14 ms·
The FTDI chips and drivers also have the ability to toggle a few extra pins. If you are making a device this can be important enough to lure you away from just
by jws 12y ago
The FTDI chips and drivers also have the ability to toggle a few extra pins. If you are making a device this can be important enough to lure you away from just being a generic USB Communications Device Class profile. (Think a 'reset' function or a 'enter firmware update mode' function.)
Given that as a consumer/purchaser I have no way of knowing if I have a counterfeit chip or if the next batch produced by a manufacturer will have them… I now have an incentive to avoid FTDI entirely when given a choice.
- nraynaud 12y agoGood remark. I didn't think about that, because I use a real USB chip for USB, I don't try to convert it to serial (I like the idea of having various communications going at once, the stall, etc.)
- sliverstorm 12y agoserial is your bread-and-butter on tiny low pin count underpowered IC's. The V8's of the micro-controller world are great, but sometimes you have just 2000mAh to get you through a year of operation.
- qb45 12y agoMoreover, they support many crazy baudrates and can be configured for any reasonable IO voltage. This made me choose FTDI for my homemade everything-and-the-kitchen-sink UART dongle. Oh, and they can blink LEDs.