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Topic: Microchip MCP2200 (Read 5357 times) previous topic - next topic

Microchip MCP2200

Hi,

i was looking around and i was surprised that i havnt seem any mention of microchips USB-uart chip anywhere the MCP2200.
http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/22228A.pdf

It looks to me like it could be a cheaper alternative the the standard fdti chip everyone uses. Also being pin compatable wth the 18f44K50 (?) PIC it would be possible to have some nice options on boards that required different firmware.

I am currently looking at getting some usb-ttl boards made up that could be both a replacement for the fdti serial boards as well as a development platform for the 18f chip.

anyone have any comments on this chip or any other information as i havnt got to use one yet so i am guessing a bit.

Re: Microchip MCP2200

Reply #2 –
nice little boards you linked to there.

but i think ill still make my own. its something to do afterall.

also when i said i couldnt see any mention of them after searching around. i did mean on DP not ont he net. i have found a few different versions around the net.

I just thought that since this place does alot with pic chips someone else would have mentioned it by now as possibly a cheaper alternative to the FDTI chip.

Re: Microchip MCP2200

Reply #3 –
this chip is indeed cheaper (about a third) then the ft232. The downside of this chip it needs some extra circuitry, like a crystal and some extra caps. Also I'm not totally sure about the PID/VID license. I did order some to play with.

It also has some extra gpio pins which can be bitbanged (through a downloadable .dll)

Re: Microchip MCP2200

Reply #4 –
We have a breakout for this board on the way :)
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Re: Microchip MCP2200

Reply #6 –
I ordered some a couple weeks ago with mouser and received them two weeks ago.

Re: Microchip MCP2200

Reply #7 –
[quote author="Sjaak"]this chip is indeed cheaper (about a third) then the ft232. The downside of this chip it needs some extra circuitry, like a crystal and some extra caps.[/quote]That's very impressive!  Earlier versions of the FT232 required an external 6 MHz crystal or resonator.

In contrast, many PIC chips have an internal oscillator which will work without an external crystal, but the accuracy is not good enough to meet USB specifications so you're stuck with a crystal.

One thing to note is that the modern FT232 still requires an external crystal when operating at 3.3 V, or at anything below 4.0 V, for that matter.  Thankfully, USB is guaranteed to deliver 4.01 V under all configurations (even downstream from a bus-powered hub), but you have to design the circuit correctly.

In other words, any design with a 3.3 V regulator feeding an FT232 without an external crystal is in danger of not working under all conditions.  However, since the FT232 provides a 50 mA 3.3 V regulator function, it seems highly unlikely that someone would design a board with an external 3.3 V regulator and underpower the FT232 internal oscillator.

Re: Microchip MCP2200

Reply #8 –
[quote author="ian"]
We have a breakout for this board on the way :)
[/quote]

cool, please tell me it hass the standard pinout for uart that alot of the fdti boards use.

oh and hopefully we can just buy the black board so we can choose mcp2200 or 18f pic for the board :)

Re: Microchip MCP2200

Reply #9 –
It will now...
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Re: Microchip MCP2200

Reply #10 –
Ian,

i was just ondering if your design is close to somthing finished or if i should continue with my own. im not in a huge hurry but it would be nice to be playing with something before christmas.

Re: Microchip MCP2200

Reply #11 –
The boards are on the way now. This should be a simple design to test, so it shouldn't be too long.
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