WTB Looking for CH341A 1.8V Adapter

ineedlove

Recruit
Looking for CH341A 1.8V Adapter
(Already have CH341A, just looking for low voltage adapter)

Thanks

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You could swap out that AMS1117 linear regulator with a 1.8v version for not much money?


Contrary to what snobby soldering elitists would have us believe, you do not need specialty equipment to do SMD rework. A regular iron works fine, with a very basic technique of adding excess solder to bridge all of the pins, and then heating that side of the chip to lift it up:


But if you're looking at these kind of programmers then you probably do have the skills to change out the vreg, I think.
 
Hi, thanks for the reply.

You could swap out that AMS1117 linear regulator with a 1.8v version for not much money?
I had also thought about this but my main concern is that mine CH341A is a genric Chinese one and it currently delivers 5V on some pins and 3.3V on some pins.
There are multiple threads on internet about converting it to complete 3.3V one, like this thread https://www.chucknemeth.com/usb-devices/ch341a/3v-ch341a-mod

If I just replace the 3.3V VREG with 1.8V VREG without converting the CH341A to complete 3.3V then some pins will have 1.8V and some will have 5V (and this 5V might just fry the eprom)

Now the question arises if I first convert it to a complete 3.3V one and then replace the 3.3V VREG with 1.8V VREG, will it work?
Have you tried it?

But if you're looking at these kind of programmers then you probably do have the skills to change out the vreg, I think.
And this is not a big task for me I have replaced many eprom with just a soldering iron.
 
Now the question arises if I first convert it to a complete 3.3V one and then replace the 3.3V VREG with 1.8V VREG, will it work?

I've only done the 5v to 3v mod for a couple of EPS8266's. I've looked at it more closely and it looks like changing the vreg isn't going to work, you'll need the low voltage adapter.
 
I've only done the 5v to 3v mod for a couple of EPS8266's. I've looked at it more closely and it looks like changing the vreg isn't going to work, you'll need the low voltage adapter.
CH341A IC work between 3.3V and 5V according to datasheet so simply replacing the Vreg would not work.

I was successfully able to read, erase, write and verify a 1.8V BIOS chip without the 1.8V adapter.

The BIOS chip was MX25U12873F 1.8V 16Mb its from the MSI A320M Pro-VH Plus motherboard.

The trick was first convert the cheap CH341A to complete 3.3V (so its safe to use) like this thread https://www.chucknemeth.com/usb-devices/ch341a/3v-ch341a-mod

Then install the MX25U12873F on ch341a in 25XX slot, and it should be connected in a way that the PIN 8 (VCC pin) should be disconnected from CH341A, I just used some tape on PIN 8 to avoid connection.
I also checked via multi meter to make sure there was no connection between PIN 8 and CH341A.


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I haven't tested the board yet as I don't have any am4 cpu or ddr4 ram to test.
But I am pretty confident that it will work as I was able to verify the dump with latest bios that I flashed.

I will update this thread whenever I test that board.
 
Hi @rsaeon the board was successfully revived.

Just installing the 1.8V chip on ch341a in 25XX slot and avoiding the connection between the PIN 8 of chip and respective connection point on ch341a does the job.
For programming the chip I used CH341A v1.31(1.4) (CH341AFree) version and my cheap ch341a was modified for 3.3V on all points.
 
Awesome, I have a few boards I need to try this with. Thanks a lot for the update. Adamant IT on youtube rehosted AsProgrammer, I'll be trying that out some day:


 
I did the exact same mod to my CH341A but followed this post https://www.chucknemeth.com/usb-devices/ch341a/3v-ch341a-mod
IMG20210930224659.jpg




The seller from whom I bought this dead board actually bricked it while downgrading the BIOS.
He attempted to flash it via CH341A and 1.8V adapter but broke 2 pins of the BIOS chip while de soldering it from the board.
This BIOS chip MX25U12873F is pretty rare and can only be sourced from Aliexpress (but we all know what happened to AliEx)
So I decided to scrape off some black material to reach the broken pins in order to make some soldering connection to connect very thin wires.
IMG_20210827_140404.jpg
IMG20210827145440.jpg




Then soldered the BIOS chip on the SOP8 PCB.
IMG_20210827_163409.jpg




To avoid the the connection of PIN 8 of chip first I tried to tape the leg 8 but it didn't worked so I covered it with the wire sleeve.
IMG20210827234133.jpg





Then mounted this PCB in CH341A in 25XX space.
IMG202109302246591.jpg



Finally used CH341A v1.31(1.4) (CH341AFree) to program it.
1. Took a backup dump 2 times verified it to make sure it was reading properly.
2. Erased the CHIP
3. Flashed the latest non-beta bios from MSI website verified it and that was it.
 
CH341A IC work between 3.3V and 5V according to datasheet so simply replacing the Vreg would not work.

I was successfully able to read, erase, write and verify a 1.8V BIOS chip without the 1.8V adapter.

The BIOS chip was MX25U12873F 1.8V 16Mb its from the MSI A320M Pro-VH Plus motherboard.

The trick was first convert the cheap CH341A to complete 3.3V (so its safe to use) like this thread https://www.chucknemeth.com/usb-devices/ch341a/3v-ch341a-mod

Then install the MX25U12873F on ch341a in 25XX slot, and it should be connected in a way that the PIN 8 (VCC pin) should be disconnected from CH341A, I just used some tape on PIN 8 to avoid connection.
I also checked via multi meter to make sure there was no connection between PIN 8 and CH341A.


View attachment 112869

I haven't tested the board yet as I don't have any am4 cpu or ddr4 ram to test.
But I am pretty confident that it will work as I was able to verify the dump with latest bios that I flashed.

I will update this thread whenever I test that board.
Thank you!
I have a CH341A but some old "Green" version. My programmer works on 3.3V by default and doesn't need a mod.
The problem is that when I put a 1.8V adapter then CH341A just stops working and I hear a sound like a USB disconnect. I don't know why my CH341A is not compatible with a 1.8V adapter.
By using that trick I was able to flash MX25U12873F on AsRock A320M-HDV R3.0
But worked only with CH341A Programmer v1.4, I've tried NeoProgrammer, AsProgrammer, IK-MR 2.2, Colibri, and even some other strange versions but only CH341A Programmer v1.4 was able to write the chip.
BTW, I saw some new versions of CH341A v1.7 that have a voltage switch and you can change the voltage between 1.8, 2.5, 3.3 and 5V, so no need 1.8V adapter anymore.
 
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