I do it a bit differently and so I am able to connect even the lowliest 8-pin 12F683 project to USB for a modest $2.68 investment (plus the cost of connectors).
I use a 'clone' Nokia CA-42 cell phone cable (USB to TTL level serial) available from one of several different Chinese vendors on eBay which uses the Prolific PL-2303 IC instead of an FTDI IC. Here's one of the vendors I use; Nokia CA-42 + CD, $2.68
I cut off the connector on the cell phone end of the cable and replace it with a 3.5mm "stereo" plug. I wire up the WHT (phone Tx), GRN (phone Rx), and BLK (ground) wires. I put a matching 3.5mm "stereo" jack on my PIC project boards and I'm in business (no MAX232 or equivalent level shifter IC required). Please note that there is no 5v wire in the cable (bummer!).
I've been using a 3.5mm "serial port" jack on my project boards for years (to save space) along with a simple two transistor RS232-to-serial adapter cable. Now I have the luxury of using those project boards with the RS232-to-serial adapter cable or the new USB-to-serial adapter cable.
The image above is of a successful serial bootloader download using my CA-42 USB-to-Serial cable.
Regards, Mike, K8LH
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