Electronic – Using MAX232 to fix prolific usb to serial voltage levels

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I have a hobby PIC programmer (K8048) that uses rs232 to communicate with PC. My new laptop doesn't have rs232 port so I bought a prolific usb to serial converter to interface with this programmer but it appears as if the usb to serial converter is not fully rs232 compliant with its voltage levels so…

Rather than scrap the board and fork out £30 for the usb version I wondered if any one could see a problem with running the signal into a max232 and feeding that into the K8048? The max232 datasheet shows +- 25ish volts on the TIN/RIN pins… It seems so simple I must be crazy?!

Best Answer

Have you tried a different usb to serial converter? Prolific marketed products are famous for being counterfeited with fake prolific chips in them.

Warning Notice: Please be warned that counterfeit (fake) PL-2303HX (Chip Rev A) USB to Serial Controller ICs using enter link description here trademark logo, br

andname, and device drivers, were being sold in the China market. Counterfeit IC products show exactly the same outside chip markings but generally are of poor quality and causes Windows driver compatibility issues (Yellow Mark Error Code 10). We issue this warning to all our customers and consumers to avoid confusion and false purchase.

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