Looking for USB-rs232 to make my APC SMART-UPS work with LinkstationPro
Philip Sargent
My UPS only has a 9-pin rs232 and I want to use a shiny new Buffalo
Linkstation Pro which only has USB interfaces.
Ordinary operation is fine of course, it is the signal to shut down the
server when the battery is about to expire that I want to handle. [ The
LSPro is replacing an Ubuntu/Samba/apcupsd server which has a serial port.]
A standard (cheap) USB-rs232 cable fails to work (the UPS shuts down
instantly when it is plugged in to the LS Pro) and an expensive APC-brand
converter cable is not purchasable in the UK - and the USA shops that stock
it are all USA-only delivery shops.
Rather than buy a new UPS with a USB signal socket, where can I get a
suitable cable/converter in the UK ?
An hour or two searching the web hasn't brought up anything so far.
Philip
PS my UPS is a Smart-UPS 420INET.
Jules
> Bit of a problem.
> My UPS only has a 9-pin rs232 and I want to use a shiny new Buffalo
> Linkstation Pro which only has USB interfaces.
I'll try to avoid my usual 'bloody USB!' rant...
> Rather than buy a new UPS with a USB signal socket, where can I get a
> suitable cable/converter in the UK ?
Have you tried looking at getting a PCI card with an RS232 port on it? At
least then it'll likely be more functional than the typical USB-RS232
convertors (which often seem to have flaky cross-platform support or
don't properly handle all the signal lines)
cheers
Jules
Philip Sargent
"Jules" <julesric...@remove.this.yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:pan.2007.11.11....@remove.this.yahoo.co.uk...
Sorry, that won't work. A Buffalo Linkstation is a NAS box, it doesn't take
PCI cards. It's a closed box with just two USB sockets and an ethernet
socket.
Theo Markettos
> A standard (cheap) USB-rs232 cable fails to work (the UPS shuts down
> instantly when it is plugged in to the LS Pro) and an expensive APC-brand
> converter cable is not purchasable in the UK - and the USA shops that stock
> it are all USA-only delivery shops.
Can you take apart the USB-RS232 adaptor and see how it's connected? I have
a cheap Siemens mobile phone cable with an MS3303 (I think) where there was
a board that brought out all the control lines to pads, and then the cable
failed to connect any of them to the phone (the phone connector had pins for
CTS, RTS, etc but the cable ignored them). Perhaps something like this is
happening in your case?
If you find out the number of the converter chip it'll help to indicate
whether the Linux support is OK. FWIW the PL2303 seems to be fairly well
supported.
Theo
The Luggage
I don't know why your UPS won't talk to the 'standard' adapter, but
I've never used one. I have used a different vendor's version of this
at work:
<http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/STARC035?cidp=Froogle>
I can reliably control & read data from 4 pieces of equipment
simultaneously. Perhaps a tad expensive at £73...
If you have a spare ethernet port, you can also get ethernet - RS232
converters, but I think they're even more expensive. And you need a
spare ethernet port.
TL
Philip Sargent
"The Luggage" <alan.c...@zoom.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1194875020.1...@22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com...
TL
Thanks, but the Linkstation Pro is a Linux closed box, and it expects to see
a UPS on one of its two USB sockets, so the ethernet option won't work. The
converter box at £73 might... but it would be cheaper to buy a new UPS with
a USB interface.
Richard Meredith
alan.c...@zoom.co.uk (The Luggage) wrote:
> I don't know why your UPS won't talk to the 'standard' adapter, but
> I've never used one. I have used a different vendor's version of this
> at work:
> <http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/STARC035?cidp=Froogle>
> I can reliably control & read data from 4 pieces of equipment
> simultaneously. Perhaps a tad expensive at £73...
>
> If you have a spare ethernet port, you can also get ethernet - RS232
> converters, but I think they're even more expensive. And you need a
> spare ethernet port.
APC UPSes are well known (notorious, indeed) for needing a nonstandard
and pricey cable.
http://www.networkupstools.org/protocols/apcsmart.html
claims to have some info on APC signalling, tho I can't vouch for its
accuracy.
Philip Sargent
"Richard Meredith" <rmer...@cix.co.uk> wrote in message
news:memo.2007111...@rmeredith.compulink.co.uk...
Just what I was looking for. Thanks.
Confirmation that I'm not doing some silly - and that I shouldn't expect
what I was trying to work.
Options are:
1. buy expensive APC rs232-USB converter cable
2. Buy new UPS with USB port
3. Find APC-specific instructions on the web to hack the cable with a
soldering iron.
I think I'll go for option (2). So in due course, I'll be looking for people
to take an APC Smart-UPS 320VA off my hands...
Thanks again to the cam.misc helpfulness
The Luggage
> In article <1194875020.143856.220...@22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com>,
ah, the Micro$oft attitude to standards...
The Sartorius balance company do somthing similar. The balances come
with a 25 pin "V28, RS232" socket. On page 89 (I kid you not!) we get
the following statement:
"RS-232 cables purchased from other manufacturers often have incorrect
pin assignments for use with Sartorius balances. Be sure to check the
pin assignment against the chart below before connecting the
cable, and disconnect any lines marked "Internally Connected" (e.g.,
pin 6). Failure to do so may damage or even completely ruin your
balance and/or peripheral device."
In other words, if you don't read _all_ the instructions before use,
and use a standard serial cable, you might break the balance, your PC
or both! At least they tell you the pin assignments, and a quick
Google gives a connection chart for connecting to a 9-pin PC serial
port. 20 minutes with a soldering iron, clamp and magnifying glass
later, I had a working cable.
TL
Mark Ayliffe
Richard Meredith <rmer...@cix.co.uk> illuminated us with:
> In article <1194875020.1...@22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com>,
> alan.c...@zoom.co.uk (The Luggage) wrote:
>
>> I don't know why your UPS won't talk to the 'standard' adapter, but
>> I've never used one. I have used a different vendor's version of this
>> at work:
>> <http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/STARC035?cidp=Froogle>
>> I can reliably control & read data from 4 pieces of equipment
>> simultaneously. Perhaps a tad expensive at £73...
>>
>> If you have a spare ethernet port, you can also get ethernet - RS232
>> converters, but I think they're even more expensive. And you need a
>> spare ethernet port.
>
> APC UPSes are well known (notorious, indeed) for needing a nonstandard
> and pricey cable.
Curious. All the ones we have here seem to use standard USB cables.
--
Mark
Real email address | The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn
is mark at | are made up of lost airline luggage. -Mark Russell
ayliffe dot org |
Malcolm Gray
> Curious. All the ones we have here seem to use standard USB cables.
Well we know they are standard connectors - I am not sure we know they
are standard wiring.
Richard Meredith
Ayliffe) wrote:
> *From:* Mark Ayliffe <m...@privacy.net>
> *Date:* Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:09:22 GMT
>
> On or about 2007-11-13,
> Richard Meredith <rmer...@cix.co.uk> illuminated us with:
> > In article <1194875020.1...@22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com>,
> > alan.c...@zoom.co.uk (The Luggage) wrote:
> >
> >> I don't know why your UPS won't talk to the 'standard' adapter, but
> >> I've never used one. I have used a different vendor's version of
> this
> >> at work:
> >> <http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/STARC035?cidp=Froogle>
> >> I can reliably control & read data from 4 pieces of equipment
> >> simultaneously. Perhaps a tad expensive at £73...
> >>
> >> If you have a spare ethernet port, you can also get ethernet -
> RS232
> >> converters, but I think they're even more expensive. And you need a
> >> spare ethernet port.
> >
> > APC UPSes are well known (notorious, indeed) for needing a
> > nonstandard
> > and pricey cable.
>
> Curious. All the ones we have here seem to use standard USB cables.
Serial cable, that is. USB UPSes use standard USB ones.
Mark Ayliffe
OK, but I've not seen a non-USB APC UPS in a long time. Well beyond
normal battery life kind of timescales.
--
Mark
Real email address | Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes.
is mark at | There's too much fraternizing with the enemy.
ayliffe dot org | - Henry Kissinger
Richard Meredith
Ayliffe) wrote:
> > Serial cable, that is. USB UPSes use standard USB ones.
>
> OK, but I've not seen a non-USB APC UPS in a long time. Well beyond
> normal battery life kind of timescales.
Seems you should check mine and the OPs! (Mine has had a new battery,
FWIW).
Roland Perry
19:27:00 on Thu, 15 Nov 2007, Richard Meredith <rmer...@cix.co.uk>
remarked:
>> > Serial cable, that is. USB UPSes use standard USB ones.
>>
>> OK, but I've not seen a non-USB APC UPS in a long time. Well beyond
>> normal battery life kind of timescales.
>
>Seems you should check mine and the OPs! (Mine has had a new battery,
>FWIW).
AOL! A new set of batteries is about £200, a new UPS about £2k.
--
Roland Perry
Richard Meredith
Perry) wrote:
> *From:* Roland Perry <rol...@perry.co.uk>
> *Date:* Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:41:23 +0000
I think the sort of UPSes (and batteries) I'm talking about are a tad
less pricey than that - by about 80%.
Roland Perry
2007, Brian Morrison <scra...@fenrir.org.uk> remarked:
>>> Seems you should check mine and the OPs! (Mine has had a new battery,
>>> FWIW).
>>
>> AOL! A new set of batteries is about £200, a new UPS about £2k.
>
Half a KWH, maximum throughput 3KW. Two batteries each about 25lb.
The UPS is about the size of a classic tower PC.
--
Roland Perry
Philip Sargent
"Richard Meredith" <rmer...@cix.co.uk> wrote in message
news:memo.2007111...@rmeredith.compulink.co.uk...
My serial-port UPS is a 320VA i.e. 200W and is the size of a shoe-box - but
narrower & longer.
Replacement batteries cost less than £35. - a new machine is about £100
Height 168.00 mm
Width 119.00 mm
depth 368.00 mm
Philip Sargent
My serial-port Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) is a 320VA i.e. 200W and
is the size of a shoe-box - but narrower & longer.
Replacement batteries cost less than £35. - a new machine is about £100
Height 168.00 mm
Width 119.00 mm
depth 368.00 mm
I am having to replace it as I need a USB connection for some new equipment.
It works perfectly and reliably and has done so continuously since April
2005. The batteries are in fine condition. I have been using it plugged into
a Ubuntu/Samba server running apcupsd
Come and collect it. A bargin for £35.
It will be available for collection later this week when my replacement
arrives.
Philip Sargent
27 Greville Road
email me at [forename].[surname]@klebos.com