Best USB-to-Serial adapter for MJLJ?

bflan2001 · Post by **bflan2001** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 12:07 pm

I've been reading that a lot of people have issues with the adapters. Is there any particular brand that's known to be more compatible than others?

boldy205 · Post by **boldy205** » Sat Jan 23, 2010 8:25 am

I am on another forum, 205gtidrivers.com, and a chap there recomended one with a FTDI Chipset? Do you know what this is? I have asked him but no reply as of yet. I too am one of the many who cant make my laptop talk to my MJLJ!
Thanks

Matt

boldy205 · Post by **boldy205** » Sat Jan 23, 2010 8:50 am

Take a look on Amazon, LOADS cheaper than where i bought my first converter (which i suspect doesnt work!)
They many about £3.80 delivered, Maplins want £20!!

NITROPIXIE · Post by **NITROPIXIE** » Sat Jan 23, 2010 9:07 pm

If people could list their serial adaptors that would be a great help.

cng1 · Post by **cng1** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 9:58 am

There are an awful lot of "no name" adaptors out there, many of which are hard to identify beyond whether the chipset is Prolific, FTDI or something else. Of all the chipsets the FTDI is the "best" and generally works however not all FTDI adaptors are equal and some of manufacturers still manage to build non-compatible adaptors with FTDI chipsets. Because we were finding that people had so many problems we've managed to find an FTDI adaptor that works well which we now stock.

boldy205 · Post by **boldy205** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 10:51 am

I see, prolific is a type of chipset, thats how much i know about computors!
as i said, i have one coming mid week from amazon, i will report back with model and weather it works or not.
Chears
Matt

cng1 · Post by **cng1** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 11:18 am

Let us know how it goes, our experience is that with the cheap "no-name" you have a slightly better than 50-50 chance of it working so fingers crossed.

Post by **brentp** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 6:02 pm

We have a page on USB-Serial adapters that discusses the adapters that have chipsets which are known to work properly. But as it was said before, it's not just the chipset, it's the implementation of the design of the adapter itself which ultimately determines whether it's a "high" or "low" quality unit.

http://www.autosportlabs.net/USB-serial_adapters

Only of my favorite troubleshooting experiences here on the forums was where the USB to serial adapter would exhibit communication problems *only* when the engine was running- caused by interference from the electrical system. This was a USB-Serial adapter that had the business end with noise-sensitive electronics plugged right into the MJLJ. They likely did not follow good electronic design guidelines when they designed the USB-Serial adapter as it was extremely sensitive to electrical noise. The solution? Move the adapter further away from the MJLJ (and the car) by inserting an extension cable.

And it doesn't stop with the hardware. If the drivers for the USB-Serial adapter are out of date, or if they are conflicting with something else on the computer, you will experience a different set of issues. These things and more underscore my intense dislike for USB-Serial adapters.