Has anybody got a PPC connected via USB to work with Arduino please?
I guess that means is there a serial port driver for such a task?
[Edit] I had better qualify that... Can the PPC be used to receive data from an Arduino that is pre-programmed to send it, i.e. in the same way as to the console window, but to a PPC which has only USB slave and USB host?
Some PPCs (pretty much all of the earlier ones) have both serial and USB slave interfaces. If the device plugs into a cradle, instead of having a mini USB connector built-in, there's a decent chance you can get a serial cable for it.
Then you can connect to the Arduino via serial (exactly how depends on which model you have. All of mine are "serial only", so I don't need to worry about dealing with the FTDI chip).
Thanks for that response. My Arduinos all have USB input and at present works with my laptop which does not have serial anyway. So I have the problem. I believe that I have serial on the socket of my Acer n310 but it seems impossible to obtain a serial cable even if I had serial on Arduino.
I guess I am stuck. I wanted to use the PPC because of the touch screen which would provide some scope for 'playing'.
My PPC has cables for both USB Slave and another for Host.
Connecting to Arduino Uno.
I have found a driver here http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP/WinCE/CE4252/ARMv4VCPDriver.zip
and I have placed the ftdi_ser.dll and the associated inf file in the Windows directory on the Acer n300 WM5.
I plugged the Arduino into the USB Host cable on the Acer and a dialog appeared asking for the driver name.
I entered as instructed in the update.txt file that came with the driver, ftdi_ser.dll.
There is a readme file that indicates that the inf file can be edited for a different VID. I used USBView and I found idVendor: 0x2341 and PID 0001. I edited and then plugged Arduino into USB Host.
On viewing the USB Host device under System Information it says that no device is plugged in but it does give Manufacturer 23 41 00 01 and no Storage label name
Part of Update.txt...
Serial WinCE 4.2-6.0. Driver Version 1.1.0.6
ftdi_ser.dll - the serial driver - type this in when prompted after device plug in.
FTDIPORT.INF - inf file
Copy both files (if required - see INF files for additional information) to the \Windows directory then plug in device.
Dialog will prompt for a driver name - use "ftdi_ser.dll" in full.Release 1.1.0.6:
Fixed issue with persistant port.
Any assistance will be gratefully received. I hope I have given everything that is required and that the post is clear.
The only good thing is I get a green light, but then power is permanently on the host, so no big deal 
Sorry to keep pushing this.
Perhaps different questions.
Is the driver I am attempting to use, correct?
it does not see either UNO or 1280 MEGA.
Is there anything else in the INF file (slim as it is) that is supplied by FTDI that needs setting?
The UNO .INF file supplied with IDE v21 has a lot more in it, does there need to be a special .INF file written for the Arduino for each driver?
However the Playground does indicate that the latest drivers can be downloaded from FTDI which seems to suggest not unless the supplied .INF should not be used.
Getting desperate now.
Have you tried forums/websites that are more WinCE-/PPC-oriented?
You might have gotten lucky and found someone here who had successfully tinkered with an Arduino as a PDA slave, but the vast majority of members are focussed on using the Arduino either standalone, or connected to a PC.
Since there's nothing Arduino-specific about the FTDI interface, your odds of getting help are probably better on some sort of PPC developers' forum.
I am grateful for the suggestion and will certainly try that. I think that the problem might be in the INF file, Arduino supplies one and it is different to FTDI. Perhaps somebody on the 'board' will pick this up and investigate.
Perhaps I could mock up an old Arduino and obtain the firmware and build the serial interface circuit.
If you come back to view this thread perhaps you could answer a question, I have searched in vain.
With a Arduino with USB is it possible to set the board up for TTL serial WITH handshake, in which case I could progress the same way you have with the original serial (apart from the level converters, which I won't need)? To do this without handshake would be fruitless.