NVIDIA Tegra
NVIDIA DRIVE OS 5.1 Linux SDK

Developer Guide
5.1.12.0 Release


 
Minicom Terminal Emulation
 
Determining the USB Port and Serial ID
Configuring Minicom
Running Minicom
Toggling the Line Wrap Setting on Minicom
Toggling the Line Feed Setting on Minicom
With Minicom, you can communicate from the host machine to the target board over a serial line. NVIDIA produces several target boards with varying capabilities. sdk installs a Minicom configuration file for each supported target board.
In addition to Minicom, you can use Android Debug Bridge (adb) to communicate with your platform. adb is an open-source, Android debug tool that communicates over USB.
Determining the USB Port and Serial ID
This topic explains how to get the USB port number and serial number port settings of your target device. Use this information to configure Minicom, depending on your product.
On Linux hosts, USB serial ports typically appear as:
/dev/ttyUSB<number>
Where <number> is the port number.
Applies to: Releases supporting Windows:
In Cygwin, USB serial ports appear as one of the /dev/ttyS<n> files. In general, a Windows COMx port corresponds to a /dev/ttyS<x-1> file in Cygwin. For example, COM1 corresponds to /dev/ttyS0.
A host machine may contain internal hardware for serial ports that have no external connector. So, if the host machine contains one normal serial connector in the back of the machine and one hidden internal serial port, then the serial port on the back can appear as /dev/ttyS2 not /dev/ttyS1.
To get the device USB port number and serial ID
Navigate to the /etc/minicom directory on the Linux host.AURIX is minirc.drivepx2.aurix, pr port = /dev/ttyUSB1
Tegra A is minirc.v41_device.a, pr port /dev/ttyUSB2
Tegra B is minirc.v4l_device.b, pr port = /dev/ttyUSB6
Configuring Minicom
This topic explains how to modify the Minicom configuration file for the USB port and serial ID for your device. The default serial port settings depend on your development board. If your port differs from the default, you must modify the Minicom configuration file for your device (procedure below).
Note:
Although the Minicom configuration file contains the following statement, it is recommended that you manually edit the file for your changes. This approach is less error-prone than using the Minicom -s option.
# Machine-generated file - use "minicom -s" to change parameters.
Port Settings
By default, the serial port settings are shown below. You must modify the port to the actual device for the serial port.
port /dev/ttyS0
baudrate 115200
bits 8
parity N
stopbits 1
rtscts No
xonxoff No
To configure Minicom
1. Locate and edit the Minicom configuration file for your target device. Because the file is write-protected, you must use administrative privileges.
For Android and Windows (Cygwin) installations, the Minicom configuration files are at:
/etc/minirc.<platform-name>
For Ubuntu Linux installations, the Minicom configuration files are stored in:
/etc/minicom/minirc.<platform-name>
2. Modify your settings as needed.
Running Minicom
This topic explains how to run Minicom.
Note:
Before unplugging the power cable (from the power socket or the target), quit minicom/kermit before powering up the board. This step is not required if you use any of the following to reset/power-cycle the target.
Methods Not Requiring Quitting Minicom before Powering On
POWER OFF/ON rocker/button
Reset button
Prerequisites
You have modified the Minicom configuration file for your device’s USB port and serial ID.
You have connected the device to your host system.
The device is on and awake.
The hardware flow control is turned off.
To run Minicom
In a shell window, enter the following command:
sudo minicom -w drive-t186ref-linux
The -w option enables line-wrapping.
Toggling the Line Wrap Setting on Minicom
The Minicom command line in Running Minicom includes the -w option, which enables line wrapping. You can use the W configuration setting to change that behavior.
To toggle line wrap on/off
In the Minicom console, enter the following command (without spaces between the letters):
CTRL-A Z W
Toggling the Line Feed Setting on Minicom
By default, Minicom enables line-wrapping. With that option, Minicom adds a line feed before every carriage return displayed on the screen.
Some terminals, have poor attribute handling (serial instead of parallel). If you are using such a terminal, you must start minicom with the following option:
-a off
Or you must toggle off the line feed, as described in the following instructions.
To toggle line feed on/off
In the Minicom console, enter the following command (without spaces between the letters):
CTRL-A Z A