FTDI, cables, FT232RL

Hi!
I have a decent experience of arduino, but can’t get a clear picture of FTDI when programing a pro mini board.
I have read plenty but it doesn’t help, so can someone just tell me if I should I get a FTDI cable or a board? Or is it the same?

I'd probably go for the FTDI board over the cable simply because they tend to be a little cheaper. I also don't like the cables that have the individual wires because then you need to get the wiring right every time, rather than just making sure to plug a connector on to your Pro Mini the right way around. For the rare times when I need to break out the individual lines differently, I can always just use some jumper wires. They do have FTDI cables with a connector in the standard "FTDI header" pinout, so that's not an issue with all FTDI cables.

Other than that, either one will work the same. I do seem to remember that there were some FTDI cables without the DTR or RTS pin broken out, which means you would have to manually reset the Pro Mini to do an upload. I definitely would avoid buying those. However, after a quick search, I didn't see any of those around.

That was a perfect answer, thanks!
And I agree, when comparing prices I found the cable costing almost twice the price of the board a bit strange.
So a board it is, thanks again!

I have a cable with a single 6-socket connector on the end and I find it much more convenient than the small interface boards. I have had it for a few years and I can't remember where I got it.

...R

The one annoyance I have with the boards is that I always feel like the board sticking out off of my Pro Mini, etc. gives a lot of leverage to torque the board and the header solder joints when I'm plugging/unplugging the USB cable or clumsily knocking into the board or yanking on the USB cable. I've never actually had this cause a problem after 6+ years of using them though. The shorter connector on the FTDI cable would not provide so much leverage.

You can get the FTDI cables with the 6 pin connector (as well as the boards) on eBay, Aliexpress, SparkFun, Adafruit, etc.

What we need is:
An FTDI adapter in the shape of a USB thumb drive with 6 holes to in the front end to plug in a flat cable with male "DuPont" pins on one end and female on the other and a 3.3V - 5V - OFF switch so it would work with either MCU voltage or switched off for communication only, and would also have a barrel jack for "external" 5V from USB, with a 450 mA resettable fuse of course. Also a switch from DTR to RTS or whatever.

JCA79B:
What we need is:
An FTDI adapter in the shape of a USB thumb drive with 6 holes to in the front end to plug in a flat cable with male "DuPont" pins on one end and female on the other and a 3.3V - 5V - OFF switch so it would work with either MCU voltage or switched off for communication only, and would also have a barrel jack for "external" 5V from USB, with a 450 mA resettable fuse of course. Also a switch from DTR to RTS or whatever.

That sounds like a good business opportunity for you.

...R

I guess. It'd be hard to sell against the $1 "alternative" USB/Serial adapters from China, though. :frowning:

Adafruit's FTDI Friend comes pretty close...

I got a $5, 6 pin adapter that worked out-of-the-box and no need for drivers (osx).
A USB cable, duponts and some shrink tubing later, and voila... a FTDI cable.