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I was planning on flashing my mini os onto my NXP - LPC1313FBD48 (here is a link to where I bought it) but I wasn't really sure how. So I asked but I was told that I would need a serial to usb connector. I wasn't sure if they meant something like This or something like this. So my questions are

  1. Which connector do I use and how do I pick the connector?
  2. How do I use the connector with my MCU (ex. Plug one end into my usb connector and put Jumper wires onto certain ports of my MCU inorder to send the data)?
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  • \$\begingroup\$ Please put the part number of the MCU in the question title and body; it's absurdly broad without that, and asking people to follow a link to a vendor catalog is impolite. Also give the products you reference names rather than just links. \$\endgroup\$
    – Chris Stratton
    Commented May 5, 2013 at 17:30
  • \$\begingroup\$ @ChrisStratton ok. I'll do that \$\endgroup\$
    – Coder404
    Commented May 5, 2013 at 17:31
  • \$\begingroup\$ You need to design a suitable PCB for your application, and get one made. \$\endgroup\$
    – Leon Heller
    Commented May 5, 2013 at 17:34
  • \$\begingroup\$ @LeonHeller Sorry, but I don't really understand your comment \$\endgroup\$
    – Coder404
    Commented May 5, 2013 at 17:34
  • \$\begingroup\$ The choice of USB serial converter would depend on the surrounding circuitry on the board rather than on the bare MCU. If the board has RS232 level shifters, you'll want a consumer-type converter with it's own RS232 level shifters and typically a DE-9 connector. If the board doesn't have level shifters, it will probably want a logic level cable with a rectangular header or breakout to loose wires, however there's still the question of which precise logic voltage is needed. As a guess probably the 3.3v, as most MCU's still have 3.3v UART pins, but high performance chips may need lower. \$\endgroup\$
    – Chris Stratton
    Commented May 5, 2013 at 17:37

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I'll assume you have a bare LPC1313 chip (presumably on a PCB that exposes the pins) and want to program it. If you have a complete board it will likely contain an RS232 interface, in which case your first link points to a suitable usb-rs232-serial converter.

You will need an usb-to-3v3-ttl-serial converter. Your first link is an usb-to-rs232-serial converter, you would need to add an rs232-to-3v3-ttl conversion, which can be done (for instace) with a few transistors. Your second link is a power cable, which is not relevant at all.

If you don't object to pressing a few buttons when downloading (to get the chip into bootload mode) you should check one of the various usb-to-ttl-serial converters, for instance one of these by FTDICHIP.

When you want hands-off loading of your application you need a converter that provides the RTS and DTR signals. I sell a small board that does just this, you could clone the design but it note that it contains an SMD chip.

An alternative could be to switch to an LPC1343, that chip adds an USB bootloader: just connect it to your PC, it will appear as a mass storage device. Copy the executable to it, disconnect, and you can start your applications. This sounds great, but in practice it is more tedious than serial bootloading.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Sorry but I am unclear on a few things in your answer: 1. it seems as though your solution is for writing applications to the MCU. I want to edit the bootloader so it can load a custom built OS. 2. I am still unsure on which part I need to use \$\endgroup\$
    – Coder404
    Commented May 9, 2013 at 23:27
  • \$\begingroup\$ You can't change the onboard bootloader, it is in ROM. You asked about "flashing my mini os onto my NXP - LPC1313FBD48" - no mentioning of chaning your bootloader! As to what part you need: what you you have, a bare chip? some PCB? \$\endgroup\$
    – Wouter van Ooijen
    Commented May 11, 2013 at 17:45
  • \$\begingroup\$ Oh ok. Can I edit the bootloader so that it can load my C code? \$\endgroup\$
    – Coder404
    Commented May 11, 2013 at 18:11
  • \$\begingroup\$ And I have a bare chip, on a PCB that exposes the wires \$\endgroup\$
    – Coder404
    Commented May 11, 2013 at 18:12
  • \$\begingroup\$ Using a suitable PC applicartion (lpc21isp, Flash Magic) an a serial connection you can load the .hex file generated from your C code onto the chip. You need an USB-to-serial converter, my choice would be an FT232 chip. \$\endgroup\$
    – Wouter van Ooijen
    Commented May 11, 2013 at 18:32

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