Flash OpenBox / SkyBox with USB to serial!

[07fielBi]

Hello!

I came to this forum looking for help and thanks to a few comments in a forum on here I was able to find a work around for all USB serial cables.

A few people have said that USB to Serials are very hit and miss, that is because you've bought the wrong type that is wired differently, plus they are meant to use plugnplay to assume which pins you want to use by gathering feedback from the device your plugging it in (this doesn't work)

My problem was I bought a USB to SERIAL thinking they were all the same and they are NOT!!

Slugworth stated that the OPENBOX used only 3 pins and using his key I was able to wire the correct pins together.

The key is:

Serial
Skybox/Openbox

2-3
3-2
5-5

Here are some images that should help!

My First Problem: MALE + MALE
P7036900.JPG
Solution: FEMALE + FEMALE from amazon ?1.20
31MW8dm-+mL._AA160_.jpg

Now, I knew that I needed 3 wires in 3 holes on one side of the female to female.
I put wires in: 2,3,5 & hot glued them.
P7036886.JPG
Now I connected the adapter to the splitter & then the wires to back of the box.
P7036869.JPG
I connected the wires as in the key ABOVE
2 to 3 etc..
P7036885.JPG

The wires I used were just ones I collected from old computer motherboard press connectors, you can bend the pins and pull them out so they will slide over the pins in the back of the BOX.


I know this isn't exactly a professional tutorial but hope I help everyone who is struggling!

Regards.

[Hadron]

Glad to see that this worked for you, but why go to all the trouble of buying a back-to-back female adapter, & fiddling about hot glueing individual wires etc. when for just ?1.49 you can buy a 1.8m null modem cable that will do the job and give you more room between the pc/laptop & the skybox.

NULL MODEM CONNECTOR CONNECTION CABLE 9 PIN 1.8 METER FEMALE TO FEMALE | eBay

Where did you get the info about the USB to serial adapters being wired differently or using PnP to see which pins it needed? The 9 pin serial port follows a spec for pin designations.

Which USB to serial adapter did you use? Other members have said that the adapters that use the Prolific PL2303HXD rev D work OK.

The reason why most USB to serial adapters use a male 9 way D type plug, is because they simulate the serial connector you would find on a pc, which requires a female to female lead to connect to the device.

[07fielBi]

Thanks for the reply!

I already had a female to female from a old project.

The cable you shared wouldn't work with the usb to serial I'm using as all that cable does is link to two ends rather than manipulate the pin layout.

The cable I used: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got some information from a thread on here about flashing box's And Google.

[Hadron]

Thanks for the reply!

I already had a female to female from a old project.

The cable you shared wouldn't work with the usb to serial I'm using as all that cable does is link to two ends rather than manipulate the pin layout.

The cable I used: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got some information from a thread on here about flashing box's And Google.

The cable in my link does exactly the same as your home-made lead. If you look again, it connects pin 2 - 3, pin 3 - 2, & pin 5 - 5, just as any null modem cable should.

If your old cable didn't work, then it's probably a straight through serial cable that connects pin 2 - 2, pin 3 - 3 etc.

I think you are getting confused in your first post about which cables are connected differently. It's the female to female 9 pin serial cables that you can easily get mixed up, as they look exactly the same, but can be wired up differently as mentioned above.

The USB to serial adapters use different chipsets, & the cheaper ones don't even bother to convert the 0v/5v to -12v/+12v.

I see you have the USB to serial adapter with the Prolific chipset which other members have found to work.

[techharry]

you can get the cable from maplin shop

[Hadron]

you can get the cable from maplin shop

You can, but you would have to be pretty desperate for one to spend ?18 in Maplin compared to ?2.49 on Ebay.

Nikkai Pure Connectivity Serial Null Modem 9 Pin Female to 9 Pin Female 3m | Maplin

[any-mgzt]

I am trying to reset an V5S Openbox with the RS232 tool, it starts to download but seems to stop at 4%, it gets there quite quick but hangs at 4%.

Any ideas?? I have tried 2 different Null Modem cables and its its the same.