Patrick Pelletier

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5 years, 1 month ago.

How can I use the serial port on MAX32630FTHR?

Hi, I am new to mbed, and I just bought a MAX32630FTHR from Digi-Key. I have the Blinky example successfully running on my MAX32630FTHR.

However, my understanding is that Blinky is supposed to print statistics to the serial port, and I have been unable to access that output. I have been looking at the Terminals portion of the handbook, and also what appears to be a newer version of that page.

I'm on Mac OS X 10.9.5, and I run "screen /dev/tty.usbmodem1412". I periodically get a bunch of asterisks, but I'm not getting the statistics that Blinky is supposed to be printing.

I tried with the "screen" that comes with Mac OS X:

$ /usr/bin/screen -v
Screen version 4.00.03 (FAU) 23-Oct-06

And with GNU screen:

$ /usr/local/bin/screen --version
Screen version 4.06.02 (GNU) 23-Oct-17

And with CoolTerm. In all cases I just get a bunch of asterisks printed periodically.

What do I need to do to see the statistics instead of the asterisks? Thanks!

Edit: I tried again today, and I briefly got some statistics, but then it went back to asterisks like before.

/media/uploads/ppelleti/coolterm.png

1 Answer

Paul Staron
5 years, 1 month ago.

Works fine on mine.

The default Serial baud rate is 9600, make sure your terminal program on your PC/MAC is set correctly, I tend to use TeraTerm.

Also I'm sure you may know both the DAP Link (Pico) board and main board have to be connected together and powered, which is a bit of a pain to have two USB supplies effectively to power one board.

The Serial communication in this case is via the DAP Link (Pico) board and not the main board so make sure you select that port on your terminal program. The report is sent every 10 seconds.

Accepted Answer

I have CoolTerm set for 9600 8-N-1, which I believe is correct.

I looked up TeraTerm, but it appears to be Windows-only.

I have the MAX32630FTHR connected to a USB power brick , and I have the MAX32625PICOBD (aka MAXDAP) connected to my Mac. The MAX32630FTHR and MAX32625PICOBD are connected to each other with the supplied 10-pin IDC cable. All this seems to be working, because I was able to successfully flash Blinky.

I tried again today and I briefly got a few lines of statistics, then it went to a bunch of "*%", then it finally went to all "*" like before.

posted by Patrick Pelletier 19 Feb 2019

Hi Patrick,

I've just downloaded CoolTerm for windows and it appears to be working fine with the same set up as you, looks quite good I think I will use it too.

Ah Iv'e just remembered, when I got my boards I updated the firmware, I think that could be the problem.

Its a bit hard to find;

https://os.mbed.com/teams/MaximIntegrated/wiki/MAX32625PICO-Firmware-Updates

You want the third file up from the bottom.

Also if you were not aware as I wasn't the DAPLink Pico board is a usable board, I have tried it and it does work, you can add it to your compiler. The reset button is a bit tricky it may take a couple of goes to get the 'maintenance' virtual drive up.

https://os.mbed.com/platforms/MAX32625PICO/

posted by Paul Staron 19 Feb 2019

Don't I want the top file on the firmware update page, since I have a MAX32630FTHR board, not a MAX32630HSP3 board?

Anyway, I updated the firmware, using the top file:

https://os.mbed.com/media/uploads/switches/max32625pico_daplink.bin

But that didn't fix the problem. I'm still getting the same combination of some stats, followed by a bunch of "%*". followed by just "*".

At this point, my only theory is that maybe the 10-pin IDC cable that came with the board is faulty? I've ordered a new IDC cable to test that theory.

posted by Patrick Pelletier 20 Feb 2019

Could be the cable or even either of the boards. The Serial connections are separate to the SWD connections so whilst it will program the Serial may fail. Have a close look at the DAPLink sockets on both boards there could be a dry solder joint on them, USBRX and USBTX marked yellow, you may need a magnifying glass to see them properly. Also if you have access to another computer perhaps a PC then try that just to make sure you're not going mad :).

You could also try this:

https://os.mbed.com/teams/MaximIntegrated/code/FTHR_USB_serial/file/d2b660bf5f94/main.cpp/

posted by Paul Staron 20 Feb 2019

I tried it with a new IDC cable, and it worked great! So I guess the cable was the problem.

posted by Patrick Pelletier 22 Feb 2019

Good to hear Patrick, unusual for cable issues particularly with a new one.

Mind you watch out for bread board jumper cables from China, I had a batch with poor crimping that lead to all sorts of problems.

posted by Paul Staron 22 Feb 2019