USB-TTL with Three Different USB Connection Options — Plug-and-Play
These USB-TTL adapters come with full-size USB Type-A male, micro-USB, and USB Type-C connection on board.
Ravinder Singh, an embedded engineer, has created a “full plug-and-play USB-UART interface solution” hardware family based on the WCH Electronics CH340 or Silicon Labs CP2102 chips and featuring three separate USB ports per board, which he calls the USB-TTL.
“USB TTL is built on the sophisticated CP2102 and CH340 chipsets, which are [USB] 2.0 compatible and include standard USB Type-A male, Type-C, micro-USB, and TTL 6-pin connections,” Singh adds. “The six pins indicate 3.3V, VCC, RTS, TXD, RXD, GND, CTS, and 5V.”
The low-cost adapters are intended to link embedded hardware’s transistor-transistor logic (TTL) level serial connections to a development system through USB. The USB-TTL range, like rival designs, has a 2.54mm header on one end for target system connectivity and a full-size USB Type-A connector on the other for the host — but it distinguishes itself from the competition by including micro-USB and USB Type-C ports on both sides, giving it three different host connectivity options in total.
A jumper for switching between 3.3V and 5V TTL devices, as well as support for data transmission speeds ranging from 50 bits per second (bps) to 6Mbps, are among the other features. Transmit, receive, request-to-send (RTS), clear-to-send (CTS), transmit, receive, 3.3/5V, and ground are all broken out on both devices. Power, receive, and transmit status LEDs are also included.
The cost of the parts vary according to whatever USB UART chip you select: The USB-TTL CH340 is priced at £3 on Kickstarter, down from a planned £4 retail price (about $3.85 and $5.15), while the CP2102 is priced at £5 on Kickstarter, down from a planned £6 retail price (roughly $6.40 and $7.70). There’s also a combo pack of both chips, as well as five-packs of each.
SB Components’ USB UART adapters are now available for pre-order on Kickstarter, with delivery due in July of this year.
Check out the official USB to TTL crowd funding campaign website for a detailed overview of all possible pledge levels, stretch goals, bonus media, and specifications for the plug and play USB-UART converter.
