USB Breakout Cable

review
5
0
5
Your Price: $49.00
Out of Stock or Not Currently Available
Part Number:USB-CABLE-RS232

NOTE: We are currently sold out of the RS422 version of this cable.

Have you ever wanted to directly wire your marine electronics into your computer? Now you can with our USB Breakout Cable featuring the rock-solid FTDI USB chipset.
This cable is available in two versions - one for interfacing with RS232 devices and one for working with true NMEA RS422 devices.
The product consists of a standard USB connector that plugs into your computer's USB port and a 6 foot cable with bare leads on the end. These bare leads can be connected directly to the input / output leads on your marine electronics device, including chartplotters, AIS receivers and transponders, radios and any other device that has bare lead connections for interfacing with the device.
The RS232 version of the USB Breakout Cable uses a common ground signaling system with leads for signal input and output. This cable is most appropriate for use with marine electronics devices that also have a common ground system for interfacing with other devices. This would include the RS232 interface wires on common ground chartplotters such as the Standard Horizon plotters, Garmin 3000, 400 and 500 series plotters and other true common ground RS232 devices.
Other marine electronics use a true NMEA RS422 system for interfacing with other devices. Typically these devices have a pair of isolated signal wires for input and another isolated pair for output. None of these signal wires are tied to ground and carry different voltages and are also known as differential signal interfaces. Devices that use a true NMEA RS422 signaling system include Raymarine chartplotters and Garmin 4000/5000 series chartplotters. For these types of devices, the NMEA RS422 version of the USB Breakout Cable is the correct cable to use to interface with your computer.
Note that some of the products we sell include interface wiring for both RS232 and NMEA RS422.
Want to connect Coastal Explorer and the GX2200 AIS Matrix radio together?
Check out this blog article with step-by-step instructions on how to use our USB Breakout Cable to easily tie these together.

To see an example of how this cable can help simplify an installation, please see our blog article on how to connect the Standard Horizon GX2200 AIS/GPS radio to your Windows-based computer and use the GPS and AIS data from the Matrix in your Coastal Explorer navigation program. 

This is just one example. There are dozens of other scenarios where these cables can simplify interconnection challenges.

Virtual COM Port Drivers Support

  • Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, Server 2003 and Server 2008
  • Windows XP
  • Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Windows 7, 8.x, 10 (32-bit and 64-bit)
  • Windows XP Embedded
  • Windows CE 4.2, 5.0 and 6.0
  • Mac OS 8/9, OS-X
  • Linux 2.4 and greater

Features

USB Breakout Cable RS232 Version

USB Breakout Cable RS422 Version

USB-RS232 converter cable provides a USB to RS232 serial interface with customized end connectors.

USB-RS422 converter cable provides a USB to RS422 serial interface with customized end connectors.

Entire USB protocol handled by the electronics in the cable USB.

EIA/TIA-232 and V.28/V.24 communication interface with low power requirements.

EIA/TIA-422 communication interface with low power requirements.

UART interface support for 7 or 8 data bits, 1 or 2 stop bits and odd / even / mark / space / no parity.

FTDIs royalty-free VCP allow for communication as a standard emulated COM port and D2XX direct drivers provide DLL application programming interface.

Visual indication of Tx and Rx traffic via LEDs in the transparent USB connector.

Fully assisted hardware (RTS#/CTS#) or X-On / X-Off software handshaking.

X-On / X-Off software handshaking.

Data transfer rates from 300 baud to 1 Mbaud.

Data transfer rates from 300 baud to 3 Mbaud.

Support for FT232R FTDIChip-ID feature for improved security.

Low USB bandwidth consumption.

UHCI / OHCI / EHCI host controller compatible.

USB 2.0 Full Speed compatible.

-40C to +85C operating temperature range.

Cable length is 1.80m (6 feet).

ESD Protection for RS-232 I/O's

15kV Human Body Model (HBM)

15kV EN61000-4-2 Air Gap Discharge

8kV EN61000-4-2 Contact Discharge

FCC, CE and RoHS compliant.

FCC, CE and RoHS compliant.


Wiring colors and signal descriptions for RS232 version

Color Name Type Description Connected to ...
Orange TXD Output Transmit Data Output Data Input wire
Yellow RXD Input Receive Data Input Data Output wire
Black GND Ground Device Ground Common Ground wire

Wiring colors and signal descriptions for RS422 NMEA version

Color Name Type Description Connected to ...
Orange TXD+ Output Transmit Data Output + (B) NMEA Input wire +
Red TXD- Output Transmit Data Output - (A) NMEA Input wire -
Yellow RXD+ Input Receive Data Input + (B) NMEA Output wire +
White RXD- Input Receive Data Input - (A) NMEA Output wire -
Black GND Ground Device Ground No connection

NOTE: For some RS422 connections, the positive and negative wires may need to be reversed. If you do not see a data on the USB port, swap the wire pair connections.

For both cables, do not use other colored wires.

 

Drivers for both products can be downloaded here.
Technical information on the RS232 cable can be found here.
Technical information on the RS422 cable can be found here.
For assistance selecting the correct cable, feel free to contact our sales department.
5 Stars
boat owner
I purchased the Rs422 to connect a Standard Horizon GS2200 vhf radio to my computer, running Open CPN. The info on their site was very easy to follow and the connection worked the first time. Love the cable compared to usb to serial cables I have used. I use windows 10 and did not get the runtime error 8020 I got with other usb to serial connectors
Did you find this helpful?  1 of 1 Found Helpful
Reviewed by: (Verified Buyer)  from Calgary Alberta. on 10/13/2017
5
5 Stars
Works great!
Easy to install. Brought GPS from my AIS to my PC for use in my navigation software. Technical support gives great service. Very pleased all the way around!
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Reviewed by: (Verified Buyer)  from San Diego, CA. on 11/11/2015
5
5 Stars
Excellent - perfect for my VHF/AIS/GPS into MAEXEA
Easy painless install, very impressed with the cable and simple instructions on loading drivers and wiring...Will buy from you again..
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Reviewed by: (Verified Buyer)  from My Yacht in the South China Sea. on 11/9/2014
5
5 Stars
Excellent Accessory
I use this cable to see AIS tagets from the GX2150 to my laptop running OpenCPN. It works great. Data LEDs tell you it is working. Good documentation from MFG. If only I could use it to bring GPS data into laptop at the same time. Now I have a separate cable for the GPS data.
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Reviewed by:  from Alameda, CA. on 8/13/2012
5
5 Stars
USB Breakout RS232
Great product and instructions for its installation on my GX2150 radio. AIS is now on our laptops.Thanks!
Did you find this helpful?  1 of 1 Found Helpful
Reviewed by:  from Sidney BC. on 8/7/2012
5
5 Stars
Owner
Works exactly as advertised.
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Reviewed by:  from Corralitos, CA. on 2/15/2012
5
5 Stars
Myself
The product works well, but real winner is the support I received, which was exceptional
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Reviewed by: (Verified Buyer)  from Tacoma. on 11/4/2020
5
5 Stars
Commercial Fisherman
Excellent product/service. With the help of the blog posting on this item at Milltech Marine, it was very easy to install/configure with my Standard Horizon AIS radio and PC running Coastal Explorer 4.0. AIS vessels showed up on the chart with all the AIS info. Great item. Shipped and received promptly.
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Reviewed by: (Verified Buyer)  from Alaska. on 3/17/2020
5
5 Stars
Mr
Worked exactly as expected to program a NK-80 NMEA converter. Also, installing the driver for it didn't disrupt the many other USB apps I have on the same laptop. I am on Win10.
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Reviewed by: (Verified Buyer)  from Bellevue, WA. on 4/24/2018
5
5 Stars
Mr.
Easy 2 wire install. Now have GPS and AIS info in Coastal Explorer running on my Windows 7 laptop. Worked great first time using instructions from MillTech blog.
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Reviewed by: (Verified Buyer)  from Portland Oregon. on 3/9/2018
5

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