USB Serial Converters

Most microcontrollers use the serial protocol to communicate with other device and/or get flashed.

If you want to use a computer in order to communicate with a microcontroller, you will need a USB-Serial adapter. While these are often available on the board already (in case you use the development boards), you might have the need to use one of the specific USB-Serial Converters.

PL2303

ToolInfoBox PL2303 USB Serial Converter
Type:	PL2303
Used with:	computer, microcontroller
Location:	E-Bench
Access Requirements:	upon reading

The PL2303 is a cheap chip which is the base for many USB-Serial Converters. We have some available in the CoMakingSpace which you can use for temporary projects.

The ones we have are based on the PL-2303 XA/HXA chip. Unfortunately, the latest official drivers do not support Windows 10 anymore (see here).

However, somebody uploaded an old driver version to a wordpress blog, which makes the chips work on Windows 10. Of course, use this at your own risk.

CH340

ToolInfoBox CH340 USB Serial Converter
Type:	CH340
Used with:	computer, microcontroller

Windows

The cheap USB serial module CH340 is not supported by default in Windows. You need to install the drivers manually.

Mac

brew cask install wch-ch34x-usb-serial-driver

Linux

Works out of the box.