TMS320F28384D: TMS320F28384D _ External QUAD UART interface

SCI signals from the TMS320F28384D can be used for sending/receiving debugging messages to/from a COM port on a computer using a UART to USB converter. This device converts the UART protocol signals (on the SCITX and SCIRX pins of the TMS320F28384D) to a USB protocol that can be connected to a computer and displayed on a COM port. These debugging messages would have to manually be sent or received by the SCI module on the TMS320F28384D. An example would be having the SCI transmit "Initialization steps complete" to a COM port to verify the initialization code has finished executing. For this, I would suggest using a F2838x Control CARD while in the development phase, since it has a built-in UART to USB converter. It is linked here. There are also other products that have USB to UART converters built-in that can be used with the TMS320F28384D. For example, the following Application Brief goes into some more details about communicating with an MSP430 device via a COM port and a UART to USB converter.

For debugging, if you want a view of all variables, registers, memory etc. during execution I would suggest using the XDS100v2 debug probe on the ControlCARD in CCS. This would not require the use of any of the SCI ports, so they can be configured how you would use them in your final application. But if you're wanting to debug the SCI signals themselves, a COM port with a UART to USB converter would be the best option. You could also use an oscilloscope on the SCITX and SCIRX pins as well to verify correct transmissions. 

Let me know if have any more questions.

Best Regards,

Delaney