CommFront USB-232-1 User manual

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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………
2
FEATURES……………………………………………………………………………….
2
SPECIFICATIONS…………………………………………………………………….
2
PIN ASSIGNMENT……………………………………………………………………
2
DB-9 

 DB-25 CONVERSION TABLE………………………………………….
2
DRIVER INSTALLATION – QUICK GUIDE…………………………………..
2
DRIVER INSTALLATION – EXAMPLES………………………………………..
3
EXAMPLE 1 (WINDOWS VISTA)…………………………………………………………………
3
EXAMPLE 2 (WINDOWS XP)………………………………………………………………………
5
EXAMPLE 3 (WINDOWS 2000)………………………………………………………………….
8
TROUBLESHOOTING…………………………………………………………………
0
GENERAL………………………………………………………………………………………………………
10
DRIVER REINSTALLATION EXAMPLES……………………………………………………….
11
SUPPORT………………………………………………………………………………..
6
USB to RS-232 Converter
Part Nu ber: USB-232-1
Co unications ade easy

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■ INTRODUCTION
The USB-232-1 is a port-powered USB to RS-232 converter that can be used to convert any standard
USB port (USB 2.0 - backward co patible) into a RS-232C port. The unit uses the latest FTDI chipset
and is fully co patible with Windows 7/Vista/XP/Server2008/Server2003/2000/98 (32-bit), Windows
7/Vista/XP/Server2008/Server2003 (64-bit), Win CE, Mac, and Linux.
Note: the latest drivers (chipset FT232B) are available at http://www.ftdichip.co /Drivers/VCP.ht .
■ FEATURES
•Adds one RS-232 port to your USB port.
•RS-232 data & signals: TX, RX, RTS, CTS, DTR, DSR, DCD, RI, and GND.
•Supports Windows 7/Vista/XP/Server2008/Server2003/2000/98 (32-bit), Windows 7/Vista/XP/
Server2008/Server2003 (64-bit), Win CE, Mac, and Linux.
•Supports re ote wakeup and power anage ent.
•Port-powered, no external power required.
•Plug and play (hot-pluggable, data for at auto-sensing and self-adjusting).
•No IRQs required, no IRQ conflicts.
•Surface Mount Technology anufactured to RoHS and ISO-9001 standards.
•Safety: Strictly certified by SGS / 5-year anufacturer’s warranty.
■ SPECIFICATIONS
Co patibility: USB 2.0 (backward co patible) and EIA/TIA RS-232C standards
Power Source: Fro USB port
Current Consu ption: Under 100 A
Output Power on Pin 3 (TX): About -9VDC
RS-232 Data Rate: 300 to 128,000bps (auto-sensing and self-adjusting)
Distance: USB side: 10ft (3 ); RS-232 side: 16ft (5 )
Connectors: USB side: Type A Fe ale; RS-232 side: DB-9 Male
LEDs: TX, RX and Power
Di ensions (H x W x D): 0.6 x 1.4 x 2.2 in (15 x 35 x 55 ) (excluding cable)
Cable Length: 3.3 ft (1 )
Weight: 2.6 oz (73 g)
Operating Te perature: 32ºF to 95ºF (0ºC to 35ºC)
Operating Hu idity: Up to 90% RH (no condensation)
■ PIN ASSIGNMENT
RS-232 Side (DB-9 Male Connector / DTE):
Pin Function Description
1 DCD Data Carrier Detect
2 RX Receive Data
3 TX Trans it Data
4 DTR Data Ter inal Ready
5 GND Ground (Signal)
6 DSR Data Set Ready
7 RTS Request to Send
8 CTS Clear to Send
9 RI Ring Indicator
■ DB-9 

 DB-25 CONVERSION TABLE (DTE)
DB-9 Pin Assign ent: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
DB-25 Pin Assign ent: 8 3 2 20 7 6 4 5 22
Function: DCD RX TX DTR GND DSR RTS CTS RI
■ DRIVER INSTALLATION – QUICK GUIDE
•Drivers are included on the CD supplied with the converter; insert the CD into the
drive.
•Connect the USB-232-1 to an available USB port, and the “Found New Hardware

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Wizard” will guide you through the installation process. When pro pted to connect to
Windows Updates to search for drivers, select “No, not at this ti e”, and follow the
instructions for installing fro the CD.
•Once the drivers are successfully installed, the USB-232-1 will show up in the Windows
Device Manager: under “Ports (COM & LPT)” – labeled as “USB Serial Port (COMx)”, and
under “Universal Serial Bus controllers” - labeled as “USB Serial Converter” (Figure 1).
(Figure 1)
•The USB-232-1 uses DB-9 Male connector and function as a DTE device; the pin-outs
are available on the PIN ASSIGNMENT table above.
Important notes:
1) If it’s the first ti e you install the driver for Co Front’s USB to Serial device, you
will need to install the driver twice. One is for “USB Serial Converter”, and the other
one is for “USB Serial Port”. DO NOT close the 2
nd
“Found New Hardware
Wizard” window while installing the driver.
2) Upon co pletion of driver installations, re e ber to check the Windows Device
Manager to ake sure that the drivers are installed properly (Figure 1). If the
drivers are not installed correctly, there will be a yellow excla ation icon displayed
under the “Ports (COM & LPT)” or “USB Serial Bus controllers”, right-click on the
yellow excla ation icon and select “Update driver”. Then search for the driver in the
CD supplied.
3) The drivers are not available via Microsoft Windows Updates, however, Windows
Vista will search for the drivers via Microsoft Windows Updates by default, so
disconnect your Vista PC from the internet before the driver installation.
■ DRIVER INSTALLATION - EXAMPLES
•Example (Windows Vista)
1) Disconnect your PC from the internet before driver installation. This is
because the drivers are not available via Microsoft Windows Updates, but Windows
Vista will search for the drivers via Microsoft Windows Updates by default.
2) Insert the CD into the drive and connect the USB-232-1 to an available USB port,
the “Found New Hardware” window will pop up. Click on the “Locate and install
driver software (reco ended)” button to continue (Figure 2).

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(Figure 2)
3) Windows Vista will look for the driver in the CD, click on the “Next” button to
continue. This will start the driver installation for “USB Serial Converter” (Figure 3).
(Figure 3)
4) When the driver is successfully installed, the following window will pop up -
confir ing that the driver installation of “USB Serial Converter” has been co pleted
successfully. Click on the “Close” button to continue (Figure 4).

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(Figure 4)
5) The 2
nd
“Found New Hardware” window will pop up, pro pting you to install the
driver for “USB Serial Port”. DO NOT close this window! And repeat steps 1) to
4) to install the driver for “USB Serial Port”.
6) When the 2
nd
driver installation is co pleted, re e ber to check the Windows
Device Manager to confir that the drivers are installed successfully (Figure 1). The
USB-232-1 will show up in the Windows Device Manager: under the “Ports (COM &
LPT)” – labeled as “USB Serial Port (COMx)”, and “Universal Serial Bus controllers” -
labeled as “USB Serial Converter”.
•Example 2 (Windows XP)
1) Insert the CD into the drive and connect the USB-232-1 to an available USB port,
the “Found New Hardware Wizard” window will pop up. Select “No, not this ti e”
and click on the “Next” button to continue (Figure 5).

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(Figure 5)
2) Select “Install fro a list or specific location (Advanced)” to install the driver fro
CD (Figure 6).
(Figure 6)
3) Select “Search for the best driver in these locations” and check the box of “Search
re ovable edia (floppy, CD-ROM…)”. Then click on the “Next” button (Figure 7).

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(Figure 7)
4) When the driver is successfully installed, the following window will pop up,
confir ing that the driver installation of “USB Serial Converter” has been co pleted.
Click on the “Finish” button to continue (Figure 8).
(Figure 8)
5) The 2
nd
“Found New Hardware” window will pop up, pro pting you to install the
driver for “USB Serial Port”. DO NOT close this window! And repeat steps 1) to 4)
to install the driver for “USB Serial Port”.
6) When the 2
nd
driver installation is co pleted, re e ber to check the Windows
Device Manager to confir that the drivers are installed successfully (Figure 1). The
USB-232-1 will show up in the Windows Device Manager: under “Ports (COM &
LPT)” – labeled as “USB Serial Port (COMx)”, and under “Universal Serial Bus
controllers” - labeled as “USB Serial Converter”.

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•Example 3 (Windows 2000)
1) Insert the CD into the drive and connect the USB-232-1 to an available USB port,
the “Found New Hardware Wizard” window will pop up. Click on the “Next” button to
continue (Figure 9).
(Figure 9)
2) Select “Search for a suitable driver for y device (reco ended)” and click on the
“Next” button to continue (Figure 10).
(Figure 10)
3) Check the box of “CD-ROM drives”, and then click on the “Next” button to continue
(Figure 11).

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(Figure 11)
4) Windows will auto atically locate the driver, for exa ple, “e:\drivers\windows
2000_server 2003_xp_vista x32\ftdibus.inf”. Click on the “Next” button to continue
(Figure 12).
(Figure 12)
5) When the driver is successfully installed, the following window will pop up,
confir ing that the driver installation of “USB Serial Converter” has been co pleted.
Click on the “Finish” button to continue (Figure 13).

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(Figure 13)
6) The 2
nd
“Found New Hardware” window will pop up, pro pting you to install the
driver for “USB Serial Port”. DO NOT close this window! And repeat steps 1) to 5)
to install the driver for “USB Serial Port”.
7) When the 2
nd
driver installation is co pleted, re e ber to check the Windows
Device Manager to confir that the drivers are installed successfully (Figure 1). The
USB-232-1 will show up in the Windows Device Manager: under “Ports (COM &
LPT)” – labeled as “USB Serial Port (COMx)”, and under “Universal Serial Bus
controllers” - labeled as “USB Serial Converter”.
■ TROUBLESHOOTING
•General
1) Make sure that the USB-232-1 is connected to your USB port, and the driver is
installed correctly (Figure 1); otherwise, please reinstall the driver (Please refer to
the “Driver reinstallation exa ples” below).
2) Make sure the “Power” LED on USB-232-1 is lit up.
3) Perfor a loopback test by using Co Front’s 232Analyzer software (included on
the CD supplied with the converter): Connect pin 2 and 3 of the DB-9 connector (RX
to TX) and run the progra . Then send co ands fro the software, you should
receive an echo of the co ands sent. By perfor ing a si ple loopback test like
this, you can test both the trans itter and receiver of the converter. This is very
helpful when you are in doubt about the perfor ance of your converter (Figure 14).

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(Figure 14)
•Driver reinstallation examples
Drivers ight not be installed properly if the above driver installation procedures were
not followed; for exa ple, the user did not disconnect the PC fro the internet while
installing drivers on Vista achines, or the 2
nd
“Found New Hardware Wizard” window
was closed before the driver installation was co pleted. Below are so e exa ples
showing how to reinstall the drivers.
Example (Windows Vista)
Sy pto s: A yellow excla ation icon appears besides the “USB Serial Converter”. Also,
there is no display of the “Ports (COM & LPT)” in the Windows Device Manager (Figure
15).

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(Figure 15)
1) Right-click on the “USB Serial Converter” that displays with the yellow excla ation
icon, and select “Update Driver Software…” (Figure 15).
2) Click on the “Browse y co puter for driver software” button to continue (Figure
16).
(Figure 16)
3) Locate the driver in the CD provided and click on the “Next” button to continue
(Figure 17).

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(Figure 17)
4) When the driver is successfully updated, the following window will pop up,
confir ing that the driver installation of “USB Serial Converter” has been co pleted.
Click on the “Close” button to exit (Figure 18).
(Figure 18)
Example 2 (Windows Vista)
Sy pto s: A yellow excla ation icon appears besides the “USB Serial Port” (Figure
19).

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(Figure 19)
1) Right-click on the “USB Serial Port” that displays with the yellow excla ation icon,
and select “Update Driver Software…” (Figure 19).
2) Click on the “Browse y co puter for driver software” button to continue (Figure
20).
(Figure 20)
3) Locate the driver in the CD provided, and click on the “Next” button to continue
(Figure 21).

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(Figure 21)
4) When the driver is successfully updated, the following window will pop up,
confir ing that the driver installation of “USB Serial Port” has been co pleted. Click
on the “Close” button to exit (Figure 22).
(Figure 22)
Example 3 (Windows Vista/XP/2003/2000/98/ME)
Sy pto s: No yellow excla ation signs, but COM port does not exist or is not
functioning.
1) Locate and execute the driver un-installation progra FTDIUNIN.exe in its
respective folder. For exa ple, for Windows 2000/Server_2003/XP/Vista 32-bit, the
un-installation progra is located at “E:\Drivers\Windows 2000_Server
2003_XP_Vista X32\”
2) Unplug the USB-232-1, and click on the “Continue” button to uninstall the drivers
(Figure 23).

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(Figure 23)
3) Click on the “Finish” button to co plete the un-installation of the drivers (Figure
24).
(Figure 24)
4) Follow the correct driver installation procedures above to reinstall the drivers for
your USB-232-1 converter.
■ SUPPORT
Check out Co Front’s website: www.Co Front.co for Product Updates, FAQs, and
other Support.