Installation of the PL2303 and CH340 / CH341 / HL340 drivers is easy.Simple open the OS X installer and follow the steps.
Step 1 - Download Driver¶
- You can only access USB Serial Adapters using pyserial (i.e., USB RS-232 dongles). If you want generic USB access you should be looking into 'libusb'. If it is RS-232 you are trying to access through USB then you should look for a file in /dev starting with cu.usb. (/dev/cu.usbserial-181 for example).
- Online shopping from a great selection at Electronics Store.
- You need to check even ones that claim MacOS support because their support might have worked up until about 10.6, when Apple started getting serious about kernel and driver security, sandboxing, etc. FWIW, USB-Serial devices based on the Prolific chipset seem to have most luck. Serial.app works because it uses its own driver, not the /dev device.
Feb 27, 2020 USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard for connecting computers and other devices. It's available with many types of ports, and each type has a unique shape. On Mac computers, USB is available with these ports, depending on your Mac model.
Download the driver for your OS X version from the download dashboard:
Step 3 - Start screen¶
Step 4 - Select install location¶
![Usb Usb](/uploads/1/2/6/4/126494008/917072443.jpg)
Default is most times the right choice.
Step 6 - Driver has been installed¶
Step 7 - Check¶
When the driver has been installed, you can check if it has been loaded.To check, connect the serial device, open Terminal and type one of thefollowing commands:
- For PL2303 device:
ls/dev/|grep2303
- For CH341 device :
ls/dev/|grepch341
The result should show the accompanying cu and tty handle.
Mac's are excellent tools for accessing serial device TTY ports (to console into PBX's, switches, and routers). You just need a serial to USB adapter, the right driver, and some Terminal software.
You can use screen, although Minicom (or a GUI program) offer more features and functionality.
You can use screen, although Minicom (or a GUI program) offer more features and functionality.
Drivers:
Most Serial-to-USB adapters will work on a Mac with one of the following OS X drivers...
UPDATE: Mavericks (10.9) includes a driver for FTDI-based Serial-to-USB adapters.
UPDATE: Mavericks (10.9) includes a driver for FTDI-based Serial-to-USB adapters.
➤ Prolific PL2303: | PL2303_MacOSX_1_6_0.zip |
➤ FTDI USB Serial: | FTDIUSBSerialDriver_v2_3.zip |
eg:
$ sudo rm -rf /System/Library/Extensions/ProlificUsbSerial.kext
If your adapter doesn't work with either of these, try the following sources:
Usb To Serial Driver
- Silicon Labs - CP210x USB to UART Bridge Virtual COM Port (VCP) drivers.
- Belkin - USB Serial Adapters: F5U257, F5U103, F5U003 (poor OS X support).
- Keyspan serial-USB adapter drivers can be found in their Support Section.
After installing the correct driver, plug in your USB-Serial adapter, and open a Terminal session (Applications/Utilities).
Enter the command
Enter the command
ls /dev/cu.*
, and look for something like usbserial
(or similar): This indicates the USB-Serial driver is working. Select this port name in a terminal program.
Note: Check your adapter works after an OS Update, as you may have to re-install the driver.
You might notice that each serial device shows up twice in /dev, once as a tty.* and once as a cu.*. So, what's the difference? Well, TTY devices are for calling into UNIX systems, whereas CU (Call-Up) devices are for calling out from them (eg, modems). We want to call-out from our Mac, so /dev/cu.* is the correct device to use.
The technical difference is that /dev/tty.* devices will wait (or listen) for DCD (data-carrier-detect), eg, someone calling in, before responding. /dev/cu.* devices do not assert DCD, so they will always connect (respond or succeed) immediately.
Software:
Having installed the right driver, our USB-Serial adapter will show up in /dev/cu.* (shown above). We now need to install some terminal emulation software before we can connect to anything.
- Two terminal methods are Screen and Minicom
- For a GUI solution, see OS X Serial Port Apps
Note: If you can't find a driver for your adapter (eg, Belkin), try Serial which has built-in support for many USB-Serial devices.
Screen
It's not actually necessary to download an install extra software, as you can use the Mac OS X built in Terminal and screen. Screen lacks some features, but it does include VT100/ANSI terminal emulation, and can be extremely useful.
- Open an OS X terminal session (window)
- Find the right TTY device. Type:
ls /dev/cu.*
- Then type:
screen /dev/cu.usbserial 9600
(in this example). - To quit the screen app, type CTRL-A, then CTRL-.
With the USB-Serial adapter plugged in, you'll get a list, including something like this:
The 9600 at the end is the baud rate. You can use any standard rate,
eg, 9600, or 19200 for a Sig Server!
Type
man screen
in Terminal for further information on screen. (use 'enter' or 'space' to scroll, and 'q' to quit). Minicom
Alternatively, if you'd like a few more features, and a retro feel, you can install minicom 2.2.
Minicom supports VT100 emulation, which means it sorta kinda works with Meridian Mail (Function keys: fn + f-key).
Minicom supports VT100 emulation, which means it sorta kinda works with Meridian Mail (Function keys: fn + f-key).
- Download and run the minicom 2.2 package installer.
- Then manually edit your $PATH with
sudo nano /private/etc/paths
. - Add the following line to the bottom of the file:
/opt/minicom/2.2/bin
, save and exit - then relaunch the terminal.
Run
minicom -s
first to configure your serial interface device name, and other options. Then, Save setup as dfl (default) and Exit. Your serial interface device name is found with ls /dev/cu.*
(as shown above). Always launch minicom, with your selected serial adapter plugged in and available to avoid an error. In the example below, the serial device is /dev/cu.usbserial:Configuration Options | Connected to Port | Command Summary |
In minicom, commands can be called by CTRL-A <key>, for example, change your serial port settings with CTRL-A P
Press CTRL-A Z for a Command Summary, and help on special keys. Enter CTRL-A X to quit.
Press CTRL-A Z for a Command Summary, and help on special keys. Enter CTRL-A X to quit.
HINT: Change your OS X terminal window size to 80x25 (1 line more) so you can see the bottom Minicom status bar.
(Terminal Preferences ► Settings ► Window). Open a new window for this change to take effect.
(Terminal Preferences ► Settings ► Window). Open a new window for this change to take effect.
Note, the minicom installer creates /opt, and its not hidden in the OS X finder. Rectify this with:
sudo chflags hidden /opt
Connecting
With handshaking set to software (Usb To Serial Walmart
xon/xoff) or none, which covers most devices, serial data communication needs just 3 wires: RXD (2), TXD (3), and GND (5). Generally, hitting![Serial Serial](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1.dWcQVXXXXXPXXXXq6xXFXXXN/Linux-win7-8-10-android-mac-cp2102-usb-serial-rs232-to-3-5mm-jack-for-galileo.jpg)
Usb To Serial For Mac
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