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How to build a DriveWire serial cable
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Home / Hardware - How to build a DriveWire serial cable
When connecting a CoCo to a DriveWire 3 or 4 server you will need a particular serial cable. Here are two ways to build such a cable.
Direct USB male RS232 cable converter to 4-Pin DIN male cable
Parts :
To connect this the FTDI cable wires yellow, orange, and black are used :
- Yellow is connected to the DIN pin 4
- Orange is connected to DIN pin 2
- Black is connected to DIN pin 3
This has been tested and worked in GNU/Linux and Windows to 115,200 kpbs.
USB male to RS-232 DB9 female serial adapter, DB9 male to 4-Pin DIN male cable
Parts :
- USB male to DB-9 RS232 male serial adapter (example adapter) - needed for modern PCs which most probably don't have a DB9 serial port
- DB9 male connector
- Solderable 4-pin DIN plug (example)
- 4 conductor cable
This cable may be built based upon the following diagram :
USB to Serial (DB-9) converters range in price from about $10 - $20 and can be purchased from most electronics stores and online. If they don't have it on the shelf, ask someone and they can most likely order it for you. You will still need the cable above as this is just an adapter to be able to connect it to PC's with no DB-9 serial port.
Alternatively, you can also still purchase an add-on PCI or PCIx serial card. TigerDirect and NewEgg still stock a large selection of these cards. The internal serial cards tend to offer better data transfer rates than the USB to Serial adapters in testing.
Source
- Scott Adams (direct FTDI to 4-Pin DIN cable)
- Drivewire physical interface requirements - from the [DriveWire Specification https://sourceforge.net/p/drivewireserver/wiki/DriveWire_Specification] (DB9 to 4PN-DIN male)