The Autostar comes with a rather short curly lead to connect it to the ETX. I have found this to be a problem because it is much too short for comfortable working, and when you pull it, it acts like a spring and pulls the ETX!

It is not difficult to obtain or make a longer cable. What is required is a cable with RJ45 plugs attached at each end and wired as follows:

Such a cable is referred to as a roll-over cable. Note, that this type of cable is different from standard and cross-over RJ45 network cables.

I have seen suitable cables for sale on eBay, and they do seem to come up pretty regularly. Alternatively, the RJ45-RJ45 console cables packaged with Cisco routers are exactly right - they are typically 3m long.

My 497 Autostar with a 3m Cisco roll-over console cable

Ian Neill, 2005, re-edited 15/10/06.