I went out and bought the computer plug to go from the computer to the diablo preditor so i can download upgrades....only problem is the preditor calls for the DB9 cable...and the cable they sell for it on their website has a male and female 9 pin connection...i have a laptop and it has a 15 prong on it ...can you buy a 15 prong to the 9 prong ...or can i buy a cable with a 9 prong for the preditor and a usb connection on the other end for my laptop that would still download and upload ok to the preditor...any ideas ...thanks in advance guys...ill check back later tonight...

you can buy the usb connecter for your laptop, thats the route i went, but it cost alittle bit more.

That 15-pin plug is a VGA connector, not a serial port. Don't connect anything other than a monitor or projector to that port. Most laptops don't have serial ports (DB-9) anymore. You may have to get a USB-to-Serial adaptor.

This was in a previous post.
I bought both of them and it worked great for me.
The only panic was when re-flashing the screen went black and said something about a communication error. Tried it again and everyhting was OK.

The cable and power supply that you'll need can be purchased at Radio Shack: USB to RS-232C converter cable (pn 26-183) and 12V, 1 amp power supply (pn 273-1776).

This is the post it was in.
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97283