The PL2303 serial-USB adapter and Linux

September 21st, 2003  |  Published in hardware, linux  |  4 Comments

A short note to fill in for something I couldn’t find via google on getting a PL2303-based serial-USB adapter to work with linux…


Recently I was trying to connect a Garmin Geko 201 GPS unit to my laptop on a 2.4 series linux kernel using a no-brand generic USB serial port cable bought from Maplin.

I encountered the problem described in this post to linux-kernel: the device would work once after boot, then oops the kernel when it was closed. To use it again, I’d have to reboot.

The solution, in my case, was to recompile my kernel (or change my choice of loaded kernel modules) to use the usb-uhci.o module as my UHCI controller, instead of the “alternative (JE)” driver that I had been using.

Responses

  1. Edd Dumbill says:

    September 22nd, 2003 at 12:03 pm (#)

    Yeah, this turns up quite commonly on the bluez-users list. Some devices just don’t like the one or other of the UHCI drivers. Luckily my new box seems all-OHCI….

  2. Mike says:

    November 11th, 2003 at 3:38 am (#)

    Linux. Unix. it’s all the same.
    My process:
    Installed 1.0.3 drive
    Installed Palm Desktop 4.1
    Installed iSync conduit
    Restart
    Repair Permissions
    Launch iSync
    Plug in plam V with USB to Serial adapter from Radio Shack
    Launch Palm Desktop
    Configure user and pref
    Configure iSync
    Push sync button on plam adapter
    Works great.

    Dual G5, Panther (10.3.1)

  3. PeWi says:

    May 19th, 2004 at 9:31 pm (#)

    If it does not work with 103
    try
    here
    http://theapotek.com/teknotes/archives/000014.html

  4. Ebru Arslan says:

    May 28th, 2004 at 7:17 am (#)

    I have problem about usb to serial cable. i need code how i can send data using usb to serial cable in linux redhat 9.0 ?

    please help about this topic

    Thanks