FS: CH340G chip - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: technix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2015, 06:55:43 pm
content: I have blown quite a bit of buzz with the CH340G chip and now I have decided to start distributing it on Tindie. WCH is located in Nanjing, very close to Shanghai where I live, so if I get big orders I will order it directly to the manufacturer.Link:https://www.tindie.com/products/maxtch/wch-ch340g-chip/

author: dadler
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 12, 2015, 09:16:54 pm
content: What are the benefits of this chip over the FTDI variants, other than price?

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2015, 09:47:11 pm
content: Would be nice to show the chips in an ESD safe environment. Even better: chips in plastic tubes. I wouldn't want chips which where wiped from a kitchen table into a paper bag by hand.

author: retrolefty
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2015, 10:54:30 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on August 12, 2015, 09:47:11 pmModern micro based chips almost always have internal clamping diodes for some degree of ESD protection. They are not as sensitive as CMOS chips in the old days.QuoteIt's price. After all the news of counterfeit FTDI chips was exposed many high volume arduino Chinese clone makers converted with the CH340G chip. Of course that means you have to trust the required downloaded driver code you have to locate and hope it works on whatever version of OS your using. I'll stick to real FTDI chips thank you.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2015, 11:47:04 pm
content: Quote from: retrolefty on August 12, 2015, 10:54:30 pmFamous last words... I have had boards crap out due to static discharge. Besides that designing the ESD clamping protection and input/output pads of a chip is an art in itself. I don't expect this cheap chip to have an excellent ESD protection mechanism. Handling chips in an ESD safe environment (at least an ESD mat and wrist band) is the professional thing to do. There is nothing more frustrating than having to troubleshoot a board which has a faulty chip. And since technix doesn't take back chips which have been soldered in he better make 1000% sure the chip isn't damaged by his handling or his business will be over soon.

author: retrolefty
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2015, 12:00:49 am
content: Quote from: nctnico on August 12, 2015, 11:47:04 pmI'm sure in a professional setting any and all ESD protection and procedures are worth doing or at least evaluating. As a hobbyist for many decades I've never recall such a failure. I own but never used a ESD wrist strap. Lots of failures due to brain farts however.It's just that I see posting threads where so many extra components are hung onto the board inputs in the name of bullet proof protection, where I don't see it on most of the commercial equipment I own, looking at their schematics.I know the early CMOS logic chips were very vulnerable until actually installed onto it's PCB, hell just floating an unused input could destroy those old chips, I had a nice thumb blister to remember that by.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2015, 12:06:35 am
content: Quote from: retrolefty on August 13, 2015, 12:00:49 amOfftopic: Just wait until you need to pass a real certification test and then arm a circuit against what kind of interference it receives in the field.

author: retrolefty
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2015, 12:10:20 am
content: Quote from: nctnico on August 13, 2015, 12:06:35 amAs I stated I'm a hobbyist and don't have to please the overseers. I can just have fun.

author: technix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2015, 02:24:31 am
content: Quote from: nctnico on August 12, 2015, 09:47:11 pmIf you need then in tubes, order them in multiples of 50 and I will send you then in their original tubes. If you are ordering two or three of them I will send them to you in an antistatic bag.I never ordered them in quantities larger than 50 so I never got to see the tubes - only cut down ones, and my antistatic bags are so thick it is damn near opaque - not good for photographing.

author: technix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2015, 02:30:08 am
content: Quote from: dadler on August 12, 2015, 09:16:54 pm1. Because of its price and Chinese origin, there is no known fake.2. WCH's driver does not include built-in malware.3. It is oneorder of magnitudeor two cheaper.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2015, 08:57:36 am
content: Quote from: technix on August 13, 2015, 02:30:08 amIt was also the only device which was capable to BSOD my PC. Seriously, I plugged in a serial converter with this chip, BSOD. Driver is not distributed by Microsoft, so you have to look for strange websites for it, with installers, because the manufacturer (god knows what the name is) doesnt even have a website.So as long as some 1 dollar arduino clone, which I can trash if it doesnt work, it is fine. Otherwise, I would never even consider putting it in my design.

author: poorchava
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2015, 09:44:59 am
content: CH340 lacks the ability to generate at true 'driver enable' signal for RS485 transceivers. Most of the available converters found on eBay use the TX signal to enable the driver, which is obviously wrong, as thhere needs to be some delay between DE and the actual start of transmission.Wys?ane z mojego GT-I9100 przy u?yciu Tapatalka

author: technix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2015, 02:29:10 pm
content: Quote from: NANDBlog on August 13, 2015, 08:57:36 amWhich OS version are you using? For Windows I have tried versions 7, 8 and 10, all of them have the drivers in Windows Update. Under Linux this works OOB. OS X does need a driver from WCH themselves but there is zero issue too.Try force Windows to reinstall the driver from Windows Update and you will have the latest, working driver.They do have a website but it is Chinese only. This is why I am selling this chip with a datasheet translated by myself, just to insulate you from their crappy documentation.

author: retrolefty
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2015, 04:26:11 pm
content: QuoteIf that is a fact it takes care of my concerns. I'll try and pick up a cheap arduino clone using that chip and see how it works for this hobbyist.

author: technix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2015, 04:57:17 pm
content: Quote from: retrolefty on August 13, 2015, 04:26:11 pmIt have worked for me and my friends for a long time. We phased out PL2303 and FT232RL entirely when CH340 driver appeared in Windows Update, since PL2303 and FT232RL is a lot more expensive than even the more feature-packed CH340T or CH341, let alone the entry level chip CH340G.