You've stumbled into one of the mysteries of the computer world - USB converters not playing well with external microprocessor-based devices.  I Googled "FTDI vs Prolific" and found all kinds of conflicting information, with fanboys on both sides.  Sometimes FTDI works where Prolific doesn't, and vice versa.  And then there is the issue of counterfeit chips, which adds another aspect of intermittent / non-functionality for both manufacturers. Many moons ago I tried several USB converters an