Connecting Serial Console to the NXP i.MX RT1024 EVK Board Print

 

Running Linux (uClinux) on the i.MX RT1024 will require a serial console. U-Boot and Linux make use of the serial console to print messages and provide an interactive user interface. You won't be able to do much unless you have access to the serial console.

Both U-Boot and Linux are configured to use LPUART1 for the serial console on the NXP i.MX RT1024 EVK.

On the NXP i.MX RT1024 EVK, LPUART1 interface is available at UART level on the J23 connector on the baseboard if a microUSB cable connected to the development host.

Assuming a connection using a microUSB cable on the Linux PC the i.MX RT1024 serial console will be visible as a /dev/ttyACMx device. The U-Boot and Linux software configures the console for 115.2 Kps operation.

There are various serial communication tools available for Linux, the most popular perhaps being kermit. kermit is a very powerful tool that can be run in interactive mode or controlled by a script. There is abundant documentation on kermit available in the Internet, if you require details.

One possibility is to define on the host a shell script similar to the one below:

$ vi console-imxrt1024.script
#!/usr/bin/kermit

set port /dev/ttyACM0
set speed 115200
set carrier-watch off
set flow-control none
set prefixing all
c

Change the file mode to make the script an executable file:

$ chmod +x console-imxrt1024.script

Then run the script whenever you need to get access to the console (you will need sufficient system privilegies to run this script):

$ sudo ./console-imxrt1024.script
[sudo] password for :
Connecting to /dev/ttyACM0, speed 115200
Escape character: Ctrl-\ (ASCII 28, FS): enabled
Type the escape character followed by C to get back,
or followed by ? to see other options.
----------------------------------------------------

=> version
U-Boot 2022.04 (Jul 03 2023 - 09:52:07 +0000)

arm-none-eabi-gcc (GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 10.3-2021.10) 10.3.1 20210824 (release)
GNU ld (GNU Arm Embedded Toolchain 10.3-2021.10) 2.36.1.20210621
=>

To exit kermit, type Ctrl-\ and then q.