August 17, 2010
=================
This CD-ROM contains drivers and associated documentation to support the
Amplicon USB-232U and USB-485Ui USB to serial converters, based on the
FTDI FT232B USB UART chip. The drivers also support the Amplicon
USB-232 and USB-485i based on the FT8U232AM USB UART chip.
Hardware manual
===============
For the hardware manual, please see the PDF file: "USB232-485.PDF".
This is particularly important for the USB-485 devices as it details the
jumper settings and connections. (The USB-232 devices have standard
connections and no jumpers.)
Installation of driver software
===============================
This section describes installation of the "VCP" (Virtual COM Port) or
"CDM" (Combined Driver Model) drivers used to install the USB serial
converter as a COM port on Windows and other operating systems.
The drivers are in the "Drivers" folder.
Windows XP, Vista, 7, 2000, Server 2003, Server 2008, Server 2008 R2
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The drivers for Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7,
Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are
in the folder "Win XP, Vista, 7, 2000-2008", which is in the "Drivers"
folder.
For 32-bit editions and 64-bit "x64" editions of these operating
systems, run the "CDM20802_Setup.exe" program in that folder.
Alternatively, the drivers may be installed from the "Found New
Hardware" wizard that pops up when the USB serial adapter is plugged in
for the first time. Instructions for this are in the PDF files within
the "Win XP, Vista, 7, 2000-2008" folder:
* "Windows_2000_Installation_Guide.pdf" for Windows 2000. (Please see
section 2.1 in the PDF file: "3.1 Installing CDM Drivers via the Found
New Hardware Wizard".)
* "Windows_XP_Installation_Guide_(AN_104).pdf" for Windows XP. (Please
see section 2.1 in the PDF file: "2.1 Installing Via The Found New
Hardware Wizard".)
* "Windows_VISTA_Installation_Guide_(AN_103).pdf" for Windows Vista.
(Please see section 3 in the PDF file: "3 Installing CDM Drivers".)
* "Windows_7_Installation_Guide_(AN_119).pdf" for Windows 7. (Please
see section 3 in the PDF file: "3 Installing CDM Drivers".)
** Note: The installation from the "Found New Hardware" wizard has been
known to fail on Windows 2000, requiring the drivers for the "USB Serial
Port" to be reinstalled manually via Windows Device Manager. For this
reason, it is preferable to install the drivers by running the
"CDM20802_Setup.exe" program.
Windows 98 and Windows ME
-------------------------
The drivers for Windows 98 and Windows ME are in the "Win 98, ME"
folder, which is in the "Drivers" folder. The drivers are installed
using the "Add New Hardware" wizard that pops up when the USB serial
adapter is plugged in for the first time. Please see section 2.2 in the
PDF file "Windows_98_Installation_Guide.pdf" in the "Win 98, ME" folder:
"2.2 Installing VCP Drivers".
It is necessary to use the "Specify a location" option when installing
the drivers and to use the "Browse" button to browse to the "Win 98, ME"
folder. This needs to be done twice: once for the whole device and once
for the serial port.
Mac OS X
--------
Drivers for Mac OS X 10.4 upwards, and for older versions of Mac OS X
are included in the "Mac OS" folder, which is in the "Drivers" folder.
Please see section 2.1 of the PDF file "Mac_OS_X_Installation_Guide.pdf"
in that folder: "2.1 Installing VCP drivers". The driver package for OS
X 10.4 is universal PPC & Intel. The driver packages for older versions
of Mac OS X are PPC only.
The folder also contains a driver for Mac OS 8 and Mac OS 9.
Windows Mobile, Windows PocketPC, Windows CE
--------------------------------------------
Drivers for Windows Mobile 5, Mobile 6, PocketPC 2003 and Windows CE
versions 4.2 upwards are included in the "Windows Mobile, PocketPC, CE"
folder, which is in the "Drivers" folder. Please see section 2.2 of the
PDF file "Windows_CE_Installation_Guide.pdf" in that folder: "2.2
Installing VCP Drivers". Support is included for ARM/XScale processors
and for 32-bit x86 processors. The folder structure is as follows:
* "CE 6.0" - drivers for Windows CE 6.0.
+ "ARM, XScale" - drivers for ARM/XScale processors.
+ "x86" - drivers for 32-bit x86 processors.
* "Mobile 5-6, PocketPC 2003, CE 4.2-5.2" - drivers for Windows Mobile
5, Windows Mobile 6, Windows PocketPC 2003, Windows CE versions 4.2 to
5.2.
+ "ARM, XScale" - drivers for ARM/XScale processors.
+ "x86" - drivers for 32-bit x86 processors.
Linux
-----
Support for the USB serial converter is provided by the "ftdi_sio"
driver. On most Linux distributions, the "ftdi_sio" kernel driver module is
installed by default, and should load automatically when the USB serial
converter is plugged in. It normally appears as "/dev/ttyUSB0" or
"/dev/tts/USB0" assuming it is the only USB serial device connected.
OpenBSD and FreeBSD
-------------------
OpenBSD 3.2 and greater and FreeBSD 4.8 and greater include support for
the USB serial converters using the 'uftdi' driver, but it might not
support all the custom baud rates.
Application Notes
=================
Various application notes are included in the "AppNotes" folder.
Installation-related application notes:
* "COMPORT.PDF" - Guide to changing COM ports under Windows
98.
Application notes for new USB-232U and USB-485Ui (based on FT232B UART):
* "AN232B-04_DataLatflow.pdf" - Application note about data rates,
latency and flow control for new USB-232U
and USB-485Ui (based on FT232B UART).
* "AN232B-05_BaudRates.pdf" - Application note about replacing the
driver's predefined baud rate divisors for
USB-232U and USB-485Ui (based on FT232B
UART).
Application notes for older USB-232 and USB-485i (based on FT8U232AM):
* "AN232-04.PDF" - Application note about data rates, latency
and flow control for older USB-232 and
USB-485i (based on FT8U232AM UART).
* "AN232-4C.PDF" - Updated version of application note
AN232-04.
* "an232-06.pdf" - Application note about using a programmable
"event character" to reduce the latency of
the receiver.
* "an232-01.pdf" - Application note about replacing the
driver's predefined baud rate divisors for
USB-232 and USB-485i (based on FT8U232AM
UART).
Other application notes (please contact FTDI for more information about
these):
* "AN232B-07_LocIDs.pdf" - Application note about configuring the
driver to use USB location IDs instead of
serial numbers to identify USB COM ports.
This is useful for manufacturing
line-testing applications.
* "AN232B-08_VCP_Win98_EnumOptions.pdf" - Describes how to modify the
INF files on Windows 98 (or Windows ME) to
disable detection of external modems and
serial mice connected to the USB serial
converter.
* "AN232B-09_ModemEmulation_Mode.pdf" - Application note about enabling
a "modem emulation" mode in the driver.
* "AN232B-10_Advanced_Driver_Options.pdf" - Application note describing
some special-purpose configuration options
for the Windows drivers.
* "AN232R-04_CDM.pdf" - Describes how the previous Windows VCP and
D2XX drivers have been combined into a
single "CDM" (Combined Driver Model) driver.
Other documents:
* "baudrate.txt" - Information about supported baud rates.
Extras
======
The "Extras" folder contains additional software which may be of use but
is not required for normal operation of the device as a COM port.
FTDI Port Monitor
-----------------
This is a desktop gadget for Windows Vista to monitor which FTDI COM
ports are available.
D2XX
----
D2XX is an alternate programming interface for the USB232 and USB485
devices as an alternative to the usual COM port (VCP) interface. See
the file "README_D2XX.TXT" in the "D2XX" folder (which is in the
"Extras" folder) for more information.
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.