Here's another way to make your own flash interface, not the best, but probably the least expensive that uses an FTDI chip and driver. And it does top the Nokia and FTDI Cable versions in that you can have an LED diagnostic indicator if you want it.
The instructions are HERE.
Another Low-Cost JP1.2/3 (Flash) Interface
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Tommy Tyler
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Amazing! Thanks so much for your continuing help to this community. I noticed in your instructions that there's no need to connect pin 1. I have a modified 15-100 whose six-pin header came off due to wear and mishandling. Can I ignore pin 1 when I reattach the 15-100's header? If I leave pin 1 unconnected, can I still use the earlier cable I bought from you?
I used to have 5 remotes that controlled one thing each. Now I have 6 remotes that each control everything!
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Tommy Tyler
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Tommy, All this talk about usb to serial converters has brought up a question. Can a regular usb to serial converter like this one http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... OkBEPMCMAE be used by making a simple DB9 to 6 pin adapter cable? Can an adapter cable be used on a regular PC serial port? Can a 10 pin to 6 pin adapter be used on a PC motherboard serial port header? Sorry it expanded into 3 questions. Most newer motherboards still have a serial port header.
Mike
Edited for grammar
Mike
Edited for grammar
Last edited by Dilligaf on Fri May 18, 2012 1:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
@Dilligaf:
In all three cases, you need a "serial JP1-interface", not an "adapter". Instructions for this are found in the forum. Note that a "normal serial port" carries +-12 Volts (originally RS232 was invented for something else than modern electronics), and this will fry electronics like a JP1 remote. To the "regular usb to serial" converter: What the "gallon of gasoline"-thread taught us is that experimenting with no-name usb-serial converters is for those with lots of time and very, very little money... (although I personally had success, as I have reported.)
In all three cases, you need a "serial JP1-interface", not an "adapter". Instructions for this are found in the forum. Note that a "normal serial port" carries +-12 Volts (originally RS232 was invented for something else than modern electronics), and this will fry electronics like a JP1 remote. To the "regular usb to serial" converter: What the "gallon of gasoline"-thread taught us is that experimenting with no-name usb-serial converters is for those with lots of time and very, very little money... (although I personally had success, as I have reported.)
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Tommy Tyler
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Maybe this will help clarify things a bit. There are two basic types of "USB Converters" on the market. The first, and most familiar type, essentially creates a VCP (virtual com port) at a computer that does not have a serial output port, to enable it to communicate with equipment that does. This is the type in the link at the start of this thread. You can identify these easily because they have a DB9 output connector just like the serial connector your computer doesn't have. Its serial data lines exhibit true RS232 voltage levels, often swinging between -12V and +12V, and always resting in the low voltage state when the line is idle.
The second type of converter often goes by a name such as USB-to-RS232 TTL converter, or USB-to-Serial TTL converter, or something similar. Your clues are the designation "TTL" and the absence of a DB9 output connector. TTL refers to the voltage levels of its signals, which are in the 0 to 5V range. This type of converter is also used to create a VCP at a USB port, but the outputs are not intended for transmission to remote equipment. Rather, they are intended to be connected to devices such as microprocessors that accept TTL voltage level signals. Also, the polarity of the data signals is inverted from normal RS232, and the line rests in the higher voltage state when idle.
The second type of converter can sometimes be used as the basis for a flash interface, since the signal levels and polarity are compatible with a remote. But the first type of converter requires a regular serial flash interface be inserted between the converter and the remote to invert the signals and protect from the high voltages.
The second type of converter often goes by a name such as USB-to-RS232 TTL converter, or USB-to-Serial TTL converter, or something similar. Your clues are the designation "TTL" and the absence of a DB9 output connector. TTL refers to the voltage levels of its signals, which are in the 0 to 5V range. This type of converter is also used to create a VCP at a USB port, but the outputs are not intended for transmission to remote equipment. Rather, they are intended to be connected to devices such as microprocessors that accept TTL voltage level signals. Also, the polarity of the data signals is inverted from normal RS232, and the line rests in the higher voltage state when idle.
The second type of converter can sometimes be used as the basis for a flash interface, since the signal levels and polarity are compatible with a remote. But the first type of converter requires a regular serial flash interface be inserted between the converter and the remote to invert the signals and protect from the high voltages.