Many of my fellow radio amateurs will be familiar with USB to Serial adaptors, the lack of RS-232 ports on modern computers mean they see plenty of use within the radio amateur community especially for CAT control of our Radio’s.
One of the most popular (and the one offering the best compatibility) is the FT232R chip from the scottish company FTDI. They have built a reputation for producing great USB UART IC’s with excellent compatibility and more importantly drivers that are included within windows. These devices are found in thousands of other devices from aurduino’s to 3D printers. Their popularity however means that there are a whole host of clones and couterfeit devices out there, most of which are indistiguishable from the real thing and it seems that FTDI have decided to do something about it by rendering these fakes inoperable.
