USB/serial Vista

Jony_BC

Member
hi there, i´m john and i´m new to this forum and also new to the picaxe world. and i start with a litle question, my laptop came with no serial port, and with windows vista OS, and i need to buy a usb to serial adaptar but i can´t find no one that cames with drivers for vista OS, i was very happy to change my OS to XP but my laptop only brings drivers to vista. I was wondering if someone has the same problem. i´m hoping for your replys.

thank you all

one more thing sorry about my english...:p
 
I bought an Airlink 101 USB to serial adapter. I use it to program from my Vista laptop through a USB port.

I tried using it through a USB hub, but that didn't work reliably, so now I have it plugged directly into my laptop and it works fine.

The only issue I have is that about half the time it won't download to an 18X, but trying again right away works. Annoying, but it just means hitting RETURN F5 to get the download.
 

BeanieBots

Moderator
What's wrong with the recommended Rev-ED AXE027 and Vista driver available from the "Software & Drivers" tab above?
Not tried it myself with Vista but there is a driver.
Not heard anyone say it doesn't work.
 
Not sure about Jony, but my reasons are:

  1. I'm in the US, and it's hard to find Rev-ED parts other than the CPUs here.
  2. The USB programmers I could find here (SparkFun) are stereo plugs, and I'm invested in 9-pin connectors.
  3. I needed one for my Garmin GPS too.
  4. I had my wife pick it up at the local Fryes when she went there to get a birthday present for my daughter, so I didn't have to pay shipping charges (which could add 30% to the price).

Even with my download problems it works well enough for me
 

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
The AXE027 uses an FTDI FT232RQ chip so while we'll always recommend official Rev-Ed product, there's a circuit diagram in AXE027.PDF so you can either build your own cable, mod an FTDI kit or find a compatible cable.

If you want 9-pin output, it should be fairly easy to build a 3.5mm jack to 9-pin although you won't get true +/-12V serial.
 

Calamitie

Member
You do realise that quite a lot of drivers work fine with Vista? (only some 'intensive' ones seem to crash; like graphics card drivers)
 
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