Just soldered one of them on tonight and the thing worked great until I unplugged it and plugged it back in. The way it fails after working, it leads you to believe you may have fried it, or maybe it was a cheap POS from the start. I assume I got a great price because these are the clone ICs. But it was just the driver issue. Now it all works great. Thanks to all those who posted solutions.
So I guess it's just me who has had 0 problems with FTDI chips because I didn't buy inexpensive, likely counterfeits - or maybe I just got properly programmed parts, and all the inexpensive clones are just unprogrammed? Like Arduino clones that are shipped bootloaderless?
CrossRoads:
So I guess it's just me who has had 0 problems with FTDI chips because I didn't buy inexpensive, likely counterfeits - or maybe I just got properly programmed parts, and all the inexpensive clones are just unprogrammed? Like Arduino clones that are shipped bootloaderless?
It's programmed. After I fixed the driver it was drop in and go (and also before the first update too). It seems to work well. I think FTDI has a way of identifying the clones, maybe it is serial number range or maybe it is something subtle like latency or an undocumented feature they can test, and decided to cut them off. After all, only half of the product is the IC, the other half is the driver, and the clonemaker is trying to freely use the driver, which they did not write, which is not kosher. OTOH, I didn't know this was a clone when I ordered it and I want it to work NOW so I won't delay my project, but I won't be buying any more of these.
CrossRoads:
...or maybe I just got properly programmed parts, and all the inexpensive clones are just unprogrammed? Like Arduino clones that are shipped bootloaderless?
If they were unprogrammed, this wouldn't be possible:
One thing is the enumeration issue.
Usually related to a device descriptor read error. This happens in all platforms.
On windows This usually results on the "code 43" and "usb not recognized" with 0's on vid & piud.
This makes sense if unprogrammed, burnt or defective.
Other thing is a device recognised as FTDI that doesn't work...
And I believe that is driver-related.
Like JoeN wrote, the clonemakers are trying to freely use the windows driver.
And the recent driver certification as mandatory in latest windows updates is not helping.
btw,
FTDI website contains lots of documentation on how to modify the driver. (here our here) Drivers are a little out of my league. And unfortunately not much time to spend on in.
also,
A cool article about real vs fake FT232Rl chips:
Yes, cool article. This seems to come from an industry insider. One thing he says that answers a question I have always had:
Die manufacturing cost is roughly the same for both dies (~10-15 cents) .
I have always wondered what the cost is for the chip itself, excluding design and marketing, etc. Anyone know what the encapsulation cost on an IC like this is? Is this the same for mixed-signal silicon ICs as well as pure digital ones? There are small DACs and ADCs that might use a die size about this size also that sell for $25-50. It's interesting to think that the die cost is only a dime. Makes it easier for me to not feel bad about asking for samples.
Die is dime perhaps.
Then there's the leads.
Encapsulation/curing.
Testing.
Marking.
Packaging (tube, tray, etc).
Handling for all that, robotics infrastructure.
Mailing cost for free samples.
Little each, all adds up to something.
CrossRoads:
Die is dime perhaps.
Then there's the leads.
Encapsulation/curing.
Testing.
Marking.
Packaging (tube, tray, etc).
Handling for all that, robotics infrastructure.
Mailing cost for free samples.
Little each, all adds up to something.
I suspect the biggie is the postage on most samples orders until they decide they should send me a reel.