Cables provide UART interfacing to MCUs and CPUs

The TTL-232RG cables build upon the existing Future Technology Drives (FTDI) family of USB to TTL cables by offering new versions to support an extended variety of voltage I/O levels.

The cables feature a USB to serial converter PCB encapsulated within a standard type 'A' USB connector with a wire-ended asynchronous UART output.

The cables are said to provide a fast and simple method for enabling USB connectivity with minimal changes to existing user software.

A range of cables is available for a variety of voltage I/O levels, including +1.8V, +3.3V, +5.0V or at user-specified levels, to provide UART interfacing to devices such as MCUs, CPUs or FPGAs at a range of voltage levels.

The cables derive power from the USB interface and have integrated voltage regulators removing the need for designers to provide external power or have voltage level shifters on their boards.

In addition, the cables can be used to provide an optional power output ranging between +1.8V and +5.0V for powering external circuitry.

The TTL-232RG cables feature the FTDI FT232R USB 2.0 to UART converter IC with associated circuitry integrated within the cable USB connector.

The FT232R manages the complete USB protocol within the device, meaning that no user knowledge of USB is required.

The UART interface supports data transfers at up to 3Mbps.

Using the FTDI's Virtual COM Port (VCP) drivers, users can easily access the UART interface as a (virtual) COM port with existing software applications, removing the need for any redesign.

The FTDI D2xx drivers are also available to support application development using high-level software languages.

FTDI's royalty free drivers include Microsoft WHQL certified drivers for Windows-based operating systems, as well as drivers for Linux and Mac OS operating systems.

All drivers are freely available for download from Future Technology Drives' website.