USB to TTL IC recomendations

[anishkgt]

Hi All,

There are several USB to TTL IC converters. The FT232RL being common and costs 4USD, ATmega16UR at 2USD, CH340G at less than a dollar on eBay but does not seem to be available on Mouse, Digikey or Newark and there is the  FT230XS-R which is at 2USD.

Experienced users at the arduino forums says that the ATmega16U2 is a no no as it needs to be programmed and often fails. The FT232RL is costly on Digikey the eBay is not reliable for Genuine ones as the windows drivers would brick any FAKE FTDI chips if detected. Then that leaves me with the CH340G and FT230XS-R, the CH340G, not sure if that would be a reliable would it fail at any time.

I was hoping to go with one of the three, FT230XS-R, CH340G or the ATmega16U2(Since arduino already uses them, tho it has bad reputation for failing). I've seen that the FTD232RL is quite slow when uploading sketch and the UNO is quite faster and i believe that it is because of the ATmega16U2.

I would really appreciate if anybody could advise me on this.

[Nusa]

Another choice is PL2303HX, which is another Chinese chip that predates the CH340G.

CH340G seems to be the current chip of choice for arduino clones. I'm sure that choice has more to do with price than reliability.

Both of the above can be had in module form for under a dollar each. If you just want the IC, they should be even cheaper.

I'm no help on reliability issues, as I've not managed to kill any myself. Yet.

[anishkgt]

Yes CH340G are cheap and the arduino forums recommends to use it more than the FTDI as the Chinese version prone to getting bricked during windows update if not genuine. 


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Equipments: DSO104z, Hakko FX888D

[stj]

CH340 is a great chip, you can even configure the ttl side for 3.3v or 5v

[anishkgt]

Great chip but where can I get one. Seen only on eBay I am afraid if I should get them for a production environment.


Www.Georgehobby.wordpress.com

Equipments: DSO104z, Hakko FX888D

[sleemanj]

Cp2102/2104 from silabs

[stj]

Great chip but where can I get one. Seen only on eBay I am afraid if I should get them for a production environment.

well how many would you want??

[stj]

something like this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10pcs-CH340G-CH340-WCH-SOP16-USB-turn-serial-IC-FREE-SHIPPING-IN-STOCK/904977665.html

or contact WCH directly?
http://www.wch-ic.com/
http://www.wch.cn/

[anishkgt]

But again the Chinese distributors are known for fake products. Does anyone have any experience with these ? does the fake really hold up ?

I would generally go for the FTDI chip but as dave pointed out the fake ones can be bricked via the Windows update and i don't want that to happen once in production and i know how it feels when it reaches the end user.

[Monkeh]

Nobody fakes the CH340, it's already cheap and ugly.

CP2102.

[stj]

contact WCH for a list of distributors,

but i'll say this, the chinese do act against copying of products from chinese company's
so it would be pretty stupid to clone a WCH product - unless you want to go to prison or be shot!!

[Monkeh]

Or just buy a chip which wants to be bought.

By the time you've added a crystal and extra parts and used three times the board area using that thing..

[anishkgt]

The CP2102 does not come in 5v, I guess then it is the WCH SOP16 then.

[Monkeh]

The CP2102 does not come in 5v, I guess then it is the WCH SOP16 then.

What do you need 5V for? Check your thresholds..

[anishkgt]

The CP2102 does not come in 5v, I guess then it is the WCH SOP16 then.

What do you need 5V for? Check your thresholds..

My pcb runs at 5v and am i do not have much space on it now and can't afford to add a refulator into it.

[Monkeh]

The CP2102 does not come in 5v, I guess then it is the WCH SOP16 then.

What do you need 5V for? Check your thresholds..

My pcb runs at 5v and am i do not have much space on it now and can't afford to add a refulator into it.

You don't need to, read the datasheet.

[sleemanj]

Cp2102 has an internal 3v3 reg, it can take 5v no problem and power itself from it's 3v3, you can tap off the 3v3 to pass to your target if you want (for low currents).  It also does not need  a crystal, and indeed the external component count is very low.  The downside is the package, it doesn't come in big leaded packages only MLF which can be a bit of a pain hand soldering, but not impossible.

[anishkgt]

The quick search showed 2.7 to 3.3v but the datsheet has a better not on it. Soi it does have a 5v


Www.Georgehobby.wordpress.com

Equipments: DSO104z, Hakko FX888D

[savril]

On mac, only FTDI has driver that don't require you to download something (as on Windows, if you forget the kill fake episode). Cp2102 has official drivers but they are not updated often.
CH340 has no official driver but you can find some drivers on the net. But there are no "main" trusted source of theses driver. So you could end up with drivers with embedded malware.
FTDI are expensive but they offer more than other alternatives. A computer/micro-controller chip is more than a piece of silicone, you have to consider the whole set : hardware+software.
For my own hardware, I would consider the CH340 but If I were to distribute it to friends, family, etc, I would prefer to use FTDI. I wouldn't want to update the drivers on each of their computers.

Edit: I haven't seen you were looking for a chip for production. As more knowledgeable people have said, I would stay away from the cheapest offer and look for a know enterprise such as silab.

[ebclr]

CP2102 is the best, and simple works no trick drivers, that will trouble you due to fake, Trouble-free Ic. FTDI is a nice id, but since on 10 9 will be fake, and FTDI put a "bomb"on the driver is better to avoid this brand, same for profilic, Go with CP2102 is the best option

[cdev]

Subjectively I have had the most experience with the CP-2102 and its never given me trouble.

Their user support is good. They will answer end user queries if you have a question.

OTOH I also recently bought a ($9) USB device based on a WCH Ch341A chip and it claims to interface USB to - almost everything. 

TTL+CMOS UART, SPI, I2C and parallel interface..

I have not had the time to figure out how to use this device but I am looking forward to it.

It already appears to be supported in the Linux kernel, it is immediately recognized, which is a pretty good start.

Hi All,

[anishkgt]

Thank you guys for the suggestion.

I would just somebody to verify this schematic as this quite new to me, i've done it with the best of my knowledge.

[ebclr]

This will clarify

https://www.silabs.com/documents/public/user-guides/CP2102-EK.pdf

[ElektroQuark]

You have the Microchip part too, the MCP2200.
About $1.50.

[anishkgt]

You have the Microchip part too, the MCP2200.
About $1.50.

which does not seem to work out of the box and in quantity of 1500 the price is USD1.5, else USD2.0