FAQ: RS232 Serial Port Adapters

1. I Need To Obtain An RS232 Serial Port Adapter. What Are My Choices?

If you already have a 1311 Cable and your computer is not equipped with a native (built-in) RS-232 Serial Port, you can use a USB to RS232 Adapter.

2. Where Can I Find A USB To RS-232 Serial Port Adapter?

There are a variety of models available in computer stores and on the Internet. Be sure to select a model which is compatible with your computer's hardware and software operating system. Prices range from $10 to $60.

The 1871 USB To RS232 Adapter is available from DSS Headquarters, or you can purchase one of the models shown in the next section yourself.

These FTDI Chipset based units produced excellent results when tested on WinXP/WinVista/Win7/8/10/11 - Both 32 Bit and 64 bit operating systems:

• Tera Grand - USB2-VE487 Premium High Speed USB 2.0 to Serial RS-232 Converter
• Sabrent - USB-2920 USB 2.0 to RS-232 Serial Adapter
• CommFront Communications - USB-232-1 USB to Serial Adapter with 3 Ft. Cable
• L-COM Global Connectivity - UMC-201 USB to Serial Adapter with 3 Ft. Cable
• Gearmo - GM-FTDI-LED USB 2.0 RS-232 Serial Adapter with LED Indicators and 5 Ft. Cable
• Valley Enterprises - RPC-USB-RS232-FBM USB To Serial Adapter with 10 Ft. Cable

These CH340 Chipset based units produced excellent results when tested on WinXP/WinVista/Win7/8/10/11 - Both 32 Bit and 64 bit operating systems:

• Amazon CH340 USB 2.0 to RS232 COM Port Serial PDA Adapter

NOTE: DSS strongly recommends that customers wishing to purchase a USB To RS-232 Serial Port Adapter, select either the CommFront, Tera Grand, Valley Enterprises, Sabrent, L-COM, Gearmo, or another unit which utilizes the FTDI Chipset or the CH340 Chipset. Units equipped with these chipsets provide excellent performance and work with virtually all current Windows OS variants.

The following older units utilizing the Prolific PL203 chipset produced reasonable results when tested on WinXP 32 bit operating systems. We do not recommend their use with Windows 64 bit installations:

• IOGEAR - Model GUC232A USB to Serial Adapter
• BAFO Technologies - Model 810 USB to Serial Adapter
• CablesToGo - Model 26886 USB to Serial Adapter
• TRENDnet - Model TU-S9 USB to Serial Converter
• KEYSPAN - Model USA-19H USB Serial Adapter
• SIIG - USB to Serial Adapter

This unit failed to work properly when tested on WinXP 32 bit operating systems.

• GigaWare - 6-Ft USB-A to Serial Cable (Radio Shack SKU:26-949)

4. How Do I Configure MicroBase Professional To Use My New RS-232 Serial Port?

For information about configuring your adapter, look here.