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Serial port on AM335x Starter Kit?

fred basset
Prodigy 110 points

Other Parts Discussed in Thread: AM3358

I have an AM335x Starter Kit, I'm setting up the provided Linux SDK from http://software-dl.ti.com/dsps/dsps_public_sw/am_bu/sdk/AM335xSDK/latest/index_FDS.html.  My host PC is Windows 7 64 bit with VMWare player running Ubuntu 10.04.  I need to connect the board to a serial port on my computer to get Minicom to work.  I want to be able to build software on Ubuntu and download it via TFTP & NFS to the target system.  Where is the serial port on the AM335x Starter Kit board?  I also tried plugging it into the PC via the micro USB connector but that shows up as "Unknown device" under Windows.

Thanks for any help.

  • 0
    TI__Intellectual 2150 points

    Yes, the serial port from the AM3358 is implemented through the microUSB connector by using a FTDI device.  The Starter Kit board is pre-programmed to configure the FTDI device so that the serial channel handled properly.  Therefore, when you connect the Starter Kit microUSB to your PC, then you should get access as a UART on the board.

  • 0 in reply to ddomke
    Prodigy 110 points

    The board does not seem to be recognized properly.  I do not see any serial ports show up on my Windows machine.  In device manager it looks like the dev. board is showing up as "Uknown device".  How can I get it to work?

  • 0 in reply to fred basset
    TI__Mastermind 27890 points

    Sounds like you need to install the FTDI USB->Serial Port driver:

    http://beagleboard.org/static/beaglebone/latest/README.htm

  • 0 in reply to -DK-
    Prodigy 110 points

    Note that my hardware is an AM335x starter kit, not a BeagleBone.  I installed the BONE_D64.exe file from the BeagleBone site, but my board is still showing up as an unknown device, no serial port.  I need to get this working.

  • 0 in reply to fred basset
    TI__Mastermind 27890 points

    Both the Starter Kit and BeagleBone use the same FTDI chip so the driver is the same.

    Please check the VID/PID of the 'Unknown Device' you see added to DevMan when attaching your SK board. I have attached an image of the device properties window showing the correct FTDI VID/PID.

  • 0 in reply to -DK-
    Prodigy 110 points

    I see different IDs for my device, see attached screenshot.

  • 0 in reply to fred basset
    TI__Mastermind 27890 points

    Fred,

    This VID/PID is assigned to the SMSC hub that sits upstream from the FTDI chip. No additional driver is required for this device as WinOS includes a generic hub driver.

    At this point I can think of three things that could cause your issue; please try to resolve the problem in the following order:

    1) The USB cable is defective. Please try a different cable.

    2) The Host OS USB Hub driver has been corrupted. Please try on another PC.

    3) The hub chip itself is damaged. Please arrange for a RMA via the 'Returns and RMA's' link on the AM335x Starter Kit Wiki page @ http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/AM335x_Starter_Kit

  • 0 in reply to -DK-
    Prodigy 175 points

    I tried everything on this thread but the only thing that worked for me was to let Windows 7 download drivers automatically from Microsoft Update.  Windows then recognized the serial interface.