This review is for the "Tera Grand - Premium High Speed USB 2.0 to Serial RS-232 DB-9 Converter - Supports Windows 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000, 98, Linux and Mac - with FTDI Chipset". Cost at the time (January 6, 2015) that I purchased the item through Amazon was $10.98 each. Shipping was free with orders over $35, so I ordered four.My need was for a USB-to-serial converter that works with Apple MAC OS X, preferrably without needing to install drivers. I had previously investigated USB-to-serial converters for use with my MacBook Pro, ran into difficulties with multiple Tripp Lite and other brands that use a Prolific chipset---for which there is apparently many counterfeit (fake) chipsets from China that don't work on a Mac with the Prolific drivers---and I eventually gave up on those and purchased a $30 CableMax brand USB-to-serial converter with an FTDI chipset from a local store. I had recently updated my MacBook Pro to OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) from 10.8 (Mountain Lion), but my uderstanding is that support for the FTDI chipset was added in 10.9 (Mavericks), which I skipped. I cannot confirm no need to install drivers with versions before Yosemite, but I do hereby confirm that no drivers needed to be installed with Yosemite.The CableMax version with the FTDI chipset works flawlessly, but I didn't want to pay $30 for more of them. And that's when I found the Tera Grand version on Amazon. It looks nearly identical to the CableMax, just without an embossed "CableMax" logo in the outer mold, and slightly different screw grips. Actually, one oddity is this:The first (of the 4) Tera Grand brand that I opened has a slightly darker casing, more black, and has no LED. The other three have a dark casing that is slightly translucent, like the CableMax brand, and contain a single blue LED that illuminates when plugged in, also like the CableMax brand. All four work perfectly, but why one is different than the other three is interesting. The packaging was the same with all four, including the Tera Grand part number USB2-VE487-TG, but one is slighty different.The Tera Grand brand units works flawlessly too! No need to install drivers if you are running Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite). Included was an approximate 33" length Male-to-Female USB extension cord, which is nifty if you need to use two adjacent USB ports on the MacBook Pro at the same time. Otherwise, the USB-to-serial converter partially blocks the adjacent port and prevents use. A mini-CD driver disk is included too, but I did not even look at it becuase it is not needed with Mac OS X 10.10.For the geeks out there, here are some details for the CableMax brand and the Tera Grand brand. This information is found in Yosemite using the System Information app located through Finder>Applications>Utilities.CableMax: Identified on the USB Bus as: "FT232R USB UART" Product ID: "0x6001" Vendor ID: "0x0403 (Future Technology Devices International Limited)" Version: "6.00" Serial Number: "A6008YSN" (this changes with each and every unit) Speed: "Up to 12Mb/sec" Manufacturer: "FTDI" Current Required (mA): "90"Tera Grand: Identified on the USB Bus as: "USB Serial Converter" Product ID: "0x6001" Vendor ID: "0x0403 (Future Technology Devices International Limited)" Version: "6.00" Serial Number: "FTAJMHES" (this changes with each and every unit; this one is the one that has no LED; all four Tera Grand started with "FTA") Speed: "Up to 12Mb/sec" Manufacturer: "FTDI" Current Required (mA): "44"The Tera Grand is nearly identical to the CableMax. Interestingly, the Current Required is less with the Tera Grand. At first I thought this might be related to no LED, but that turned out to be just the first Tera Grand unit I opened. The other three with the LED also require only 44mA.Anyhow, even with the oddity of one unit being different than the other three, I give the Tera Grand five stars and highly recommend them for Mac users that are at the current OS X 10.10 (Yosemite). I'll eventually test it on a Windows system, which I expect will work too, but my goal was to find a economical USB-to-serial converter for my MacBook Pro that doesn't require installing a driver, and I've succeeded with both the CableMax brand for $30 and the Tera Grand brand for only $10.98 each. I'm happy. I can now use my MacBook Pro for configuring Cisco switches, Server Technology intelligent PDUs (the best!), and more.

I received the item on time, as expected using prime. For some reason the drivers CD did not arrive with it, which I might happen. I will contact the seller for the CD and if the do not make right I will deduct a star or two depending on the customer service. When working in the field like I do, and sometimes having to use multiple laptops where no internet signal is even available, a driver CD is necessary to have on hand. To work around that issue I just went to their website and dowloaded the drivers and manual zip file which were very easy to find. My Windows 7 laptop did not automatically find the driver by the way so I had to manually load it, but no big deal. To test it out I connected a Cisco console cable to a Juniper firewall and then to this adapter on my laptop USB port directly (did not use included usb extension cable). I use tera term since Windows no longer provides Hyper Terminal, and actually I like tera term better anyway. Well, the adapter worked without issues so I give it 5 stars. I am not going to deduct a star for the drivers CD unless the company does not make good on it. Also, I don't care about the USB extension cable so didn't consider it in the review. It is a very small gauge, cheap looking, extension cable. I'm sure it works but then again, the way they packed it so tight it nearly has creases in it at the connector ends and throughout from folding it so tight. What mattered to me was the adapter, and it appears to be very good build quality and securely connects on both ends.I do recommend this adapter if you use RS232 to DB9. I preferred it over the cable ones because I already have enough cables to lug around in my work bag.

I had a problem with some software written for windows XP running on windows 10. I tried to make it work with two other USB-232 adapters to no avail. Finally, I tried this one with the so called "FTDI chipset" and, it worked great!

After "upgrading" to a Win 8 machine, I was disappointed to find that my 10 year old USB to Serial converter would not work. I needed the converter to enable the new laptop to transfer data and maps to my GPS. After poking around, off and on, for six months or more, I was ready to dump the GPS and get a new one, to the tune of several hundred dollars because it appeared I was trying to work with obsolete technology.Anyway, somehow I stumbled across this little gem while browsing around Amazon. I thought with the low price, what did I have to lose? Well it turned out that this works as described. The converter came with a driver on a mini disk, and once I had loaded the driver, I was able to hook up the GPS and transfer maps. I had just about given up ever being able to do this, considering the mapping software was old and so was the GPS receiver. Well now I'm back in business for $11 or $12 dollars instead of several hundred for a new GPS and new mapping software.Now, if I could find a converter to upgrade my 14 year old Jeep!

I bought this for a very particular purpose in a manufacturing environment so I could connect to some of our robot controllers on my laptop that typically require RS232 cords to connect. This allows me to use the controllers on my newer laptop or would have if the controller was compatible. Still I find it useful around the plant. I definitely think this is a practical thing to have around if you need this kind of thing. Only reason I'm rating 4 stars is it doesn't have a plastic cover for both sides to protect the pins when you're not using it. Which is something I think is very important for carrying around in your bag.

This made my older plotter work with my new iMac. Hurrah!

Worked direct out of the box on my WIN10 PC. No need to install driver also !! ( But am keeping the provided disk safe !)

Works well

Works perfectly on my Windows 8.1.1 x64 laptop for my networking classes that I am taking.

Works great even with Windows 10.