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CH340 / CH341 USB-Serial Adapter

The WCH CH340/CH341 is the inexpensive USB-serial chip found in most budget programming cables and clone adapters. It works fine for basic CAT and RTS/DTR PTT on a node. Why it matters: It's cheap and everywhere — most no-name radio programming cables use it. Adequate for non-critical node serial duties. Drivers: Modern Linux kernels include the ch341 module; macOS and Windows may need the WCH driver. Quality varies between clones — keep a known-good spare. For a high-reliability permanent node, a CP210x or genuine FTDI is the steadier choice.