Serial port (UART) is almost extinct on personal computers but for electronic hobbyists, it is still an essential communication protocol when dealing with hardware. USB to serial/UART chip creates a virtual serial port when connected to a USB port of a PC.
FTDI's FT232RL is a popular USB to serial interface chip. This breakout board allows you to do just that, connects your microcontroller to a computer for communication, programming or data transferring.
The board has a mini USB connector to connect to the host (PC) USB port using the included cable. There are TX and RX LEDs that blink when there is data sent or received. Connection to your hardware uses a 6-pin right-angle header. You might need to use jumper wire for the connection. Remember to cross TX pin of the board to RX pin of your microcontroller and vice versa.
There are more pins from the FT232 chip broken out to solder holes on both sides of the board. Should you need to use these additional functions, you can solder your own header.
From a PC, you can use this board to program Arduino (the smaller ones like Arduino Pro/Mini doesn't have USB connector), ESP8266 WiFi boards, Raspberry Pi or Beaglebone Black or any other devices that use serial communication. This boards works with all major operating system (Windows, Linux, MacOS). Drivers can be downloaded here.
Logic level
The board supports 3.3V and 5V logic level which you can switch easily using the on-board jumper.
Boards like ESP8266, Raspberry Pi and Beaglebone Black work at 3.3V logic level and the GPIO pins are not 5V tolerant. Do not connect them to this board when it is set at 5V logic level or your board will be damaged instantly!
Features:
Uses FTDI's FT232RL chip
Connector Type: mini USB (mini USB to USB cable is included)
