Interfacing RS232 – Serial Port
Dr Arunachalam,
Associate Professor, SENSE
Recommended Standard (RS)-232
• A serial port complying with the RS-232 standard was once a standard feature of many types of
computers.
• RS232 connector is a port used for data exchange between equipment.
• It was designed for data exchange between Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) and Data
Communication Equipment (DCE); for example, PC & MODEM.
• The need for RS232 came from limitations raised by parallel data exchange.
• RS232 uses a serial communication protocol where data exchange is done bit by bit.
• RS232 used to have 25 pins, now it is shrunk to just 9 pins.
• Although RS232 is later replaced by a faster USB (Universal Serial Bus); it is still popular in
some areas.
Suitable Usage
• Simple asynchronous communication interface between two units.
• A two-pin full duplex communication can be established easily on the RS232 port.
• RS232 is used in systems where clock sharing is difficult.
• RS232 is ASYNCHRONOUS so there will be no clock sharing between systems.
• But need to set data bit rate (baud rate) for each unit.
• Once the baud rate is set the units will sample the data accordingly.
• RS232 is also used to control a single unit specifically without delay or errors.
• RS232 interface also delivers data with more accuracy which is a requirement in some cases.
• As it obtains the voltage for the path used for the data exchange between the devices.
• It is used in serial communication up to 50 feet with a rate of 1.492kbps.
Characteristics
• Asynchronous communication
• Baud rate is used to measure the speed of transmission.
• Baud rate and bits per second (BPS) are the same when we connect directly two terminals.
• For example, if the baud rate is 200 then 200 bits per Sec passed.
• In telephone lines, the baud rates will be 14400, 28800 and 33600. Here BPS could be different.
• Stop Bits are used for a single packet to stop the transmission which is denoted as “T”.
• Some typical values are 1, 1.5 & 2 bits.
• Parity Bit is the simplest form of checking the errors.
• There are four kinds, i.e., even, odd, marked and spaced.
• For example, If 011 is a number the parity bit = 0, i.e., even parity and the parity bit = 1, i.e., odd parity.
Connection & data packet
Synchronous communication Using 3 wires, Data can be sent and
receive.
• Data is commonly sent in
chunks of 8 bits (a byte)
and is "serialized“.
• The LSB (b0) is sent first,
then bit b1, ... and finally
the MSB (b7).
• 1 start/idle bit (0/1), two
stop bit (1) and a parity bit
(1 for odd, 0 for even
parity)
Example: Byte 0x55 when transmitted
• Byte 0x55 is 0101 0101 in binary.
• But since it is transmitted LSB (bit-0) first, the line toggles like that: 1-0-1-0-1-0-
1-0.
Pin details - DB-9
PIN
Pin Name Pin Description
No.
1 DCD (Carrier Detect) Incoming signal from DCE
2 RXD (Receive Data) Receives incoming data from DTE
3 TXD (Transmit Data) Send outgoing data to DCE
4 DTR (Data Terminal Ready) Outgoing handshaking signal
5 GND (Signal ground) Common reference voltage
6 DSR (Data Set Ready) Incoming handshaking signal
7 RTS (Request to Send) Outgoing signal for controlling flow
8 CTS (Clear to Send) Incoming signal for controlling flow
9 RI (Ring Indicator) Incoming signal from DCE
Can communicate at a maximum speed of roughly 10KBytes/s
How fast can we send data?
• Common implementations of the RS-232 interface must settle to some "standard" speed.
• Common values are 1200, 9600, 38400, and 115200 bauds (usually the fastest).
• At 115200 bauds, each bit lasts for (1/115200= 8.7µs).
• If you transmit 8-bit data, that lasts 8 × 8.7µs = 69µs.
• But each byte requires an extra start and stop bit, so we need 10 x 8.7µs = 87µs. That translates to a
maximum speed of 11.5KBytes per second.
• At 115200 bauds, some PCs with buggy chips require a "long" stop bit (1.5 or 2 bits long...) which
makes the maximum speed drop to around 10.5KBytes per second.
Baud Generator
• The serial link at maximum speed, i.e. 115200 bauds.
• FPGAs usually run at MHz speeds, well above 115200Hz (RS-232 is pretty slow by today's
standards).
• We need to find a way to generate (from the FPGA clock) a "tick" as close as possible to 115200
times a second.
• Traditionally, RS-232 chips use a 1.8432MHz clock, because that makes generating the standard
baud frequencies very easy 1.8432MHz divided by 16 gives 115200Hz.
If 2MHz instead of 1.8432MHz clock, then?
• To generate 115200Hz from a 2MHz clock, we need to divide the clock by "17.361111111..." Not
exactly a round number.
• The solution is to divide sometimes by 17, sometimes by 18, making sure the ratio stays
"17.361111111"
RS-232 Transmitter
• An "async transmitter" with fixed parameters: 8 data bits, 2 stop bits, no-parity.
It works like that:
• The transmitter takes an 8-bits data inside the FPGA and serializes it (starting when the
"TxD_start" signal is asserted).
• The "busy" signal is asserted while a transmission occurs (the "TxD_start" signal is ignored during
that time).
RS-232 Receiver
• The module assembles data from the RxD line as it comes.
• As a byte is being received, it appears on the "data" bus. Once a complete byte has been received,
"data_ready" is asserted for one clock.
• Note that "data" is valid only when "data_ready" is asserted. The rest of the time, don't use it as
new data may come that shuffles it.
Oversampling
• An asynchronous receiver must get in-sync with the incoming signal (it normally doesn't have
access to the clock used by the transmitter).
• To determine when a new data byte is coming, we look for the "start" bit by oversampling the
signal at a multiple of the baud rate frequency.
• Once the "start" bit is detected, we sample the line at the known baud rate to acquire the data bits.
• Receivers typically oversample the incoming signal at 16 times the baud rate. We use it 8 times
here... For 115200 bauds, that gives a sampling rate of 921600Hz.
References
• Fundamentals of RS-232 Serial Communications | Analog Devices
• What is RS232 Protocol and How it Works? - Codrey Electronics
• RS232 Connector Pinout, Configuration, Features, Circuit & Datasheet (components101.com)
• What is RS232 Serial Communication Protocol? RS232 Basics, Working & Specifications
(circuitdigest.com)
• fpga4fun.com - Serial interface (RS-232)
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