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a good little device, does just what is stated in product info. Very useful for those old rs232 devices that some of us still have and use.
I've only used this for Windows kernel debugging (with a null-modem adapter), but it works fine. I'm satisfied with it. Cable that came with it was a bit short, though, swapped it out for a longer USB extension cable.
However tat's not the end of the story.I use Hyperterminal 5.1. I purchased this device because I need to program telephone systemsand configure certain types of network hardware that have serial ports,using a Dell laptop with only USB ports.Initially, the Add New Hardware Wizard in my Inspiron 1501 couldn'tfind the drivers for the device on the mini-cd that was shipped with it.I googled several USB sites & forums, where it was suggested I donwload and run USBView - a microsoft utility that can read theVendor & Product ID from the chip inside the device ( to locatedrivers ). Using the USB converter, Hyperterminalwas sending _2_ Carriage Returns for every one I sent - thisof course messed up my programming.I snooped around online, found a freeware terminal program calledTera-term. I did this - showed up as Progressive Technology Inc.I googled Progressive Technology, went to their site, anddownloaded the latest driver package, unzipped it onto theDell, and this time the installation succeeded. And.the deviceworked ( I was able to connect to one of the serial devices I program ). Installed it, and it works quite normally.Was the problem with Hyperterminal or the USB converter.don't know.HT never messed up before.So - go figure - It wasn't a no-brainer for me. Possibly thisreview might help someone else.I've only been using this setup for a day, so maybe later I'llhave more to say.
Product works as it's supposed to under Mac OS X. Had to download drivers since included CD was a mini-CD and I have a slot loading drive. The only bad thing was that I couldn't redirect the shipment to my office as I normally do with items that I'm not around to receive. But I guess that's Tiger Direct's issue.
This was just what I needed to connect my old embroidery card reader to my new laptop. If I hadn't found this adapter, I would have had to throw away my $900 card reader and buy a new one with a usb cable. I couldn't use the cd that came with this adapter, it was one of those tiny ones that don't slide into a side loading cd slot but I was able to download the software from the manufacturer's website. Life is good.
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