Date   : Sun, 04 Jan 2015 11:28:22 +0000
From   : tim.fardell@... (Tim Fardell)
Subject: USB to serial adapters and the BBC Micro

Dr. David Alan Gilbert wrote:
> * Wookie (bbcmicro@...) wrote:
>> On 04/01/15 00:00, Dr. David Alan Gilbert wrote:
>>> I've got a Prolific PL2303 usb serial adaptor running at 1200 baud,
>>> but not to a beeb; not sure I've got an FTDI to try.
>>> (It was just a cheapo usb to pin board I picked up for a couple of quid).
>>
>> I only mentioned the FTDI chipset as I know that is supported in Linux,
>> cheers for that I'll look into that.
>
> My prolific is on Linux; works fine (I've only got rx/tx connected, not doing
> any handshaking).  I've also got a CP210x dongle that I've used on Linux
> (I think at 9k6); again this was a cheap USB to pins board, probably TTL levels
> (or it might be 3.3 so worth checking).

Most of the cheap USB Serial adaptors seem to use Prolific chips. I've got 
several of them of various designs, none of which I paid more than about a 
tenner for, and they all work fine in Linux. I've actually had more problems 
with them in Windows; in Linux they seem to "just work" :)