A UART-to-TTL adapter is used to interface with UART communication ports, commonly found in embedded systems, by converting TTL (3.3V or 5V) signals to USB for interaction with a computer. The UART protocol uses three key pins: TX (Transmit), RX (Receive), and GND (Ground). The TX pin sends data from the device, RX receives data, and GND ensures a common reference for signal integrity. Correctly matching voltage levels (3.3V or 5V) between the adapter and the target device is crucial to prevent damage during communication.
- Open your serial terminal software and configure the following settings:
- Baud Rate: Most popular values are 9600 and 115200, or as specified in the device’s documentation (picocom also has a feature to adjust the baud rate on the fly (check docs)).
- more common baud rates: 4800, 19200, 38400, 57600, 230400, 460800, 921600
- Baud Rate: Most popular values are 9600 and 115200, or as specified in the device’s documentation (picocom also has a feature to adjust the baud rate on the fly (check docs)).
- There are more settings you have to figure out, but the most common ones are these:
- Data Bits: 8
- Parity: None
- Stop Bits: 1
- Flow Control: None
{% tabs %} {% tab title="Linux" %}
sudo minicom -D /dev/ttyUSB0 -b 115200
sudo picocom -b 115200 -r -l /dev/ttyUSB0
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Windows" %} Using PuTTY (Windows):
- Select “Serial” and enter the COM port (e.g., COM3) and baud rate (115200). {% endtab %} {% endtabs %}
UART-TTL adapter are usually pretty cheap ($10) and compact like this model:
FT232-AZ USB to TTL serial adapter
Hint:
If you console looks like this, you probably have the wrong baud rate set:
False baud rate set
https://www.seeedstudio.com/blog/2019/12/11/rs232-vs-ttl-beginner-guide-to-serial-communication/