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[supernova777]

just wondering if any of our users are having success with the keyspan usa-28x
and any portable g4 laptops!!



apparently as long as u use the proper driver version they work fantastic
they should be somewhat easy to come by
and i would think the price should be getting pretty low (low demand)
http://www.amazon.com/Keyspan-USA-28x-External-Serial-Adapter/dp/B0000513JR

the combination of a g4 powerbook, Keyspan usb adapter + serial midi device (Such as an opcode studio 4) should be pretty affordable! possibly less than 100$ for all 3 if you are lucky! add a copy of studio vision, dp, or cubase + some synths and u are ready to rock;) low cost vintage daw setup

i am looking for feedback on performance of such a setup

[MacTron]

I haven't tested this Keyspan USA-28x, (I have the Stealth Serial Port on some of my MDDs) but you should remember that the serial midi adapters require a powered pin ( may be 5V ) that usually this USB to serial adapters don't provide it.

[supernova777]

I haven't tested this Keyspan USA-28x, (I have the Stealth Serial Port on some of my MDDs) but you should remember that the serial midi adapters require a powered pin ( may be 5V ) that usually this USB to serial adapters don't provide it.

most rack serial gear has to have its own power supply.. im not sure what u mean about power over serial connection?

[MacTron]

most rack serial gear has to have its own power supply.. im not sure what u mean about power over serial connection?

The basics Serial to MIDI adaptors like the Opcode Translator II and many others requires no power supply. It works using the power supplied by the Mac serial port (5V @ 250mA Power on Pin 9)


I have one of those, working flawlessly since 1993!

The Mac serial port pinout:

[GaryN]

I've been using a usa-28x with my Studio 4 for years - ever since I went from my old G3 desktop to my first MDD. I have never had a serious problem with that setup. It emulates having a printer and a modem port perfectly, allowing me to send MIDI notes down one "port" and MIDI time code down the "other". The only issue I've ever had developed recently when once in a blue moon the unit will hang the OS9 startup unless I unplug the USB plug until after extensions are loaded. It seems to be a standard extension conflict of some kind but it also resolves itself… a few times unplugging and I'll eventually forget to and lo and behold, it starts up without a problem. It then starts fine for weeks and weeks - long enough that I've never been annoyed enough to really make an effort to go after the cause.

What IS annoying is the incomprehensible instructions that come with it. It has a control panel with pop-up help that's little or no help and a lot of settings that are just best left alone. If something does need changing, it's a trial and error process unless you're very familiar with old serial protocol. Fortunately, it seems to like my Studio 4 fine with the default settings. The defaults are probably fine until you try using some rare stylus tablet or such with it. Good interfaces like Opcode Studios do a good job of looking like printers and modems to the system I guess and just always work.

As I've said before (Chris) I've used this setup for years and years and it works flawlwssly. Also, the fact that you can actually still buy a new USA from Tripp-Lite and they're cheap enough to even have a spare makes it a no-brainer! I can't testify to using it with a laptop, only my MDD, but I can't imagine why it would work any differently with any machine natively booting the old Mac OS.

[supernova777]

i had no idea there was a 5v power included in the serial spec..
 

i was wondering how the motu fastlane was able to work without power- i guess thats how.

[mrhappy]

check out the price on THIS one!!!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000FX61MS/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all

[supernova777]

someones smoking crack

[GaryN]

That was $1,269.66  PLUS $3.00 shipping…

[supernova777]

thanks again Gary for a great insightful post.. just the information + first person user experience i was looking to hear! + confirms it for me that it can totally work for adding midi serial compatibility to any mac with usb ports! portable or not!

there was a huge lot of these on ebay - someone who has a large amount of thme was wanting to sell them off in a huge lot.. like 40+ or 100+ quantity
rather then try to sell them one by one.. lets hope some other company will take control of the stock + offer single item purchase

[supernova777]

I haven't tested this Keyspan USA-28x, (I have the Stealth Serial Port on some of my MDDs) but you should remember that the serial midi adapters require a powered pin ( may be 5V ) that usually this USB to serial adapters don't provide it.

perhaps thats another reason why the other models (non-usa28x) dont support midi devices??
but the usa28x supposedly works

[GaryN]

I've still got a couple of old serial-to-MIDI boxes laying around. I've even got one that works either with or without an external supply! I used to work with a guy in LA way back when who manufactured them for a lot of companies. I can tell you absolutely the reason the small (2 or 3) MIDI outs boxes were powered from the serial port was simply because they could be - thereby saving the cost of a wall wart and keeping the price down. Larger units with more ins & outs and other functions (like a Studio 3,4 etc) just require too much current to be powered that way.

[mrhappy]

I wound up ordering one of those to try out.😁

[supernova777]

did u get your keyspan adapter yet mr happy??

http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=2446.0

[mrhappy]

yes got it in the mail... waiting on a bunch of drives and some pram batts from OWC then the fun will begin!! Haha

[devils_advisor]

I use that adapter for remote control