FTDI USB Cables: Simple Integration of USB into Your Device

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FTDI USB cables are fully compliant with RoHS and come with CE, UKCA, and FCC declarations of conformity. They operate in ambient temperatures ranging from –40 to +85 °C, or –20 to +80 °C for the UT232R series. A practical overview of all available series and a brief description of their features has been prepared by Miroslav Piskor, Product Manager at SOS electronic.

USB 2.0 12 Mb/s Cables

CHIPI-X10 and UC232R series

Converts full RS-232 with DCD, RX, TX, DTR, DSR, RTS, CTS, and RI signals to USB. The data transfer rate is up to 250 kbit/s. The CHIPI-X10 cable uses the FT231XS chip, while the UC232R cable uses the FT232R chip. The USB side features a Type A connector, and the RS-232 side has a 9-pin D-SUB connector. The cable length is 10 cm. 

All the USB 2.0 12 Mb/s cables listed below, except for the TTL-234-X, use the FT232R.

USB232R series  

Converts full RS-232 with DCD, RX, TX, DTR, DSR, RTS, CTS, and RI signals to USB. The data transfer rate is up to 1 Mbit/s. The USB side features a Type A connector, and the RS-232 side has a 9-pin D-SUB male connector. RX and TX activity is indicated by two LEDs. Standard variants come with cable lengths of 10 cm, 1 m, or 5 m.  

UT232R series

Converts full RS-232 with DCD, RX, TX, DTR, DSR, RTS, CTS, and RI signals to USB. The data transfer rate is up to 1 Mbit/s. The USB side features a Type A connector, and the RS-232 side has a 9-pin male D-SUB connector with thumb screws. Standard variants come with cables of either 2 m or 5 m.  

USB-RS232-WE series 

Converts RS-232 with RX, TX, RTS, and CTS signals to USB. The data transfer rate is up to 1 Mbit/s. The USB side features a Type A connector, and the RS-232 signals are exposed on unterminated wires. Standard variants are available with 1,8 m or 5 m cables.

The cable provides 5 V (VBUS from USB) or 3,3 V/75 mA (3V3OUT from FT232R).  

USB-422-WE series

Converts RS-422 with RX+, RX-, TX+, TX-, RTS+, RTS-, CTS+, and CTS- signals to USB. The data transfer rate is up to 3 Mbit/s. The USB side features a Type A connector, and the RS-422 signals are exposed on unterminated wires. Standard variants come with cables of 1,8 m or 5 m.  

USB-485-WE series 

Converts RS-485 with Data+ and Data- signals to USB. The data transfer rate is up to 3 Mbit/s. The USB side features a Type A connector, and the RS-485 signals are exposed on unterminated wires. Termination resistors of 120 Ω are connected between wires 1 and 2. Standard variants come with cables measuring 1,8 m or 5 m.

The cable provides 5 V/250 mA. The 5 V output is controlled by a MOSFET signal on CBUS3 (PWREN#) => when USB transitions to suspend state, the 5 V output is turned off.  

TTL-234-X series

Converts UART signals with 5 V or 3,3 V TTL levels to USB. The data transfer rate is up to 3 Mbit/s. The cable uses the FT234XD chip. The USB side features a Type A connector, and the UART side comes with the following options:  

• A 6-pin connector with a 2,54 mm pitch with signals RX, TX, RTS, CTS,  
• An 8-pin connector with a 2 mm pitch with RX, TX, RTS, and CTS signals; pinout is compatible with FTDI VDRIVE2 or VMUSIC 2 modules,  
• A 3,5 mm audio jack with signals RX, TX.  

The cable provides 5 V/450 mA (VBUS from USB). Standard variants come with a cable length of 1,8 m.  

TTL-232RG series

Converts UART signals with 3,3 V or 1,8 V TTL levels, with RX, TX, RTS, and CTS signals to USB. The data transfer rate is up to 3 Mbit/s. The USB side features a Type A connector, and the UART side features unterminated wires. Standard variants come with 1,8 m or 5 m cables. This series also includes the TTL-232RG-VSW3V3-PCB model, which is a PCB without connectors and wires.  

DC output depends on the version and can be:  

• VSW3V3 version: 3,3 V/50 mA (3V3OUT from FT232RQ)   
• VREG3V3 version: 3,3 V/250 mA (linear regulator VBUS/3,3 V)  
• VREG1V8 version: 1,62 V/100 mA (linear regulator VBUS/1,8 V)  
• VSW5V version: 5 V/450 mA (5 V from VBUS)  
• VIP version: allows the use of external power supply from 1,8 V to 5,25 V   

DC output is protected by a resettable fuse. The output is controlled by a MOSFET signal on CBUS3 (PWREN#) => when USB transitions to suspend state, the 5 V output is turned off.  

TTL-232R series 

Converts UART signals with 5 V or 3,3 V TTL levels to USB. The data transfer rate is up to 3 Mbit/s. The USB side features a Type A connector, and the UART side offers options of the following:  

• A 6-pin connector with a 2,54 mm pitch with RX, TX, RTS, and CTS signals and 5 V/75 mA from VBUS  
• 6 wires with RX, TX, RTS, and CTS signals and 5 V/75 mA from VBUS  
• A 3,5 mm audio jack with RX and TX signals    

Standard variants come with a cable length of 1,8 m.  

USB 2.0 480 Mb/s Cables

These cables utilise the FT232H, MPSSE/USB converter.

C232HM MPSSE series  

Converts MPSSE signals with 3,3 V TTL levels to USB. The USB side features a Type A connector, and the MPSSE side features 10 single-pole connectors. RX and TX activity is indicated by two LEDs. The cable length is 0,5 m.  

MPSSE provides JTAG: TCK, TDI, TDO, TMS, SPI master: CLK, MOSI, MISO, CS, and I2C master: SCL, SDA, GND, and 4 GPIO.  

The DDHSL-0 cable provides 3,3 V/250 mA (linear regulator VBUS/3,3 V), while the EDHSL-0 provides 5 V/450 mA (5 V from VBUS). DC output is protected by a resettable fuse. When USB transitions to suspend state, the ACBUS9 signal (PWREN#) will turn off the MOSFET that disconnects the DC output.  

To communicate via SPI or I2C, you will need the FTDI D2XX driver and the LibMPSSE library. JTAG is supported through OpenOCD.  

C232HD UART series

This series converts full RS-232 with signals DCD, RX, TX, DTR, DSR, RTS, CTS, and RI to USB. The data transfer rate is up to 12 Mbit/s. The USB side features a Type A connector, and the RS-232 side features 10 single-pole connectors. The cable length is 1,8 m.

The DDHSP-0 cable provides 3,3 V/250 mA (linear regulator VBUS/3,3 V), while the EDHSP-0 provides 5 V/450 mA (5 V from VBUS). The DC output is protected by a resettable fuse. When USB transitions to suspend state, the ACBUS9 signal (PWREN#) will turn off the MOSFET that disconnects the DC output.

Drivers

FTDI provides drivers for the Virtual COM Port (VCP) for Windows and Mac OS X. VCP drivers for Linux are already integrated into the Linux kernel since version 3.0.0.

Additionally, FTDI offers D2XX drivers in the form of a library for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, allowing direct access to the USB device via library function calls.

Typical applications

• RS-232, UART, RS-422, RS-485 USB to converter
• Interfaces supported by MPSSE (UART, RS-232, RS-422, RS-485, JTAG, SPI master, I2C master, synchronous and asynchronous FT245 FIFO, Bit-Bang, fast serial interface, FIFO-style CPU, and FT1248) to USB 2.0 480 Mb/s
• Adding USB interfaces to microcontrollers, FPGAs, or PLDs
• Firmware download and debugging cable

The most commonly used FTDI USB cables have been added to the FTDI development tools group and are available in stock for immediate use in your projects. Custom versions of the cables are available upon request. We can also source additional types for you on order under favourable conditions.