Connecting to an older 1900 series switch through the console

There is an excellent FAQ regarding this topic listed already that describes the pinouts for making a cable. If you don't have the equipment necessary to make a cable, perform these simple steps:

--THIS IS FOR AN OLDER CISCO 1900 SERIES SWITCH WITH A DB-9 STYLE CONSOLE PORT ONLY--

1) Use the standard blue (usually) rolled cable and TWO of the terminal DB-9 connectors that come with Cisco switches when purchased. The DB-9 adapter I am referring to is always labeled "TERMINAL" etc.

2) Take the DB-9 connector THAT WILL BE CONNECTING TO THE SWITCH CONSOLE PORT and take the top of the connector loose (easily unclips with a little pressure), exposing the wire connections, etc. You will notice that there is NO wire in the hole labeled pin 1. Simply use the standard type of wire connector or any small piece of solid copper wire and connect the hole of pin 1 to the hole of pin 6 (the holes are clearly labeled with numbers). The hole of pin 6 will already have a connector in it...you just have to shove the copper wire in with it as far as you can, etc.

3) Use electrical tape to make the connection reasonably secure and then put the top of the connector back on (it clips in easily).

4) Connect this adapter on the SWITCH END and you will be able to establish a console connection using a PC / laptop, etc.

I recommend labeling the adapter you just made to let yourself and anyone else know that pins 1 and 6 are connected, etc. You can use this in the future to talk to older 1900 series switches.