USB over Serial Help Needed

[Gene Estep]

Well, I completed my build of the Altair-Duino, Bluetooth option and serial option. I think that it went pretty well.

I was able to run Kill A Bit and it works just fine.

I am having a problem with connecting using Bluetooth. I have installed both Putty and Tera Term on my laptop. I have a Microsoft Surface Pro (i5 @2.4Ghz) running Windows 10 Pro. I was able to go to my Bluetooth setting and connect to SPP-CA. 

Windows device manager shows I have 2 com ports:

Standard Serial over Bluetooth link (COM3)

Standard Serial over Bluetooth link (COM4)

However, I am not able to bring up the configuration menu on the Altair with sending a small s in the terminal program. I have tried both com ports and both programs, Putty and Tera Term.

I also read on the forum that someone had success using a terminal program on their Android phone, so I downloaded that. It is Serial Bluetooth Terminal 1.12. I am able to connect but that is about it.

Can someone walk me through what I need to do to connect to the Altair? Any switches that need to be set?

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks.

Gene

[Tom Wilson]

Dumb question,,, are you going into the terminal settings in the simulator’s setup menu (Stop+Aux1 Up) and choosing the second port as the console?

[Gene Estep]

Hey Tom

Since I am not seeing anything through Putty, there isn't a way for me to select the second serial port because I'm not seeing anything on my screen. Also, since I am using Bluetooth, isn't that serial port 1? I say this because I did install the serial option (even though I don't have a serial terminal to connect to it) and if I remember, isn't that labeled on the board as serial port 2?

What else can I check - I am completely lost!

[Terry Fox]

When the machine first boots, it is trying to connect via USB, not Bluetooth.  In order to use Bluetooth, you need to change the setup settings, and save them before you can use Bluetooth.  I have two simultaneous windows running on my Surface Pro 3, one has TeraTerm (Bluetooth), the other Putty (USB).  I use the USB/Putty to change the control port from USB to Bluetooth, using the Bluetooth instructions on the setup page.  Be sure to follow those instructions carefully.  I also setup an RS232 setup (to an old Dell 600 laptop), per the instructions to "Easily Switch Between Serial Devices".

Let us know if you get it running.

[Tom Wilson]

Yup. What Terry said. You have to start by connecting via USB, and you have to open a second terminal window at the same time to accept the Bluetooth connection. 

The way it works is...

Start by connecting with the USB cable. Get the configuration menu by holding Stop and pushing up the Aux-1 switch. 

Go into the console settings and choose the port the Bluetooth module is connected to (I think this is pin 18/19, right below the USB Programming interface). 

You MUST set the baud rate on that port to 9600. That's the only baud rate the USB adapter seems to recognize. 

When you choose the option to save and exit that screen, you'll get a prompt on the terminal connected to the Bluetooth interface. You need to hit Y on that terminal to accept the new settings. 

Finally, save your settings at the main menu. 

And the "Easily Switch Between Serial Devices" feature is also really handy. Before you start with all this, save your default, working setup as setting 1.

From now on, you will be able to start your Altair-Duino with your desired configuration by setting the data switches to the configuration number (eg. “0011” for configuration number 3) then hold the Deposit switch up while powering on the Altair-Duino.

If you get really stuck, there's also a way to reset the settings to default. IIRC, you hold the Reset switch while starting up the Arduino. 

 

[Chris Davis]

As has been mentioned, you must first connect via USB, then set up Bluetooth and/or DB9 serial module.  Here's an easy way to do it, and the way I always do it now: https://www.altairduino.com/2018/02/01/easily-switch-between-serial-devices/

[Gene Estep]

Update. I have tried all that has been offered in the forums and I am still out of luck. Chris is going to take a look at my build and see if he can figure out what the problem is. I am sure it is something that I have done but I'm just not able to figure it out. Once Chris has a chance to look it over, I'll let everyone know what the outcome is.

Thanks everyone for your help and I'll be sure to update you when I receive some more info.