

[Steve Lewin]

JR Txs (and Spektrums) have always had a signal on the sim lead only when switched OFF on the front panel. That's how they're supposed to work.

Steve

[marryjohnson]

The USB to Serial RS-232 Adapter provides one RS-232 Serial (DB-9 male) connector via one standard USB port at a data transfer rate of over 230Kbps. You can instantly enjoy connectivity with modem, PDA, POS, or other serial devices on your PC or Mac without the hassle of opening your computer case. It provides a quick, simple, and cost-effective solution and is ideal for various communication and automation applications. This makes the USB interface transparent to serial peripherals, allowing them to easily interface with USB computers and eliminates the setup hassle found with traditional serial port connections. This device also supports energy saving suspend and resume operations.

[ggunners]

[fishendeep]

The USB-serial is a small device that allows you to easily connect a microcontroller project to a PC. You can connect the adapter directly to a microcontroller without level converter RS-232-to-TTL.It is compatible with USB 2.0 and works with your existing programs to interface with a serial port.

[phildc]

USB to serial adapter
Be aware that in the direction adapter to microcontroller (output from the PC), the signal could be positive and negative (between -12 to -3V for one logic value, and between +3 to +12V for the other one), so you may want to install a clamping diode in the input to the microcontroller. Check it !
In the other direction, the microcontroller signal of 0 to 5V will be recognized by the adapter as a valid signal, as it was by modern serial ports on PC when they had a serial port.
Also check for logic inversion (RS232: positive = logic 0, negative = logic 1)
Full information in wikipedia:

Note also that buffering of the data may occur, giving timing problems for some applcations. Anyway Windows is not a real-time operating system !

Phil.


com port rs232 rs 232 usb converter serial

[Jensen]

You have to be aware that there are several companies that makes usb serial adapters, the most commonly used chipsets are: FTDI, Prolific, WCH, Silicon Labs. Prolific is the cheapest but also the worst, the drivers/chipset are simply incompatible with many devices and operating systems, including 64-bit systems, (even Prolific themselves actually does provide a 64-bit driver), they are simply too cheap and unstable.
The best chipset/drivers are the FTDI. These are very solid and compatible with most devices and almost all operating systems both 32 and 64-bit. These usb are a bit more expensive but well worth the money.