Finally got this AO working after many emails back and forth so here it is all laid out on the table:
1_ This AO is very unlikely to work from a laptop. PC no problem. Laptop big problem.
2_ You'll have to update the firmware to the latest version 20. Mine was delivered with version 18.
3_ A quatech USB Serial adapter is best. They're pricy but they work and can be purchased in Oz for approx $130.00 inc delivery.
The problem with the AO is that it needs +5V supplied to pin3 to work correctly. A standard DB9 serial PC port will supply that. A USB Serial adapter will not. As a result you will transmit commands to the AO but you won't get any feedback. There is a program called PORTMON from the microsoft website that will sniff any COM traffic and that's very handy to diagnose connection problems.
So here's the fix: Go to JayCar, buy a 2.2k Resistor and a small phone RJ12 Female box. Will post a picture later. Because they only come with 4 pins you'll have to hack another one to re-insert #6 & #1 in there. Also get a small DIN power plug.
Then you need to soldier pin3 to the resistor then soldier the resistor to the + of your power source (6V), then soldier the - of your power source to the ground pin #5. The rest of the pins just go through.
So in order you have AO Serial Output RJ11 M -> to Box -> AO cable (RJ12 toDB9) -> Quatech USB to serial -> USB port on laptop.
When running the AO feed the box 6v that will set +5V on the hot pin. Then everything will work fine, including MAXIN DL 5.11 as the AO cycles and doesn't time out any more.
HTH.
