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Home | Product Categories | Arduino | DEV-09717

FTDI Cable 5V VCC-3.3V I/O

sku: DEV-09717 RoHS Compliant

Description: The FTDI cable is a USB to Serial (TTL level) converter which allows for a simple way to connect TTL interface devices to USB. The VCC pins of this FTDI cable are configured to operate at 5V with 3.3V I/O.

The FTDI cable is designed around an FT232RQ, which is housed in a USB A connector. The other side of the cable is terminated with a 0.1" pitch, 6-pin connector with the following pinout: RTS, RX, TX, 5V, CTS, GND (RTS is the green cable and GND is black).

This cable has almost the same pinout and functionality as our FTDI Basic Breakout board; you can use it to program your Arduino Pro, Pro Mini and Lilypad, etc. For use with those boards, align the black and green wires of the FTDI cable with the 'BLK' and 'GRN' labels on the PCB. The difference between this cable and the FTDI Basic Breakout is the cable has a 5V Vcc where as the breakout has a 3.3V Vcc. You will still be able to program an Aruidno Pro, Pro Mini, Lilypad, etc. The 5V Vcc supply will not damage these Arduino circuit boards.

Originally, the cable was designed to have 3.3V VCC, however something was lost in translation between SparkFun and our supplier and we got stuck with a whole bunch of  FTDI cables that have a slight mix up in wiring. These have 5V VCC, and 3.3V I/O. The 5V Vcc output shouldn't be a problem unless this cable is being used to power a sensitive circuit such as a sensor.

There are pros and cons to the FTDI Cable vs the FTDI Basic. The FTDI Basic has great LED indicators, but requires a Mini-B cable. The FTDI Cable is well protected against the elements, but is large and cannot be embedded into a project as easily. The FTDI Basic uses DTR to cause a hardware reset where the FTDI cable uses the RTS signal.

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Comments 18 comments

  • skystorm | about 2 years ago 1

    Is it possible use for bit-bang programming?

    • pburgess | about 2 years ago 1

      skystorm: indeed it is, though you’ll be limited to 4 bits when using this or the basic breakout board. The BOB-00718 (full breakout board) can bang all 8 bits, but then lacks the convenience of directly interfacing to certain Arduino boards and other things that use the same pinout (some XBee adapters, serial RFID readers, etc.)

  • neufuture | about 2 years ago 1

    Thanks for adding this!

  • larissa | about 2 years ago 1

    Can I use this cable to configure an Xbee PRO?

  • Dinuka | about 2 years ago 1

    can somebody suggest a method to convert this to 3.3V Vcc. I’m using this to connect to the Razor 9DOF and it requires 3.3V Vcc

    • N8B | about 2 years ago 1

      The El Cheapo solution would be a resistor divider, the true solution would be a regulator. Both of which are going to be tough to work elegantly into the cable.

    • TLAlexander | about a year ago 1

      Buy the 3.3v version from mouser: 895-TTL-232R-3V3
      -Taylor

    • cinderblock | about 11 months ago 1

      I know this is old but my solution is to pull the VCC out of the socket (you can do it without damaging anything if you’re careful) and plug it in to a pin added to the external supply input. That way the 5V from the USB will go through the nice onboard 3v3 regulator.

  • Member #150158 | about a year ago 1

    Hi,
    So I have been using this cable with my Fio, and I just noticed with this plugged in the 3v3 pin on shows 5 volts. Is that a problem? I see above that it mentions this cable won’t damage Arduino Pro, which is also 3v3 for vcc, right? Is the 3v3 mainly just important for the level on the rx/tx lines?
    Thanks!
    Justin

  • Member #735 | last year 1

    How long have you guys had these things? I’d suggest moving them to a broader prototyping category for sure. They’re damn convenient for a lot more things than just arduino. I don’t think you meant to hide them from the rest of us.

  • Dougie | about 7 months ago * 1

    n00b?: if I want to program an atmega328 on a breadboard do I use this? Or the ftdi cable? Or both?? Same questions if I am trying to program an arduino pro mini?

    • RobertC. | about 7 months ago 1

      Yes, you can use this. This IS the FTDI cable. You could use this or the FTDI basic. They both do the same thing, they are just in different form factors.
      And yes, same question and answer for programming a pro-mini.

  • abanie | about 6 months ago 1

    is this good to use with 3.3v board and 5v board?

    • Pearce | about 6 months ago 1

      This is for 3.3V logic boards, for 5V you need to go with the 5V cable. You can use an FTDI Basic and utilize the solder jumper on the back to switch between 5v and 3.3v.

      • TheBadWolf | about 2 months ago * 1

        I can’t get this to work. w7 keep throwing “Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)” at me.

        Tried FTDI installer/files and no luck. When updating,state I already ahve the latest…

        what’s wrong with that cable?

        • TheBadWolf | about 2 months ago 1

          nvm,problem found. My embeded USB hub in the front pannel is busted. threw it to the back one and it’s fine now.

  • invertedsquirrel | about 3 weeks ago 1

    When I got this product I was surprised to see a sparkfun logo molded into the boot. You guys are getting fancy.