Question: Does the USB to Serial reference design include any hardware?
Answer: No. The application note that comes with the kit discusses the hardware implementation a little. The hardware should be very straight forward with a transceiver that converts the RS232 voltage level to 5V for the microcontroller (there're many ICs in the market that do this). In the Design Notes that comes with the kit (file: cy4601/docs/USB to Serial Design Notes.pdf), you will find information on what RS232 controlling signal goes to what GPIO pins. A couple connectors (USB and RS232) and a transceiver are the major components on the board.
