Pololu
CP2102N USB-to-Serial Adapter Carrier
This compact USB-to-serial adapter lets you easily connect TTL serial devices to a computer, where it appears as a virtual COM port. The board is a Micro-USB...
This compact USB-to-serial adapter lets you easily connect TTL serial devices to a computer, where it appears as a virtual COM port. The board is a Micro-USB carrier for the Silicon Labs CP2102N USB-to-UART bridge, providing access to all control signal pins and GPIO pins.
It serves as a convenient replacement for FTDI-based cables and adapters in many applications, including programming microcontrollers, debugging embedded systems, and communicating with serial peripherals.
Key Features
- CP2102N Bridge IC – Silicon Labs USB-to-UART bridge with reliable driver support
- Virtual COM Port – Appears as a standard serial port on Windows, macOS, and Linux
- Full Signal Access – TX, RX, RTS, CTS, DTR, DSR, DCD, RI pins broken out
- GPIO Pins – Additional user-configurable GPIO pins available
- Micro-USB Connector – Standard Micro-USB for connection to host computer
- Baud Rate Support – Supports standard baud rates up to 2 Mbps
- Breadboard Friendly – Header pins for easy prototyping
Ideal For
- Programming and debugging microcontrollers via serial
- Connecting TTL serial devices to a PC
- Replacing FTDI cables in embedded projects
- Serial communication prototyping and testing
Jargon buster
Plain-language definitions for the technical terms used above.
- baud
- Baud is the signalling rate of a serial connection, often used as the speed setting for UART communication. Matching the baud rate matters because both connected devices must use the same setting for readable data.
- COM port
- A COM port is the way many computers present a USB-connected serial device to software. It matters because it lets you configure or read the board from a computer using serial terminal tools or navigation software.
- CTS
- CTS stands for Clear To Send, a serial flow-control signal that tells the other device it may transmit. It matters for reliable high-speed serial communication where buffers could otherwise overflow.
- GPIO
- General-purpose input/output pins are microcontroller pins you can set in software to read signals, switch devices on and off, or connect to peripherals. The number of GPIO pins matters because it limits how many buttons, LEDs, sensors, and other parts you can wire directly to the board.
- RTS
- RTS stands for Request To Send, a serial flow-control signal used to manage when a device is ready to receive data. It matters when moving fast serial streams because flow control can help prevent lost data.
- TTL serial
- A simple serial data connection that uses microcontroller logic-level signals rather than computer RS-232 voltage levels. It matters because the camera can connect directly to many microcontroller pins or a USB-to-TTL serial adapter, but not safely to an old-style RS-232 port without conversion.
- UART
- UART is a simple serial connection that sends data over separate transmit and receive wires, often labelled TX and RX. It matters because this module is designed to replace a wired UART cable with a wireless link while keeping the same serial data format.
Find this product in
Related Tutorials
Free guides on learn.littlebird.com.au
