Keyspan USB PDA Adapter

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Julie

January 05, 2000

Program Requirements:
Device:
Most serial PDAs

Desktop:
Windows 98 or Macintosh computer with a USB port
1.9 Meg for Windows, 288k for Mac

What's the biggest hassle when it comes to electronic gizmos like PDAs?  Trying to find a free COM port on your PC to hook it to! Keyspan has come to the rescue with their USB PDA Adapter. This small adapter provides one RS-232 male DB9 port for direct connection to a PDA cradle or synchronization cable. It draws its power from the USB port on your PC so a power adapter is not required.

This adapter will work with PDAs like the PalmPilots, Windows CE Palm-size PCs and other serial devices. There is one thing you need to make sure before buying this adapter. Make sure that the software that your device uses can be set to connect to COM ports other than the standard 1 thru 4. Because once you set up the Keyspan Adapter, it will become the next COM port in line. On my system, it became COM5.

The adapter has a serial connector on one end and a USB connector on the other. You plug the serial cable of your device into the serial end and then put the USB connector into your PC or Mac. A CD comes with the adapter that includes drivers for Windows 98 machines and Macintosh computers. Installation is very easy and once done, you'll have an extra COM port on your PC.

I tested this adapter with a Casio E-100 Palm-size PC and a Palm V PDA. In order to use it with the Casio, I had to change the COM port it was connected to the new COM port. I also had to make sure the serial speed on the PDA was set to 57,600kps. Anything higher and it would not sync. Sometimes at 57,600kps, it would take several times before the PDA and PC would finally connect correctly.  I found that overall syncing was slower than using a regular COM port.

With the Palm V, I had to make sure that I had the installed the latest version of the Hotsync software (v3.0). This newer version allows you to select COM ports other than 1-4.  This new version is available at http://www.palm.com as a free download. I then had to set the port speed no higher than 57,600kps. If I would set it higher, it would never sync and would even lock up my PC at times.

Basically I found that the Keyspan USB Adapter works fine as long as you have the port speed set pretty low. So, if you don't mind that fact and you need more COM ports, then this adapter should work well for you.

 

Price: $39

Pros:
Adds an extra COM port to your system.

Cons:
Have to set the port speed to no higher than 57,600kps for most devices.