4-Port USB DB-9 Serial Adapter Solution
$69.99
USB to RS232 Cable Windows 10
The USBG-4X2FTDI 4-Port USB DB-9 Serial Adapter is a rugged plastic USB to Serial adapter that allows you to add 4 RS-232 serial ports to your computer by connecting to a single available USB port. There are no IRQ & COM port conflicts during install.
- USB host extends to 4 USB to RS232 5ft. cable ports giving additional COM’s to work with.
- Installs as a standard Windows COM port with no system conflicts.
- Takes advantage of High-Speed communication with FTDI Drivers.
- DB9 Male serial ports connectors have screw lock security for safe connections.
Software & Drivers
Product Description
Also available from the following online retailers:
The USBG-4X2FTDI 4-Port USB DB-9 Serial Adapter is designed to make serial port expansion as easy as possible with its Windows 10 support. Connecting to a USB port on your computer or USB hub, the USB Quad Serial Adapter instantly adds four RS-232 serial communication ports to your system. By taking advantage of the USB Bus, the 4-Port USB DB-9 Serial Adapter installation of serial ports and devices to your system painless with both Plug-and-Play and hot plug features.
Plugging the USB Quad Serial Adapter to the USB port, the adapter is automatically detected and installed. There are no IRQ & COM port conflicts, since the ports do not require any additional IRQ, DMA, memory as resources on the system. The USB Quad Serial Adapter is self-powered and does not require any external power adapters.
The 4-Port USB DB-9 Serial Adapter provides instant connectivity with modems, ISDN TAs, PDAs, handheld & pocket PCs, digital cameras, POS, serial printers. It is suitable for remote access, retail and industrial applications, data collection and other applications requiring high speed RS-232 serial communication ports.
Additional Features:
- Adds four RS-232 DB9 serial ports by connecting to a Single USB port
- Rugged plastic housing with built-in LED status indicators for TxD and RxD
- Installed as standard Windows COM port
- Full RS-232 modem control signals and hardware/software flow control
- RS-232 data signals: TxD, RxD, RTS, CTS, DSR, DTR, DCD, RI, GND
- High speed serial port with the baud rate up to 921.6K bps
- Non-standard baudrates supported
- Serial port protected with surge protection of 10KV
- Powered by USB port, no external power adapter required
- Easy plug and play installation and RS-232 device connection
- COM port number assigned can be changed to any COM port number required
- Works with USB 1.1 & 2.0 host port
- 5ft long total length
- Windows 10 support with FTDI
OS Support:
- Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and 10
- Linux and Mac OS 10.X
Additional Information
| Package Weight | .6 lbs |
|---|---|
| Package Dimensions | 7 x 5.25 x 1.5 in |
| Country of Origin | |
| UPC | 729440626044 |
| Serial Standards | |
| Ports | |
| Connector | DB9 Male with Screws |
| Screw Lock Compatible | Yes |
| Chipset | |
| OS Support | Linux, Mac OSX, Win 10, Win 7, Win 8, Win Vista, Win XP |
| Length | 5ft |
| Color | |
| Warranty | 1 year from date of purchase |
Technical Specifications:
| USB Bus | |
| Compliance | USB 1.0/1.1 compliant, USB 2.0 compatible |
| Speed | 12 Mbps, full-speed USB |
| FIFO | 128 byte transmit FIFO 384 receive FIFO |
| Serial Interface | |
| Port Type | RS-232 |
| Number of Ports | 4 |
| Connectors | DB9 male |
| Serial Line Protection | |
| ESD Protection | 10KV |
| Serial Port Speed | |
| Baudrate | 300 bps to 921.6k bps |
| Serial Communication Parameters | |
| Data Bits | 5, 6, 7, 8 |
| Stop Bits | 1, 1.5, 2 |
| Parity | None, Even, Odd, Space, Mark |
| Flow Control | RTS/CTS, XON/XOFF |
| Serial Signals | |
| RS-232 | TxD, RxD, RTS, CTS, DTR, DSR, DCD, GND, RI |
| Driver Support | |
| OS | Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP (WHQL certified) and 2000 Linux Kernel 2.4 and up built-in support |
| Power Supply | |
| Input | Bus-powered No external power adapter required |
| Mechanical | |
| Chassis | Plastic, ABS |
| Environmental | |
| Operating Temperature | 0 to 55 °C (32 to 131 °F) |
| Operating Humidity | 5 to 95% RH |
| Storage Temperature | -20 to 75 °C (-4 to 167 °F) |
Gotallofthem “Speed Demon” –
I have a home lab that I have built for my Networking Studies, and I needed a way to access each switch/router without having to constantly plug and unplug my console cable each time I needed to make changes (which is really annoying if you know what I am referring to). My choice was between buying an access server which would have cost me a lot more, or purchasing this item. I must say this has done the job perfectly, I can control 4 different units, with one connection, and not having to constantly get up out of my seat. If you have a home lab, or you need a way to access your switches and routers at the same time, at home/work, this will work great for you.
JohnG –
Most of the inexpensive serial to RS-232 converters have been bricked (made unusable) by an update to windows 7 and 8 by Prolific(FTDI) in order to punish counterfeiters of their chips and I can understand that. However, it leaves people like me with
devices that are worthless! I have several converters from GearMo that have seemed to survive. Don’t know if it is the drivers they send or if they are using legitimate FTDI chips. The bottom line is that so far they work fine and are well built. I know for sure that the little blue converters and a lot of cheep ARDUINO boards suffer problems from the update. There is a somewhat involved workaround to fix the problem but I don’t know if it is worth it. Could be that another update from Prolific could render the fake ones inoperable again. Bottom line….. Pay a little more, buy from Amazon and one way or another your problems will be taken care of.
Ian –
Nothing comes close to the value. I’ve connected this to a raspberry pi in order to use it as a terminal server for my cisco lab equipment. I will be buying another one of these in the near future. I love that the connectors are numbered and that the cables are of a good length
Dennis –
This USB-to-Serial adapter is SO much better than the Prolific one I have for another device. The instructions are too brief for a non-computer person, but sufficient. I’ve been using it for a month now to connect a ham radio’s sound card and a TV tuner without a problem. Definitively recommended.
Charles –
One killer feature: in linux, the serial ports enumerate in order. No more guessing which of your serial devices is /dev/ttyUSB?!
GT Rider “AP” –
This cable is essential for Windows 8 users who need RS-232 serial ports for legacy hardware interfaces. In general, I have found this adapter to be a reliable addition to my Windows 8 system where I have multiple RS-232 serial devices that I use regularly.
Information for Amateur Radio Operators:
I use this cable to convert one USB 3.0 port on my late 2013 iMac (OS X 10.9.x Mavericks, Windows 8.1 Professional 64-bit) to 4 RS-232 serial ports to which I have connected my amateur radio transceivers, an auto tuner and a Kenwood TH-F6A programming cable. I used to have a USB to 4-port adapter made by another, well-known manufacturer that had the Prolific chipset, which is not compatible with Windows 8.
This is what I like about this adapter: It worked immediately in Mac OS X 10.9 and Windows 8.1 without needing to run any driver updates to configure the ports. Port conflicts are non-existent even when I have my SignaLink USB digital interface and MasterKeyer MK-1 in use. Where I used to have problems getting the correct rig information from a Yaesu FT-100D in my logging program, I no longer have that issue. I couldn’t have asked for an easier, pain-free setup experience.
Now for a nit to pick: I question the need for the dongle style adapter cable/serial ports. Since I use this in an amateur radio environment, shielding and reduction of RF overload is very important. This cable can be susceptible to RF interference that I suspect is caused by the long runs of cable with insufficient shielding between the USB port and serial port connectors. This is also the reason why I stopped short of giving this cable a 5 star rating. I will try the usual mitigation steps – install chokes, go over grounding system again – and see if that makes a difference. Otherwise, I may be limited to operation on all bands 20m and down if I want to use the rig control interface of my logging and contest software.
Bob –
In short, the GearMo 4-port serial adapter ROCKS!
I am a professional network engineer and often need to connect to serial console ports on routers, switches, firewalls and more. An RS232 serial connection is pretty much the industry standard for a local console connection to these devices. Since it’s common for me to be working on several devices at once — often trying to make coordinated changes on 2 or 4 devices that must be executed with relatively precise timing — this product seemed like a better option than moving my console cable back and forth between devices.
The 36″ cables are a bit bulky when coiled up but the spare length for connections is great when working in a data center rack. The FTDI chipset retains its COM port assignment on Windows after reboots and regardless of which USB port the adapter is connected to — an enormous improvement over the PL2303 chipset which always changes its COM port assignment. Each RS232 port is embossed with a number (1-4) that indicates which port it is. I mapped these to COM11-14 on my system so I could make an easy mental association with the COM port to the physical connector.
This item also works reliably in Mac and Linux OSes. I’ve been strongly considering building a battery-powered RaspberryPi terminal server with one or two of these to provide an easy-to-access WiFi-connected terminal server.
W4JLE –
I guess you get what you pay for, this was more than similar items found on auction sites cheaper. The big difference is this one works!. As a ham radio operator we have all lamented the loss of the once ubiquitous serial port. While there are a bunch of cheap Chinese cables they used cloned chips that may or may not work with drivers and software. I plugged this in, installed the drivers and it assigned 16, 17,18 and 19 as serial ports. I am running a Navigator interface that uses a number of ports below that. I could have reassigned any of them via the control panel but left them as is. I Have a serial to CT converter for my Icom on 16, a Harris modem on 17, a GPS disciplined Oscillator on 18 and a homebrew antenna patch panel on 19 and they all work with all my various software. HRD, MARS ALE, Comm terminal, 110A both hardware via the Harris and Software. ETC. I am no longer tearing my hair out every time a windows update reboots me! What a difference real FTDI chips and non Chinese bootleg drivers makes.- Fred W4JLE
Customer –
This 4-port serial adapter works equally well with Win7 and WinXP. Win7 does not require installation of the device driver; it is supported natively. WinXP requires installing the included CD_ROM device driver. Because the XP-based instrument does not have a CD-ROM, I copied the contents of the CD-ROM to a flash drive and installed from there. Documentation is provided on the CD-ROM. I have had no problems at all with the adapter under heavy, albeit standard, use. Unfortunately, I have not used it with Win8 but will augment this review once I do.
This 4-port adapter is roughly the same price as the 1-port adapter at my local electronics hobby store. I am really glad that I found it at a great price because I was anticipating having to use four 1-port adapters and a hub, which would have been very messy, cost five times as much, and required storing lots of stuff after my project is over.
It’s a cool solution.
John T. Zigmont “ziggy” –
This products works with Windows 8 x64 plug N play no needed drivers and is idea for a Cisco Rack configuration. There is no need for an Cisco Access Server with this product.
Harlan –
For those Cisco techs that need to use the same computer to setup multiple switches at the same time this quad port is great. The only problem that it has is that if you connect all of the same cables at one time to the cisco console cables you will not know which cable is which comm port. So the best way to do it is to connect one at a time while establishing a console session. I also use Tera Term which allows for multiple comm port connections. It comes with a software driver disk and works well in Windows7.
A. Lawson –
This USB to serial port adapter has 4 separate serial cables that connect to a single USB 2.0 plug.
Each of the 4 serial cable ends is slightly more than 3 feet long. The USB cable end is one foot long. Total end-to-end length is a little bit more than 4 feet long.
Each serial cable is labeled “1”, “2”, “3”, or “4” which makes it easy to track your connections. The connections always retain the same com port, so you won’t need to reconfigure you software after restarting you computer.
The adapter has 3 separate LEDs: red = power, green = TX, yellow = RX.
The adapter comes with a CD-ROM that contains USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 drivers for many operating systems including Linux, Mac, Windows, and more. The release notes on the CD-ROM mention that newer drivers can be found at […]
No paper instruction manual is included which might cause inexperienced computer users to have moderate difficulty with the setup. Experienced users will find the setup straight forward and simple.
Installation on Windows 7 was easy for me. I found the appropriate installer on the CD-ROM. I had to right-click the installer and select run-as-administrator. The first time I plugged the adapter in it took several minutes for the device to be detected, so be patient. Subsequent detections are fast.
All 4 serial adapters can be used simultaneously.
Overall I am satisfied with the quality of this device.
A. M. Williams “aaronw75” –
This four port adapter has been absolutely rock solid under Linux. I just plugged it in and it worked. I have been using this non-stop for a couple of months now and have had absolutely zero problems. I usually run it at 115,200 baud but have had no problems when pushing it as high as 460,800 baud.
I have used a number of different USB to serial cables in order to work with numerous embedded devices and I always seem to have problems. I have seen adapters suddenly stop working, requiring me to disconnect and reconnect them or having their baudrate suddenly change or just start spewing garbage. Not this one.
The transmit and receive LEDs are also nice to have since they can indicate that something is happening on another serial line I am not currently looking at. The cables are nicely molded with the serial port number molded into each connector.
I am saddened to see that it is listed as no longer available since this is such a great adapter.
Dan Zeitlin “Radio Addict” –
I installed this cable on a machine running XP Pro/SP3. I did a Windows Update prior to the installation. I let the OS find the driver on the provided CD ROM, rebooted, and the new COM ports were there. I redefined the ports using the Hardware Manager and the designations have “stuck” so far after about a dozen re-boots.
FWIW, I tried the cable with CTWin, Logger32, and N1MM. All worked fine, correctly communicating with two radios on two different COM ports and a Rotor-EZ equipped rotator on a third COM port. I have not tried it with WinKey as my LPT keying works fine (ergo, I do not use WinKey).
I experienced no RF susceptability problems on 160m-10m at 100W and 700W power power levels.
The “octopus” cables are conveniently long so that I do not need any extensions from the compuer which sits to the side of the radios.
The price of this quad converter is about half of another alternative that was recommended as being proven with Ham applications.
Aedbarnard –
Just works with the FTDI drivers. Tested on MacOS X 10.7 Lion and the four ports show up as /dev/tty.usbserial-FTUJPJ7ZA through /dev/tty.usbserial-FTUJPJ7ZD . Cables are quite long.
H. Stratton “cstulsa” –
Nice product, works just fine on my 64 bit Vista notebook, letting me use 4 serial devices simultaneously. I did have to force the drivers to use com port assignments that my computer says were already in use (though they really weren’t).
William Bowen “Engineer & Radio Collector” –
The USB “jungle” under my desk was becoming a nightmare & I was quickly running out of ports on my USB hub to connect my ham radio equipment to, so I went looking for a good multi-port USB~RS-232 adaptor. Between my 2 main ham transceivers, the packet TNC and the internal TNC I needed 4 RS-232 ports that did RTS/CTS handshake correctly (Kenwood radios are kinda picky in this regard {especially the TM-D710A in EchoLink sysop mode}, as is my TNC). I had been told by numerous fellow hams that USB~RS-232 adaptors that used the FTDI ICs where the only way to go, so I limited my search to these. I saw this item on Amazon & read a review from a fellow ham that had dealt with this same issue, and he praised this unit highly, so I decided to purchase it.
I’m VERY pleased with the results. I’ve hooked up the adaptor to my Toshiba laptop PC (my “shack computer”) and to the Kenwoods and everything works just like it is supposed to. There where no issues with the adaptor operating correctly with the radios running full power output (100W on the HF bands & 50W on 2M/70CM) – no “glitches” at all. One thing that had concerned me was possible interaction between the 4 ports when 2 or 3 of them are active (actually passing data) at the same time, which is the situation when running packet. However, no such interaction had been observed.
I would HIGHLY recommend this USB~RS-232 adaptor to any ham that is running multiple radios and/or aux. items like a TNC that wants reliable data transfer when you’ve got a bunch of RF floating around the shack on multiple bands. Gearmo makes a fine product in this item & I WILL personally recommend it to my ham friends.
NOTE: I would recommend that anyone that uses this product go to FTDI’s web site & download the ComPort Reassign utility – it makes Com Port assignment of the ports on this device much easier than using Device Manager in Windows.
jabit –
I was using a couple of individual usb-serial converters in my ham shack, and acquired two more pieces of equipment that needed serial ports. I ran across this item and decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did. Installation was a breeze on my Win 7 Pro 32-bit system, and the product functions extremely well, even in a strong RF environment. Each serial connector in the octopus cable is marked (A,B,C,D) and windows assigned Com8,Com9,Com10,Com11 respectively. These assignments remain across reboots, so there is no reconfiguring of application software. No muss, no fuss. This product uses the latest ultra-reliable FTDI-4232 chipset, and the drivers are Microsoft certified. As the title states, money well spent!