02-11-2021, 07:58 PM
RS-232 ports haven't been present on PC motherboards or laptops for over a decade. So connecting to RS-232 over USB is basically the standard for some time. The board designer of the Freescale GigaTAP, a debug probe I wrote the firmware for, incorporated one over twelve years ago. That's the first time I used a device with embedded RS-232 to USB circuit. It worked great, and I try to incorporate that into anything where the console will be accessible in the final form. For non-console enabled consumer or automotive electronics, usually it's RS232 pogo pads since they are small and cheap. Cables are ridiculous though.
Linux has open source drivers for FT232R and pretty much all other RS-232/RS-485/RS-422 to USB chips. There is no need to use a proprietary driver from FTDI.
And you do realize that the special cable with the 1/8" jack and USB has internally the exact same kind of chip with the exact same driver. So any misgivings you have about virtual com ports (which is a Windows term and, IMHO, non-sense not based on reality), apply equally to that.
While pine64 does have a cable for their other products that will physically fit the PBP, the voltage is wrong! Do not use it!
@Arwen, there's a blog post somewhere of someone doing exactly what you describe. They bought a small board with a RS232-to-USB chip and I think a micro USB, cut a small slot for the connector, and then wired it to the existing internal pads on the PBP PCB.
Linux has open source drivers for FT232R and pretty much all other RS-232/RS-485/RS-422 to USB chips. There is no need to use a proprietary driver from FTDI.
And you do realize that the special cable with the 1/8" jack and USB has internally the exact same kind of chip with the exact same driver. So any misgivings you have about virtual com ports (which is a Windows term and, IMHO, non-sense not based on reality), apply equally to that.
While pine64 does have a cable for their other products that will physically fit the PBP, the voltage is wrong! Do not use it!
@Arwen, there's a blog post somewhere of someone doing exactly what you describe. They bought a small board with a RS232-to-USB chip and I think a micro USB, cut a small slot for the connector, and then wired it to the existing internal pads on the PBP PCB.