This device is used with original Prontos and some older URC remotes. I've got one that worked for years. It's not working. I have a ThinkPad T420 using Windows 7.

I spent an hour on the phone with TrippLite Technical Services today. BRAVO THEM! This guy knew his stuff. I was glad my experiences talking with remote control customers helped me be informative and not push buttons without asking first!

When it worked, with five different computers I had just plugged it in and after a few seconds it was automatically set up. Then it wouldn't work but I don't know of an event that made it stop.

As of today:
The software has been deleted and reinstalled. A test of its internal wiring shows it's good. That test also tests the USB connection and the USB cable. (I tried two and they both worked.) When I mismatch the COM port in the computer and in the MX-850 and Pronto software, the software reports that the COM ports are mismatched, so some kind of communication is going on. And that verifies that the cable from adaptor to remote is working, too.

The Port Settings are 9600/8/None/1/None. I've tried Ports 1 and 6.

Does any of this ring a bell? Any ideas if I've missed something obvious?

And why do I care about this? Because a friend made the mistake of selling an MX-850 to a client for home use a bit more than a year ago. He's a client because my friend installed and maintains audio, video, and POS in six of his restaurants. So no, we can't just toss out the remote (I could say the guy who sold it to him didn't know what he was doing, though.)

edit: dumb spelling mistake

My experience has been that older Keyspans don’t work with newer hardware and software.

Buzz,

Oh. Excuse me.

buzz,
Do newer Keyspans of the same model not work with modern hardware and software? I'd think the TrippLite guy would have mentioned something like that. Or are you saying the other models work with new stuff? I'd think the TripLite guy would have mentioned that, too.

Dell sells the USA-19HS, which is the same model I have, though mine is easily ten years old.
TrippLite, Barcode Giant and Radwell International sell the U209-000-R.
Newegg has the u209-005-db25, which looks like that last item with an added DB9 to DB-25 adaptor.

Thoughts?

Maybe you need to order a new one. How many hours do you want to spend troubleshooting a ten year old device?

Mine works on a Windows 8 laptop just for MX-850s. Sometimes it won't connect. I switch to the wrong COM port then back to the right one and it's good. I believe 3 is the one that works, though it's been awhile.

I don't recall specific details (its been a while since it came up), but I was warned that many older USB->serial adapters were not compatible with the newer USB controllers (the chip on PC side) in current and recent-gen computers.

I've been using a couple of the Trendnet TU-S9 for last few years w/out issue.
[Link: trendnet.com]


Benefits of Amazon, buy several, find the one that works best and ship the others back.

Ernie,

They are slightly different models, but you'd have a hard time differentiating them in a dimly lit tool bag.

Just used my Keyspan 19HS today with my Windows 10 and a URC MX850 with no issues. Its about 3 years old. ADI sells them.

Thanks. I've ordered a Trendnet and it will arrive in two days. What a world, what a world!

The trendnet arrived. It works, though it took some time to set it up.

I've got a Lenovo ThinkPad T420 and for some reason it would only set up on the USB connector that's got a yellow insert. The yellow insert specifies that this USB connector is live for charging devices when the computer's power supply is connected or it's in SLEEP mode. I haven't found any info to tell why this would be the only jack it would work with.

How old is this remote?

Where do you see the port settings, in MX Editor? Did you look in the device manager to see if the ports are active? Why have you only used ports 1 and 6?

Sure, you can tell him to abandon this remote- if the only easy way to program it is with a computer that has a serial port, it means the remote has had its day in the Sun, it has been a good run, but it's time to stick a fork in it.

Having had similar problems with a USB-serial adaptor and not having ANY problems with a computer that has a serial port, I can say with confidence that if you can find a working used laptop/small PC with a serial port, you will be able to do this without all of this BS. PM me if you want one.

Sorry; I'm in a hurry here, but:

The remote is about two years old.

You ask about MX Editor. The program is named MX-850 Editor, though it's named MX Editor in the opening splash screen.

Why Port 6? Why not try any other port with it?

The Trendnet does not show up in Device Manager. No device in Device Manager says COM6. When I look at Devices and Printers, though, it shows up under "Unspecified" as "Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port (COM6)." Which it's not, but hey, computers don't have to have EXACT data, do they?

So once I saw that in Devices and Printers, I figured I had a shot at it working if I changed the MX-850 Editor to Com6. I did it and it worked. As far as I'm concerned, I'm done at that point.

I felt no need to look at all the various details, starting with right clicking the icon in Devices and Printers.

Just now, since reading your post, I did that and I found that it is indeed possible to change the port. But since COM6 works, who cares?

You're looking for TrendNet, but the adapter isn't necessarily made by the company with its name on it and yes.

It's connected to a USB port- that's where you look for whatever is connected and that's where you'll find the adapter- do you know where all of the comm ports on the computer are, by number? Maybe, maybe not- I don't know how many do, but you should be able to find the other port numbers in the search bar. Personally, I think the editor or adapter should have been able to work without assigning a comm port. I discussed the problem with someone in tech support at URC and he was the one making the instructional videos on their website, so I would hope he knew what he was doing. I also discussed it with the regional trainer and he said I was doing it correctly, but it still didn't work.

Why change it? Because it didn't work before and there's no guarantee that it will work next time. That's the reason I gave up on my adapter and now only use the small computer with the serial port- the adapter caused so much wasted time I was about to break the freaking remote, just so I wouldn't have to deal with it again. I decided to try the computer and it worked perfectly, the first time. I made the needed changes in a few minutes and with the adapter, on the correct port, would often waste far too much time to think about.

I'm downloading an installation file from the Trendnet site. It's named the PL-2303 from Prolific Technology. And the icon in Printers and Devices is labeled "Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port (COM6)."

This is a new concept to me. I believe that, in the past, a particular connection point on a computer could be named different COM numbers. That is, the COM port numbers were not static. They were assigned. I could be wrong, too!


AMEN BROTHER.


I don't understand this:

Uh... it didn't work before because it had not arrived in the mail, nor had I plugged it in. Let me back up -- I had a Keyspan USB to serial adaptor that worked for several years, and in fact used to be called the only one that ALWAYS worked. When I tried to use it on my present computer, I thought it had worked with a Pronto TS1000 but then I could NEVER connect to an MX-850.

So I bought the Trendnet. When I worked out installation by using the correct USB connector, I was not able to identify its port number. You have to have a port number for the MX-850 Editor to work. I was able to find its port number where I didn't expect it, under "Unspecified" in Printers and Devices.

So you say "because it didn't work before," that's your reason for changing it. But the first time it worked I was able to find that it was set as COM6, so that's what I set it to... and NOW, after having it work, I ask "Why bother to change the port number?" Can you respond to that? Thanks.


That's the life of the MX-850 programmer. It's always been a bitch, and I never use that word.


How do you do updates on the small computer? Is it so sold that it has a serial connector, and incidentally can't run anything newer than XP? How does all that work out?

Thanks for the insights.

Prolific is the chipset manufacturer; I'm guessing Trendnet just bought generic compomnents off the shelf in bulk rather than have them ID'd w/ their own branding.


I *think* COM ports are largely virtual in modern computers. A built-in serial port would likely have a fixed ID, but USB devices are likely assigned a port # based on order connected to the PC...

You can change a detected devices port # via the Device Manager. Some older software can not use/see COM port values above a certain threshold (6?).


I'm surprised re: the Trendnet only working on a particular USB port, have not seen that issue. My previous laptop, which I used this adaptor with for two years, was a similar model Thinkpad from ~2015.

The culprit is the Prolific chip. There was a running change and the older ones are no longer recognized by windows... a new adapter is needed, juts make sure that it hasn't been sitting on some shelf for years- you could get one with the older chip. I had this same issue with an IOGear unit. New version of the exact same model fixed it.