Configure USB to 9 pin Serial adapter for connecting Apple Powerbook running OS X to a rack mounted server serial port console via minicom
I bought a DB-9 Serial Adapter High Speed 230K USB SERIAL RS-232 from http://www.usbgear.com/U232-P9.html for $16.95. I then downloaded the drivers for the Prolific chipset it uses: http://www.usbgear.com/md_pl2303_v106.zip
I found this post of which I'm going to quote the relevant portions here in case the link doesn't work in the future: http://www.osxhax.com/archives/000006.html
Next I needed minicom. I already had fink installed (http://fink.sourceforge.net/) so all I had to do was go to a command line and type 'fink install minicom'. The next part was a bit tricky because for me, as 'minicom -s' didn't seem to work, so I had to edit my own default minicom config file /sw/etc/minirc.dfl which I'm including here:
(Oh, I think I might have also had to use 'ctrl-a-z' to ensure all the settings were correct. You'll obviously have to get the baud, parity, stop bits, and flow control correct for your device. Sorry that I can't help you there, but it is well beyond the scope of this document.)
Good luck! It's a real joy once you get it to work!
I bought a DB-9 Serial Adapter High Speed 230K USB SERIAL RS-232 from http://www.usbgear.com/U232-P9.html for $16.95. I then downloaded the drivers for the Prolific chipset it uses: http://www.usbgear.com/md_pl2303_v106.zip
I found this post of which I'm going to quote the relevant portions here in case the link doesn't work in the future: http://www.osxhax.com/archives/000006.html
It was somewhat helpful, but I didn't need to modify .plist files because it already matched my system profiler, nor did I need to run kextload as the system took care of it. All I had to do was plugin the adapter to the USB port, and an 'ls' of /dev showed me /dev/tty.usbserial0.
Next I needed minicom. I already had fink installed (http://fink.sourceforge.net/) so all I had to do was go to a command line and type 'fink install minicom'. The next part was a bit tricky because for me, as 'minicom -s' didn't seem to work, so I had to edit my own default minicom config file /sw/etc/minirc.dfl which I'm including here:
# Machine-generated file - use "minicom -s" to change parameters.
pr port /dev/tty.usbserial0
pu baudrate 115200
pu backspace DEL
pu rtscts No
Then it wouldn't let me run minicom as anyone but root. However, after su'ing to root, I had no more problems. I plugged my serial adapter into the device, typed '/sw/bin/minicom' and there was my login prompt waiting for me as I had hoped.pr port /dev/tty.usbserial0
pu baudrate 115200
pu backspace DEL
pu rtscts No
(Oh, I think I might have also had to use 'ctrl-a-z' to ensure all the settings were correct. You'll obviously have to get the baud, parity, stop bits, and flow control correct for your device. Sorry that I can't help you there, but it is well beyond the scope of this document.)
Good luck! It's a real joy once you get it to work!