Serial ports are old tech, but old tech is meant to be hacked. Here’s an adapter for Bus Pirate 5 and Bus Pirate 6 that's handy to have around if you work with vintage hardware or industrial equipment - the Dual RS-232 adapter for Bus Pirate.
This adapter has male DTE (Data Terminal Equipment) and female DCE (Data Communications Equipment) connectors, allowing your Bus Pirate UART (0-5volts) to communicate with true RS-232 devices (generally +/-13volts). The DTE connector is typically used on a computer or terminal, and the DCE connector is typically used on a modem or other device. The adapter level-shifts 4 UART signals: TX, RX, RTS and CTS, whilst the Bus Pirate UART supports hardware flow control using the RTS and CTS pins.
Microcontrollers typically have a TTL serial UART where a 0 is represented by 0 volts and a 1 is represented by 3.3volts or 5volts. RS-232 uses a different voltage range - a 0 is represented by +3 to +15volts and a 1 is represented by -3 to -15volts. The Bus Pirate can’t directly communicate with RS-232 devices because it’s voltage range is too low, but this adapter converts the Bus Pirate UART to RS-232 voltage levels.
This deluxe version uses a genuine a Maxim/ADI MAX3232CSE+ transceiver IC chip. A basic version exists that uses a China domestic production HGSemi 3232 chip, but we decided against stocking that version.
Features
Adds true RS-232 connectivity to Bus Pirate 5 and Bus Pirate 6
Ideal for vintage computers, industrial systems and other legacy serial hardware
Converts the Bus Pirate’s 0–5V UART signals to standard RS-232 voltage levels
Includes both male DTE and female DCE connectors for flexible device compatibility
Level-shifts TX, RX, RTS and CTS signals
Supports RTS/CTS hardware flow control
Deluxe version with a genuine Maxim/ADI MAX3232CSE+ transceiver
