====== 2012.07.04 - USB to uC communication ======

{{ :prjs:img_6112.jpg?250|usb2ttlrs device macro}}
recently i've started using (i.e. soldering) [[wp>Surface-mount technology|SMD]] chips. my first victim was FT232, that emulates [[wp>RS-232]] port, when connected to the computer (all on one chip). until now i always used MAX232 family to communicate with uCs. this is a bit redundant, since nowadays PC usually don't have serial ports, so you need to plug on into USB. then it is connected to the device, that operates on +5V, so another (level) conversion is needed. with FT232 it is just enough to connect it the the USB on the PC and uC's [[wp>USART]] on the other side... and that's it! :)

today i've published [[prjs:usb2ttlrs]] project, using mentioned chip to allow easy connection to uC, that have TTL-level USARTs. i've also found an interesting, open source program to change default, factory settings of the FT232 chips, when needed -- [[http://rtr.ca/ft232r|ft232r_prog]]. looks like it will be some time until i'll use MAX232 again... ;)