Powered RS232 To TTL Converter

[junuz]

Excuse my ignorance, I have no idea is it safe to try, so I'm asking here first.

I have this RS232 To TTL Converter - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-2-5X-RS232- ... 51b74bc3bb

I bought it for a different purpose. But I'm thinking of using it with my Raspberry Pi now.

The thing is, I would like to save voltage PINs on my Raspberry, and I'm curious can I use converter's own power supply, but RX, TX pins on Raspberry? Is it possible?

[rpdom]

That converter isn't suitable for the Raspberry Pi. It uses a MAX323 chip which works with 5V TTL. You need a converter that uses a MAX3232 chip that works at 3.3V. Fortunately these are cheap

Once you have the right converter you can share the power pins with other projects as it takes very little power.

[junuz]

Thank you very much noble sire.

[klricks]

Excuse my ignorance, I have no idea is it safe to try, so I'm asking here first.

I have this RS232 To TTL Converter - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-2-5X-RS232- ... 51b74bc3bb

I bought it for a different purpose. But I'm thinking of using it with my Raspberry Pi now.

The thing is, I would like to save voltage PINs on my Raspberry, and I'm curious can I use converter's own power supply, but RX, TX pins on Raspberry? Is it possible?

It is possible to use that converter IF you swap the MAX232 chip with a MAX3232. The 2 versions are pin compatible and can be directly swapped. That is what I did with my older adapters.
However when using the RPi you cannot use the USB power cable, instead you must use the jumper wires to supply the board with 3V3. The LED's will be dimmer but will work.
(The board with MAX3232 will still work with your other purpose using the 5V supply)

If might be cheaper to find find a new board with the MAX3232 rather than order a single chip?

[junuz]

Thank you, klricks.

I was wondering if I can save some power on R-Pi by using powered converter.
But now I know few things:
- I'm missing one "3" in my MAX232 chip.
- I can't use converter's power supply.
- I should not be worried about powering converter, because it takes very little power.
- I can share the power pins with other projects.

Thank you all, good ppl.