Uniden USB cable or Serial-USB adapter?

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EdwardnNC

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A family member just purchased a 396XT.
I need to program it, and the serial cable is not going to work on my pc. I have no serial port.

I cannot decide on the Uniden cable or an adapter.

I am not interested in making my own.

Which one is the best way to go??

Thank you,
EdwardnNC
 

jaspence

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USB or adapter

I have had the same problem with several radios. Some adapters do not work as reliably as others, but my 396XT USB cable always works, and I have used it on at least five different computers at various times. If you go for the adapter, check the reviews and forums before purchasing for the most dependable.
 

EdwardnNC

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Thank you for the replies.
I would have thought a scanner as nice as this one would have come with a modern cable.

I was leaning towards giving that money to another company. Being forced into buying what I think is a necessary accessory is not a lot of fun.
 

RF23

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I agree that the USB cable is a necessity today but the 396XT was introduced in 2009 when it was not as big a problem as it is today. However, my 2007 Dell 720 XPS did not have a serial port on it either when I purchased the 396XT. So I needed to get an adapter cable then too.

Make for sure that you load the software driver for the USB cable you get BEFORE plugging the cable and radio into your computer. My adapter cable has a big warning about his in red.
 

EdwardnNC

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I read somewhere that if you update the firmware.. using an adapter could be an issue.
Since there was free shipping, I ordered it from Uniden.

Thank you all for your replies!
 

RF23

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I also got the Uniden Cable and it has worked great. This includes successfully updating my firmware without any trouble.
 

ka3jjz

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<snip>
Make sure that you load the software driver for the USB cable you get BEFORE plugging the cable and radio into your computer. My adapter cable has a big warning about his in red.

Let me add to N0UDG's correct warning - load the software driver and look at Windows' Device Manager to make sure that the port that got loaded is really available. There are many USB devices out there that don't clean up after themselves after they're disconnected, and leave the port 'locked'. Unfortunately the COM port process is dumb that way.

We have an article that describes how to get to Device Manager in detail here...

Connecting scanners via USB - The RadioReference Wiki

Mike
 
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