lookout! New project! LOL

[dustman]

I have a Uniden BCD396T. I need to re-program it. It was suggested I use FreeScan. It looks similar to Sentinel for the Home Patrol One. The problem is, the BCD396T has a serial connector to go to the computer. My computer is too new to have one. So, I bought a serial to USB adapter. Hooks up fine. Now the computer USB port is being used by the scanner. I opened FreeScan. It will only use com port 1. No USB option. So, I'm dead in the water until somebody throws me a life-line!

Help!

Dustman

 

[RonnieUSA]

I have a Uniden BCD396T. I need to re-program it. It was suggested I use FreeScan. It looks similar to Sentinel for the Home Patrol One. The problem is, the BCD396T has a serial connector to go to the computer. My computer is too new to have one. So, I bought a serial to USB adapter. Hooks up fine. Now the computer USB port is being used by the scanner. I opened FreeScan. It will only use com port 1. No USB option. So, I'm dead in the water until somebody throws me a life-line!

Help!

Dustman

Look under control scanner, and the comm port setup is there. ( That's under the scanner tab.)

 

[UPMan]

It sounds like the driver for your USB adapter did not properly install. Troubleshooting is going to be facilitated by knowing which adapter (preferably which chip set) you have and what PC operating system you have.

 

[dustman]

Ok, guys, here's what is happening:

On COM port settings:

Port # is blank (can’t type anything either)
Port is 115200
AutoDetect gets the folowing error
Message:

FreeScan was unable to detect any availableCOM ports. Make sure the ports are not in use, it is COM15 or less, and that you have USB-COM Port drivers installed if applicable.

I have installed the drivers that came with the adapter. I am running Windows 7, and I have the i7 chipset.

Any ideas?

Dustman

 

[hiegtx]

Did you install the drivers before plugging in the adapter cable for the first time?

What brand/model is the USB->Serial adapter?

 

[garys]

As hiegtx says, we'll need to know the brand of USB adapter. Then we can find out what chip set that uses and point you to the correct drivers.

It's a driver problem, not a scanner or software problem.

 

[ofd8001]

Sometimes I get com port conflicts - as in "serial port in use" (or something like that). They've cleared when I completely shut my computer down and re-boot it. I'm not sure as it is beyond my knowledge, but I'm guessing some program has locked up a com port and the re-boot process releases the commitment.

 

[cmjonesinc]

This may not help you at all, but I've run into similar when trying to program other radios via serial-usb adapters where the com port is too high for the software to detect. In windows 7 try going to 'start'---'computer'---'system properties'---'device manager'--- now look under "ports" and see if there is a listing for "usb serial port (com XX)". Right click on it and go to "properties". Go to "port settings" in properties, then click "advanced". From there you should be able to change the actual com port for the adapter, pending it installed correctly and is actually displayed as such in the device manager. I'm not sure if all usb serial adapters display as a com port like thia, but the ones I have do. Hope that helps some.

 

[dustman]

Well, I went everywhere looking for the right adapter, Frys had one for $18, and one for $4.99. Of course they were out of both, and the cheaper one was "while supplies last". I called but none were available at any of their stores. Radio Shack had one for $20, and they were out too.So I just bought a cheap one on eBay. Here are the specs and some pics:

Brand New USB to RS232 serial DB9 Adapter 4 XP Vista Win7 Female Screw
• USB to RS232 (9-pin Male) Cable
• Plug and Play Installation.
• Full Compliance with the USB 2.0 1.1.
• 1.5 feet long.
• CD/Driver included.

I am running Windows 7, Intel i7 chipset, and I have installed and re-installed the USB driver, and booted and re-booted the computer. Same error message. It wants a standard COM port. It just doesn't seem to understand USB. I can't remember if I had the scanner connected before I iinstalled the driver.

Thanks again,

Dustman

 

[UPMan]

Need to know what chipset is in the cable. One way to find this is to plug the adapter into the PC, then run device manager. First, if you see a device with a warning triangle, that is probably the adapter. Give us info about the driver error. If you don't see such a warning triangle, unplug/plug in the cable until you can identify specifically which device appears when you plug in the adapter. Then, give us information about that device.

 

[DaveIN]

Shouldn't it also be displayed in device manager if the PC attempts to ask to install the device driver?

 

[dustman]

OK, here goes...

I have attached a pic of what shows up in device manager. When you right click, it offers you a chance to update the driver. I get various messages. Let Windows find it, no good. Find it in my D-RW drive (where the driver disc is), nothing found. Going round and round, I get "no driver needed". When I plug in and unplug the adapter I hear a bong sound, but nothing appears on the screen. Unplug it? Bong, plug it back in, Bong. I know it was working because the first time I plugged it in with the scanner attached, it changed to a radio station immediately. When I unplugged it, the scanner went back to scanning the old MECA channels. At one point, it said it was set up for Windows XP. I never installed that driver. I had selected the one that said Windows 7. Here is what appears to be on the driver disc: There are 3 pics, the first one is what appears in Device Manager, the next 2 are top and bottom of the same list (I couldn't get it all in the camera). The 2 overlap (like USB print is on both), one gives the top of the list, the other the bottom.

Thanks again,

Dustman

 

[UPMan]

Well, since PL2303 is listed, I'd suspect that it has the PL2303 chip set. You might try using the most current drivers from Prolific. Of course, if the adapter uses a counterfeit PL2303 chipset, the official driver won't work. (There is also a utility on Prolific's site that is supposed to identify the chipset version in the adapter.)

They are at: Prolific Technology Inc.

You have to log in...you can use the credentials GUEST/GUEST. Then click on the link at the bottom of the next page. The driver is:
PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1.8.0.zip 2013/02/26 1.8.0 3954.38KB

The test utility is:
PL2303_CableTest_v2.2.1.1.zip 2010/02/25 2.2.1.1 753.78KB

Oh, and you can take a complete screenshot by pressing CTRL-Print SCRN on your keyboard.

 

[hiegtx]

There are also some drivers over on Sixspot Software's site that you might try. These are for Prolific devices, Windows Vista & Windows 7. They are on the downloads page. Sixspot is the home of FreeSCAN.

 

[dustman]

Dang! Why does everything have to be so hard???

I went to Prolific, used Guest/Guest, got the driver, downloaded it, and tried to install. It started to run, then said could not install. I was able to navigate to something that was a port test with Prolific, and it gave COM3 through COM 15. I checked them all. Everyone said FAILED. Why can't it offer a USB port instead of a COM?

Here is what I found on checking the chipset:

==================================================
PL-2303 CheckChipVersion Tool Program v1.0.0.2
For Windows OS Only
==================================================

System Requirement:
. USB 1.1/2.0/3.0 Host Controller
. Device using PL2303HX/X/EA/RA/SA/TA/TB version chips
. PL-2303 Windows Driver Installer v1.6.0 or above
- Windows 2000/XP/Server2003 (32 & 64-bit) WDM WHQL Driver: v2.1.30.193
- Windows Vista/7/Server2008 (32 & 64-bit) WDF WHQL Driver: v3.4.31.231
. Supports the following Windows OS Family:
- Windows XP SP2 and above (32 & 64 bit)
- Windows Vista (32 & 64 bit)
- Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit)
- Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit)
NOTE:
- Windows 8 is NOT supported in HXA/XA chip versions (will show yellow mark Error Code 10).
- Windows 8 is supported only in following chip versions:
- PL2303HXD (HX Rev D)
- PL2303EA (ESD protection)
- PL2303RA (Built-in transceiver)
- PL2303SA (SOP8 package)
- PL2303TA (PL2303HXA/XA replacement)
- PL2303TB (12 GPIO)

Supported device ID and product strings:
. VID_067B&PID_2303 for "Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port"
. VID_067B&PID_2304 for "Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port" (PL2303TB chip)


Release Notes:
---------------
PL2303CheckChipVersion v1.0.0.2
. Initial Formal Release.


===========================
How to Run Tool Program
===========================
1. Install PL-2303 Windows Driver Installer v1.7.0 or above.
2. Plug PL2303 USB Device and go to Device Manager to check COM Port number.
3. Run PL2303CheckChipVersion tool and set COM Port number.
4. Click Check button to show PL-2303 chip version.

Download Latest Driver here:
Products

========================================
Prolific Technology Inc.
Prolific Technology Inc.

 

[UPMan]

Not sure what you mean by "Why can't it offer a USB port instead of a COM?" When the driver is correctly installed and the adapter is plugged in, it shows up as a COM port.

"then said could not install." Was that the entirety of the failure message? It did not give any additional information as to why it could not install? Odd...

I'd try reinstalling the driver running the installer as administrator.

 

[dustman]

When I open the driver disc that came with the adapter, and click on the WIN700 ETC, it gives me following: the PL2303 Prolific driver exe and this text note just below it. (Whenever I try to install the driver, it just wants to uninstall it.) Here is the text:

03 Driver Setup Installer, Prolific Edition
Setup Installer Revision Note History
=================================================

System Requirement:
. Supports the following Windows OSes:
- Windows 98SE
- Windows ME
- Windows 2000 SP4
- Windows XP SP2 and above (32 & 64 bit)
- Windows Server 2003 (32 & 64 bit)
- Windows Server 2008 / 2008 R2 (32 & 64 bit)
- Windows Vista (32 & 64 bit)
- Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit)
NOTE: For Windows 7, please use RC build 7100 or above.
. USB host controller
. Device using PL-2303H/HX/X version chip


Supported device ID and product strings:
. VID_067B&PID_2303 for "Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port"


Release Notes:
---------------
PL2303 Driver Installer v1.1.0
Changes from Installer v1.0.6.26:
Driver Changes (no change from last installer) -
- Windows 98/ME Driver: v2.0.0.19
- Windows 2000/XP/Server2003 (32 & 64-bit) WDM WHQL Driver: v2.0.13.130
- Windows Vista/7/Server2008 (32 & 64-bit) WDF WHQL Driver: v3.3.10.140

Installer Changes -
- Fixed cannot run installer program in Windows 2000 SP4.
- Change version numbering format based on Installshield 3-digit format.

Installer & Build date: 1.1.0 (2009-12-02)

Language Support:
- English (default)
- Chinese (Traditional)
- Chinese (Simplified)
- Japanese

 

[UPMan]

I would uninstall that driver, then install the latest driver from the Prolific web site.

 

[ofd8001]

If you get to the point of being at your wits end and are willing to try something else. . .

You might wish to get the Plugable USB to RS-232 Serial Adapter from Amazon.

Amazon.com: Plugable USB to RS-232 DB9 Serial Adapter (Prolific PL2303HX Rev D Chipset): Computers & Accessories

If you go that route, you'll get the cable and a CD with the drivers. Be sure to install the drivers that are on the CD BEFORE connecting the adapter cable to the computer. After the drivers are installed, then plug in the adapter cable.

You'll need to use the original programming cable that came with your scanner.

This adapter has the HXD chipset, which is something you'll need if you change your operating system to Windows 8.

This is the set-up I use on my computer to program my scanners.

 

[dustman]

Hurry up and wait : (

Ok, guys, here's the skinny,

I went ahead and ordered the plug-able adapter from Amazon that ofd8001 suggested, so until it gets here, I am cooling my heels. I had emailed FreeScan and he said ALL of the adapters on eBay are counterfeit. Anyway, that's where it's at.

Thanks for all of your help. I will let you know when it gets here and what happens.

Best wishes,

Dustman