CAB-14909 FTDI to USB-C Cable Vcc Voltage Level

Other Miscellaneous
1

Dear SparkFun,

I recently purchased two SparkFun CAB-14909 cables (“FTDI to USB-C Cable - 3.3V”) for connecting to my SparkFun GPS-15193 breakout boards. In the second paragraph of the CAB-14909 product description, where the six-pin connector pinout is detailed, the text says, “VCC 3.3V (Red).” Unfortunately, that text appears to be erroneous; powering the GPS board from the CAB-14909 cable, I measure 5 volts, not 3.3 volts, at the red wire. My GPS-15193 board is now damaged.

Other customers who, based on SparkFun’s description, purchased CAB-14909 cables to operate 3.3V boards might also now have boards that are damaged, or that will become so when the cables are eventually connected. Given the potential for costly hardware damage, SparkFun might want to contact customers who purchased CAB-14909 cables to inform them of this issue.

Regards-

2

Hi Bongos.

Sorry to hear about this!

Can you PM me your order number so we can check into this for you?

3

Can you confirm that a CAB-14909 ordered today will still have 5V VCC? Previously we have relied on this, but the error in the product description is making us nervous.

4

Hi liteyear.

I just double checked these and the VCC line is 5 volts, not the 3.3 we have specified on the product page. We’re working to get that corrected, but for now if you need 3.3 volt VCC, you don’t want to purchase the cable we have in stock.

(The data lines are 3.3 volt though)