5 ms·

I think the damage is done and more subtle than a huge public disaster. When the fake-killer driver burst onto the scene previously, I just switched to microch

I think the damage is done and more subtle than a huge public disaster. When the fake-killer driver burst onto the scene previously, I just switched to microchip MCP2221's. It just wasn't worth the risk that I might accidentally source a counterfeit on a BOM and not find out until later. If it says FTDI on it, its now a no go. Just no way to be sure anymore.

snvzz 11y ago
So that the next person doesn't have to search for it: http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/20005292B.pdf http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/20005292B.pd...
throwaway7767 11y ago
Exactly. I switched to Cypress (CP2102) chips as a response to this, even though I haven't been hit with any of these tactics from FTDI yet. They work just great. Prolific (PL2303) work well too, but I've had some issues with high baud rates there so I avoid them. The fact is, it's impossible for me to know if an IC is genuine or not. Therefore, buying FTDI is now like playing russian roulette. If you got unlucky, you (or your customer) will have a nasty surprise, possibly years down the line. The rational choice is therefore to buy chips from manufacturers that don't do this.
- russdill 11y ago
  I wish there was a decent alternative. CP2102's are absolutely dog slow when it comes to bit banging. You need entire round trips for everything.
duskwuff 11y ago
Holy crap, that part's incredible. Let me count the ways... 1. It's half the price of a FT232R. 2. It's available in SOIC. Much easier to solder. 3. It's USB CDC compliant. No drivers required on most OSes. 4. Along with GPIOs, its spare pins can also be configured for ADC or DAC operation. Also, it's got an I2C master. It doesn't have a full set of UART signals, unfortunately, but it does have a couple of configurable GPIOs. There's also the MCP2200 which sacrifices I2C for RTS/CTS.
- noonespecial 11y ago
  What sold it for us was my friend said, "Hey that one comes in DIP so we can breadboard and test..." Never looked back.
  - quadrature 11y ago
    woah
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

snvzz 11y ago

So that the next person doesn't have to search for it: http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/20005292B.pdf http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/20005292B.pd...

throwaway7767 11y ago

Exactly. I switched to Cypress (CP2102) chips as a response to this, even though I haven't been hit with any of these tactics from FTDI yet. They work just great. Prolific (PL2303) work well too, but I've had some issues with high baud rates there so I avoid them. The fact is, it's impossible for me to know if an IC is genuine or not. Therefore, buying FTDI is now like playing russian roulette. If you got unlucky, you (or your customer) will have a nasty surprise, possibly years down the line. The rational choice is therefore to buy chips from manufacturers that don't do this.

russdill 11y ago
I wish there was a decent alternative. CP2102's are absolutely dog slow when it comes to bit banging. You need entire round trips for everything.

duskwuff 11y ago

Holy crap, that part's incredible. Let me count the ways... 1. It's half the price of a FT232R. 2. It's available in SOIC. Much easier to solder. 3. It's USB CDC compliant. No drivers required on most OSes. 4. Along with GPIOs, its spare pins can also be configured for ADC or DAC operation. Also, it's got an I2C master. It doesn't have a full set of UART signals, unfortunately, but it does have a couple of configurable GPIOs. There's also the MCP2200 which sacrifices I2C for RTS/CTS.

noonespecial 11y ago
What sold it for us was my friend said, "Hey that one comes in DIP so we can breadboard and test..." Never looked back.
- quadrature 11y ago
  woah
deleted 11y ago
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