Find a Retailer SHOP PRODUCT MENU BLOG / SERIAL/UART 0 SUPPORT find products, tutorials, etc... HOME / P R O D U C T C A T E G O R I E S LEARN LOG IN EDUCATION Need Help? REGISTER FORUM / SPARKFUN USB TO SERIAL BREAKOUT - FT232RL SparkFun USB to Serial Breakout - FT232RL B O B - 1 2 7 3 1 ROHS 17 DESCRIPTION FEATURES DOCUMENTS This is the SparkFun USB to Serial Breakout for the FT232RL, a small board with a built in USB to serial UART interface. This little breakout is built around the FT232RL IC from FTDI, with an internal oscillator, EEPROM, and a 28-pin SSOP package this is a serious little chip. With this version, we've corrected a few issues found with the board. These changes include fixes to the VCCIO, a change from the mini USB to micro USB connector, and a few footprint modifications. Other than finding this board much easier to use, it is still the same FT232RL breakout that you know and love! images are CC BY 2.0 SHARE 3D Download: Sketchup, STL, Blender Previous Versions SparkFun USB to Serial Breakout - FT232RL Product Help and Resources SKILLS NEEDED Core Skill: Soldering This skill defines how difficult the soldering is on a particular product. It might be a couple simple solder joints, or require special reflow tools. Skill Level: Noob - Some basic soldering is required, but it is limited to a just a few pins, basic through-hole soldering, and couple (if any) polarized components. A basic soldering iron is all you should need. See all skill levels 1 Core Skill: Electrical Prototyping If it requires power, you need to know how much, what all the pins do, and how to hook it up. You may need to reference datasheets, schematics, and know the ins and outs of electronics. Skill Level: Rookie - You may be required to know a bit more about the component, such as orientation, or how to hook it up, in addition to power requirements. You will need to understand polarized components. See all skill levels 2 COMMENTS 18 REVIEWS 17 Customer Reviews 4.5 out of 5 Based on 17 ratings: 5 star 10 4 star 5 3 star 2 2 star 0 1 star 0 Currently viewing all customer reviews. 1 of 1 found this helpful: Very useful board. about a year ago by Member #873747 verified purchaser I use this board to interface with PSoC, Beaglebone, and other devices. It is easy to use and flexible. 2 of 2 found this helpful: Good, but no 1.8v about 2 years ago by Member #639147 verified purchaser Works well, but doesn't seem to support 1.8v even though the IC is capable of it: http://www.ftdichip.com/Products/ICs/FT232R.htm 2 of 2 found this helpful: Great solution for chip comm about 3 years ago by Member #389923 verified purchaser I have this board connected directly to an ATMEGA32 chip for debug. It works great, simple to hook up. Uses universal FTDI drivers. 3 of 3 found this helpful: Works great, could use one feature..... about a year ago by Member #831721 verified purchaser The board worked perfectly as designed but I had to do one hack first. The I/O voltage is only selectable between 3.3 and 5V while my processor runs at 2.5V. I had to remove the switch and add a provision for an external I/O voltage input. Adding a pad and some sort of jumper, etc. for this would be helpful. Thanks at least for providing the schematic, it made the mod very easy to do. 1 of 1 found this helpful: Bits go in, bits come out. about a year ago by Member #123218 verified purchaser There are much cheaper bridges available in bulk from Alibaba and Ebay, but usually they're based on the SiLabs CP2102. Pros: Dual mode drivers - You can use as VCP or direct mode. Great DLL documentation and source code examples for many platforms. DLLs to go with that great DLL documentation. Respectable support department has been responsive even to my hobby user questions. One set of drivers works with serial, JTAG, FIFO, other variants of the FTDI chips. Cons: It's a wee big for hobby projects where space is tight. There are some Silabs boards that are 1/2 or 1/3 the size. This board is pretty easy to cut down without worrying about damaging anything though. Price - You can get equivalent function for serial only for or so elsewhere, but you may have the occasional defective card. Bottom line: FTDI chips are well supported and documented. You get piece of mind that your project will just work - the first time, every time. 1 of 1 found this helpful: A need to have for any electronic engineer about a year ago by Thc verified purchaser It is simple and it can still do all you need it to, best thing is it just work. I use it both in teaching my electronic class and development of satellite instrument. At DTU Space Denmark Best Regards Thorbjorn H. Christensen works as it should about 11 months ago by Jimmy Nuetron verified purchaser nice little pcb works as it should Truly useful little board about 10 months ago by Member #708122 verified purchaser Very useful for adding a serial port to devices/systems that do not have one, or if you ran out. Works as advertised and very easy to implement quickly for all sorts of applications. Make sure you are using the correct FTDI drivers, the default Microsoft drivers will not work and drive you crazy. 5+ stars... Works great but... about 6 months ago by Scottro verified purchaser This product works great but the USB connector has come off of the board on dozens of these boards. I believe that the connectors have weak solder joints. So I reflow the solder joints on these connectors and I haven't had any problems since. Great job, even it's a pity the lack of 1.8 volts. about 2 months ago by Member #1239677 verified purchaser Good item at a reasonable price. The bad side regards shipping and custom fees for all those living outside US. In total i spent three times the original cost. May you, Sparkfun guys, activate other more convenient channels for those living in Europe and in Italy as I am? Just now, on Amazon, I found some, but not all, your products. If I could buy them with cheaper additional costs, you would be perfect! Best regards Alessandro FT232RL Breakout Board is a good one! about 3 years ago by Member #633342 verified purchaser This little breakout board came with everything needed to assemble in various configurations to fit your need. The board worked exactly as advertised, and was a snap to set up after assembly. Love the documentation provided at Sparkfun-best in class. Listening in on another RX/TX about 2 months ago by Member #12274 verified purchaser I got two of these so I could tap into the RX/TX of another board to help debug the software there. They worked great! 0 of 3 found this helpful: USB cable about 3 years ago by Member #490794 verified purchaser Beware this does not use a standard USB mini cable. I needed to steal my wifes phone cable to fit. Board okay but data sheet not... about 3 years ago by Member #645001 verified purchaser Board itself works okay but as this is first time I am using this board I had problem finding the correct pin connections to the other board (BT module) I am using in my project. The data sheet available in your page shows all but the simple connection diagram for 2x9 pins + additional 4 pins. Single T replied on March 18, 2015: I'm sorry that it wasn't easier to find the information you were looking for. We try to cover as much as we can in our docs, but we can't always get everything. Happy hacking. Excellent tool! about 3 years ago by Member #668078 verified purchaser Everyone who works with microcontrollers and sensors should have at least one of these in their toolbox. It took me 5 minutes to connect this to a sensor and I was up and running. Great breakout board about 2 years ago by Member #224170 verified purchaser Easy to implement. Works great for interfacing UART and USB. The board works as promised . about 2 years ago by Member #715028 verified purchaser Recommended for others START SOMETHING. SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER In 2003, CU student Nate Seidle blew a power supply in his dorm room and, in lieu of a way to order easy replacements, decided to start his own company. Since then, SparkFun has been committed to sustainably helping our world achieve electronics literacy from our headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. No matter your vision, SparkFun's products and resources are designed to make the world of electronics more accessible. In addition to over 2,000 open source components and widgets, SparkFun offers curriculum, training and online tutorials designed to help demystify the wonderful world of embedded electronics. We're here to help you start something. 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