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Set Up Serial Communication with Target Hardware

This section explains how to establish the serial communication between the host computer and the C2000™ target hardware board.

There are different control card versions available for C2000 processors. In some control cards, the SCI_A module pins are directly connected to the USB docking station and other control cards have a MAX32xx chip for RS–232 communication on the control card. These control cards have a ‘switch’ to connect or disconnect the Rx (Receive) line between the USB docking station and the MAX32xx chip.

You can establish a serial communication with the target hardware using RS-232 or the Serial over USB as shown below.

Serial over RS-232

Serial over RS-232

Serial over USB

Serial over USB

Note

To use a USB JTAG on the USB docking station that is connected to SCI_A, use the switch to disconnect the Rx line that comes from the MAX3221 as it conflicts with the data you send to SCI_A.

While connecting a C2000 Launchpad to the host computer, ensure that:

  • For F28027, the S4 switch is on.

  • For F28069, if you are using the default GPIO pins for transmit/receive (GPIO28/GPIO29), the jumper pin JP6 is open and the jumper pin JP7 is closed.

  • The DIP switch (SW1) on the control card is in off position to enable the serial emulation using the FTDI chip.

  • The J9 jumper on the docking station is closed.

  • The GPIO pins using which the SCI_A module connects to the FTDI chip are configured correctly.

  • The CCS tool is closed before running the program in external mode. You can use a tool such as PuTTY to test the basic working of Rx and Tx before trying the external mode.

  • The COM port set at Configuration Parameters > Hardware Implementation > Target hardware resources > External mode is the same as the COM port of the serial interface on Windows.