Driver · 2011-10-21
Uniden USB-1 cable driver - Prolific PL2303 1.5.0
Verified — manufacturer file
Download zip (3.0 MB) Manufacturer's page ↗
Prolific PL2303 Driver Installer 1.5.0 (build 2011-10-21): WDM driver v2.1.27.185 for 2000/XP/2003 and WDF driver v3.4.25.218 for Vista/7/2008. Uniden's recommended package for older USB-1 cables with the PL2303HXA chip on Windows 8 and later.
Read before installing. Use this, not 1.6.0, for an older USB-1 cable with the PL2303HXA chip on Windows 8 or later (Uniden). Prolific's own later drivers do not support the HXA chip on Windows 8+.
Contents
| File | Size | SHA-256 |
|---|---|---|
| PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1.5.0.zip | 3.0 MB | d46cfc25294d114a2db4773424a0e1095462e2412065a6e1f761fcba191a04a9 |
| README.txt | These instructions | |
| SHA256SUMS | Checksums of the files above | |
Instructions
The complete README.txt included in the zip:
Uniden USB-1 cable driver - Prolific PL2303 1.5.0
=================================================
WHAT THIS IS
------------
Prolific PL2303 Driver Installer 1.5.0 (build 2011-10-21): WDM driver
v2.1.27.185 for 2000/XP/2003 and WDF driver v3.4.25.218 for Vista/7/2008.
Uniden's recommended package for older USB-1 cables with the PL2303HXA chip on
Windows 8 and later.
The USB-1 is Uniden's USB-to-RS232 adapter cable. Uniden: "The USB-1 cable
uses the Prolific PL2303 chipset." With the driver installed the cable appears
in Windows as a COM port, which programming software (FreeSCAN, UASD) and the
BC_VUP firmware updater then use.
Changes in this installer (Prolific release note): adds driver support for
Prolific's next-generation TA/TB chips; no functional difference for H/HX/X
chips.
APPLIES TO
----------
Uniden lists these scanners as using the USB-1 cable: BC246T, BCD396T, BCT15,
BCD996T, BC346XT, BCT15X, BCD396XT, BCD996XT and BC95XLT. In this archive it
is tagged to the BCD396XT and BC246T.
Only cables with the Prolific PL2303 chip, such as the USB-1. Uniden: a
third-party adapter with an FTDI chip needs FTDI's driver, and Uniden cannot
support third-party cables. Not relevant to the BC350A or BC355N, which have
no PC connection.
Operating systems: Windows 2000 SP4/XP/Vista/7/Server 2003-2008 R2
(32/64-bit).
BEFORE STARTING
---------------
- Unplug the USB-1 cable. Uniden: "You must run this installer prior to
plugging in the USB-1 cable."
- Administrator rights on the PC (Uniden's troubleshooting steps run the
installer with "Run as Administrator").
- Know which chip the cable has. Uniden: older USB-1 cables use the
PL2303HXA, newer ones the PL2303HXD; current Prolific drivers for Windows
8 do not work with the HXA, which needs the 1.5.0 package. The 1.6.0 zip
includes PL2303CheckChipVersion.exe to tell them apart.
- Remove any older Prolific driver first if the cable misbehaves (see IF
SOMETHING GOES WRONG).
CONTENTS OF THIS ZIP
--------------------
The zip published on fubsypoly.com wraps the vendor file(s) byte-for-byte,
unmodified.
PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1.5.0.zip
3,146,262 bytes
SHA-256 d46cfc25294d114a2db4773424a0e1095462e2412065a6e1f761fcba191a04a9
The vendor zip contains:
PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1.5.0.exe
(3,223,429 bytes, dated 2011-10-21)
um_pl2303_DriverInstallerManual_v1.5.0.pdf
(717,018 bytes, dated 2011-10-24)
PL2303_DriverInstallerv1.5.0_ReleaseNote.txt
(2,805 bytes, dated 2011-10-24)
PL2303_DriverInstallerv1.5.0_ReleaseNotes.pdf
(34,732 bytes, dated 2011-10-24)
README.txt
This file.
SHA256SUMS
SHA-256 checksums of the files above.
INSTALLATION
------------
1. Unzip PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1.5.0.zip.
2. Run the installer (PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1.5.0.exe), as
Administrator, and follow its prompts. Prolific's own instructions are in
the PDF manual inside the zip.
3. Plug in the USB-1 cable. Windows should recognise it and install it as a
COM port (Uniden: about 30 seconds the first time the cable is plugged
into a port).
4. Open Device Manager > Ports (COM & LPT) and note the COM number of the
"Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port". Set the programming software or BC_VUP
to that port.
5. Each USB port on the PC typically gets a different COM number; after
moving the cable to another port, update the software's port setting.
The exact wording of the installer's screens could not be confirmed.
VERIFYING
---------
With the cable plugged in, Device Manager > Ports (COM & LPT) lists a Prolific
USB-to-Serial Comm Port with no warning icon. A yellow mark with Error Code 10
on Windows 8 or later means an HXA-chip cable with a driver that does not
support it (Prolific's 1.6.0 release note).
IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG
-----------------------
Uniden's steps for a failed installation (verified on Windows 7 64-bit):
1. Plug in the cable, open Device Manager, right-click the device with the
error and choose Uninstall; then unplug the cable.
2. In Uninstall Programs, remove "PL-2303 USB-to-Serial" and any other old
Prolific drivers.
3. Download the driver again, unzip it, right-click the installer and choose
Run as Administrator.
4. Plug in the cable; it should install as a COM port.
If the COM port appears but software cannot talk to the scanner, check the COM
number and the scanner's baud-rate setting, and close any other program using
the port.
DOWNGRADING
-----------
Drivers can be swapped: uninstall the current Prolific driver (Device Manager
and Uninstall Programs, as above) and install the other package. For an HXA
cable on Windows 8 or later Uniden directs users to the older 1.5.0 package.
PROVENANCE
----------
File: PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1.5.0.zip
Source: https://info.uniden.com/twiki/pub/UnidenMan4/USB-1Drivers/PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1.5.0.zip
Wayback: https://web.archive.org/web/20240526131840/http://info.uniden.com/twiki/pub/UnidenMan4/USB-1Drivers/PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1.5.0.zip
Retrieved: 2026-09-18
Vendor page: https://info.uniden.com/twiki/bin/view/UnidenMan4/USB-1Drivers
Status: verified
Downloaded from Uniden's live file. Status verified: the vendor's own URL. The
driver was written by Prolific Technology Inc. and is redistributed by Uniden
for the USB-1.
MORE INFORMATION
----------------
- Uniden USB-1 drivers page:
https://info.uniden.com/twiki/bin/view/UnidenMan4/USB-1Drivers
- Uniden download listing for the USB-1:
https://www.uniden.info/download/index.cfm?s=USB-1
- BCD396XT Upgrades & Firmware:
https://scanners.fubsypoly.com/uniden-bcd396xt/vol-5/
- Prolific drivers for other operating systems: http://www.prolific.com.tw
Other versions of USB-1 cable driver (Prolific PL2303)
- 1.6.0 · 2012-04-26Recommended
- Vista installer (2006-10-22) · 2006-10-22
- 2.0.2.0 · 2006-02-15