Convert a coders cable from serial to usb?

[JS Lemming]

I recently got a new laptop. I would like to continue developing on the DC but it has no serial plugs. Will using a serial to USB converter like this one or something similar do the trick? Or is it much more complex than that. I'm running Ubuntu 7.04 on a Toshiba.

EDIT:

I've found some tid-bits of info on the matter here. But most of their talk is over my head. If anyone has the results of their attempts in their memory I'd appreciate it.

Also, I have dc-tool version 1.0.3

EDIT AGAIN:

The USB <-> DC High speed Cable Coders released thread got my hopes up because that is what I really want. But then I read that Axlen doesn't make them anymore or found a bad bug in his design or something to that effect. Should I not even think about that now?

[henzenmann]

Basically, the USB cables by Axlen and Chaos work similar to generic USB to serial converters, they use the same chip that is used in many converters (FTDI BM232). The coders cable should work with a generic converter at up to 112Kbit/s. Axlen's circuit should work reliably at up to ~500Kbit/s. Chaos' circuit works at over 1000KBit/s.

[JS Lemming]

Who is this chaos fellow. I can't find him in the member list. Does he sell his circuit?

[|darc|]

While $100-$150 is steep, you should just get a BBA in my opinion, and enjoy the 100mbit.

[JS Lemming]

I have given the BBA great thought, but I can never seem to justify the insane price for the speed upgrade. And I hear some people do their business by burning cd-rs... if they can do that then I can manage with my slow coder's cable. Anyway, I've already bought a usb to serial adapter online for the fine price of $1.64 plus shipping. Compared to local stores trying to get away with a $30 peice of huha that does the same thing.

[JS Lemming]

My USB to serial adapter came in the mail today. I plugged everything up and tried to send an elf to the dreamcast but the only thing the terminal said was "Console enabled". Which happens to be the same thing it says when there isn't a coder's cable plugged in in the first place. Anyone have any ideas to get this working? BTW, the chip is Prolific(sp?) if it matters.

[henzenmann]

Make sure the driver was loaded (should happen automatically), the command lsmod should show "pl2303" somewhere. Then make sure you are using the correct device. dc-tool defaults to /dev/ttyS0. With my FTDI chip the device is called /dev/ttyUSB0 or so.

[JS Lemming]

Hmmm. I don't think the driver was loaded because I can't find pl2303 with lsmod. Here is the results of lsmod:

Code: Select all

Module                  Size  Used by
battery                10756  0 
ac                      6020  0 
thermal                14856  0 
fan                     5636  0 
button                  8720  0 
r8169                  32392  0 
ath_pci                97312  0 
ipv6                  268960  10 
binfmt_misc            12680  1 
rfcomm                 40856  0 
l2cap                  25856  5 rfcomm
bluetooth              55908  4 rfcomm,l2cap
ppdev                  10116  0 
i915                   24448  2 
drm                    81044  3 i915
acpi_cpufreq           10056  1 
cpufreq_ondemand        9228  1 
cpufreq_conservative     8200  0 
cpufreq_stats           7360  0 
freq_table              5792  3 acpi_cpufreq,cpufreq_ondemand,cpufreq_stats
cpufreq_userspace       5408  0 
cpufreq_powersave       2688  0 
dev_acpi               12292  0 
pcc_acpi               13184  0 
tc1100_wmi              8068  0 
sony_acpi               6284  0 
container               5248  0 
asus_acpi              17308  0 
video                  16388  0 
backlight               7040  1 asus_acpi
dock                   10268  0 
sbs                    15652  0 
i2c_ec                  6016  1 sbs
i2c_core               22656  1 i2c_ec
sbp2                   23812  0 
parport_pc             36388  0 
lp                     12452  0 
parport                36936  3 ppdev,parport_pc,lp
fuse                   46612  0 
snd_hda_intel         244632  1 
snd_pcm_oss            44672  0 
snd_pcm                81028  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm_oss
joydev                 10816  0 
snd_mixer_oss          17792  1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_seq_oss            35200  0 
wlan_scan_sta          14976  1 
ath_rate_sample        14080  1 
pcmcia                 39212  0 
snd_seq_midi_event      8576  1 snd_seq_oss
snd_seq                54000  4 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event
wlan                  204868  4 ath_pci,wlan_scan_sta,ath_rate_sample
tifm_7xx1               8704  0 
snd_timer              24196  2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device          9612  2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq
sdhci                  18700  0 
intel_agp              25244  1 
ath_hal               192592  3 ath_pci,ath_rate_sample
iTCO_wdt               11812  0 
iTCO_vendor_support     4868  1 iTCO_wdt
tifm_core              11140  1 tifm_7xx1
agpgart                35400  3 drm,intel_agp
af_packet              23816  6 
yenta_socket           27532  1 
serio_raw               7940  0 
mmc_core               26756  1 sdhci
snd                    56324  10 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm_oss,snd_pcm,snd_mixer_oss,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_device
soundcore               8672  1 snd
rsrc_nonstatic         14080  1 yenta_socket
pcmcia_core            40852  3 pcmcia,yenta_socket,rsrc_nonstatic
psmouse                38920  0 
shpchp                 34324  0 
pci_hotplug            32576  1 shpchp
snd_page_alloc         11272  2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
tsdev                   8768  0 
evdev                  11008  5 
ext3                  133128  1 
jbd                    59816  1 ext3
mbcache                 9604  1 ext3
sg                     36252  0 
sr_mod                 17060  0 
cdrom                  37664  1 sr_mod
sd_mod                 23428  3 
ata_generic             9092  0 
ata_piix               15492  2 
libata                125720  2 ata_generic,ata_piix
scsi_mod              142348  5 sbp2,sg,sr_mod,sd_mod,libata
ohci1394               36528  0 
ieee1394              299448  2 sbp2,ohci1394
generic                 5124  0 [permanent]
uhci_hcd               25360  0 
ehci_hcd               34188  0 
usbcore               134280  3 uhci_hcd,ehci_hcd
processor              31048  2 thermal,acpi_cpufreq
fbcon                  42656  0 
tileblit                3584  1 fbcon
font                    9216  1 fbcon
bitblit                 6912  1 fbcon
softcursor              3200  1 bitblit
vesafb                  9220  0 
capability              5896  0 
commoncap               8192  1 capability

[henzenmann]

Try to load the drives manually:
modprobe usbserial
modprobe pl2303

[JS Lemming]

Now lsmod shows:

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Module                  Size  Used by
pl2303                 21892  0 
usbserial              32488  1 pl2303

It still said "console enabled" so I tried changing the device to "/dev/ttyUSB0" but when I tried to upload an elf it said "-t: No such file or directory". Perhaps mine uses a different tty name? How to I go about finding that name out?

[henzenmann]

See if the device file shows up in /dev:
ls /dev/tty*
Also try to re-plug the cable that should trigger activation of the drivers. Look at your kernel log to see if there is maybe a problem (command dmesg or cat /var/log/messages)

[JS Lemming]

Code: Select all

/dev/tty    /dev/tty58  /dev/ttycd  /dev/ttyq4  /dev/ttyt7  /dev/ttywe
/dev/tty0   /dev/tty59  /dev/ttyce  /dev/ttyq5  /dev/ttyt8  /dev/ttywf
/dev/tty1   /dev/tty6   /dev/ttycf  /dev/ttyq6  /dev/ttyt9  /dev/ttyx0
/dev/tty10  /dev/tty60  /dev/ttyd0  /dev/ttyq7  /dev/ttyta  /dev/ttyx1
/dev/tty11  /dev/tty61  /dev/ttyd1  /dev/ttyq8  /dev/ttytb  /dev/ttyx2
/dev/tty12  /dev/tty62  /dev/ttyd2  /dev/ttyq9  /dev/ttytc  /dev/ttyx3
/dev/tty13  /dev/tty63  /dev/ttyd3  /dev/ttyqa  /dev/ttytd  /dev/ttyx4
/dev/tty14  /dev/tty7   /dev/ttyd4  /dev/ttyqb  /dev/ttyte  /dev/ttyx5
/dev/tty15  /dev/tty8   /dev/ttyd5  /dev/ttyqc  /dev/ttytf  /dev/ttyx6
/dev/tty16  /dev/tty9   /dev/ttyd6  /dev/ttyqd  /dev/ttyu0  /dev/ttyx7
/dev/tty17  /dev/ttya0  /dev/ttyd7  /dev/ttyqe  /dev/ttyu1  /dev/ttyx8
/dev/tty18  /dev/ttya1  /dev/ttyd8  /dev/ttyqf  /dev/ttyu2  /dev/ttyx9
/dev/tty19  /dev/ttya2  /dev/ttyd9  /dev/ttyr0  /dev/ttyu3  /dev/ttyxa
/dev/tty2   /dev/ttya3  /dev/ttyda  /dev/ttyr1  /dev/ttyu4  /dev/ttyxb
/dev/tty20  /dev/ttya4  /dev/ttydb  /dev/ttyr2  /dev/ttyu5  /dev/ttyxc
/dev/tty21  /dev/ttya5  /dev/ttydc  /dev/ttyr3  /dev/ttyu6  /dev/ttyxd
/dev/tty22  /dev/ttya6  /dev/ttydd  /dev/ttyr4  /dev/ttyu7  /dev/ttyxe
/dev/tty23  /dev/ttya7  /dev/ttyde  /dev/ttyr5  /dev/ttyu8  /dev/ttyxf
/dev/tty24  /dev/ttya8  /dev/ttydf  /dev/ttyr6  /dev/ttyu9  /dev/ttyy0
/dev/tty25  /dev/ttya9  /dev/ttye0  /dev/ttyr7  /dev/ttyua  /dev/ttyy1
/dev/tty26  /dev/ttyaa  /dev/ttye1  /dev/ttyr8  /dev/ttyub  /dev/ttyy2
/dev/tty27  /dev/ttyab  /dev/ttye2  /dev/ttyr9  /dev/ttyuc  /dev/ttyy3
/dev/tty28  /dev/ttyac  /dev/ttye3  /dev/ttyra  /dev/ttyud  /dev/ttyy4
/dev/tty29  /dev/ttyad  /dev/ttye4  /dev/ttyrb  /dev/ttyue  /dev/ttyy5
/dev/tty3   /dev/ttyae  /dev/ttye5  /dev/ttyrc  /dev/ttyuf  /dev/ttyy6
/dev/tty30  /dev/ttyaf  /dev/ttye6  /dev/ttyrd  /dev/ttyv0  /dev/ttyy7
/dev/tty31  /dev/ttyb0  /dev/ttye7  /dev/ttyre  /dev/ttyv1  /dev/ttyy8
/dev/tty32  /dev/ttyb1  /dev/ttye8  /dev/ttyrf  /dev/ttyv2  /dev/ttyy9
/dev/tty33  /dev/ttyb2  /dev/ttye9  /dev/ttys0  /dev/ttyv3  /dev/ttyya
/dev/tty34  /dev/ttyb3  /dev/ttyea  /dev/ttyS0  /dev/ttyv4  /dev/ttyyb
/dev/tty35  /dev/ttyb4  /dev/ttyeb  /dev/ttys1  /dev/ttyv5  /dev/ttyyc
/dev/tty36  /dev/ttyb5  /dev/ttyec  /dev/ttyS1  /dev/ttyv6  /dev/ttyyd
/dev/tty37  /dev/ttyb6  /dev/ttyed  /dev/ttys2  /dev/ttyv7  /dev/ttyye
/dev/tty38  /dev/ttyb7  /dev/ttyee  /dev/ttyS2  /dev/ttyv8  /dev/ttyyf
/dev/tty39  /dev/ttyb8  /dev/ttyef  /dev/ttys3  /dev/ttyv9  /dev/ttyz0
/dev/tty4   /dev/ttyb9  /dev/ttyp0  /dev/ttyS3  /dev/ttyva  /dev/ttyz1
/dev/tty40  /dev/ttyba  /dev/ttyp1  /dev/ttys4  /dev/ttyvb  /dev/ttyz2
/dev/tty41  /dev/ttybb  /dev/ttyp2  /dev/ttys5  /dev/ttyvc  /dev/ttyz3
/dev/tty42  /dev/ttybc  /dev/ttyp3  /dev/ttys6  /dev/ttyvd  /dev/ttyz4
/dev/tty43  /dev/ttybd  /dev/ttyp4  /dev/ttys7  /dev/ttyve  /dev/ttyz5
/dev/tty44  /dev/ttybe  /dev/ttyp5  /dev/ttys8  /dev/ttyvf  /dev/ttyz6
/dev/tty45  /dev/ttybf  /dev/ttyp6  /dev/ttys9  /dev/ttyw0  /dev/ttyz7
/dev/tty46  /dev/ttyc0  /dev/ttyp7  /dev/ttysa  /dev/ttyw1  /dev/ttyz8
/dev/tty47  /dev/ttyc1  /dev/ttyp8  /dev/ttysb  /dev/ttyw2  /dev/ttyz9
/dev/tty48  /dev/ttyc2  /dev/ttyp9  /dev/ttysc  /dev/ttyw3  /dev/ttyza
/dev/tty49  /dev/ttyc3  /dev/ttypa  /dev/ttysd  /dev/ttyw4  /dev/ttyzb
/dev/tty5   /dev/ttyc4  /dev/ttypb  /dev/ttyse  /dev/ttyw5  /dev/ttyzc
/dev/tty50  /dev/ttyc5  /dev/ttypc  /dev/ttysf  /dev/ttyw6  /dev/ttyzd
/dev/tty51  /dev/ttyc6  /dev/ttypd  /dev/ttyt0  /dev/ttyw7  /dev/ttyze
/dev/tty52  /dev/ttyc7  /dev/ttype  /dev/ttyt1  /dev/ttyw8  /dev/ttyzf
/dev/tty53  /dev/ttyc8  /dev/ttypf  /dev/ttyt2  /dev/ttyw9
/dev/tty54  /dev/ttyc9  /dev/ttyq0  /dev/ttyt3  /dev/ttywa
/dev/tty55  /dev/ttyca  /dev/ttyq1  /dev/ttyt4  /dev/ttywb
/dev/tty56  /dev/ttycb  /dev/ttyq2  /dev/ttyt5  /dev/ttywc
/dev/tty57  /dev/ttycc  /dev/ttyq3  /dev/ttyt6  /dev/ttywd

Heck if I know what's what up there.

Apon unplugging and replugging cable and checking command dmesg I get:

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[27130.656000] usb 4-1: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 7
[27130.820000] usb 4-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice

[henzenmann]

Does it still not work for you?

Here is what happens with the FTDI chip after I plug in the cable: all drivers are loaded automatically and the /dev/ttyUSB0 device file exists afterwards.

Output of dmesg:

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usb 1-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 4
usb 1-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
usbcore: registered new interface driver usbserial
drivers/usb/serial/usb-serial.c: USB Serial support registered for generic
usbcore: registered new interface driver usbserial_generic
drivers/usb/serial/usb-serial.c: USB Serial Driver core
drivers/usb/serial/usb-serial.c: USB Serial support registered for FTDI USB Serial Device
ftdi_sio 1-2:1.0: FTDI USB Serial Device converter detected
drivers/usb/serial/ftdi_sio.c: Detected FT232BM
usb 1-2: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB0
usbcore: registered new interface driver ftdi_sio

Output from lsmod (only changes):

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[...]
ftdi_sio               32136  0
usbserial              29992  1 ftdi_sio
usbcore               122248  6 ftdi_sio,usbserial,usbhid,ehci_hcd,uhci_hcd
[...]

Output from lsusb:

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Bus 001 Device 004: ID 0403:6001 Future Technology Devices International, Ltd 8-bit FIFO
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 046d:c219 Logitech, Inc.
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

One thing to check out would be the USB device ID of your cable as reported by lsusb (0403:6001 for me). It should be 067b:2303 for the Prolific chip.

[JS Lemming]

Yeah, I still can't get it to work. lsusb results in:

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Bus 005 Device 001: ID 0000:0000  
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 0000:0000  
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000  
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000  
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 4348:5523  
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000 

And I don't get anything beyond the first two lines of the dmesg. Maybe mine is just broken. This is depressing. If I can't get this running.. . I guess I'll either fork up $150 for a bba or just quit the whole dreamcast thing... $150 is a lot.

[henzenmann]

How do you know that your cable uses a Prolific chip?

I could not find much info on device id 4348:5523, only that people cannot get it to work under Linux or MacOS.

If the chip is indeed the Prolific PL-2303, but the id was changed, then forcing the driver to accept the id might work:
modprobe pl2303 vendor=0x4348 product=0x5523

If the chip is NOT the Prolific PL-2303, then using the generic USB serial driver might work, but probably not very well:
modprobe usbserial vendor=0x4348 product=0x5523

[JS Lemming]

The ebay page said it was Prolific. I guess they lied.

None of that worked either. Thanks for all the help though henzenmann.