Optec USB Cable with integriated Serial to USB Converter - Length 12 ft (3.6 m)

Optec USB Cable with integriated Serial to USB Converter

Advancements in USB-to-Serial converter technologies has allowed Optec to offer a single Serial / USB cable in place of the 3-piece configuration. These cables are available in standard lengths of 6, 12, 25, and 50-ft. Because the cable is standard RS-232 level on the long side of the cable, the 5-meter (16-ft.) length restriction for USB does not apply.

Why they are needed:

Optec´s TCF-S and TCF-Si focuser family, FocusLynx controller, IFW filter wheels and Pyxis camera field rotators each use a modular RJ12 connector directly on the instrument or on a separate control box. These female RJ12 sockets all use the same pin configuration with RX, TX, and GROUND ports which has historically been connected through a separate "Reverse" cable and Serial Port Converter. The simple flat "Reverse" cable was engineered such that any observatory user or installer with a standard telephone cable crimper could easily fabricate cables after fishing the flat 6-wire cable through mount, pier and floor conduits. A pre-wired "serial port converter" could be supplied for such installations making for an easy job of wiring up the observatory. Unfortunately, with the disappearance of dedicated DB-9 serial ports on today´s computers, a third item, the USB-to-Serial Converter became necessary. This configuration has lead to a 3-piece communication wiring scheme that was less than optimal. 

The Optec solution is the USB/Serial cable with an integrated USB converter.