RS232 DB9M/F LED Link Tester with Surge Protection

I work on plc and other serial applications. This testing device is a nice upgrade from my old db25 tester I have been using. I don't have to convert my 9pin db9 serial into 25 pins to test plus it have a surge supressor (I have not tested that yet). This works well to get serial communication tacked up between near and far end. You can visually see the signals. Great benifet.

BOTTOM LINE: 1. I recommend this RS232 tester. 2. The current price of ~$20 is a bit high. USAGE: I use 9-pin serial cables to extend an oximeter I have. Sometimes these cable will go bad. To determine if I have a bad cable, or a dirty connector, I will use this tester to eliminate cable issues. LIKES: - Uses simple-to-read LED's for each wire in the 9-in RS232 connection. - Surge protection is a nice safety feature. DISLIKES: - My oximeter is quite sensitive to interference. This tester completely blocks the signal read, even though the connectivity is not blocked. - I can't fit this into some serial ports because the device itself bumps up against the port housing. By using an extension cable, I introduce additional potential problems. I would prefer a built in cable stub on both ends of the testers. UPDATES: None at this time. I will update this review with any changes or important additions should any arise.

Works well and is easy to use. Looks to be accurate.

I still use some older Ham Radio equipment that uses RS-232 Serial Ports. So, I use those USB to Serial Adapters. They already struggle to keep up because of the 5 VDC swing. RS-232 specifications call for a +12 VDC to -12 VDC swing. The OONO Tester allows me to verify that the adapters are functioning properly. Otherwise, when I have trouble communicating, I would throw the adapters away. But now if they verify then I keep them for other potential uses. I have discovered that it is money well spent buying the little more expensive adapters. While the serial interface usage is ageing out, I will be using it for some time into the future and while I don’t have to test often, it is a great tool to locate where the problem lies when I’m having issues with my serial connections. Fantastic little tool.

The RS232 DB9M/F LED Link Tester with Surge Protection is a versatile tool for anyone who frequently works with RS232 connections. I have even adapted it to test a particular piece of equipment that doesn't do serial communications but shares the voltages so the led lights turn on when the logic is high and turn off when low. It is an amazingly small but powerful device that makes it easy to quickly and accurately test the connectivity of your both serial and one other connection as described above. No battery required, just power from the lines and it works. The range of LED indicators which make it easy to quickly identify the status of your connection, including whether the connection is live or not.

RS232 is an old serial standard but in Ham Radio it is still used a lot. With having to use USB to serial adapters I don’t always know if the adapter is actually working let alone the serial connection. With this adapter I can see with a glance if the serial it actually talking, the LED’s tell the story fast so I’m not trying to troubleshoot the USB when it might be the serial connection that is the problem. As for the surge protection I could not say if it actually works for me this a a tester that will not stay in the circuit after I get things working. Over all I love this adapter, I find is so useful. Also my telescope uses serial connections and I always have trouble getting it to connect, this adapter will help here a lot.

I mainly got this so I can use it to troubleshoot serial communication links. While not so common now it is often still seen on console connections for I.T gear and on links for specialized equipment. Put this inline and you can see fairly detailed indications of what is going on. Some USB to serial cables can do this too to various extents but this is a nice alternative. This will even just connect to something and show whether it is sending data, etc with no need for a computer.

I’ve recently started playing around with retro computers and serial connections to transfer data and use wifi modem dongles, and with a lot of sketchy cables, cards, and old hardware it’s nice to be able to quickly verify traffic and signals. I have a USB adapter that also has indicator lights, and comparing the two this seems to be accurate. The only issue I had was I couldn’t plug in one device directly since both plugs had nuts, but I just used a short cable and it was fine.