1 Description
The USB 2.0 Hi-Speed to UART cable incorporates FTDI’s FT232H USB to UART interface IC device
which handles all the USB signalling and protocols. The cable provides a fast, simple way to connect
devices with 3.3 volt digital interfaces to USB.
The C232HD UART cable contains a small internal electronic circuit board, utilising the FT232H, which is
encapsulated into the USB connector end of the cable. The FT232H is a single channel USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
(480Mb/s) to UART IC. For full details, features and enhancement descriptions please refer to the FT232H
datasheet, this is available from
http://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Documents/DataSheets/ICs/DS_FT232H.pdf.
The digital interface of the cable is made up of ten individual wires which are terminated with single pole
connectors which can be connected next to each other on a male header. The cables digital interface logic
is 3.3 volts.
The USB side of the cable is USB powered and is USB 2.0 Hi-Speed compatible. The cable is 1.8m long
and supports a data transfer rate up to 12 Mbaud.
The C232HD UART cable requires USB drivers, available free from http://www.ftdichip.com , which are
used to make the FT232H in the cable appear as a virtual COM port (VCP). This then allows the user to
communicate with the USB interface via a standard PC serial emulation port (for example TTY).
Another FTDI USB driver, the D2XX, is used with application software to directly access the FT232H on
the cable though a DLL. This is illustrated in the Figure 1-1.
2 Typical Applications
Interfacing MCU / PLD / FPGA based designs to USB USB Medical applications Rapid USB integration into existing electronic systems Prototyping platform for USB interface on new systems USB to RS232 / RS422 / RS485 Converters USB Instrumentation
Set Top Box PC - USB interface USB Digital Camera Interface USB Hardware Modems USB Wireless Modems USB Bar Code Readers USB Industrial Control Upgrading Legacy Peripherals to USB
2.2 Features Based on the single chip USB Hi-Speed FT232H device USB 2.0 Hi-Speed (480Mbits/Second) and Full Speed (12Mbits/Second) compatible Entire USB protocol handled on the chip – No USB-specific firmware programming required USB Type A connector for direct connection to USB host or hub USB bus powered Asynchronous UART transfer data rate up to 12Mbaud UART interface support for 7 or 8 data bits, 1 or 2 stop bits and odd / even / mark / space / no parity Fully assisted hardware or X-On / X-Off software handshaking
1kByte receive and transmit buffers for high data throughput Transmit and receive LEDs Adjustable receive buffer timeout Support for USB suspend and resume Low operating and USB suspend current Low USB bandwidth consumption UHCI / OHCI / EHCI host controller compatible -40°C to +85°C operating temperature range Cable length is 1.8m (6 feet) Custom versions also available (subject to Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ)) FTDI’s royalty-free VCP and D2XX drivers eliminate the requirement for USB driver development in most cases