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Q: |
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What is the correct
procedure for installing the USB drivers? |
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Q: |
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How do I know the drivers
are installed successfully? |
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Q: |
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Why is there a yellow
icon in the device manager? How do I solve the problem? |
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Q: |
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Why Windows Vista
automatically install the drivers but the COM ports are not usable? |
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Q: |
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Can I use both channels of the USB-232A-1
simultaneously? |
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Q: |
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Can I use the
USB-Dual-RS232 product (USB-232A-1) with the Full-duplex monitoring
cable (CBL-Full-1A) for the 232Analyzer software? |
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Q: |
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Can I use the USB
products with CommFront's port-powered converters for RS485 / RS422
/ TTL networks? |
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Q: |
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How do I perform a
loopback test for my USB-RS232 adapters? |
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Q: |
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What is USB2.0? My PC comes
with USB1.1 ports only, will the product work? |
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Q: |
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How do I change the COM
port number(s) assigned to my USB-Serial adapter? |
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Q: |
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How do I change the
latency timer of the USB products? |
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Q: |
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What is the output
voltage of your USB to RS232 converters? |
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Q: |
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Do your USB products
support custom baud rates, such as 76.8kbps? |
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Q: |
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Are the USB products
Windows Vista 64-bit compatible? |
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Q: |
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Where can I download the
latest drivers for CE6.0 or other OS? |
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Q: |
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What is the correct
procedure for installing the USB drivers? |
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1. Drivers are included on the CD
supplied with the USB-Serial adapter. Insert the CD into the drive.
Note: For Windows Vista, please disconnect your PC from the
Internet before installing drivers; otherwise, Windows Vista
will search for and install the drivers automatically from Windows
Updates and cause errors. |
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2. Connect the USB-232-1 or USB-232A-1
to an available USB port, and the "Found New Hardware Wizard" will
guide you through the installation process. Note: When prompted
to connect to Windows Updates to search for drivers, select "No, not
at this time" and follow the instructions for installing from
the CD. |
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3.
If it is the first
time you install the driver for CommFront’s USB to Serial device,
you will need to install the driver twice. One is for the “USB
Serial Converter”, and the other one is for the “USB Serial Port”.
Note: Do NOT close the 2nd “Found New Hardware Wizard”
window while installing the driver.
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Q: |
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How do I know the
drivers are installed successfully? |
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Open the "Device Manager" and make
sure the USB-Serial adapter(s) show under "Ports (COM & LPT)" and
"Universal Serial Bus Controllers". Also, make sure there is no
yellow exclamation icon over the two items.
Perform a loopback test by using
CommFront's 232Analyzer software to ensure that the COM port(s) are
functioning correctly. |
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Q: |
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Why is there a yellow
icon in the Device Manager? How do I solve the problem? |
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One or more yellow icons will show in
the Device Manager if the drivers are not installed properly.
Possible causes:
User did not disconnect the PC from the Internet
while installing drivers on Vista machines, or the 2nd
“Found New Hardware Wizard” window was closed before driver
installation was completed.
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To solve the problem, please refer to
the user's manual and reinstall the drivers. |
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Q: |
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Why Windows Vista
automatically install the drivers but the COM ports are not usable? |
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The drivers
are not available via Microsoft Windows Updates; however, Windows
Vista will search for and install the drivers via Microsoft Windows
Updates by default, because the drivers are incorrect, which causes
the COM ports to be unusable. To avoid this problem, please
disconnect your PC from the Internet before installing drivers.
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Q: |
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Can I use both channels of the
USB-232A-1 simultaneously? |
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Yes, USB-232A-1 is a USB-to-dual-RS232
adapter, for which both RS232 channels can be operated
simultaneously, just like having two separate COM ports on your PC. |
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Q: |
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Can I use the
USB-Dual-RS232 product (USB-232A-1) with the Full-duplex monitoring
cable (CBL-Full-1A) for the 232Analyzer software? |
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Yes, the two RS232 channels of the
USB-232A-1 adapter can be operated simultaneously, which provides a
perfect match for the full-duplex monitor cable (CBL-Full-1A) used
in the 232Analyzer software. |
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Note: to improve the
accuracy of the 232Analyzer's timestamps, change the latency timer
to 1 msec. Please refer to "How do I change the
latency timer of the USB products" for details. |
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Q: |
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Can I use the USB
products with CommFront's port-powered converters for RS485 / RS422
/ TTL networks? |
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The USB-Serial adapters do not just
add RS232 ports to your PC's USB ports. By combining the product
with the port-powered RS232 <=> RS485/RS422/TTL converters, it can
also be used as a USB to RS485/RS422/TTL converter, or even as an
opto-isolated USB to RS232/RS485/RS422 converter. |
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Q: |
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How do I perform a
loopback test for my USB-RS232 adapter? |
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Perform a
loopback test by using
CommFront's
232Analyzer software
(included on
the CD supplied with the converter): Connect pins 2 and 3 of the
DB-9 connector (RX to TX) and run the program. Then send commands
from the software, you should receive an echo of the commands sent.
By performing a simple loopback test like this, you can test both
the transmitter and the receiver of the adapter. This is very
helpful when you are in doubt about the performance of your
USB-RS232 adapter.
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Q: |
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What is USB2.0? My PC
comes with USB1.1 ports only, will the product work? |
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USB2.0 is a superset of 1.1 that
allows much higher speeds than the older USB1.1 standard did. USB2.0
is backward compatible. A USB2.0 product (both USB-232-1 and
USB-232A-1 are USB2.0 compatible) can be used even if your PC comes
only with USB1.1 ports. |
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Q: |
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How do I change the
COM port number(s) assigned to my USB-Serial adapter? |
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To change the COM port number(s)
assigned to your USB-Serial adapter, follow these steps:
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1. |
Open the Windows Device Manager (under
"Control Panel\System\Hardware"). |
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2. |
Right-click on the COM port you want
to change (under "Ports (COM & LPT)"). |
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3. |
Left-click on "Properties". |
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4. |
Click on the "Port Settings" tab. |
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5. |
Click on the "Advanced..." button. |
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6. |
Use the drop-down list to select the
COM port number you want to use. |
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7. |
Click "OK". |
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8. |
Click "OK" again and close the Device
Manager. |
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Q: |
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How do I change the
latency timer of the USB products? |
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To change the latency timers (response
time) for the USB products, follow the instructions below: |
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1. |
Open the Windows Device Manager (under
"Control Panel\System\Hardware"). |
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2. |
Right-click on the COM port you want
to change (under "Ports (COM & LPT)"). |
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3. |
Left-click on "Properties". |
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4. |
Click on the "Port Settings" tab. |
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5. |
Click on the "Advanced..." button. |
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6. |
Under the "BM options", select the
desired latency timer from the drop-down list, it ranges from 1 to
255 msec (default: 16 msec). |
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Note: to improve the
accuracy of the 232Analyzer's timestamps, change the latency timer
to 1 msec. |
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Q: |
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What is the output
voltage of your USB to RS232 converters? |
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The output voltage
of our USB to RS232 converters (Pin 3: TX line) is about
-9VDC. Most of the port-powered products require a -7V to -15VDC
from RS232's TX line, which can be supported by our USB to RS232
converters. |
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Q: |
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Do your USB products
support custom baud rates, such as 76.8kbps? |
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Yes, our USB products support custom
baud rates, such as 76.8kbps. However, some parameters need to be
changed, the user manual is available
here. Note: the chipset used
for our products is FT232B. |
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Q: |
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Are the USB products Windows Vista
64-bit compatible? |
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Yes, both USB-232-1 and USB-232A-1 are
Windows Vista 64-bit compatible, the products are Microsoft WHQL
(Windows Hardware Quality Labs) certified. |
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Q: |
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Where can I
download the latest drivers for CE6.0 or other OS? |
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You can download the latest drivers
for CE6.0 or other OS from FTDI's website, here is the link:
http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm. Note: the chipset used
for our products is FT232B. |
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