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Matthew
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2024
The premiere universal interlinking technology of old, serial communications were near-ubiquitous. Every computer had a serial port, and it was used for all manners of applications.With the advent of USB and newer technologies, the immediate presence of serial largely vanished, but that does not mean that it has disappeared!Nearly every device (wifi router, SBC) will routinely have or expose pins for a serial interface (voltage, TX, RX, ground). Interfacing with this using the appropriate protocols at the valid settings will often enable a debugging console or even a full-on usable shell for controlling the device.Devices like this are invaluable, as they take our (by comparison) complex and sophisticated, ubiquitous USB ports, and strip away all those layers to give us access once again to that simplistically effective serial.Anyone who tinkers with technology, especially hacking on hardware, needs one of these on hand.In our world of ever-increasing complexity, sometimes the best paths to solution are to forgo all those shiny bells and whistles.While it may take newcomers some time to adjust to its quirks, using this device to establish a serial connection is quite easy: grab yourself a terminal program with serial support (minicom/kermit are common go-tos in the UNIX/Linux world, hyperterminal was a classic on Windows), and experience the world that was, which very much still is: just hidden away under the hood.
Good Doggo the IT Technician
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2024
This unit is plug-and-play, was detected immediately by my low-end Windows 11 laptop, allowed me to SSH to my Raspberry Pi via PuTTY without any additional configuration (apart from specifying the COM port). Productwise, it is a 'good' cable, and my only complaint is that there is no included insert including the same information in the product images (connector color identification, how to connect them, how they work, etc), so I printed it out myself to fold and include in the packaging for future reference.The reason for my low rating, however, is that other product listings offer similar cables, or even multi-packs of cables, at considerably lower prices - some are even by well established brands such as Adafruit. In fact, most of these other cables offer a 4th pin for 5v output that is not offered by this product, so you're going to end up paying more and getting less. Considering that there are listings for 4-pin cables at around $5, I can't recommend this product to anyone at any price at or above $5 despite the cable being 'good' otherwise.
Forty Spice
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2023
As a firmware guy by trade I frequently need to have USB to RS232 cables around to perform debugging on various targets. I have been through many different brands, types, etc, and have really grown an appreciation for the stuff that is the smallest, easiest to use, and most importantly just works. This cable hits all those metrics. Its a cable with the FTDI chip built directly in the USB-A connector so it looks very simple and sexy on your desk, and on the other side is just 3 pins (Ground, TX, RX). About as simple as it gets and due to using a Genuine FTDI chip there were zero drivers for me to install on Win10/11, Linux, and everything is stable and just works. This will be my new go-to cable, and would recommend to anyone looking for a simple USB to RS232 (TTL level) debugging cable without the need for flow control.Pros:- No unsightly box in the middle/end of the cable. Small and sexy- Genuine FTDI chip means a stable connection and no need to mess around with drivers, everything just works.- Simple; Just the basic three pins that *most* applications need. Ground, TX, and RX. Nothing more nothing less.- Reasonable data rate capabilities. I was able to reliably receive data up to about 1Mb, and transmit up to 500kbps.- Great priceCons:- Just a moderate speed cable, which honestly hit most use cases. However I have encountered cables which allow for rates into the multiple Megabit range which can be nice if you have the right setup on the target and need the improved throughput.- No flow control. Honestly I rarely, if ever, need to have flow control but its a notable in case someone else is looking for a cable with flow control.- No provided quick reference card for wiring colors, however the pictures from the sellers description tell you everything you need to know.
S Miller
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2023
I'm an embedded systems developer and I use a lot of these serial adapters. The job often involves fragile setups with prototypes or dev boards that might have test leads and interfaces dangling everywhere, and it's sometimes easier just to devote one USB adapter to a project and leave it connected to the board under test so I buy these adapters fairly often.This adapter seems to work fine up to at least 921600 bps, which is my preferred speed for debug output. It doesn't have a 5v power output, which is fine because it didn't advertise one and most of the time I don't need it. The one real deficiency is that there are no markings on the leads. My preferred brand has very legible white markings on each lead so you don't have to look it up or guess each time. I'll have to stick labels of some kind on this.
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