Here's my prob...........I bought a used DFI unit w/ Calmap and I'm having probs linking up my laptop and DFI. I'm thinking the 5 Ft. serial cable may be bad. The dude I bought the DFI off of has offered to buy a new cable (around $200) if the one I got from him is bad. I would like to know if this cable is bad before I have him shell out the cash for a new one. If anyone is near the Decatur area (Springfield, Champaign, Bloomington) I'd sure appreciate it if I could drive to you and try my cable on your setup. I have some files as well, and the first 12 packs on me!

 

Can't help you with the cable, but I would suggest trying a slower laptop. I've noticed communication problems if the laptop is too fast.

 

I've tried 3 different laptops RCR (one of which was made when Moby was a minnow). Surely there are people on this board running DFI that are within an hour or two from me. Would someone please step forward........

 

OK, so laptop is out. If you have a voltmeter, you can check the voltages on the cable. The DFI uses 3-wire RS-232 communications. When the system is powered and connected to your laptop, you should have -9V to -12V at pins 2 and 3 of the laptop to ground (pin 5 if DB-9 or 7 if DB-25), or the Recieve (Rx) and Transmit (Tx) lines to ground at the DFI. You could also do a continuity/resistance check of the wires using a multimeter.
One other thing, are you sure the wiring is correct. It's pretty easy to swap the Rx and Tx lines. The above voltage check will verify if it's correct. If you measure negative voltage on one line only, disconnect the cable and measure again. Make sure you still have a ground when measuring the laptop. One wire on each end will be negative and one will appear dead. Tie the negative of the DFI to the dead line on the laptop and vice versa. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks 88GTA383........ I cruised down to his place and we determined that my serial cable was shot.