I REALLY need Serial Ports….

Ok, here is the deal. I have enough Old Macintosh products to fill a garage. Wait, they DO fill my garage!

But I am slowly getting rid of them over time on eBay, or donating them to non-profit companies, and am happy to say that the last of my pre-G3 machines are no loner running fulltime duty in my office.

So I replaced my G4 450 MHz desk machine AND my G3 Firewire Powerbook with a 17″ 1.33 Ghz PowerBook that is happy doing the work of both machines. The G4 has been moved to the place where the 8500 use to be, mainly the backup server which runs Dantz Retrospect (a review to come shortly) and also, if I can solve this small problem, my home automation software as well.

I run XTension (www.shed.com), a GREAT piece of software for controlling X-10 based systems, and I will review this one day too if there is some interest in home automation.

But here is the problem: My interfaces to the outside world for Xtension are two SERIAL devices. One is an RF receiver that receives signals from X-10 wireless devices such as switches, motion sensors, and alarm signals. The other is a serial device that sends X-10 commands through the AC of the house to control lights, heaters, coffee pots, and other systems. And they are BOTH serial. Oh yea, and the software runs under OS-9 now, an OS-X version should be out soon if not already.

But my G4, lilke all of Apple’s new machines does not have serial ports. I have an older Belkin device I bought a long while back that is supposed to convert USB to serial, but Belkin support seems FAR away if any at all for this device any more, and they have NO OS-X support and say they will not. Basiclaly, Belkin has said good bye to Mac users, so I say good bye to them too.

OK, the big questions: What do people use that they LIKE that will allow me to easily connect serial devices to my USB Mac, and has drivers so that Mac software can actually find the serial ports using the OS-9 communicaitons tool box?

Anyone solved this probelm want to talk about it?

Thanks in advance.