USB to serial

MartinM57

Moderator
It might be - only someone who actually has one can give you the definitive answer.

But in a current parallel life I deal with USB-serial adapters and a lot of people (50%?) buy cheap and then have to buy again to get success - in fact I recommend the rev-ed one as although this life has zero to do with picaxes, I've never heard of a single problem with them.

There may be something around which chip set is inside the adapter - FTDI-based ones seem better than Prolific-based ones, but it's not black and white...
 

Dippy

Moderator
As Martin says; it might be.

At that price* you could try it and bin it if no good.
Doesn't always pay to buy the cheapest, but it may be fine. Get one. Hubert likes it.

I have always had great success with the Rev-Ed products and I am particularly impressed wih the AXE027 which is very small and neat. I've tried it on 4 PCs using XP and Vista. As long as you install the drivers correctly I reckon you'll be impressed too. Sadly, so many people rush through the process without reading the DATA SHEET and then moan that the product doesn't work.

And, of course, if you buy the Rev-Ed product you'll get plenty of support here.

Up to you.
Personally, I'd save up a few more pennies...

* I've never seen one cheaper an there's usually a competition here to see who can find the cheapest product. :)
 

Andrew Cowan

Senior Member
Add £4.99 postage onto that price, and then it is almost worth getting the rev-ed one. Although that doesn't offer connection for other serial devices, it would be such a pain if it didn't work. I recon I will get the rev-ed one.

Thanks for your help,

Andrew
 

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
The AXE027 ends with the normal PICAXE 3.5mm plug.
And it wouldn't be too hard to build a 3.5mm to 9-way adapter if needed.

Another thing to bear in mind with USB devices is availability and compatibility of device drivers with your OS. Problems can afflict brand manufacturers as well as the unbranded, so it can often be cheaper and simpler to go for the recommended product because that's (hopefully) been tried and tested - When it comes to the Rev-Ed USB cables I don't think I've heard any complaints other than a very few who have had usual 'Windows(R) troubles' ... "You are going to crash. Click OK to deploy airbag".

That's not to say don't grab bargains when you see them, just be prepared to accept that they may not always work as hoped. Then again, you may end up very happy.
 

pcfixit

New Member
It might be - only someone who actually has one can give you the definitive answer.

But in a current parallel life I deal with USB-serial adapters and a lot of people (50%?) buy cheap and then have to buy again to get success - in fact I recommend the rev-ed one as although this life has zero to do with picaxes, I've never heard of a single problem with them.

There may be something around which chip set is inside the adapter - FTDI-based ones seem better than Prolific-based ones, but it's not black and white...
I have had one of these in the past and it broke with in a week of buying it. You get what you pay for really.
 
Dude... I just checked out the pictures of your shop... Do you think your parents would consider adopting me even though I am 42? When I was 15, my "shop" was a screwdriver and cardboard box full of junk under my bed. You are one lucky guy!!!!
 
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marky26uk

New Member
usb to serial

Hi, looks exactly like mine i got from ebay, this has worked perfect for me, had it 4 months & still going strong, on XP that is.

Mark
 
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