Alternative board for Agilent's USB to IR cable (U1173A) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: Medo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2013, 08:24:48 pm
content: Those with Agilent's USB to IR (U1173A) cable know that it uses obsoleted PL-2303HXA chip. In practice this means a lot if you have Windows 8 because there are no drivers for them.Good thing is that cable has case that can be easily opened and communication board can be replaced. I took some effort in order to make FT232RL based board that can serve as a direct replacement. If anyone is interested board is athttps://bitbucket.org/jmedved/agir/along with list of parts.PS: I am giving away a few working boards I have used for testing this. They are ugly, hand soldered things but they do the work. If someone is interested in a freebie they can PM me. First come, first serve and US-only applies.PPS: Yes, board is useless if you don't have original Agilent's cable.PPPS: If someone with 3D printer can design a case, this could be a beginning of a cheaper USB to IR cable.PPPPS: FT232RL was selected because it has support for anything an everything. Whether it is Windows 98, Windows 8, MaxOS, or Linux this chip is perfectly supported.PPPPPS: I should probably stop using PS this much...

author: Harvs
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2013, 10:30:54 pm
content: No go apparently, that repository isn't public...

author: Medo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2013, 10:46:00 pm
content: Sorry - I forgot to update it.It should be public now.

author: Harvs
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2013, 11:23:57 pm
content: Thanks, could we get a schematic to go with it?Cheers

author: Medo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2013, 01:21:17 am
content: There is hand-drawn one in wiki.It is basically FT232RL recommended circuit; only change is addition of IR LED and phototransistor.

author: toli
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2013, 06:16:06 am
content: This cool mod could go even further. If someone could create a 3D model of the case, and the pinout of the USB cable, people will actually be able to build a whole new cable, so they'll have both of these at the same time.BTW, the only reason I can't do it myself is that I have no experience of how to model things in 3D.

author: DavidDLC
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2014, 03:22:34 am
content: Medo,Do you still have the boards ?I need a couple of them, damn Agilent/KeysightDavid.

author: Medo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2014, 03:37:44 am
content: I don't have any spares at this time - I already gave them away.However, you can order PCB from OSHPark athttps://oshpark.com/shared_projects/EUfdPzPs, parts from DigiKey (BOM athttps://bitbucket.org/jmedved/agir/downloads/AgIR%20%5BC%5D.zip), and solder it yourself. Only potentially problematic part is FT232RL, all other are really easy to solder..

author: DavidDLC
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2014, 03:42:02 am
content: Thanks Medo. I will order the boards and parts.David.

author: DavidDLC
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2014, 12:47:05 am
content: Medo, I put together the board with the components and it does not work.I checked with a scope that the transmitter and emitter works. There is a problem with timming maybe or something else.Do we need to change the FT232 configuration ?David.

author: DavidDLC
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2014, 12:50:56 am
content: Or maybe a special configuration ?Do you have different versions of your board ? The board I got says: C1323David.

author: Medo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2014, 07:04:43 am
content: Hi,C1323 is the correct one.My first suggestion would be to (temporarily) connect two resistor pads closest to the FTDI chip (essentially connecting RX and TX together). Then use some terminal program (e.g. Putty) to determine whether characters are properly echoed. If yes, this will prove that FTDI works correctly (you might want to keep phototransistor in dark for this - blackisolating tape is good).If that is ok, you can test receiving end first by using same terminal program turning switch between various modes on the multimeter. That should show you some numbers (e.g. *1) if phototransitor is fine.You might want to then record with your camera phone LED while you are sending some data - camera should see some visible flickering going on there.PS: My Agilent/Keyholeuses 9600,8,N,1 for communication.PPS: If one of these tests fails you might want to order another LED/phototransitor.