I need a serial cable to apply the firmware update for my 970, but retailers aren't always clear about whether their cables are straight-through or crossover. Is it safe to assume that female-female cables, which you could use between two PCs, are crossover type, but that male-female, which you could use as extension cables, are straight-through? Or, more to the point, are any male-female cables crossover?

Here's an inexpensive one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812117007,
but the description is identical for both male-female and female-female, even though they mention both laplink (crossover) and monitor (straight-through) use.

Thanks,
Bruce

The male-female "extension" cables would certainly need to be straight through, but I would also expect the male-to-male cables to be straight through unless specifically labeled as crossover cables. I got my serial cable at Radio Shack, but I got mine probably around 1993 or 1994 and I could hardly find anything that even had serial connectors on it at Radio Shack's web site this morning. I suspect that this cable would work (the laplink reference is probably to the old Laplink software, which I think could work with straight-through serial connections - it's been at least a decade since I used Laplink, though).

EDIT: there are also some options here , but going through them makes me want to go home and dig out the serial cable that I know I've used successfully. I'll take a look at it this evening.

Actually, Gonk, I was under the impression that it's precisely the PC-to-PC connections that require a crossover cable (as opposed to PC-to-device), so the Laplink cable would be a crossover cable. I can't confirm this, not having one, but if this isn't right, then I know exactly nothing about serial cables, 'cause that's all that I thought I knew!

""in the software download instructions,
there is a link to an inexpensive RS-232 cable if you do not already own one.""

Just use the link, works great

Epson - you're right - that's as cheap as a cable can be. I had looked for this cable in a local CompUSA store, where they had a similar cable for $20. That made me want to see if there was a cheaper one, since I hope this will be a one-time operation!

The one linked on the instructions page is inexpensive enough that I wonder why Outlaw doesn't just include it with their pre/pros.