USB-Powered Devices provide serial ports for laptops.
Press Release Summary:
USB-COM-S series allows RS232 serial devices to talk to USB-enabled PCs. Based on FTDI's single chip FT232BM USB UART IC, products add 1, 2, 4, or 8 RS232 Windows Serial COM ports without requiring card-slots or external power supplies. Supporting data transfer rates to 1 million bps, they feature full set of data and control signals on DB9M connectors, with internal 128-byte transmit buffer FIFO and 384-byte receive buffer FIFO.
Original Press Release:
USB-Powered Devices Give up to 8 Serial Ports to Laptops
Pittsford, New York. USB-COM-S series are ready-made cable solutions for allowing RS232 serial devices to talk to newer USB PC's. The cost-effective USB-COM-S series are based on FTDI's single chip FT232BM USB UART i.c. for transferring serial data over the Universal Serial Bus, and are housed in sturdy enclosures for rugged application areas. They add one, two, four or eight RS232 Windows Serial COM ports (Virtual COMports) without needing card-slots or external power supplies. They use a laptop or desktop PC's USB connection - great for laptop PCs without even one serial port, but also adding extra ports to those that have them! USB Plug-and-Play allows easy serial port expansion and requires no IRQ, DMA, or I/O port resources. Connection to USB is via the USB cables included. Using a USB-powered serial device is a great solution for legacy medical and industrial equipment, removing the need for product redesigns.
USB-COM-S series feature a full set of data and control signals (TX-, TX+, RX+, RX-, GND, RTS-, RTS+, CTS+, CTS-) on their DB9M connectors, with an internal 128 byte transmit buffer FIFO and a 384 byte receive buffer FIFO and support data transfer rates of up to 1 million bps. No external power supply is required take their power from the USB bus, so they can be used anywhere!
USB-COM-S series come complete with drivers for Microsoft Windows98/ME/2K/xP (Apple OS-8/9/X and Linux drivers are also available).
