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MILBOX-AGX Serial Communication Interfaces Tutorial

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN?

1- The pinout of I/O connector

2- Installing GtkTerm

3- Testing the serial communication interfaces

ENVIRONMENT

Hardware: MILBOX-AGX



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

The Pinout of I/O Connector

First, let's look over the 42-pin low speed connector (labeled as "X8"). On the connector, there are 8 serial communications (4xRS232 and 4xRS422).

Installing GTKTerm

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:


sudo apt install gtkterm

Testing the Serial Communication Interfaces

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).


After proper connection, run this command below for channel-1. If you have done everything correctly, you could see your keyboard presses on the other machine's serial terminal.


sudo gtkterm -p /dev/ttyXR4 -s 115200


Run this command below for channel-2. If you have done everything correctly, you could see your keyboard presses on the other machine's serial terminal.


sudo gtkterm -p /dev/ttyXR5 -s 115200


Run this command below for channel-3. If you have done everything correctly, you could see your keyboard presses on the other machine's serial terminal.


sudo gtkterm -p /dev/ttyXR6 -s 115200


Run this command below for channel-4. If you have done everything correctly, you could see your keyboard presses on the other machine's serial terminal.


sudo gtkterm -p /dev/ttyXR7 -s 115200



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).


After proper connection, run this command below for channel-1. If you have done everything correctly you could see your keyboard presses on the other machine's serial terminal.


sudo gtkterm -p /dev/ttyXR0 -s 115200


Run this command below for channel-2. If you have done everything correctly you could see your keyboard presses on the other machine's serial terminal.


sudo gtkterm -p /dev/ttyXR1 -s 115200


Run this command below for channel-3. If you have done everything correctly you could see your keyboard presses on the other machine's serial terminal.


sudo gtkterm -p /dev/ttyXR2 -s 115200


Run this command below for channel-4. If you have done everything correctly you could see your keyboard presses on the other machine's serial terminal.


sudo gtkterm -p /dev/ttyXR3 -s 115200



Thank you for reading our blog post.