Are you often developing on the ESP8266/ESP32 platforms? Do you also use the new AVR microcontrollers that use UPDI? Then this handy dongle is for you! It packs both functions, as well as a 3.3V regulator into a small USB-C dongle.
It uses the CH340C in a clever way to do both serial communication using the typical USB-to-UART protocol, as well as SerialUPDI programming. This way, it can handle the new AVR-1 series microcontrollers like the tiny417/817/1617 and also program ESP microcontrollers. Plus, it’s always handy to have a 3.3V UART around for communicating with 3.3V microcontrollers, which are becoming more and more common.
The onboard 3.3V regulator can supply up to 800mA, which is plenty for even medium-sized microcontroller projects. It has an LED to show when power is on, and a jumper to disconnect the 3.3V output so you can safely use it to program 5V UPDI targets. Burgduino also has an Arduino Nano adapter for programming UPDI targets that offers the same cost-effective approach as this dongle but directly supports outputting 5V if that’s a requirement for your project.
I’ve learned over the years that you can pretty much never have too many USB-to-UART dongles in the lab. I love that this one uses USB-C, which is quickly becoming the dominant standard on pretty much all microcontroller dev boards and accessories! I’ve been slowly trying to get rid of all my micro B dongles, so this one is a great choice if you’re trying to standardize on USB-C.
