The "Keyspan serial to USB connector" must have a 9-pin serial connector, otherwise it wouldn't be "USB to Serial" . In the case of the Keyspan, (at least the previous models) won't plug directly into the Power Pro's serial port because of fouling issues and need a 9-pin M-F straight-through cable between the Keyspan and Power Pro.
As far as alternatives are concerned:, see the document lower down in this post.
Dave
On 6 Dec 2018, at 1:18 PM, stanbmattingly@... wrote:
Thanks again for the incredibly prompt response Dave. Items #1 and # 3 in your above 5 item checklist have indeed been checked and confirmed. Regarding Item #2, my Keyspan cable is a USB A to USB B. I do not know if I have a "straight through" as you are asking and ask that you advise me how to tell. Could you provide a weblink to purchase the ESU or RRCirKits cable? I will in the meantime check the helpful link in checklist Item #5.
Do not try to use an NCE USB with JMRI Decoder Pro and a PH Pro system. The PH Pro firmware does not support decoder programming with the NCE USB.
<>
You need a third-party USB-Serial adaptor.
Ignore the el-cheapo RS232 to USB connectors you see at office supplies and computer stores and buy a reliable genuine FTDI chipset-based one such as these two ~$30 solutions:
<>
<> The UN8-BE is the item you want.
<>
<>
(Also ESU dealers in the UK and Australia can supply.)
Both these adaptors have the correct screw terminals rather than binding
posts and the USB cables are 1.8m long, so you do not need an extension cable. I use my ESU one regularly on a 10m Active USB extender as well.
Both work well with JMRI and have unique IDs so will not change COM ports capriciously.
Drivers download from:
<>
There are Windows 10 drivers on this site.
I have found them very stable with JMRI on Windows, Mac and Linux.
There are problems with many USB-Serial adaptors readily available in retail outlets:
1) The older PL2303 chipset version does not work with Windows 7 or 8.
2) Both thePL2303 and FTDI chipsets have been counterfeited and there are numerous non-genuine devices out there in the market place.
3) Many of the cheaper devices do not incorporate a unique serial number on-board so are likely to capriciously appear at different COM port numbers when plugged in to Windows or Mac computers.
Another problem with the USB-Serial adaptors is that many units readily available have binding posts attached to the male RS-232 plug rather than lock-down screws. This requires either physical modification of the adaptor (sometimes impossible) or the purchase of an RS-232 straight-through extension cable. However many RS-232 male-female extension cables come with null modem or crossover wiring rather than straight through.
The often-recommended Keyspan adaptor does have a genuine chipset, but it does need the extension cable in order to be able to be connected. It ends up costing considerably more than the FTDI-based cables I recommend above.
