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Microcontrollers USB RS232
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FT232R USB/Serial Bridge/BOB

Microcontrollers

FT232R USB/Serial Bridge/BOB
You’ll be surprised first and foremost by the size of this USB/serial converter — no larger than the moulded plug on a USB cable! And you’re also bound to appreciate that fact that it’s practical, quick to implement, reusable, and multi-platform (Windows, Linux, etc.) — and yet for all that, not too expensive. Many commercially-available FT232R-based modules are either too expensive, too bulky, badly designed, or all, which is why this project got designed in the form of a breakout board (BoB).
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Extra info, Update

Supplementary information

Issued: October 10, 2011.

The metallised semicircles at the edge of the PCB is a feature of the BOB-FT232R. This advanced technology allows the vertical SIL connectors (supplied with the module) to be soldered, as well as the module itself to be soldered directly in "piggyback" fashion onto a board of your own design. To assist you with the design of a suitable footprint, a library for Eagle CAD software (http://www.cadsoftusa.com/) is provided free of charge on this web page.

To facilitate the soldering of the vertical connectors customers are advised to use a piece of dense foam (like antistatic foam used to hold through-hole components) or a breadboard, or a carrier PCB (if correctly drilled).

The 3.3 V or 5 V I/O level voltage MUST be defined. This is done with a drop of solder tin on the relevant SMD jumper position on the board (JP1). Be careful not to solder all  pads together as that will damage the board.

Component list

Resistors
R1,R2 = 270Ohm (0603)
Capacitors
C1, C2 = 47pF (0603)
C3 = 10nF (0603)
C4 = 4.7?F 6.3V (0603)
C5, C6 = 100nF (0603)
Inductors
L1, L2 = ferrite bead >30Ohm @ 100 MHz / 1.5 A (0603)
Semiconductors
IC1 = FT232RQ
D1 (TX) = LED, green (0603)
D2 (RX) = LED, red (0603)
Miscellaneous
K1 = USB mini-B connector
18-pin (2x9) pinheader, right angled Pinheader

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