USB IrDA for Uwatec SmartCom?

[edm81363]

Hi all -

I use a Mac and have a Uwatec SmartCom. Does anybody have a source for a USB - IrDA Adapter to connect these two? Uwatec one sells for $100, which seems really steep.

-Ed in Seattle

 

[Wayfarer2]

I am using the one in the link below but I am running XP. I also included a link to the manufacturers web site but it doesn’t list a Mac driver

Cyberguys.com - Koutech Systems USB Fast Infrared Adapter Ir110

Welcome to Koutech System Inc.

 

[edm81363]

Thanks Wayfarer -

I sent an inquiry to the manufacturer and vendor.

-Ed

 

[merxlin]

I got mine here: infrared

 

[CompuDude]

There are a few threads on this.

Merxlin's is out of stock, so unless he has another source, it's all about luck, or dropping the coin on the Uwatec adapter.

The Mac software they wrote really only works with a particular chipset. Problem is there are a bunch of chipsets out there, and on little cheap things like this, very few manufacturers bother providing such arcane information about their gear. And the problem is the adapters will work fine as adapters, but unless they're the right chipset, they won't work with the Uwatec computers and software. (on a mac... the PC software is better supported, and less finicky)

Lots of adapters will work just fine with the Macs. And a lot more won't. It's all trial and luck, unfortunately, unless you buy the Uwatec one.

I got lucky. You might too. Try a few local shops, perhaps, that have return policies?

 

[merxlin]

Sorry, missed the MAC portion of the post. They do have another version at about the same price that might be in stock, and I would call them about the compatibility. I found Sewell very easy to deal with.

 

[CompuDude]

I think I was unclear. Pretty much any IRDA adapter will work on a Mac as an IRDA adapter. The OS recognizes any standard chipset just fine, and will do... whatever it is you do with IRDA.

The issue is the software used by Uwatec doesn't interact with the system... it connects directly with the chipset. And thus, even if the chipset is "mac compatible" (most are), only one or two specific chipsets are compatible with the cruddy software Uwatec inflicts on it's Mac users.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I had a student with a mac and the uwatec and honestly the only time it would work on the mac is when she switched it over to run the xp side of her mac. Just wouldn't be compatible with the apple side.

 

[edm81363]

So I went with the Uwatec IrDA kit and it worked flawlessly on my Mac Mini - no drivers or anything!

-Ed

 

[gimpy]

Hi,
I just got one from USBGear USB Enclosure USB Adapter USB SERIAL USB Cable USB Hub USB SATA for $13 do an upgrade from the mfgr. on the software and it works perftly..
Gimpy