VAR-SOM-MX6 UART

VAR-SOM-MX6 - External UART

Test

By default, Variscite configured UART3 (ttymxc2).
To test it:

Use minicom to connect.
Set the serial to /dev/ttymxc2
You can use a loopback or connect to another computer

Example: configure UART4, ttymxc3

Note: The pins here are set arbitrarily. You should set them based on your hardware design, and make sure they are not conflicting with other devices in the device tree.

After applying tthe changes below, continue following the "Build Linux from source code" guide to build only the device trees and to copy them to your SD card.

VAR-SOM-SOLO / VAR-SOM-DUAL / VAR-SOM-MX6

Edit arch/arm/boot/dts/imx6qdl-var-som.dtsi

Look for:

/* ttymxc2 UART */
&uart3 {
        pinctrl-names = "default";
        pinctrl-0 = <&pinctrl_uart3_2>;
        fsl,uart-has-rtscts;
        status = "okay";
};

Duplicate it and change the name and the pinctrl name.

For Example:

&uart4 {
        pinctrl-names = "default";
        pinctrl-0 = <&pinctrl_uart4_1>;
        fsl,uart-has-rtscts;
        status = "okay";
};

Duplicate the corresponding pinctrl. Copy :

        /* Variscite Uart3 support */
        pinctrl_uart3_2: uart3grp-2 {       /* RX/TX RTS/CTS */
                fsl,pins = <
                        MX6QDL_PAD_EIM_D25__UART3_RX_DATA     0x1b0b1
                        MX6QDL_PAD_EIM_D24__UART3_TX_DATA     0x1b0b1
                        MX6QDL_PAD_EIM_D23__UART3_CTS_B       0x1b0b1
                        MX6QDL_PAD_EIM_EB3__UART3_RTS_B       0x1b0b1
                >;
        };

Into:

        /* Variscite Uart4 support */
        pinctrl_uart4_1: uart4grp-1 {       /* RX/TX RTS/CTS */
                fsl,pins = <
                        MX6QDL_PAD_KEY_ROW0__UART4_RX_DATA    0x1b0b1
                        MX6QDL_PAD_KEY_COL0__UART4_TX_DATA    0x1b0b1
                        MX6QDL_PAD_CSI0_DAT16__UART4_RTS_B    0x1b0b1
                        MX6QDL_PAD_CSI0_DAT17__UART4_CTS_B    0x1b0b1
                >;
        };

DART-MX6

Edit arch/arm/boot/dts/imx6qdl-var-dart.dtsi

Look for:

/* ttymxc2 UART */
&uart3 {
        pinctrl-names = "default";
        pinctrl-0 = <&pinctrl_uart3_2>;
        fsl,uart-has-rtscts;
        status = "okay";
};

Duplicate it and change the name and the pinctrl name.

For Example:

&uart4 {
        pinctrl-names = "default";
        pinctrl-0 = <&pinctrl_uart4_1>;
        status = "okay";
};

Duplicate the corresponding pinctrl. Copy :

        /* Variscite Uart3 support */
        pinctrl_uart3_2: uart3grp-2 {       /* RX/TX RTS/CTS */
                fsl,pins = <
                        MX6QDL_PAD_EIM_D25__UART3_RX_DATA     0x1b0b1
                        MX6QDL_PAD_EIM_D24__UART3_TX_DATA     0x1b0b1
                        MX6QDL_PAD_EIM_D23__UART3_CTS_B       0x1b0b1
                        MX6QDL_PAD_EIM_EB3__UART3_RTS_B       0x1b0b1
                >;
        };

Into:

        /* Variscite Uart4 support */
        pinctrl_uart4_1: uart4grp-1 {       /* RX/TX */
                fsl,pins = <
                        MX6QDL_PAD_KEY_ROW0__UART4_RX_DATA    0x1b0b1
                        MX6QDL_PAD_KEY_COL0__UART4_TX_DATA    0x1b0b1
                >;
        };

Configuring RS485 Half-Duplex

Each UART can be configured for RS485 Half-Duplex mode by using a GPIO pin to drive the receive and transmit enable inputs. This can be configured in the device tree by making the following changes to the uart node and replacing X, Y & Z with the proper values:

&uartX {                                                          /* Add RS485 properties to uartX */
	pinctrl-names = "default";
	pinctrl-0 = <&pinctrl_uartX>, <&pinctrl_uartX_rs485>;     /* Add RS485 GPIO pinctrl */
	rts-gpios = <&gpioY Z GPIO_ACTIVE_LOW>;                   /* Add rts-gpios property */
	linux,rs485-enabled-at-boot-time;                         /* Enable RS485 at boot time to skip using TIOCSRS485 ioctl */
	status = "okay";
};

Next, configure the RS485 GPIO pin by adding pinctrl_uartX_rs485 to iomuxc. Replace X, GPIO_PIN_FUNCTION, and GPIO_PIN_SETTINGS with the proper values:

&iomuxc {
	pinctrl_uartX_rs485: uartXrs485 {
		fsl,pins = <
			GPIO_PIN_FUNCTION  GPIO_PIN_SETTINGS
		>;
	};
};

Note: For more information about configuring pins, please see i.MX Device Tree Pinmux Settings Guide

After making these changes, RS485 mode will be enabled by default and can be verified from the console by running the commands below. Replace N with the proper value, which is typically X-1 relative to the device tree node uartX:

# stty -F /dev/ttymxcN -echo -onlcr 115200
# echo hello > /dev/ttymxcN

The below logic analyzer capture shows the RS485 RX/TX enable line toggling when writing to the UART:

Please refer to the Linux device tree bindings for more RS485 configuration options.