(SOLVED!)Will DB9 to USB connector work with my Mac?

[Diogones]

Hey all,

I have an APC Power-UPS that only has the old-school BD9 connector (also known as RS-232. If I get a USB to RS232 adapter cable, like this one from eBay, would that allow me to access and control the UPS from my Energy Saver preference pane, and allow the Mac to recognize the UPS? Does the Mac come with the necessary drivers for a COM device such as this one?

I'm not completely sure if the cable I'm talking about will work, because I think it is designed to copy a USB device like a GPS gadget to a BD9 port, in order to free up a USB port, rather than the reverse, which is what I'm looking for.

I also have an old IBM Buckling Spring keyboard that is from 1983, according to the manufacturing date on the back. It is so old, it doesn't even use PS/2, like some IBM Model M keyboards I've seen. It also uses the DB9 connector. Would this also work with the cable above, or would a different UPS cable be needed for the keyboard?

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[skorpien]

No clue if it will work, but you seem a bit confused about that particular cable. It does the opposite of what you think and exactly what you need it to do.

Here's the manufacturer's page:

http://ca.startech.com/Cards-Adapte...to-Male-Serial-Adapter-USB-to-Serial~ICUSB232

You'll note that they list it as compatible with Macs. They also have drivers for it, but I haven't checked if it's PC only or if they have Mac drivers in the download as well.

 

[takeshi74]

I also have an old IBM Buckling Spring keyboard that is from 1983, according to the manufacturing date on the back. It is so old, it doesn't even use PS/2, like some IBM Model M keyboards I've seen. It also uses the DB9 connector. Would this also work with the cable above, or would a different UPS cable be needed for the keyboard?

There are specific USB adapters recommended for the Model M's. I'm using a couple myself but I don't recall who makes them.

 

[Diogones]

Thank you both for the helpful replies! I used the one skorpien linked and it works great! I'm marking the thread as solved.