I spent some time today testing out a couple of RS232 adapters with various bits of Psion software. I wanted to write a quick summary of what works and what doesn’t.
| Software | CH340 | PL2303TA | PL2303RA | FT232R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| plptools (Linux) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PsiWin 2.3 on XP in VirtualBox (adopted USB) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| PsiWin 2.3 on XP in VirtualBox (via virtual serial) | Not tested | Yes | No | Yes |
| PsiWin 1.1 on XP in VirtualBox (via virtual serial) | Not tested | Yes | Yes | ? |
| MCLINK or SDBG in DOSBox Staging | Unreliable | Yes | Yes | No |
Notes
CH340
Seems to work in most places, but DOSBox and DOSBox Staging are very unreliable with it. It’s very cheap and up until recently was what I recommended, but as I’ve tried to use SDBG for debugging on real hardware, I’ve needed something more reliable.