2012 was the year of the Raspberry Pi. This credit card sized computer has become a huge worldwide success.
Running GNU/Linux or other operating systems is an easy task, it just requires to flash an image on an SD Card, put it in the Raspberry and switch on the power supply.
The Raspberry Pi version B sports two USB 2.0 ports (only one on vers. A), a Fast-Ethernet connection (no network on vers. A), HDMI, Composite Video and stereo audio output.
It seems there’s nothing missing on the connection side. You can just plug a TV/monitor, a keyboard (and a mouse) and you’re ready to use the system.
You can also access it via SSH if you’re using Raspian or another OS that automatically enables the network connection and runs sshd or some telnet server at startup.
But, if you don’t have an available TV/monitor and you can’t connect to the Raspberry via network (because there is no DHCP server on your current network or there are no SSH/telnet servers running on the OS), your last chance is a serial console.
I’ll leave the basics to this simple and short article by Joonas Pihlajamaa: http://codeandlife.com/2012/07/01/raspberry-pi-serial-console-with-max3232cpe/
In a nutshell, the Raspberry Pi does have a serial port and a serial console is usually enabled by default by the OS on it, but there isn’t a standard UART/RS-232 connector. Two pins of the GPIO header must be connected to a level shifter like the Maxim MAX3232 in order to have a fully working RS-232 connection.
While the solution by Joonas Pihlajamaa works pretty well, I decided to make some changes:
In the end, I came out with this solution, made with a MAX3232 compatible IC (the cheaper and more versatile SP3232ECP), some stackable headers, the usual five 100nF capacitors and a DB-9 male connector coming from a scrapped old motherboard.
The P6 header “repeater” (as I call it) also serves to support the circuit on the side of the DB-9 connector.
A four pin AUX header is also provided for standalone use, with 3.3V, GND, RX and TX connected.
24 out of 26 GPIO pins are present on the circuit. Of course GPIO pins 8 and 10, TX and RX, are not available for other connections.
I’m currently trying the adapter on the Raspberry and seems to be working well. On the PC I’m using an old Prolific USB-to-Serial adapter with a null-modem cable.
Bye
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