[Elecraft] serial to USB

[Bob Cunnings]

>what IS the difference between FTDI and Prolific.

They are two different manufacturers of USB to Serial hardware ICs (chips).

http://www.ftdichip.com/

http://www.prolific.com.tw/eng/company.asp

Besides the hardware, each manufacturer supplies royalty free software
(device drivers) as part of the solution for PC operating systems such
as Mac, Windows and Linux.

At work I have long used FTDI chips in products we design. A
customized version of the signed driver package supplied by FTDI for
32 and 64 bit Windows is incorporated into our own software
distribution. Prolific is generally ok but lately they have been
warning about counterfeit parts and USB to Serial Cables:

http://www.prolific.com.tw/eng/downloads.asp?id=31

Bob NW8L