Set Up a USB-to-UART Module

The Trion® T120 BGA576 Development Board does not have a USB-to-UART converter, therefore, you need to use a separate USB-to-UART converter module. A number of modules are available from various vendors; any USB-to-UART module should work.

Figure 1. Connect the UART Module to PMOD Header J15
  1. Connect the UART module to the PMOD port J15
    • RX—GPIOT_RXP20, which is pin 1 on PMOD J15
    • TX—GPIOT_RXN20, which is pin 7 on PMOD J15
    • Ground—Use ground pin 5 or 11 on PMOD J15.
  2. Plug the UART module into a USB port on your computer. The driver should install automatically if needed.

Finding the COM Port (Windows)

  1. Type Device Manager in the Windows search box.
  2. Expand Ports (COM & LPT) to find out which COM port Windows assigned to the UART module; it is listed as USB Serial Port (COMn) where n is the assigned port number. Note the COM number.

Finding the COM Port (Linux)

In a terminal, type the command:
dmesg | grep ttyUSB
The terminal displays a series of messages about the attached devices.
usb <number>: <adapter> now attached to ttyUSB<number>
There are many USB-to-UART converter modules on the market. Some use an FTDI chip which displays a message similar to:
usb 3-3: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB0
However, the Trion® T120 BGA576 Development Board also has an FTDI chip and gives the same message. So if you have both the UART module and the board attached at the same time, you may receive three messages similar to:
usb 3-3: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB0
usb 3-2: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB1
usb 3-2: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB2
In this case the second 2 lines (marked by usb 3-2) are the development board and the first line (usb 3-3) is the UART module.