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sparkfun FTDI SmartBasic Hook-Up Manual

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FTDI SmartBasic Hookup Guide

Introduction

The FTDI SmartBasic is a variation on our classic FTDI Basic which allows
you to connect a second device to the hardware serial port on an Arduino
Pro, Pro Mini, or other USB-less board without compromising the ability to
bootload code from the Arduino IDE.
Normally, to use a device which requires a serial port resource on an
Arduino board, one must either use a software serial port or plug and
unplug the device during programming. The SmartBasic board adds a
multiplexer to the serial port pins coming from the Arduino, which allows the
application code to switch the serial signals from the USB port to another
device. No special code is required to enable programming, either!

Suggested Reading

Before we get started, you might want to review these other tutorials:
• Logic levels- Setting the jumper on the FTDI SmartBasic to the wrong
voltage level may cause damage to one or more of the boards
hooked up to it.
• Serial communications - The FTDI SmartBasic is a device for
multiplexing serial signals; learn a bit more about serial data and how
it works with this tutorial.
• Installing FTDI Drivers

Hardware Tour

Page 1 of 5

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Summary of Contents for sparkfun FTDI SmartBasic

  • Page 1 FTDI SmartBasic Hookup Guide Introduction The FTDI SmartBasic is a variation on our classic FTDI Basic which allows you to connect a second device to the hardware serial port on an Arduino Pro, Pro Mini, or other USB-less board without compromising the ability to bootload code from the Arduino IDE.
  • Page 2 Page 2 of 5 The FTDI SmartBasic hardware is pretty simple. It routes the serial signals from an Arduino Pro, Pro Mini, Fio, or LilyPad board (along with any other board which uses the standard FTDI header footprint) either to the programming PC via a USB-to-serial bridge or to any other device with the FTDI Basic-type header.
  • Page 3 Page 3 of 5 used for loading code unless the other device is removed. Here’s a diagram showing how to connect the FTDI SmartBasic in a way that removes that problem. You can see that the connections from the Bluetooth Mate and the Arduino Pro Mini are straight-through;...
  • Page 4 Page 4 of 5 #define SEL 2  // When the SEL pin is held low, the data will  be                 //  routed to the PC via the USB­serial bridge.                 //  That port is also the port used for program ming                 //  by the Arduino IDE. When in bootloading mod e, a                 //  pull­down resistor on the SmartBasic cause s it                 //  to remain in programming mode.  #define ARDUINO_IDE   LOW  // Constants to make our routing ch ange  #define AUX_TERMINAL  HIGH //  more obvious. When the SEL pin  is                              //  LOW, data is routed to the                             //  programming port.  void setup()  {    Serial.begin(115200);    // Set up the hardware serial port.    pinMode(SEL, OUTPUT);    // Make the select line an outpu t...    digitalWrite(SEL, ARDUINO_IDE); // ...and connect the board  to                             //  the Arduino IDE's terminal.    }  void loop()  {    // The loop just says "Hello" to the two terminals, over and    //  over, forever. Note the use of the "flush()" function. I f    //  omitted, the Arduino will re­route the serial data befor e    //  the transmission has been completed; flush() causes the    //  Arduino to block until the serial data output buffer is    //  empty. Failure to use flush() will result in data being    //  sent to the wrong device, or to multiplexer changes duri ng ...
  • Page 5 Arduino board (or a bare Atmega328P). • Bootloader development - More information on how the bootloader works and how to add or remove features from it. • How the bootloader works - Arduino forum post regarding how the bootloader does its thing. https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/ftdi-smartbasic-hookup-guide/all 11/10/2015...

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