MAWD USB, Arts II

I had to replace my computer due to a Mother Board failure. I now am the proud owner of a new laptop.

Problem ... no serial ports.

I ordered the PerfectFlite USB adapter for my PF MAWD's, does any one know if this will work on the ARTS II as well?

If its really just a normal USB serial adapter, yes. If not, who knows.

If it doesn't work you can find USB-serial adapters in most computer or office supply stores.

David

I do not know specifically about the ARTS, however I have used several different USB to Serial (DB9) adapters connected to laptops and various serial peripherals. (mostly rocket related: Altimeters, Beelines, computer terminal consoles and such) so far I have not had any problems with communicating with the adapters or altimeter.

One important difference is the Com Port Setting. In Windows, the USB adapter often has a Port setting other than Com 1 or 2 (typical for on board serial) and it will change to a different port number if you move the adapter to a different USB port.

You can find inexpensive USB - Serial adapters at places like www.pchcables.com, www.cablestogo.com and sometimes at Office Depot/Max. I copy the driver disk to a folder on my laptop, that way I have it with me in the field if necessary.

John

I've used a Belkin USB to Serial adapter for my ARTS2 and it works just fine. Make sure you have the comm port set correctly within the ARTS2 software and the comm port settings set correctly (9600/8/N/1) within device manager and it should work.

-Aaron

QuickBurst said:

I had to replace my computer due to a Mother Board failure. I now am the proud owner of a new laptop.

Problem ... no serial ports.

I ordered the PerfectFlite USB adapter for my PF MAWD's, does any one know if this will work on the ARTS II as well?

Click to expand...

Yup...you should be fine. Most USB to Serial adapters use the same chipset. I've got 3-4 different ones that all are the same rebranded.

If you have any problems....let me know.

-D

Exactly what did you buy from PF?
PF sells two devices to connect the altimeters to your computer:
one is a serial cable
the other is a usb cable
Both setups go directly to the altimeter and *not* to a serial cord.
So no, it will not work. You will need to buy a usb-serial adapter for the ARTSII (I'm using that setup and it works perfectly...)

ghost said:

Exactly what did you buy from PF?
PF sells two devices to connect the altimeters to your computer:
one is a serial cable
the other is a usb cable
Both setups go directly to the altimeter and *not* to a serial cord.
So no, it will not work. You will need to buy a usb-serial adapter for the ARTSII (I'm using that setup and it works perfectly...)

Click to expand...

I bought the PerfectFlite DT2U.

1.) Sequence of events:
2.) Had PF Altimeters.
3.) Lost PC.
4.) Found out new PC does not have serial ports.
5.) Ordered DT2U, it's in the mail.
6.) Three days later I decided it was time to buy an ARTSII and made the order.
7.) Received the new ARTS, then discovered I would need to be converted to USB as well (I should have known this).
8.) Posted question on server, I wanted to know if anyone had ever tried the PF DT2U with the ARTSII. Experience says a lot.

Both the PerfectFlite MAWD and Ozark Aerospace ARTSII are great altimeters. The ARTS has much more detailed data recording. I need the additional data for my research flights. I have flown MAWD's many, many times and have never had a single problem. I fly with Jenni and John Etgen and they fly the ARTS altimeters exclusively. I have seen them put up hundreds of flights and never any type of issue. The ARTS is a little picky about e-match selection, but this is not an issue for me. I expect to get great service out of it.

The DT2U is a simple USB to Serial device. However, it does not provide level conversion. It uses TTL level signaling. So 0-5V, not -12/+12 like a PC serial port. This might or might not matter to the ARTSII. You would also need to figure out the serial pinout of the DT2U and adapt it as needed to fit the ARTS cable. I don't have the ARTS, so I can't help there.

If you have electronics experience, you can probably figure it out. If not, I would sugest a more standard USB to Serial adapter.

I think that the issue is that people seemed to assume that the Perfectflite device you bought was a standard USB-to-Serial adapter. But the PF device that you bought does not have a DB9 on it at all:

https://68.178.208.82/cgi/PF_Store/...hispage&thispage=DT2U.html&ORDER_ID=385368778

It connects through a small connector to the altimeter on one side, and through a USB cable on the other. Does the part that attaches to the altimeter match the ARTSII? Probably not, though it might be possible to make an adapter using the pinouts.

It's probably much more straightforward to just buy a standard USB-to-Serial adapter and use that with the ARTS serial cable. I think I paid $15 for mine, and it works with everything from Perfectflite altimeters to Parallax Stamp modules to Garmin GPS to little Serial-TTL breadboard adapters. I haven't tried it with an ARTS, though.