Radio Shack 26-123 USB-to-Serial Adapter Review

Overall 4.00 of 5 view all 2 reviews

bkovacs
Annandale, VA

Suprisingly simple to set up and use.

a technology geek, comfortable with technology, into trying new things

Pros

easy set up, comes with the necessary drivers, seems well made

Cons

a little pricey

OCT

2007

Radio Shack 26-123 USB-to-Serial Adapter —

I have access to three laptop computers but none has an old-fashioned nine-pin "D" serial connector. I bought a car-testing gizmo that requires a nine-pin serial port (sometimes called an "RS-232" port) and thought for sure that one of my laptops had such a connector, but it turned out that none did.

I shopped in electronics stores for a USB-to-serial adapter but the only store that had it in stock was Radio Shack. It is part number 26-123 at Radio Shack and it costs $35, which I thought was a bit expensive for something like this. Click on the top picture on the right to see what it looks like.

What it is

The Radio Shack 26-123 USB-to-serial adapter is a cable about six feet long with a standard USB connector at one end and a male nine-pin "D" connector at the other end. A few inches from the nine-pin connector is a beige plastic box about half the size of a deck of cards molded onto the cable. There is nothing to adjust or select anywhere -- there are no switches or controls of any kind and no batteries are required.

The package also comes with a CD-ROM disk with drivers and a manual. Everything looks like it is well made and professional, which is not always true of Radio Shack products.

Installing it

It's just a cable, so you'd think all I'd have to do would be to plug it in at both ends and start working. The Radio Shack 26-123 USB-to-serial adapter first required that I load drivers from the supplied CD onto my Windows XP laptop. It turned out that loading the drivers was surprisingly simple and straightforward, and there were no glitches or false starts. There are drivers for Windows XP/ME/2000 and 98.

Only then could I plug the USB connector into my computer, which did the normal handshaking for a new USB device. Within 20 seconds or so, my computer had located the correct driver and was ready to use the Radio Shack 26-123 USB-to-serial adapter.

Using it

Once the Radio Shack 26-123 USB-to-serial adapter was recognized by my computer, I plugged the car-testing gizmo into the OBD-II test port on my car and ran the associated program. My laptop showed all sorts of interesting things happening in my car, including the speed, engine RPM, fuel flow, spark advance, coolant temperature, O2 sensor readings and a host of other useful troubleshooting information. With the laptop on my lap, my wife drove the car and I watched the readings for the intermittent problem that has been bedeviling us with this particular car. I don't have the problem isolated yet but that's not the fault of the Radio Shack 26-123 USB-to-serial adapter. It has worked perfectly during this process.

Summary

The Radio Shack 26-123 USB-to-serial adapter is a little expensive. I was expecting such a device to cost around $25 instead of the $35 that Radio Shack charges. However, it appears to be well-made, it's easy to use and it has worked perfectly without any hiccups or tweaking. Other than taking the time to buy and install this adapter, it has not slowed down my work in the least.

I recommend the Radio Shack 26-123 USB-to-serial adapter.

Last edited on Oct 28, 2007

Radio Shack 26-123 USB-to-Serial Adapter is recommended by bkovacs

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Comments about bkovacs’s Review

Yeah, I knew that Radio Shack was pricey, but it was my only option to get one right away. I've got to try shopping at Newegg... I've heard so much good stuff about it.

I knew what you meant, Cyndi! I used to work in an electronics store and understand how easy it is to buy the wrong cord or adapter. It happened all the time.

Thanks for the comments!

--Bob

Bob - nice review. I have used similar devices in the past (I believe the last one I used was PPA 3312 USB to Serial Converter). If you have the time to buy it online you can get a similar cable for less than half the price you paid for it. On newegg.com for instance, there's a number of cables in the sub $10 range - tack on $5 for shipping and your looking at less than $15 for a USB to serial cable.

It is late indeed. I do not HOPE to shop for cords. I HATE to shop for cords. I guess I hope to NOT shop for cords. I also hope to NOT make typos when I can't correct them (-:

I hope to shop for cords. I have to carry the "thing" in to be sure I get the right one. I also have a drawer full of random cords that I don't where I got and don't what they do, and I wonder if one would have fit your computer. I should do something with those. What? I don't know.