Pololu CP2102N USB-to-Serial Adapter Carrier

This USB-to-serial adapter is a breakout board for the Silicon Labs CP2102N USBXpress USB-to-UART bridge, and it is a great solution for connecting microcontroller projects and other logic-level serial devices to a personal computer. The tiny unit measures only 0.6″ × 0.95″ including its Micro-USB connector. It offers several options for accessing the data, control, and GPIO pins on the CP2102N, all of which are made available on a 0.1″ spacing.

This board uses 3.3 V signal levels by default, but the signal pins can tolerate higher voltages, allowing the adapter to be used with 5 V systems that see 3.3 V as a logic high. The green LED on the SUSPEND line indicates an active USB connection when lit.

The adapter looks like a standard virtual serial port (COM port) to the computer’s operating system, which means it can be used with any software designed to work with a serial port (even a legacy RS-232 port). The CP2102N is a full-speed USB 2.0 device and allows baud rates of up to 3 Mbps. Drivers are available from Silicon Labs for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Linux, and Mac OS X.

This product requires a USB A to Micro-B cable (not included) to connect to a computer.

Specifications

* Dimensions: 0.6″ × 0.95″ including connector * USB standard: USB 2.0 (full speed) * Connector: USB Micro-B * Logic voltage level: 3.3 V (5 V tolerant) * Supported baud rates: 300 bps to 3 Mbps * Supply current: 15 mA

Pinout

PinTypeFunctionVDDPower 3.3 V voltage regulator outputVBUSPowerUSB bus voltage (5 V)GNDPowerGroundRSTInDevice resetTXOutAsynchronous serial data transmit (idle high)RXInAsynchronous serial data receiveCTSIn“Clear to send” control input (often used with RTS)RTSOut“Ready to send” control output (often used with CTS)DSRIn"Data set ready" control input (active low) (often used with DTR)DTROut"Data terminal ready" control output (active low) (often used with DSR)DCDIn"Data carrier detect" control input (active low)RIIn"Ring indicator" control input (active low)SUSPEND OutDriven high when in USB suspend stateSUSPENDOutDriven low when in USB suspend state (connected to green LED)GPIO.0I/OUser-configurable inputs or outputsGPIO.1GPIO.2GPIO.3