This is the easiest way to connect a single serial device to a USB port on your PC. The USB1PFTDI is FTDI's premium USB to RS232 adapter. 

The electronics are housed in an attractive glossy white enclosure with blue, side-lit LED TX and RX traffic indicators.  A matching white 10 cm USB cable uses gold plated USB and DE9 connectors for oxidation-free connections.

The USB1PFTDI uses an enhanced RS232 level converter and is capable of communication rates up to 1M Baud.  It is RoHS compliant and is CE and FCC approved.  It is the only USB to serial adapter that we know of with an operation range down to -20° C.

Very Important: The driver must be installed before the adapter is plugged into your computer!
The FTDI VCP driver is found at this site: http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm
Select the Windows driver under "Comments" all the way to the right of the table. The driver is the "setup executable" link. See this PDF for driver location.

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The USB 2.0 Ranger® 2304 is a four port USB 2.0 high speed extension solution, enabling USB 2.0 connections at up to 480Mbps over 100m/330ft of Cat 5e (or better) cabling, without the need of additional software drivers. A true plug-and-play solution, the Ranger 2304 is compatible with all leading operating systems, and supports all USB 3.0, 2.0 and 1.1 peripherals such as flash drives, keyboards, mice, webcams and interactive whiteboards across a dedicated Cat 5e connection.

Features:

• Extends USB range up to 100 yards/330 feet
• USB Device Support:
• Traffic Types: All USB 2.0 and 1.1
• Device Types: All USB 3.0, 2.0 and 1.1 devices
• Supports all USB devices up to 480Mbps
• True plug and play. No drivers required
• Supports all major operating systems: Windows®, Mac OS X®, and Linux®
• Uses a standard solid core Cat 5e (or better) cable for easy installation
• Number of devices can be increased using additional USB hubs
• FCC Class B
• Rugged metal enclosure  
  

You would think that a serial cable would be a straight-forward simple device that would be confusion- and mistake-proof. This is unfortunately not the case. The most common source of computer / mount communication failure is the wrong cable! There are straight-through cables and reversing cables. The reversing cables are also called crossover cables, null cables, modem cables, and null modem cables just to add to the confusion. Then there is every possible configuration of male / female plug - with locking screw or nut, without locking screw or nut. Many are not even labeled as to their orientation. (Maybe it isn't considered politically correct!) It is simply ridiculous. And the flunky at the big box computer store is no help.

Your mount MUST be connected with a straight-through cable. Straight-through cables are wired with the corresponding numbered pins of the connector wired to each other: pin #1 on the male end to hole #1 on the female end; #2 to #2 and so on. Other serial cable types cross or reverse some of the wires making communication with your mount impossible.

We have found a source of genuine standard straight-through serial cables and selected these 15 foot cables as the most universally appropriate. They have molded connectors, are fully shielded, and are lead-free for RoHS compliance (and all-around environmental friendliness). They also employ gold-plated contacts for superior data retention and corrosion resistance. They can even be used for monochrome or CGA/EGA monitor cable extension. Finally and most importantly: They actually work, and you don't have to drive all over town to find one! Need we say more?