I have been finding more and more that I needed some way to attach to devices in the field that didn't have level shifted serial ports.
Since most embedded hardware has a serial port (typically hidden in an obscure place) I decided to build a device that would allow me to attach to these embedded machines with limited to no effort. It would need to be something portable with a clear screen and be able to do X/Y/Z modem transfers and not require external power.
Clearly this is starting to sound like an embedded device of its own. I happened to see a dealsea offering for a n810 so i grabbed one. After some googling i got the serial details and below are some pictures of the hack. I used some micro wire from an iPhone headset and cut up a simple small connector to use. After enabling serial using 0xFFFF it works perfectly.
First test device? The Bugbase of course :) I grabbed a QTE connector and after some fine soldering, some pcb and a glue gun i have a TTL module. Also if your interested in custom Bug modules check out my other one here