DSBOARD-ORNX Serial Communication Interfaces Tutorial

In this blog post, we will look at the pinout diagram of I/O connector on DSBOARD-ORNX. Then, we will install GTKTerm serial connection application. Finally, we will test the RS232 & RS422 connections.

First, let's look over the IO connector. On the connector, there are 6 serial communication, 2 ground, 2 CANBus, 2 digital input and 2 digital output pins.

To test all serial communication interfaces, open a new terminal and install the GtkTerm program for ease of use (make sure Ethernet cable is connected). You can install GtkTerm with this terminal command:

Run the GtkTerm program with arguments. On the host side, you can use TeraTerm or Putty for Windows; GtkTerm for Ubuntu OS.

RS232 Test

To test RS232 functionality, we use a DSBOX-TX2NX as a test equipment. (If you use a USB-Serial adapter, connect that adapter to the USB port of the host PC and install its driver software if necessary.) To the other side of the connector, connect your device’s RS232 pins with cross-connection (Rx to Tx, Tx to Rx). You can find the hardware pins below. 

If you are using GtkTerm on Ubuntu, run this command below. If you have done everything correctly, you could see your keyboard presses on the other machine's serial terminal.

RS422 Test

To test RS422 functionality, we use a DSBOX-TX2NX as a test equipment. (If you use a USB-Serial adapter, connect that adapter to the USB port of the host PC and install its driver software if necessary.) To the other side of the connector, connect your device’s RS422 pins with cross-connection (Rx to Tx, Tx to Rx but positive to positive, negative to negative). You can find the hardware pins below. 

If you are using GtkTerm on Ubuntu, run this command below. If you have done everything correctly you could see your keyboard presses on the other machine's serial terminal.

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