MS Internal Serial to USB adapter

I've got an old MS1 with Extra code (V2.2) running one of my projects. I've been running an old external Serial to USB adapter for years with no problems.
Recently I've been having dropped connection issues while tuning and was thinking of installing an internal adapter.

DIY Autotune sells THIS ONE (Which I can also find on Digikey), but I was looking at this other one instead, seeing as it has solder pads, and not some inline connector that I need to adapt to.

DATASHEET

It looks like it should work OK. Am I missing anything here?

You are not missing anything. I don't know what 'chip' the DIY is using. The Digikey listed device is from FTDI and FTDI is the chip to get in terms of reliable operation. There are other adapter boards available from Sparkfun and Adafruit using the FTDI chip that may have a better form factor that makes for a more sanitary installation (fitting in place of the original RS232 chip). I shopped around and was looking for a board that I could mount on header pins more or less directly in place of the RS232 interface; but, didn't find anything. These products get updated regularly so there may be a newer version in a better form factor.

Velcroing the board to the inside case struck me as a dodgy install!

THIS is the datasheet for the DLP unit that DIY sells.

I won't constantly plugging/unplugging the USB cable, so the Velcro may not concern me much.

I'll do some more looking, I suppose.

The original DB-9 serial connector on the MS is pretty robust. I'd just get another DB-9 to USB adapter cable in the desired length, and with Windows10 drivers.

If you really want to convert to USB within the MS box, what size usb connector do you want? original, mini, micro (link)

One of these 5v boards, or cables, might work: link You'd need to wire in the tx/rx signals to the MS PCB before the max232 chip.

bobxyz said:

The original DB-9 serial connector on the MS is pretty robust. I'd just get another DB-9 to USB adapter cable in the desired length, and with Windows10 drivers.

If you really want to convert to USB within the MS box, what size usb connector do you want? original, mini, micro (link)

One of these 5v boards, or cables, might work: link You'd need to wire in the tx/rx signals to the MS PCB before the max232 chip.

Click to expand...

What I have been using is an adapter that then accepts a USB cable. I swapped the cable, but that didn't seem to improve things any. I think the vibrations of it hanging off of the DB-9 over course of the past 15 years have taken a toll.

I didn't really have a preference on what USB size, as I have cables for days around here in all sizes, really.

The link on the DIY page gives a pretty good rundown of the connections to make, so I'm not overly concerned.

What about something like THIS?

I think the FTDI DB9-USB-RS232-F would be a direct replacement for the current female DB-9 connector on the MS PCB. With this, you wouldn't need to change any other wiring (no need to wire around the max232 chip on the pcb). It's a common enough part that it should be available at Digikey, Mouser, Newark (or Farnell if you're in Europe).

Yeah. that's what it looked like.
I pulled the info from DigiKey, so I'll probably order one.