What did you buy today? Post your latest purchase!

[technix]

1. $5 for the FTDI chip plus $1 on external oscillator (I need small size, and there's no non-MEMS oscillators that go down to 2016) is stupid for a cheap DIP-style board.

I am using 3210 size ceramic resonators on my boards for FT232H and FT2232H. Those things have built-in load capacitors so it can be smaller than a 2016 crystal and are usually even cheaper.

2. The Trenz boar came with empty EEPROM. Gowin programmer can talk to an empty FTDI chip (also works even without the EEPROM on SPI bus at all). So the 93C46 only serves product string customization purpose.

If this is the case, I wonder if my Digilent JTAG/SMT2 clone would work...

[djos]

I recently got a couple of TinyPICO kits, now I just need to figure out what to build with them. 

[Mr. Scram]

I requested a personal copy of The Art of Electronics to take home on company dime and expected the bean counters to shoot me down. To my surprise they approved it. I count that as a win. It's a proper tome and I underestimated how much its sheer heft would shift me to a more suitable place on the Dunning-Kruger curve.

[rx8pilot]

I underestimated how much its sheer heft would shift me to a more suitable place on the Dunning-Kruger curve.

 

[admiralk]

I think I did good today.

The Goldstar was $50 and looks like new. The EZ was $25 and has at least one wonky channel, but I mainly got it for the function generator.I am really going to have to build that cabinet for desk now though.

[technix]

I am using 3210 size ceramic resonators on my boards for FT232H and FT2232H. Those things have built-in load capacitors so it can be smaller than a 2016 crystal and are usually even cheaper.

On a good day, that will work, but that's not guaranteed.

Murate Ceralock (just used as a reference) has 0.07% initial error, 0.11% tempco and 0.07% aging, making it, for the worst case, 0.25% from rated nominal frequency.

USB 2.0 high speed requires 500ppm (0.05%) device clock accuracy, and the FTDI chip particularly requests 50ppm. Either way, using a Ceralock is betting on sheer luck.

So far my sample size of three worked just fine.

[beanflying]

Brought a 50% discounted set of smaller vicegrips from E14 https://au.element14.com/duratool/d00114/locking-plier-4pc/dp/1447413



And a set of big boy Murata Current shunts https://au.element14.com/murata-power-solutions/3020-01103-0/shunt/dp/1498416 Ordered 10, 100 and 500A ones.

[BravoV]

Hoarding moment strikes again, $3 bucks a piece, and still not sure what to do with it yet. 

Sliding variable resistors, 10 Ohm max. at 4 Amp.

As usual, shot with TO-220 as reference size.

[rsjsouza]

Hoarding moment strikes again, $3 bucks a piece, and still not sure what to do with it yet. 

Sliding variable resistors, 10 Ohm max. at 4 Amp.

As usual, shot with TO-220 as reference size.

Nice score! I love those high power parts!!!

I lost count of how many 50, 100W power resistors I got from the local surplus store...

[BravoV]

Nice score! I love those high power parts!!!

I lost count of how many 50, 100W power resistors I got from the local surplus store...

Thanks, yeah, in the age of miniaturization that everything is so damn small nowadays, I have a weird fetish  at electronic components that have real weight that I can feel.

Well, with two 160W rheostats, I guess just for giggle, to use these twins to torture my bench PSUs. 

[beanflying]

Cleaning up my watch list items on evilbay and decided I had enough pocket money left for one of these cheap PIC Loggers to try out. eBay auction: #391932720671
Came up in a thread some months ago but not a lot here that I can find.

[ledtester]

Cleaning up my watch list items on evilbay and decided I had enough pocket money left for one of these cheap PIC Loggers to try out. eBay auction: #391932720671
Came up in a thread some months ago but not a lot here that I can find.

I found listings searching for "icp12":

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=icp12&_sacat=12576&LH_TitleDesc=0&_sop=15&_osacat=12576&_odkw=icp12

[beanflying]

There is also a website https://www.piccircuit.com/shop/ in my case with postage evilbay was a touch cheaper. Software is available here for anyone wanting to take a look.

[Black Phoenix]

Probably the best alternative in my opinion regarding of having a serial port:



Lost my old one (back when it was only Keyspan in the name, bought in 2006) and some work arrived where I needed and didn't had a serial port adapter available.

From using with a Renishaw QC10 Ballbar System to Rollover Cisco Cables, from NSN MGW/MSS terminal connection to old measurement equipment, it never let me down.

[rsjsouza]

Nice score! I love those high power parts!!!

I lost count of how many 50, 100W power resistors I got from the local surplus store...

Thanks, yeah, in the age of miniaturization that everything is so damn small nowadays, I have a weird fetish  at electronic components that have real weight that I can feel.

Well, with two 160W rheostats, I guess just for giggle, to use these twins to torture my bench PSUs. 

I use mine for this task as well. Also, to torture test my VRLA batteries.

The other day I bought several very large screws + nuts in the same inner diameter of the resistors. They make excellent heatsinks, especially when attached to a metal panel.

[technix]

Not exactly bought, but I built three FT232H based USB JTAG adapters in the form of USB flash drives. Information taken from Digilent website are used to approximate a Digilent JTAG/SMT2. Target connector implements ARM Cortex Debug Connector for its compact size.

[tooki]

Probably the best alternative in my opinion regarding of having a serial port:

(Attachment Link)

Lost my old one (back when it was only Keyspan in the name, bought in 2006) and some work arrived where I needed and didn't had a serial port adapter available.

From using with a Renishaw QC10 Ballbar System to Rollover Cisco Cables, from NSN MGW/MSS terminal connection to old measurement equipment, it never let me down.

Totally. I was working at an Apple dealer in early 1999, just after the original iMac came out, which was the first computer to ditch its legacy ports in favor of USB. With USB peripherals still nascent, and people having assorted existing gear to connect, adapters were a big deal at the time. Keyspan made the only serial adapters that were reliable enough to recommend for most applications. (IIRC, they made some that were RS-422/RS-232 compatible like classic Macs’ onboard serial ports.)

When I was looking into getting a USB-RS-232 adapter recently, I looked for Keyspan and was relieved to discover that the products are still made; at least the company that subsumed Keyspan is a reputable one!

[rsjsouza]

Probably the best alternative in my opinion regarding of having a serial port:

(Attachment Link)

Lost my old one (back when it was only Keyspan in the name, bought in 2006) and some work arrived where I needed and didn't had a serial port adapter available.

From using with a Renishaw QC10 Ballbar System to Rollover Cisco Cables, from NSN MGW/MSS terminal connection to old measurement equipment, it never let me down.

Totally. I was working at an Apple dealer in early 1999, just after the original iMac came out, which was the first computer to ditch its legacy ports in favor of USB. With USB peripherals still nascent, and people having assorted existing gear to connect, adapters were a big deal at the time. Keyspan made the only serial adapters that were reliable enough to recommend for most applications. (IIRC, they made some that were RS-422/RS-232 compatible like classic Macs’ onboard serial ports.)

When I was looking into getting a USB-RS-232 adapter recently, I looked for Keyspan and was relieved to discover that the products are still made; at least the company that subsumed Keyspan is a reputable one!

Does this adapter have full HW handshake?

I am always looking for additional suppliers for these adapters, as we never know if a manufacturer will simply kill their models.

I am currently using this Trendnet TU-S9 that has full HW handshake and it works really well, but I never know if/when this will last in production...

[technix]

Probably the best alternative in my opinion regarding of having a serial port:

(Attachment Link)

Lost my old one (back when it was only Keyspan in the name, bought in 2006) and some work arrived where I needed and didn't had a serial port adapter available.

From using with a Renishaw QC10 Ballbar System to Rollover Cisco Cables, from NSN MGW/MSS terminal connection to old measurement equipment, it never let me down.

Totally. I was working at an Apple dealer in early 1999, just after the original iMac came out, which was the first computer to ditch its legacy ports in favor of USB. With USB peripherals still nascent, and people having assorted existing gear to connect, adapters were a big deal at the time. Keyspan made the only serial adapters that were reliable enough to recommend for most applications. (IIRC, they made some that were RS-422/RS-232 compatible like classic Macs’ onboard serial ports.)

When I was looking into getting a USB-RS-232 adapter recently, I looked for Keyspan and was relieved to discover that the products are still made; at least the company that subsumed Keyspan is a reputable one!

Does this adapter have full HW handshake?

I am always looking for additional suppliers for these adapters, as we never know if a manufacturer will simply kill their models.

I am currently using this Trendnet TU-S9 that has full HW handshake and it works really well, but I never know if/when this will last in production...

There is always the DIY route. FT232H/PL2303/CH340C/HT42B534-SO16/STM32F042F4P6 + MAX3245 = win.

[tooki]

Does this adapter have full HW handshake?

I am always looking for additional suppliers for these adapters, as we never know if a manufacturer will simply kill their models.

I am currently using this Trendnet TU-S9 that has full HW handshake and it works really well, but I never know if/when this will last in production...

Honestly I don't know, I'd ask Tripp-Lite. (Or maybe Black Phoenix can tell?)

[Black Phoenix]

There is always the DIY route. FT232H/PL2303/CH340C/HT42B534-SO16/STM32F042F4P6 + MAX3245 = win.

EDIT: Now that I read that you DIY route with more attention, it will work, although I still keep what I said below.

Prolific chipset converters are wonderful - when they work. They're one of the most problematic ones available and require close matching of the Prolific driver to your system's current service level. Widows updates are known to break Prolific drivers from time to time.

Converters based on the FTDI chipset generally have the least number of issues. One great advantage of FTDI is that if you move the adapter to a different USB port, it generally will not change serial port numbers (but that you guys know a lot more than me).

The Keyspan USA-19HS is the only thing I've ever been able to get to work with all of the devices I needed to use (PLCs, shipping scales, network equipment, Renishaw QC10 Ballbar System, the list goes on). This is because it has an FTDI chip and based around the TI 75LV4737A, so it has a real serial processor, as opposed to a lot of the other brands/models, which use a Prolific chip. The Prolific chips are just emulators and only work about 75% of the time.

I used basically from the generic black smoked plastic adapter with unmarked chips to Belkin ones based in the Prolific chip. They are good for switch connections (Cisco Rollover cable and most networking).

Does this adapter have full HW handshake?

I am always looking for additional suppliers for these adapters, as we never know if a manufacturer will simply kill their models.

I am currently using this Trendnet TU-S9 that has full HW handshake and it works really well, but I never know if/when this will last in production...

The Tripp Lite / KeySpan have HW handshake yes.

Its based on the TI 75LV4737A Multichannel RS232 Line Driver/Receiver.

[Mortymore]

Another multimeter for the collection, 
Iso-Tech IDM505, from evilBay for £75 with shipping costs included

[rsjsouza]

The Keyspan USA-19HS is the only thing I've ever been able to get to work with all of the devices I needed to use (PLCs, shipping scales, network equipment, Renishaw QC10 Ballbar System, the list goes on). This is because it has an FTDI chip and based around the TI 75LV4737A, so it has a real serial processor, as opposed to a lot of the other brands/models, which use a Prolific chip. The Prolific chips are just emulators and only work about 75% of the time.

This transceiver is quite robust indeed - it really should work well in the wildest environments out there.

I used basically from the generic black smoked plastic adapter with unmarked chips to Belkin ones based in the Prolific chip. They are good for switch connections (Cisco Rollover cable and most networking).

I have a Belkin (forgot the model number, discontinued by now) that works ok. Not everywhere, but still does the job here and there.

[Black Phoenix]

I have a Belkin (forgot the model number, discontinued by now) that works ok. Not everywhere, but still does the job here and there.

Is the purple grey one that looks like a disk?



This one is not bad in reality, it works great, but is too big.



This one is so, so...

Regarding the Prolific ones, there are fakes one and real ones:





More info:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/note-how-to-not-get-scammed-with-prolific-(pl2303)-usb-serial-adapters/

[technix]

Prolific chipset converters are wonderful - when they work. They're one of the most problematic ones available and require close matching of the Prolific driver to your system's current service level. Widows updates are known to break Prolific drivers from time to time.

Converters based on the FTDI chipset generally have the least number of issues. One great advantage of FTDI is that if you move the adapter to a different USB port, it generally will not change serial port numbers (but that you guys know a lot more than me).

The Keyspan USA-19HS is the only thing I've ever been able to get to work with all of the devices I needed to use (PLCs, shipping scales, network equipment, Renishaw QC10 Ballbar System, the list goes on). This is because it has an FTDI chip and based around the TI 75LV4737A, so it has a real serial processor, as opposed to a lot of the other brands/models, which use a Prolific chip. The Prolific chips are just emulators and only work about 75% of the time.

I used basically from the generic black smoked plastic adapter with unmarked chips to Belkin ones based in the Prolific chip. They are good for switch connections (Cisco Rollover cable and most networking).

I would personally prefer Holtek HT42B534 over FTDI or Prolific though, as that chip implements a proper USB CDC ACM protocol stack.