Okay,
I had to get different stuff than reccomended on the serial port how-to page, and some of it is pretty ghetto.  The guy at the electronics shop assured me that this will do the job, but I wanted to make sure and ask some questions before starting on it.

I'm trying to follow the guide found here:

http://www.rwhitby.net/wrt54gs/serial.html

This is the requirements for the serial port on mod page:

AD233BK 233A Serial I/O Kit w/CTS-RTS - I don't have this kit.  I do have a chip (A Sipex SP232ACP with numbers 0039 under the name) that the guy said would work, but it only has 8 pins instead of 10.  I notice in Ron Whitby's page, only 8 of the pins are used.  Will this thing do what I need?

Edit:

Here's a link to the data sheet for this chip, comparing it to the 10 pin version "I Think."
http://www.sipex.com/Files/DataSheets/sp232_312a.pdf

Hoping there is a talented electronics someone out there lurking.

I don't have the circuit board for it either, but I do have a socket, so I don't have to solder directly on to the chip's pins.  Can anyone tell me if this chip will do the job it needs to do?  What I want most out of this is a console, because my router is bricked and I can't seem to get it unbricked any other way.

DSUBPCSF9 9-pin female PC straight connector - I have this
IDCMH10 10-pin shrouded male IDC header - I do not have this, I have some ribbon cable, which the guy said I could solder directly to the serial port on the router's board.  Will that be okay?

IDDC10 10-pin contact female IDC socket - Don't need this because I don't have the 10 pin shrouded male IDC header.  I do have one of these though.

POLHDCON6 6-pin header connector
PLHDPIN Crimping pins for POLHDCON6 (includes 10 pins)
MCCABLE10 10-pin flat ribbon cable (multi-colour) - I have this

Any suggestions on where to get started?

Thanks all,
Jim

(Last edited by gdijim on 17 Jan 2006, 05:53)

The problem I see with the SP232ACP is that everything on the datasheet refers to using a +5V supply.  You need +3.3V part.  I used the MAX3233E (http://www.maxim-ic.com/quick_view2.cfm/qv_pk/2008), which has the added benefit of not requiring any external capacitors (might want a 0.1uF bypass cap across the power pins though).  I got mine as free samples from the website...I suggest the MAX3233ECPP, which is the DIP package.

Heh, I had to do the same thing to rescue my Asus wl500gx

You could solder the ribbon cable directly to the PCB....but assuming that you are new to this, I would recommend not doing so.  Bite the bullet and find the header.  The link you have shows a shrouded one...I wouldn't worry about getting one with a shroud.  You can  get larger, "breakaway"  headers, which have more pins, but you break off just the size you need.  Perhaps you can obtain one of these more easily?

I suggest getting the header, a new transceiver part, a small PCB, and then just solder everything together.  Do the router bit last, so you get some practice first   It should be a pretty easy job, especially if you get the part that doesn't require external caps.

Good luck!

Joel