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.
- LED
- A light-emitting diode is a small electronic component that lights up when current flows through it in the correct direction. In this kit, LEDs create the flashing effect, so polarity and correct soldering matter for the project to work.
- 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
- An older serial communication standard that uses higher signal voltages than modern microcontroller logic pins. If you are connecting this breakout to a microcontroller, you may need an RS-232 interface or level converter rather than wiring it directly.
- RS485
- RS485 is a robust wired serial communication standard often used in factories, farms, and buildings where cables may be long or electrically noisy. It matters because it lets this controller connect to industrial sensors, meters, and control equipment over longer distances than typical hobby serial wiring.
- 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.
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