USB Breakout Cable (RS232 Version)

Have you ever wanted to directly wire your marine electronics into your computer? Now you can with our new USB Breakout Cable featuring the rock-solid FTDI USB chipset. This cable is available in two versions - one for interfacing with RS232 devices and one for working with true NMEA RS422 devices. The product consists of a standard USB connector that plugs into your computer's USB port and a 6 foot cable with bare leads on the end. These bare leads can be connected directly to the input / output leads on your marine electronics device, including chartplotters, AIS receivers and transponders, radios and any other device that has bare lead connections for interfacing with the device. The RS232 version of the USB Breakout Cable uses a common ground signaling system with leads for signal input and output. This cable is most appropriate for use with marine electronics devices that also have a common ground system for interfacing with other devices. This would include the RS232 interface wires on the Comar CSB 200, common ground chartplotters such as the Standard Horizon plotters, Garmin 3000, 400 and 500 series plotters, the SR161 AIS receiver and other true common ground RS232 devices. Other marine electronics use a true NMEA RS422 system for interfacing with other devices. Typically these devices have a pair of isolated signal wires for input and another isolated pair for output. None of these signal wires are tied to ground and carry different voltages and are also known as differential signal interfaces. Devices that use a true NMEA RS422 signaling system include Raymarine chartplotters and Garmin 4000/5000 series chartplotters. For these types of devices, the NMEA RS422 version of the USB Breakout Cable is the correct cable to use to interface with your computer.