Mark:

I just want to debug PIC stuff. Looked on the FTDI website and they have
a UB232R - a USB/serial TTY tiny board that will plug in to a prototype
board.

Is this what you are referring to? Do you have a specific product in
mind?
--=20
Larry Bradley =20
Orleans (Ottawa) Canada=20

On Sat, 2014-04-19 at 16:28 -0600, Mark Rages wrote:

> What's with everybody still using MAX232 (and presumably, RS-232) for
> debugging?
>=20
> For the price of a MAX232 and caps you can use an FT232RL and use a port
> that ships on computers made in the last decade.
>=20
> If it's just for a debug interface, FTDI TTL-level cables are really
> commonplace.  And there are cheaper FTDI-cable-pinout-compatible boards
> that also use FTDI chips.
>=20
> RS-232 as an interface standard has a lot of annoying features. The cable=
s
> are annoying, big and clunky, with gender not standardized, DCE/DTE,
> hardware flow control, etc.  No need to extend its life with MAX232s
> everywhere.  The FTDI chips give the convenience of async comms without t=
he
> annoying parts of RS232.
>=20
> (Don't think I reject old things out of hand: My favorite Linux terminal
> emulator is 'cu')
>=20
> Regards,
> Mark
>=20
>=20
>=20
> On Sat, Apr 19, 2014 at 3:39 PM, John J. McDonough <mcd@is-sixsigma.com>w=
rote:
>=20
> > On Sat, 2014-04-19 at 13:10 -0400, Larry Bradley wrote:
> > > Josh:
> > >
> > > Finally got around to UART use on the PIC24F on the Microstick II. My
> > > biggest problem was getting a terminal emulator working on Linux. Had
> > > to use a MAX232 to interface to my PC.
> >
> > GTKterm has never been a problem for me.
> >
> > Sparkfun has an odd little thing they call a "Bus Pirate". It is
> > available from some other sources, too.  It has a USB interface that
> > looks like a terminal to your PC, and a menu system that lets you
> > manipulate the device through GTKterm (or PuTTY if you are an acolyte o=
f
> > the evil empire).
> >
> > The other end can talk TTL serial, I2C, SPI, OneWire, etc.  Kind of a
> > handy debugging thing.  You can put it into a mode where it is basicall=
y
> > a USB to Serial converter with TTL levels.
> >
> > Their menu is kinda clunky so it isn't the most convenient thing in the
> > world, but it sure beats wiring up a MAX232 just for testing.
> >
> > --McD
> >
> >
> > --
> > http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
> > View/change your membership options at
> > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist
> >
>=20
>=20
>=20
> --=20
> Regards,
> Mark
> markrages@gmail
--=20
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