9-pin Serial Port to HP XZ355 Notebook

I have an old but good Fujifilm MX-1700 Zoom digital camera, which came
with a 9 pin serial cable. No USB cable apparently available for this
camera. On my HP notebook, there is no 9-pin port, so I am thinking I
need to get a USB-to-serial cable. At Radio Shack they have one of
these for $40. This is more than I am willing to spend, so I looked on
EBay, and found a whole bunch of these cables, starting at under $10.

I also noticed that on my HP notebook there is a female port which looks
similar to a serial port, but has 15 pins (more or less). Is this a
game port or ???

Does anybody have experience with a USB-to-serial cable? Bad or good?
I believe I have to install a driver also, when I use this cable,
correct? If I have two USB ports, and use one for my mouse, will this
be a problem? (Using one as a USB port and the other as a serial port.)

Thanks for reading all this!

- Gabe Strasser

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Hi Gabe,

There is another thread going about serial-to-USB. Those cables work
sometimes yes/sometimes no. If you want to be sure you have a aerial
port that simply works go with a hardware SERIAL-to-PcCard port.

Ciao . . . C.Joseph

That which a man buys too cheaply . . .
He esteems too lightly


Gabriel Strasser wrote:
> I have an old but good Fujifilm MX-1700 Zoom digital camera, which came
> with a 9 pin serial cable. No USB cable apparently available for this
> camera. On my HP notebook, there is no 9-pin port, so I am thinking I
> need to get a USB-to-serial cable. At Radio Shack they have one of
> these for $40. This is more than I am willing to spend, so I looked on
> EBay, and found a whole bunch of these cables, starting at under $10.
>
> I also noticed that on my HP notebook there is a female port which looks
> similar to a serial port, but has 15 pins (more or less). Is this a
> game port or ???
>
> Does anybody have experience with a USB-to-serial cable? Bad or good?
> I believe I have to install a driver also, when I use this cable,
> correct? If I have two USB ports, and use one for my mouse, will this
> be a problem? (Using one as a USB port and the other as a serial port.)
>
> Thanks for reading all this!
>
> - Gabe Strasser
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For a notebook computer, there is no PCI bus for a serial card to plug in to.
The only real option for a notebook is the combination of a USB-to-serial cable
and prayer to the Gates-god. Actually, it's not really a Gates problem. The
people who write the Fujifilm software that talks to a serial port cannot access
the hardware serial ports directly if their software is to run with whatever
device is connected to the other end of the USB-serial cable... Ben Myers

On Mon, 23 May 2005 19:03:57 -0700, "C.Joseph Drayton" <>
wrote:

>-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>Hash: SHA1
>
>Hi Gabe,
>
>There is another thread going about serial-to-USB. Those cables work
>sometimes yes/sometimes no. If you want to be sure you have a aerial
>port that simply works go with a hardware SERIAL-to-PcCard port.
>
>Ciao . . . C.Joseph
>
>That which a man buys too cheaply . . .
> He esteems too lightly
>
>
>Gabriel Strasser wrote:
>> I have an old but good Fujifilm MX-1700 Zoom digital camera, which came
>> with a 9 pin serial cable. No USB cable apparently available for this
>> camera. On my HP notebook, there is no 9-pin port, so I am thinking I
>> need to get a USB-to-serial cable. At Radio Shack they have one of
>> these for $40. This is more than I am willing to spend, so I looked on
>> EBay, and found a whole bunch of these cables, starting at under $10.
>>
>> I also noticed that on my HP notebook there is a female port which looks
>> similar to a serial port, but has 15 pins (more or less). Is this a
>> game port or ???
>>
>> Does anybody have experience with a USB-to-serial cable? Bad or good?
>> I believe I have to install a driver also, when I use this cable,
>> correct? If I have two USB ports, and use one for my mouse, will this
>> be a problem? (Using one as a USB port and the other as a serial port.)
>>
>> Thanks for reading all this!
>>
>> - Gabe Strasser
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>
>
>x-- 100 Proof News - http://www.100ProofNews.com
>x-- 3,500+ Binary NewsGroups, and over 100,000 other groups
>x-- Access to over 1.6 Terabytes per Day - $8.95/Month
>x-- UNLIMITED DOWNLOAD
>

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Hash: SHA1

Hi Ben,

I use a SIIG PcCard Serial Port card. It is recognized as a HARDWARE
serial port. I have yet to find a device that it will not work with.
It is bulky, but when you have to have a serial port it is the way
to go. Serial-to-USB is way to iffy for me & my time.

Ciao . . . C.Joseph

That which a man buys too cheaply . . .
He esteems too lightly


Ben Myers wrote:
> For a notebook computer, there is no PCI bus for a serial card to plug in to.
> The only real option for a notebook is the combination of a USB-to-serial cable
> and prayer to the Gates-god. Actually, it's not really a Gates problem. The
> people who write the Fujifilm software that talks to a serial port cannot access
> the hardware serial ports directly if their software is to run with whatever
> device is connected to the other end of the USB-serial cable... Ben Myers
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x-- 100 Proof News - http://www.100ProofNews.com
x-- 3,500+ Binary NewsGroups, and over 100,000 other groups
x-- Access to over 1.6 Terabytes per Day - $8.95/Month
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Wow! So there really is a PC Card that supports serial ports. Imagine that.
Thanks for the info... Ben Myers

On Tue, 24 May 2005 17:25:31 -0700, "C.Joseph Drayton" <>
wrote:

>-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>Hash: SHA1
>
>Hi Ben,
>
>I use a SIIG PcCard Serial Port card. It is recognized as a HARDWARE
>serial port. I have yet to find a device that it will not work with.
>It is bulky, but when you have to have a serial port it is the way
>to go. Serial-to-USB is way to iffy for me & my time.
>
>Ciao . . . C.Joseph
>
>That which a man buys too cheaply . . .
> He esteems too lightly
>
>
>Ben Myers wrote:
>> For a notebook computer, there is no PCI bus for a serial card to plug in to.
>> The only real option for a notebook is the combination of a USB-to-serial cable
>> and prayer to the Gates-god. Actually, it's not really a Gates problem. The
>> people who write the Fujifilm software that talks to a serial port cannot access
>> the hardware serial ports directly if their software is to run with whatever
>> device is connected to the other end of the USB-serial cable... Ben Myers
>-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
>Version: GnuPG v1.4.1 (MingW32)
>Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org
>
>iD8DBQFCk8X70p5pZd9esrsRAgcwAJ4u0LVMWpW2UTTuiBXxz 8EZ9gj9lgCeJSjq
>ZJLfVfmzGypKjBOxf9qzOOU=
>=Oa+l
>-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
>
>
>x-- 100 Proof News - http://www.100ProofNews.com
>x-- 3,500+ Binary NewsGroups, and over 100,000 other groups
>x-- Access to over 1.6 Terabytes per Day - $8.95/Month
>x-- UNLIMITED DOWNLOAD
>

Thanks for the feedback. I went ahead and bought a cable adapter on
EBay for about $12 including shipping and handling. This comes with a
CD with drivers. I will pray to the Gates god, plus the PC Laptop god.

Nice to know there is a PC card for serial ports. If I have to, I'll get
that, if it's not too expensive. Heck, might as well get a newer
digital camera which supports USB!

Of course there is the issue of justifying the purchase to the wife.

- Gabe

Ben Myers wrote:
> Wow! So there really is a PC Card that supports serial ports. Imagine that.
> Thanks for the info... Ben Myers
>
> On Tue, 24 May 2005 17:25:31 -0700, "C.Joseph Drayton" <>
> wrote:
>
>
>>-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>>Hash: SHA1
>>
>>Hi Ben,
>>
>>I use a SIIG PcCard Serial Port card. It is recognized as a HARDWARE
>>serial port. I have yet to find a device that it will not work with.
>>It is bulky, but when you have to have a serial port it is the way
>>to go. Serial-to-USB is way to iffy for me & my time.
>>
>>Ciao . . . C.Joseph
>>
>>That which a man buys too cheaply . . .
>> He esteems too lightly
>>
>>
>>Ben Myers wrote:
>>
>>>For a notebook computer, there is no PCI bus for a serial card to plug in to.
>>>The only real option for a notebook is the combination of a USB-to-serial cable
>>>and prayer to the Gates-god. Actually, it's not really a Gates problem. The
>>>people who write the Fujifilm software that talks to a serial port cannot access
>>>the hardware serial ports directly if their software is to run with whatever
>>>device is connected to the other end of the USB-serial cable... Ben Myers
>>
>>-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
>>Version: GnuPG v1.4.1 (MingW32)
>>Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org
>>
>>iD8DBQFCk8X70p5pZd9esrsRAgcwAJ4u0LVMWpW2UTTuiBXx z8EZ9gj9lgCeJSjq
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>>=Oa+l
>>-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
>>
>>
>>x-- 100 Proof News - http://www.100ProofNews.com
>>x-- 3,500+ Binary NewsGroups, and over 100,000 other groups
>>x-- Access to over 1.6 Terabytes per Day - $8.95/Month
>>x-- UNLIMITED DOWNLOAD
>>
>
>

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Hash: SHA1

Hi Ben,

It full name is;

SIIG Single-Serial PC Card
(16550 Serial Port PC Card)

I got mine from eCost.com for $50.00.

Ciao . . . C.Joseph

That which a man buys too cheaply . . .
He esteems too lightly

Ben Myers wrote:
> Wow! So there really is a PC Card that supports serial ports. Imagine that.
> Thanks for the info... Ben Myers
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x-- 100 Proof News - http://www.100ProofNews.com
x-- 3,500+ Binary NewsGroups, and over 100,000 other groups
x-- Access to over 1.6 Terabytes per Day - $8.95/Month
x-- UNLIMITED DOWNLOAD

I think I probably wasted the money on the serial-to-USB cable. I just
found out that apparently this digital camera is not compatible with
Windows XP. I will try using it, with the "compatibilty" feature on XP,
but I don't have much faith in that.

The smart thing to do, which I should have thought of earlier, is to
obtain a Smartmedia reader which plugs directly into the USB port. I've
seen these for as little as $12.

- Gabe

Gabriel Strasser wrote:
> I have an old but good Fujifilm MX-1700 Zoom digital camera, which came
> with a 9 pin serial cable. No USB cable apparently available for this
> camera. On my HP notebook, there is no 9-pin port, so I am thinking I
> need to get a USB-to-serial cable. At Radio Shack they have one of
> these for $40. This is more than I am willing to spend, so I looked on
> EBay, and found a whole bunch of these cables, starting at under $10.
>
> I also noticed that on my HP notebook there is a female port which looks
> similar to a serial port, but has 15 pins (more or less). Is this a
> game port or ???
>
> Does anybody have experience with a USB-to-serial cable? Bad or good?
> I believe I have to install a driver also, when I use this cable,
> correct? If I have two USB ports, and use one for my mouse, will this
> be a problem? (Using one as a USB port and the other as a serial port.)
>
> Thanks for reading all this!
>
> - Gabe Strasser