Review Details

4-Port USB to Serial Adapter COM Retention FTDI Chipset 920K Baud Rate

Product Review (submitted on August 20, 2014):

This cable is essential for Windows 8 users who need RS-232 serial ports for legacy hardware interfaces. In general, I have found this adapter to be a reliable addition to my Windows 8 system where I have multiple RS-232 serial devices that I use regularly.

Information for Amateur Radio Operators:
I use this cable to convert one USB 3.0 port on my late 2013 iMac (OS X 10.9.x Mavericks, Windows 8.1 Professional 64-bit) to 4 RS-232 serial ports to which I have connected my amateur radio transceivers, an auto tuner and a Kenwood TH-F6A programming cable. I used to have a USB to 4-port adapter made by another, well-known manufacturer that had the Prolific chipset, which is not compatible with Windows 8.

This is what I like about this adapter: It worked immediately in Mac OS X 10.9 and Windows 8.1 without needing to run any driver updates to configure the ports. Port conflicts are non-existent even when I have my SignaLink USB digital interface and MasterKeyer MK-1 in use. Where I used to have problems getting the correct rig information from a Yaesu FT-100D in my logging program, I no longer have that issue. I couldn't have asked for an easier, pain-free setup experience.

Now for a nit to pick: I question the need for the dongle style adapter cable/serial ports. Since I use this in an amateur radio environment, shielding and reduction of RF overload is very important. This cable can be susceptible to RF interference that I suspect is caused by the long runs of cable with insufficient shielding between the USB port and serial port connectors. This is also the reason why I stopped short of giving this cable a 5 star rating. I will try the usual mitigation steps - install chokes, go over grounding system again - and see if that makes a difference. Otherwise, I may be limited to operation on all bands 20m and down if I want to use the rig control interface of my logging and contest software.