mini usb-Port

[schnupfy]

Hi all,

Mid of April I bought a guruplug plus which finally got delivered a couple of days ago. And although very very noisy (due to the "micro fan") it is a neat little computer.

Now to my question (which might or might not be a bit silly).

On the right hand side, I have got a mini USB-port and a JTAG port, which are the serial console of the device right?
What kind of cable would I need to connect to it? I would like a USB cable with whatever fits on the guruplug side

Thanks in advance guys,
Marcus

[sfzhi]

Are you sure you are talking about GuruPlug Server Plus? It does not have a mini-USB port. It has UART connector (for the serial console) and JTAG. The "official" way of using those is to purchase a JTAG board specially made for GuruPlug. Just a cable is not enough. If you only need serial console, but no JTAG, you could make a cheaper converter from UART to RS-232 or USB. If you search this forum I believe you will find a number of posts about that.

[schnupfy]

Thanks for the reply. Yes I am sure about the guruplug plus: http://www.globalscaletechnologies.com/t-guruplugdetails.aspx#extern that shows the mini-USB port which does not really look like one So I guess their picture is wrong there.

Will see if I can find more info about the UART - RS232/USB converter.

Thanks,
Marcus

[sfzhi]

Yes I am sure about the guruplug plus: http://www.globalscaletechnologies.com/t-guruplugdetails.aspx#extern that shows the mini-USB port which does not really look like one So I guess their picture is wrong there.

Yes, it is wrong. What is labeled on the picture as "Mini USB-Port" is actually the JTAG connector. The other one labeled "JTAG UART RS232" is UART (not JTAG, not RS-232).

[schnupfy]

Thanks for that.

So just the UART socket would then serve the serial console? Or would I have to connect to the JTAG socket? There are 4 pin's on the JTAG socket and 8 on the UART.

So far I was unable to find a cable/adapter that hooks into any of those ports. Could you point me to the right product there?

Thanks,
Marcus

[sfzhi]

So just the UART socket would then serve the serial console?

Yes.

Or would I have to connect to the JTAG socket?

No, JTAG is not necessary to access the serial console.

There are 4 pin's on the JTAG socket and 8 on the UART.

The other way around: 4 pins UART, 8 pins JTAG.

So far I was unable to find a cable/adapter that hooks into any of those ports. Could you point me to the right product there?

I'm not aware of any product that you could use out of the box (this is not to say they don't exist).
What I meant is that you could make one yourself. Buy the components, solder them, etc.
(see http://plugcomputer.org/plugforum/index.php?topic=1678.msg10464).
Or you could modify a product with a similar function.
(see http://plugcomputer.org/plugforum/index.php?topic=1797.msg10821).

[schnupfy]

Thanks for that.

Will try to get something like that build.

Cheers,
Marcus

[mw]

There maybe something to be found here:

http://www.ftdichip.com/Products/Cables/USBTTLSerial.htm

Being paranoid, I am wondering if some kind of opto-isolation would be necessary/advisable as well. I don't have the practical knowledge to know.