Serial to USB on Toshiba Satellite

**gistek** · 10-05-2008, 01:33 PM

My husband has an Alva 80-cell Braille display which uses a serial I/O port.
We recently bought a Toshiba laptop running 32 bit Vista Home Premium.
So far he's tried three serial to USB adapters, both with and without null-modem, but can't get the 'puter and display to talk.

With the null-modem inline he does get the connect "beep" but no data.

Changing to 64 bit OS won't work because the driver for the display only works with 32 bit. The driver, Window-Eyes, has voice capabilities that work fine on the laptop. He has contacted the Window-Eyes help desk, but they don't have any idea what might be wrong.

**wrench97** · 10-05-2008, 01:50 PM

I didn't find much about Alva on the web except thst the 280 won't work with Windows NT, 2000 or XP but appearently the 380 does but classed as a 84 cell display??
So what model do you have?
Which OS did you have before?
Do you know if Alva is still in business I'm thinking it's an uncommon Serial Port wiring scheme.

**gistek** · 10-05-2008, 04:44 PM

It's an Alva is a 380 and works on his XP desktop. The Alva has 84 cells, 80 for data and 4 for status.
I'm not sure if Alva is in business. I haven't been able to find anything current on them online.
If it is a wiring scheme, is there some way to find out which pins to change? (I used to make custom cables back in the '80's.)

**wrench97** · 10-05-2008, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gistek

It's an Alva is a 380 and works on his XP desktop. The Alva has 84 cells, 80 for data and 4 for status.
I'm not sure if Alva is in business. I haven't been able to find anything current on them online.
If it is a wiring scheme, is there some way to find out which pins to change? (I used to make custom cables back in the '80's.)

That's why I looking for an Alva web site let me see if anybody here has any experience with this.

Stu_computer · 10-05-2008, 08:30 PM

it has standard serial ports so use a standard null-modem cable.
setup as per instructions in manual (see attached).
alternatively can use a parallel cable on printer port (see manual).

**gistek** · 10-06-2008, 11:57 AM

Thank you. He's tried the serial to USB both with and without the null-modem and neither method has passed data. The null-modem did generate the connect "ding" sound.

The aagi link is for a car warranty company, but they do have a tiny little link to VisionCue down in the corner of their home page. He did contact them, but all they do is maintenance and repair.

He's also tried using the parallel port, but it only worked on the 'puter he used at work before they upgraded to Win98

Thanks for trying.

Stu_computer · 10-06-2008, 03:31 PM

VisionCue is supposedly the distributor for ALVA in North America.

The international link is http://www.optelec.nl/ it's in Dutch, you can view it through google translator here in english but there isn't much about ALVA's except a driver update to version 3.1 Alva drivers 3.1 (5.4 Mb)

Window-Eyes is Vista compatible version? And Braille Display Selection is set to use the USB port?

( Window-Eyes 7.0 for Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista Demo)

Maybe a PCMCIA to DB-9 Serial Adapter would be more practical than trying USB to Serial to work.

**gistek** · 10-06-2008, 08:22 PM

Thanks. I didn't know they made card to serial adapters.

The version of Window-Eyes that we have is 32 bit Vista compatable, but he might not have checked all the settings.

If that doesn't work, we'll figure out which card and card driver he needs, and go that route.

10-05-2008, 01:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
gistek Folding Along Join Date: May 2007 Location: PA, USA Posts: 1,940 OS: Bobbi=xp, sp3 Muse=Vista Home Premium	Serial to USB on Toshiba Satellite My husband has an Alva 80-cell Braille display which uses a serial I/O port. We recently bought a Toshiba laptop running 32 bit Vista Home Premium. So far he's tried three serial to USB adapters, both with and without null-modem, but can't get the 'puter and display to talk. With the null-modem inline he does get the connect "beep" but no data. Changing to 64 bit OS won't work because the driver for the display only works with 32 bit. The driver, Window-Eyes, has voice capabilities that work fine on the laptop. He has contacted the Window-Eyes help desk, but they don't have any idea what might be wrong. __________________ I am not a computer professional, My advice comes from personal experience and/or friends who are computer professionals. Learn By Doing Un-versity Interested in Search and Rescue? Check out the Civil Air Patrol. Come Fold with us. TSF Folding@Home Team

10-05-2008, 01:50 PM	#2 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,883 OS: Win7	Re: Serial to USB on Toshiba Satellite I didn't find much about Alva on the web except thst the 280 won't work with Windows NT, 2000 or XP but appearently the 380 does but classed as a 84 cell display?? So what model do you have? Which OS did you have before? Do you know if Alva is still in business I'm thinking it's an uncommon Serial Port wiring scheme. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

10-05-2008, 04:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
gistek Folding Along Join Date: May 2007 Location: PA, USA Posts: 1,940 OS: Bobbi=xp, sp3 Muse=Vista Home Premium	Re: Serial to USB on Toshiba Satellite It's an Alva is a 380 and works on his XP desktop. The Alva has 84 cells, 80 for data and 4 for status. I'm not sure if Alva is in business. I haven't been able to find anything current on them online. If it is a wiring scheme, is there some way to find out which pins to change? (I used to make custom cables back in the '80's.) __________________ I am not a computer professional, My advice comes from personal experience and/or friends who are computer professionals. Learn By Doing Un-versity Interested in Search and Rescue? Check out the Civil Air Patrol. Come Fold with us. TSF Folding@Home Team

10-06-2008, 11:57 AM	#6 (permalink)
gistek Folding Along Join Date: May 2007 Location: PA, USA Posts: 1,940 OS: Bobbi=xp, sp3 Muse=Vista Home Premium	Re: Serial to USB on Toshiba Satellite Thank you. He's tried the serial to USB both with and without the null-modem and neither method has passed data. The null-modem did generate the connect "ding" sound. The aagi link is for a car warranty company, but they do have a tiny little link to VisionCue down in the corner of their home page. He did contact them, but all they do is maintenance and repair. He's also tried using the parallel port, but it only worked on the 'puter he used at work before they upgraded to Win98 Thanks for trying. __________________ I am not a computer professional, My advice comes from personal experience and/or friends who are computer professionals. Learn By Doing Un-versity Interested in Search and Rescue? Check out the Civil Air Patrol. Come Fold with us. TSF Folding@Home Team

10-06-2008, 03:31 PM	#7 (permalink)
Stu_computer Tech Hardware Team Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,463 OS: Windows	Re: Serial to USB on Toshiba Satellite VisionCue is supposedly the distributor for ALVA in North America. The international link is http://www.optelec.nl/ it's in Dutch, you can view it through google translator here in english but there isn't much about ALVA's except a driver update to version 3.1 Alva drivers 3.1 (5.4 Mb) Window-Eyes is Vista compatible version? And Braille Display Selection is set to use the USB port? ( Window-Eyes 7.0 for Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista Demo) Maybe a PCMCIA to DB-9 Serial Adapter would be more practical than trying USB to Serial to work. __________________ Last edited by Stu_computer; 10-06-2008 at 03:42 PM.

10-06-2008, 08:22 PM	#8 (permalink)
gistek Folding Along Join Date: May 2007 Location: PA, USA Posts: 1,940 OS: Bobbi=xp, sp3 Muse=Vista Home Premium	Re: Serial to USB on Toshiba Satellite Thanks. I didn't know they made card to serial adapters. The version of Window-Eyes that we have is 32 bit Vista compatable, but he might not have checked all the settings. If that doesn't work, we'll figure out which card and card driver he needs, and go that route. __________________ I am not a computer professional, My advice comes from personal experience and/or friends who are computer professionals. Learn By Doing Un-versity Interested in Search and Rescue? Check out the Civil Air Patrol. Come Fold with us. TSF Folding@Home Team