Z88 to Desktop Cable

There are two types of PC to Z88 Cables and one adapter available that can be used on all the Desktop computer  platforms.

1. Z88 9 way male to 9 way female (Later PC Standard)

2. Z88 9 way male to 25 way female (IBM PC standard)

3. Z88 Serial Link

WARNING - This is not a standard cable

Please DO NOT be tempted to rush out and get a standard 9 way male to female cable. They WILL NOT WORK. There are two reasons for this.

1. The Z88 connector end has no screws in them. If they are there, they will prevent the plug from being inserted into the Z88.

2. The wiring of the pins is different to the standard connections as the Z88 came out before the standard for the 9 way connection was established.

The correct cable (still sealed in a bag from Cambridge Computers) and the Z88 Serial Link is available from Rakewell Ltd.

Using Adapters

If you use the Z88 9 way male to 25 way female cable, you will need to use a 25 to 9 way adapter to use the 9 pin plug on the modern Desktops or USB Adapters.. Please ensure that all the 9 way pins are connected. Some adapters only connect 3 of the pins, sometimes the only way to tell is to buy one and test the connections with a meter before use.

Desktop

RS-232 Serial Port

If your Desktop has a hardware RS-232 port, the cable can be used with it. If it hasn't, you can either elect to

Fit a 2 Port PCI RS232 Serial Adapter Card with 16550 UART

or use a 

Serial to USB converters

Most desktops now have USB and not Serial ports. EazyLink2 will only work with a Serial to USB converter that the flow control supports 'hardware handshaking' and a driver available for the Operating System you are using. The cable type puts less strain onto the connectors than the adapter type.

Caution

Open

This program has been designed to work with different Operating Systems, with different Serial/USB cables. Please help us update the 'Truth Table' below, with your results.

The Keyspan device has been shown to be tolerate on all Desktops.

Just because a Serial / USB cable works with another program does not mean it will work with this one.

Are the latest drivers being used?

The following tables show what has been tested, using the protocol test feature in the Eazylink2 application. The table shows

    = tested (complete protocol test passed for 9600 BPS and 38400 BPS)

    = tested, but protocol test failed

Blank = not tested

Drivers - Turn on Translate

The WCN Download site is in Chinese. Use the ZIP files and turn on translate.

Tested configurations of EazyLink2 client connecting to Eazylink popdown in OZ 4.7.1:

Tested configurations of EazyLink2 client connecting to Eazylink popdown in OZ 4.5: