1. USB to Serial cable driver installation instructions 2. Instructions for use with Raspberry Pi 3. Instructions for use with WRT54g and similar

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1 TechnoFix This document contains three sections: 1. USB to Serial cable driver installation instructions 2. Instructions for use with Raspberry Pi 3. Instructions for use with WRT54g and similar Please scroll down and follow the driver installation instructions first, and then read the instructions for your intended application. Windows users: Please install driver before connecting cable!

Different versions of Windows may vary slightly, but the basic procedure will be similar.

2 USB to Serial cable installation instructions Windows Please follow these instructions if you are running Windows. They have been written using Windows XP as an example. Different versions of Windows may vary slightly, but the basic procedure will be similar. Do not plug the cable into your PC until you have installed the drivers! Locate the driver installation file on the CD supplied. It is in the folder named windows. Double-click the driver file to start installation. Now click Next.

3 When installation is complete, click Finish. Now plug the cable into a USB port on your PC. Windows should display a message. After a few seconds, Windows should display another message. Your cable is now installed.

4 You will need to find out which COM port Windows has assigned to your cable. To do this, look in Device Manager. Click on Start, then Control Panel. Now click on Performance and Maintenance.

5 Then click on System. Now click on Hardware.

6 Then click on Device Manager. Expand the Ports (COM & LPT) section by clicking on the + on it's left. Look for Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port. In the example above, the cable has been assigned COM3.If you plug the cable into a different USB port on your PC, Windows may assign a different COM port number and you will need to look in Device Manager again.

7 Linux Most modern Linux systems will already have the PL2303 kernel module available. Simply plug the cable into USB port on your PC. The first USB serial port will normally be assigned /dev/ttyusb0, the second /dev/ttyusb1 and so on. If you are having problems or are not sure which device name has been assigned to your cable, open a terminal and type tail -f /var/log/syslog then plug the cable in. In this example, the cable has been assigned /dev/ttyusb0. Mac, WinCE and other operating systems Drivers are included on the CD for Mac and other operating systems. We have no facilities for installing these drivers, so apologise for the lack of instructions. If you use your cable with another OS and would like to tell us about your experience and even contribute some instructions to help other users, we would be very pleased to hear from you. Hardware information This cable uses the industry standard Prolific PL2303HX serial to USB bridge IC. More information from: Latest Drivers Go to:

8 USB to serial TTL cable for Raspberry Pi IMPORTANT INFORMATION Because the Raspberry Pi is designed as an experimental and educational platform and due to the connectors used, it is very easy to connect this (or any other) cable incorrectly and damage the RPi and/or the cable. Additionally, because of the wide variety of software available for the RPi and for the PC, it is only possible to give brief examples in this document. The reader is encouraged to make use of the vast resources available about the RPi on the web. Pin-out data Black Ground White RxD (input) 3.3V, 5V tolerant Green TxD (output) 3.3V Red +5V DC (output) supplied from PC's USB port RxD from the cable needs to connect to TxD on the RPi. TxD from the cable needs to connect to RxD on the RPi. WARNING: The red +5V wire should only be connected if you intend to power the RPi from the PC USB port. Please read the instructions below very carefully.

Attaching the USB serial cable to the Raspberry Pi The serial port on the RPi is available on the expansion/gpio connector (P1). This consists of two rows of thirteen pins.

Take care when making the connections. If you make a mistake, you may damage the RPi.

9 Attaching the USB serial cable to the Raspberry Pi The serial port on the RPi is available on the expansion/gpio connector (P1). This consists of two rows of thirteen pins. Three pins are used to connect to the cable. It is best to turn the power to the RPi off before connecting the cable, or if this is not practical, be sure to connect the GND pin first. Take care when making the connections. If you make a mistake, you may damage the RPi. Above: Cable connected to RPi Above: RPi P1 pin-out (from elinux wiki) Optionally, the cable can be used to supply power to the RPi from the PC's USB port, subject to some limitations. This is unsupported and at your own risk. Do NOT connect any other power supply at the same time. Keep power requirements as low as possible. Some PCs, especially laptops, cannot supply enough power. Officially, a USB 2.0 port should be able to supply up to 500mA. Some will supply more. A USB 3.0 should supply up to 900mA. A 'Y' cable similar to the ones used with some external USB disks may help, by connecting to two USB ports and doubling the power available. We tested a RPi, with mini USB WiFi, plugged in to a single USB port on an Intel Atom motherboard and it worked fine. Your milage may vary!

More information about supplying power to the RPi can be found at the elinux RPi wiki: http://elinux.

using the RPi serial port is on the elinux RPi wiki: http://elinux.org/rpi_serial_connection and elsewhere. There are many different applications, those below are brief examples.

10 More information about supplying power to the RPi can be found at the elinux RPi wiki: Above: Example USB 'Y' cable (not supplied) Right: Optional +5V DC power connection Using the Raspberry Pi serial port The most comprehensive and current information about using the RPi serial port is on the elinux RPi wiki: and elsewhere. There are many different applications, those below are brief examples. Logging in to the RPi via the serial port The following examples were written while using a RPi running a fresh wheezy-raspbian installation. If you are using a different distro, you may have to change your configuration for this to work (please consult your distro's documentation on how to enable login via the serial port or how to enable kernel boot messages). Windows We will use HyperTerminal on Windows XP. You can download HyperTerminal PE from: First, start HyperTerminal.

11 Type in any name for the connection and click OK. Select the COM port that is assigned to your cable (see the previous driver installation instructions for how to find this information) and click OK.

12 Configure the port settings as shown and click OK. Now switch on the RPi. When it starts to boot, the kernel messages should start scrolling past in the terminal window.

Once the RPi has finished booting, you can log in with your usual username and password. For a new RPi installation, check your distro's documentation for these.

13 Once the RPi has finished booting, you can log in with your usual username and password. For a new RPi installation, check your distro's documentation for these. You can now run commands on the RPi via the terminal! Linux A quick way to connect to the RPi from Linux is using the 'cu' program. For Debian/Ubuntu installations, type: #sudo apt-get install cu to install it. You may also need to add yourself to the dialout group to be able to access the serial ports. Type: #sudo useradd -G {dialout} your_user_name If your cable has been assigned to ttyusb0 (i.e. if it is the first USB to serial device attached), to connect to your RPi, type: #cu -l /dev/ttyusb0 -s Please read the documentation for cu, and consult the RPi wiki: and elsewhere for further information.

14 Raspberry Pi terminal session via USB serial cable The author wishes to thank: The Raspberry Pi Foundation, elinux and all other contributors to the Raspberry Pi.

USB to serial TTL cable & header for WRT54g These instructions are intended as a quick guide to installing the header and connecting the cable only.

Header installation A ten-way (2 x 5) header is included for you to solder in to the serial port on your router's main board. This gives access to either of the the two serial ports on the WRT54g.

15 USB to serial TTL cable & header for WRT54g These instructions are intended as a quick guide to installing the header and connecting the cable only. There is a large amount of detailed information available on the web about the many different ways to make use of the serial ports on the WRT54g and other devices. Header installation A ten-way (2 x 5) header is included for you to solder in to the serial port on your router's main board. This gives access to either of the the two serial ports on the WRT54g. One end of the supplied cable has header sockets which connect to three pins on the serial port header, once it is installed. First, you will need to open the router's case. Cut any labels that are in the way: Remove all connectors, and unscrew and remove the antennas. Turn the case on it's back, grip firmly and use your thumbs to push the blue front part away from you.

Once you have identified the connections, check if the holes are full of solder. If so, it will need to be removed. This is the trickiest part of the modification.

16 Once the two halves of the case are separated, the PCB can be detached. The serial port connections are brought to two rows of five holes in the PCB. The position of these connections vary depending on your router version, so please consult the web for the most up to date information to help correctly identify yours. Once you have identified the connections, check if the holes are full of solder. If so, it will need to be removed. This is the trickiest part of the modification. Use a hot iron of watts with a reasonably large bit. A piston type solder sucker and/or desoldering braid are essential. Take great care not to damage the PCB tracks. Having cleared the holes, drop in the supplied header and solder. When complete, clean away any flux and check for and remove any solder bridges between pins. Before connecting the cable to the router, please double-check the correct pin-out for your model and version. Because of the wide range of different versions, it is best for you to search on the web to find the correct pin-out for yours. Typical WRT54g router pin-out

17 Cable Pin-out data Black Ground White RxD (input) 3.3V, 5V tolerant Green TxD (output) 3.3V Red +5V DC (output) supplied from PC's USB port RxD from the cable needs to connect to TxD on the router. TxD from the cable needs to connect to RxD on the router. WARNING: The red +5V wire should not be connected in this application.

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