CoolGear USB-8COM User manual

8-Port RS-232 USB to
Serial Adapter Data
Control Box
Product Manual
Coolgear, Inc.
Version 1.1
September 2017
Model Number: USB-8COM
www.coolgear.com

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Revision History
Revision Date Author Comments
1.0 03/6/2018 Coolgear New Manual
About this document
This product manual outlines installation and features of the USB-8COM 8-Port RS-232
USB to Serial Adapter Data Control Box.
Scope
The scope of this manual is to give the user of the product an understanding of its use
with detailed diagrams and verbiage. The manual allows the users to apply the product
to their application.
Intended Audience
This product is intended for use in numerous industries including but not limited to
applications such as; Remote Access, Retail & Industrial Data Centers, Serial Equipment,
Kiosk, Office, and others.
Product Support
[e-mail]

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction.........................................................................................................4
1.1 Features .................................................................................................................. 4
2. Windows 7 / Vista / 2003 / XP / 2000 Driver Installation.......................................5
2.1 Check Installation.................................................................................................... 6
2.2 Change COM Port Properties & COM Port Number............................................... 6
3. Uninstalling Windows 2003 / XP / 2000 Drivers ....................................................7
3.1 Uninstalling Windows 7 or Vista Drivers ................................................................ 9
4. RS-232 Signal Pin-outs of DB-9 Male ...................................................................12
5. Notes, Tips, Warnings, and Safety.......................................................................13
6. Supporting References .......................................................................................14
Table of Figures
Figure 1 – Driver Installation……………….…………………………………………………………………….…..5
Figure 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 – Uninstalling XP Drivers.……………………….………………………….………7-8
Figure 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 – Uninstalling Win7 Drivers………….…………….……………………..……9-11
Figure 13 - RS-232 Signal Pin-outs of DB-9 Male…………………………………………………………..12

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1. Introduction
The USB-8COM USB Serial Adapter provides instant connectivity to RS-232
communication device for factory automation equipment, multi-drop data collection
devices, barcode readers, time clocks, scales, data entry terminal and serial
communication in harsh environment. The USB-8COM USB Serial Adapter Data Control
Box is designed to make serial port expansion quick and simple.
WEIGHT .531 lbs
DIMENSIONS 5.43(L)x5.10(W)x1.56in(H)
UPC 729440690717
WARRANTY 1 year from date of purchase
COLOR Silver
PORTS 8 DB-9 Male Serial Port / 1 USB Type-B Female Port
1.1 Features
•TAA Compliant
•Installs as 8 standard Windows COM
ports.
•Rugged ABS plastic housing with built-
in LED Status indicators for TxD and
RxD.
•Full RS-232 modem control signals and
hardware.
•Software flow control: RTS/CTS,
XON/XOFF.
•Parity: None, Even, Odd, Space, Mark.
•RS-232 data signals: TxD, RxD, RTS,
CTS, DSR, DTR, DCD, RI, GND.
•High speed serial port with the baud
rate up to 921.6K bps.
•128 byte transmit FIFO & 384 byte
receive FIFO.
•Non-standard baud rates supported.
•Serial port protected with surge
protection of 10KV.
•Easy plug-and-play installation and RS-
232 device connection.
•COM port number assigned can be
changed to any COM port number
required.
•Virtual COM port drivers provided for
Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP, 2000.
•Compatible with USB 1.1 & 2.0 host
port.

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2. Windows 7 / Vista / 2003 / XP / 2000 Driver Installation
You need to have administrator privileges to install any new drivers under Windows 7/
Vista / 2003 / XP / 2000. To install the driver or update the configuration please log onto
Windows as "Administrator" or ask your system administrator to install the USB-COM
driver.
You need to install driver first, prior to hardware installation. Do not connect the USB-
to-Serial Adapter to the USB port of your computer, before you finish driver
installation.
Please proceed with the following steps to install the driver:
1. Insert the “USB COM Series Driver and Utility” CD into your CD-ROM.
2. The “USB COM Series Driver and Utility CD” dialog box appears.
3. Under “Driver Installation”, double click “Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP, 2000
driver” to install the device driver.
4. The USB COM install program will auto-detect the OS type and install the driver
automatically. (Note: in Windows 7 or Vista OS you will find another dialog box,
please click on “OK” to confirm the drivers install program).
Figure 1
5. After the message “FTDI CDM Driver installation process completed” appears,
press “Enter” to complete the driver installation.
6. Plug in the USB to Serial Adapter to the USB port of your computer. Windows
will finish installing the driver files.

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2.1 Check Installation
You can now verify the installation has been completed successfully by looking under
Device Manager of the System Properties screen. (Go there by Start-Setting- Control
Panel-System Properties-Hardware-Device Manager.
The device should have installed as a "USB Serial Port (COMx)" attached to "USB Serial
Converter (A/B or A/B/C/D)".
2.2 Change COM Port Properties & COM Port Number
This feature is particularly useful for programs, such as HyperTerminal, which only work
with COM1 through COM4. Please ensure that you do not change the COM Port
Number already in use.
To change the virtual COM port properties:
•Select the "USB Serial Port"
•Click “Properties”.
•Select "Port Setting" and “Advanced”.
•Click the drop down arrow on COM Port Number and scroll to the required COM
port. Select "OK".
•Return to the Device Manager Screen. You will see that the USB Serial Port
installation has been changed to the new COM Port Number.

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3. Uninstalling Windows 2003 / XP / 2000 Drivers
Please proceed with the following steps to uninstall the 2003/XP/2000 driver:
1. Insert the “USB COM Series Driver and Utility” CD into your CD-ROM.
2. The “USB COM Series Driver and Utility CD” dialog box appears.
3. Under “Driver Uninstalling”, double click “Windows 2003, XP, 2000 driver
uninstall” to uninstall the device driver.
4. When following dialog box appears, double click “Clean System” to uninstall the
2003/XP/2000 drivers.
Figure 2
5. You need to disconnect all USB to Serial Adapters from your PC, when the
message below appears. Double click “OK” to start uninstalling Windows
2003/XP/2000 USB to Serial drivers.
Figure 3
6. Double click “Yes” to confirm it.
Figure 4
7. Click “No” to proceed.

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Figure 5
8. When the message “Status: System clean completed” appears, double click
“Exit” to complete the USB to serial drivers uninstall.
Figure 6
9. Press “Start” button and select “Control Panel”.
10. Open the Add or Remove program.
Figure 7

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11. Remove the first “Windows Driver Package – FTDI CDM Driver Package (…)”.
12. Click “Change/Remove” and “Yes” to remove the first Windows Driver Package.
13. Remove the second “Windows Driver Package – FTDI CDM Driver Package (…)”.
14. Click “Change/Remove” and “Yes” to remove the second Windows Driver
Package.
15. Reboot the computer to complete the driver uninstall.
3.1 Uninstalling Windows 7 or Vista Drivers
Windows 7 and Vista have many new security features. You need to proceed with the
following steps to uninstall the Vista driver:
1. The USB to serial devices must connect to the PC.
2. Press “Start” button and select “Control Panel”.
3. Select “Classic View” from the top left hand corner and then “System” from the
list.
4. Select “Device Manager” from the top left hand corner.
Figure 8
5. Locate your device under the ports (COM & LPT) section and right click on it to
bring up the menu shown.

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Figure 9
6. Select uninstall and be sure to click the box for “Delete the driver software for
this device” in the next window and press “OK”.
Figure 10
Note: If you have more than one USB Serial Port (COMx) installed in your PC, you need
to repeat from step 5 to step 6 to delete the driver software for each port.
7. Locate your Device under the Universal Serial Bus Controllers section, and right
click on it to bring up the menu shown.

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Figure 11
8. Select uninstall and be sure to click the box for “Delete the driver software for
this device” in the next window and press “OK”.
Figure 12
Note: if you have more than one USB Serial Converter installed in your PC, you need to
repeat step 7 and step 8 to delete the driver software for all devices.

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4. RS-232 Signal Pin-outs of DB-9 Male
Figure 13
Pin 1 DCD
Pin 2 RxD
Pin 3 TxD
Pin 4 DTR
Pin 5 GND
Pin 6 DSR
Pin 7 RTS
Pin 8 CTS
Pin 9 RI

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5. Notes, Tips, Warnings, and Safety
Note
Note: You need to install driver first, prior to hardware installation. Do not
connect the USB-to-Serial Adapter to the USB port of your computer, before
you finish driver installation. Reference section 2.
Note: If you have more than one USB Serial Port (COMx) installed in your PC,
you need to repeat from step 5 to step 6 to delete the driver software for
each port. Reference section 3.1 step 6.
Tip N/A
Warning N/A
Safety
•Read the entire Product Manual before implementing this product for
your application. This manual contains important information about
electrical connections that must be followed for safe and proper
operation.
•Inspect the product closely for visual defects before putting it to use.
•Keep away from areas where moisture builds, this product contains
electrical components that can be damaged by moisture build up, this
can adversely affect your equipment connected to it.
•Do not disassemble the product. Handling the product’s internal
components can expose it to ESD (Electro-Static Discharge) hazards
that can affect the function of the device.
•If this product is not functioning properly, email our support team at
[email protected].

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6. Supporting References
Document Link
Website Product Page https://www.coolgear.com/product/8-port-rs-232-usb-to-
serial-adapter-data-control-box
© 2017 Coolgear, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All products and accompanying digital documentation including images are the property
and / or trademarks of Coolgear Inc. Coolgear Inc. are continuously improving upon its products. Product specifications are subject
to change without notice.