Adafruit
USB to Multi-Protocol Serial Cable - RS-232 / TTL UART / RS-485
· MPN: ADA5994
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No matter what serial-esque protocol you need to interface with, this USB to Multi-Protocol Serial adapter cable will be able to get this-connected-to-that. ...
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No matter what serial-esque protocol you need to interface with, this USB to Multi-Protocol Serial adapter cable will be able to get this-connected-to-that. It supports RS232 serial, TTL UART serial, RS485 and RS422. All with quick-connecting screw terminals so you don't need to do any soldering or use special cables.
Just plug directly into a computer's USB A or C port and use a Phillips screwdriver to open the terminal and insert a solid or stranded-core wire.
Inside is a FTDI FT231 USB to serial converter - this chip uses 5V logic and provides the UART serial signals that are converted into the different formats. Supported signal rates are 300 baud to 3 Mbaud. FTDI drivers are built into just about every OS these days - but if you need to install, there's free VCP drivers
- For the RS-232 signal side, theres a UM213 signal level converter with +-8V logic level I/O. All eight (5/3) RS-232 signals are exposed. The RS-232 converter can handle up to 250kbps.
- For the UART signal side, it is connected directly to the FT231. Logic level is 5V, and only RX/TX and 5V/3V/GND are exposed.
- For RS-485/RS-422 signal side, the UART RX/TX lines are connected to MAX485 chips.
- As a bonus, you also get 5V and 3V (with matching Ground) power supplies to power small projects - the 5V is from the USB so its technically 500mA but you can probably draw 1A, 3.3V is from the FT231X and is 50mA output.
- Red 'Power good' LED, Green 'Data transmission' LED
Please note: there's only one USB-serial chip inside, so you can only use one protocol at a time!
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.
- GND
- GND is the ground or reference connection (0 V) for a circuit. When connecting two devices together, their grounds must be joined so both agree on what counts as a low or high signal.
- LED
- A light-emitting diode (LED) is a small electronic component that emits light when current flows through it in the correct direction. Because it only conducts one way, its polarity matters, and a through-hole LED must be soldered the correct way around to light up.
- Matter
- A smart home connectivity standard designed to let devices work across different ecosystems. It matters if you want a project to integrate more easily with platforms such as Apple Home, Google Home, or other Matter-compatible systems.
- RS-232
- RS-232 is an older serial communication standard that uses higher, inverted signal voltages (typically around plus or minus 3 to 15 volts) rather than the low logic levels of modern microcontroller pins. When connecting RS-232 equipment to a microcontroller, you usually need an RS-232 transceiver or level converter rather than wiring it directly, or you risk damaging the pins.
- RS485
- RS485 is a robust differential serial communication standard often used in factories, farms and buildings where cables may be long or electrically noisy, and it can link many devices on a single pair of wires. When a product lists RS485, it can communicate with industrial sensors, meters and control equipment over longer distances than typical hobby serial wiring.
- RX
- RX means receive, usually showing data being received by the board. An RX indicator LED can help with troubleshooting USB or serial communication.
- TX
- TX means transmit, usually showing data being sent from the board. A TX indicator LED can help you see when the board is communicating or uploading code.
- UART
- UART is a simple asynchronous serial interface that sends data over separate transmit and receive wires, usually labelled TX and RX, with both ends set to the same baud rate. It is a common way for microcontrollers and other serial devices to exchange data.
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