FTDI USB to Serial module

This FT232RL is a popular chip used for converting TTL level serial lines to/from USB serial.  You can find it used with Arduino micro cpus and similar.  The chip supports any voltage logic.  Here it is using 3.3V or 5V logic depending on the jumper setting.  A 3.3V regulator is included on chip.

I used a breakout board from SparkFun to adapt the 28-pin SSOP to 0.1" pitch headers.  This was my first attempt at soldering a surface mount chip.  I was successful soldering the important pins.  Using dual row header sockets, I was able to construct this as a prototype module, making all pins available for use.  LEDs are present for power, RX, and TX.   Sample circuits are available in FTDI's datasheet.