Comments on: DIY USB to Serial Cable For $3!

By: Ibrahim

Ibrahim — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:11:39 +0000

I found the same cable on ebay for 0.99GBP which is about $1.60 USD.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/USB-DATA-CABLE-CA-42-FOR-NOKIA-3100-3120-7360-7250-6822_W0QQitemZ200392482373QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_MobilePhones_MobilePhoneAccesories_MobilePhoneDataCables_JN?hash=item2ea8529e45

By: Jonathan Thomson

Jonathan Thomson — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:56:52 +0000

It depends on what you already have and what you can beg from fellow hobbyists. I bought the CA-42 and the ATmega328, so my minimum was about $10. Here’s a BOM:

Resistors $0.15
22 pF capactiors $0.22
0.1 uF capacitor $0.08
16 MHz crystal $0.81
6×6 mm pushbutton $0.15
Red LED $0.05
Crimp on wire connectors $0.10
Crimp housing $0.10
Resettable fuse $0.35
ATmega328 (Modern Device) $5.50
CA-42 $3.00
Breadboard $4.00
Hook up wire (3 colors) $3.00
5V reg. power supply $5.00
=====
Total ~$21.00 (excludes shipping)

This is only if you have absolutely nothing and have to buy everything. For someone that has none of this stuff, the Arduino board is not a bad deal. An electronics hobbyist will have most of these things already, so buying the Arduino board is much less appealing. Also consider the fact that hook up wire and a breadboard are still necessary even if you have the Arduino board. Don’t forget, microcontrollers are for interacting with the physical world. To do anything more interesting than blinking an LED you’ll need more components.

By: Hmm

Hmm — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:24:28 +0000

So what’s the minimum total cost for an Arduino setup based on this?

What’s the cheapest someone can get started with them?

By: Jonathan Thomson

Jonathan Thomson — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:53:16 +0000

Daniel, I assume you’re talking about a USB to Serial RS-232 cable. RS-232 uses different levels than TTL so you can’t use one of those directly with a microcontroller. They can be used if you use inverters or a MAX232, but that is a more complicated setup. This article is about making a cheap replacement for the more expensive USB to Serial TTL cables. I try not to refer to it as a TTL cable in the article because it doesn’t put out true TTL levels, but it gets the job done with the added benefit that it can be used with systems that use 3.3V.

By: daniel andrade

daniel andrade — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:04:26 +0000

Another good deal is that you can buy one of this on DealExtreme for U$3. Good post anyway

By: Tweets that mention DIY USB to Serial Cable For $3! | uC Hobby -- Topsy.com

Tweets that mention DIY USB to Serial Cable For $3! | uC Hobby -- Topsy.com — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:08:16 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Wendell Evens. Wendell Evens said: DIY USB to Serial Cable For $3!: Jonathan Thomson submitted this useful article about converting a low cost cel.. http://bit.ly/3jz9p6 [...]

By: DIY USB to Serial Cable For $3! | Gadget Look

DIY USB to Serial Cable For $3! | Gadget Look — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:41:44 +0000

[...] Jonathan submitted as part of the uCHobby Giveaway project and has selected tRead more at http://www.uchobby.com/index.php/2009/10/04/diy-usb-to-serial-cable-for-3/ [...]