USBToTTL Converter

The USBToTTL converter board is a tiny 1" by 1.5" board which translates USB 1.1 and 2.0 data to TTL-serial levels which are compatible with all of our motor controller products; it therefore allows any of our controllers to communicate via USB with a host computer.  It is available in two models; one uses a screw terminal connector while the other uses an MTA-100 connector.

  

(The picture on the left is the USBToTTL board with a screw terminal connector, while the one on the right has an MTA-100 connector).

The board is designed such that you can use #4 mounting posts to mount it in your system, or you may panel-mount it using right-angle 1/4" brackets.  In the latter case, you can direct the USB-B connector out through your panel, thus providing you with a convenient external connection.

The chip used as the converter chip is the FTDI (www.ftdichip.com) FT232BM, and the plug-and-play drivers  are those provided by FTDI for use under Windows^tm, Linux, and MacOS.  These drivers include USB-To-COM port emulators, so that the USBToTTL board acts like a new "COM" port on your system.

On January 8, 2006 we issued a USBToTTL Board Users Alert.  Do not install the updated FTDI drivers which are available from Windows Update; installation via Windows Update can lead to system instability!  Click here for more information.

Note also that this board permits communication between a USB-based computer and any TTL-serial compliant device, such as the Parallax Basic or Javalin Stamp (www.parallax.com).  Although we use it at a communications rate of 9600 baud (when operated with our products), it actually supports baud rates up to 3 megabaud, when used with other TTL-serial compatible devices.  Note that the phrase "TTL-Serial" implies "normal" RS232-serial semantics; that is to say, each "byte" of data will have at least one start bit and at least one stop bit, in addition to the appropriate data bits (as configured in your 'Com Port' settings under Linux, MacOS, or Windows^tm).

Please note that you need to provide your own USB cable (standard A-B pair) of the correct length for your application.