Posted 17 Dec 2022 Has anyone ever used CTSoft for connecting to Emerson VFD’s. I need help understanding the type of cable needed to make this connection. I called technical support and they said you don’t need their CT-usb necessarily…but a ftdi chip set rs232 to rj45 is required. I ordered 2 different styles on AMAZON and will try them next week, but I am confused on the topic. 1. Has anyone ever connected to these types of drives with a 3rd party cable? 2. How does the serial port on the front of the drive look identical to an RJ485 Ethernet and plugs in with a standard Ethernet but you cannot talk to this drive with a standard usb-rj45 connection? 3. An Allen Bradley serial converter 1203-usb with a rj45 doesn’t communicate either, the CTSoft recognizes the cable but no communication is established. This really confused me since I know the answer to question 1 could be the pin out is different. 4. Does anyone know a pin out to make this connection even if I have to splice a serial and Ethernet cable together? thanks, tommie—[ ]—dont—[ / ]—be—(L)—(U)—ground Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted 18 Dec 2022 RJ45 is just a connector. It was created for and used in multi-line phones before ethernet adopted it. Most popular use today is ethernet, but many other uses are possible, and there's no standard for a pinout when used for serial or other serial-like connections. You will have to look it up in the drive's documentation, then custom crimp your own cable. RJ45 on one end, 9-pin D-sub on the other. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites