It's for serial communication on the EZb. Yes.

A terminal is for interacting with something. Like hyper terminal uses a com port on your computer.

The ezb terminal uses a uart port on the ezb.

You will most likely never use it. It's for advanced users who are debuging uart devices and such.

I would recommend using the search feature as well, here's an example of related info on the terminal: https://synthiam.com/Community/Forum/Search?query=Terminal%20ezb&page=1

*note: I have removed br requiring assistance, as it does not apply to this post.

Hello,

Still not clear on the difference between ezb serial terminal control and pc terminal control in ARC.

Would you use the ezb serial terminal control to talk to a device connected to ez-bv4 uart port?

Would you use the pc serial control to talk to your laptop and ez-bv4 using a usb to serial ttl cable?

Still not sure why you use two seperate controls other than the fact you can have two terminal screens open at the same time.

What is the recommended usb to serial ttl cable that people are using to connect ez-bv4 to pc or laptop, etc.?

Any clarification on this is much appreciated ! Rick B.

Quote:

Would you use the ezb serial terminal control to talk to a device connected to ez-bv4 uart port?

Quote:

Would you use the pc serial control to talk to your laptop and ez-bv4 using a usb to serial ttl cable?

Quote:

What is the recommended usb to serial ttl cable that people are using to connect ez-bv4 to pc or laptop, etc.?

Alan

In the controls, there are several that are listed as EZB and some that are PC and the description is literal, one control means it is for the EZB controller meaning either for serial connected to the EZB or in the case of sound, sound through the EZB, etc. So the EZB version of a control is going to always means something directly connected to the EZB.

The PC version of the control is for things connected to the PC, like PC sound would control sound through your PC, PC terminal is for a serial port physically on your PC. So the PC version of a control is going to always means something directly connected to the PC.

The reason for the separation is literally because they are separate things.

As for connecting the EZB4 to your computer, the recommended method is Wi-Fi.

Rick, I can see you have taken several of the Learn courses, if you have a specific robot or kit I would make sure you take all of the related courses to your product or at least all the EZ-B v4 courses. https://synthiam.com/Tutorials/Course/5

Hello Justin,

Thanks for the reply. I do use wifi to connect to the ez-bv4. However in experimenting with the serial communications aspects of the ez-bv4 controller I wanted to connect a laptop up to the ez-bv4 uart port to experiment with two way communications via ezscript language at the same time. Seems this would be a reasonable thing to do. Does this sound reasonable to you?

I have the Adventure robot and have looked at all of the tutorials pertaining to its use. Some courses I have read but haven't checked them off yet.

Thanks again....Rick Bonari

Hello,

Let me see if I have this all straight. Can I do the following:

First I would be talking to an arduino connected directly to laptop via EZ-Script in ARC. Here I would use ezb serial control to monitor and send communications data.

At the same time I could have an arduino connected directly to the ez-bv4 uart0 and communicate with it at the same time in ARC using the ezb serial terminal control and a seperate ezscript code.

Seems also that thru ezscripting I can talk back and forth between the two arduinos using ARC. The serial devices could be any serial device other than an arduino.

If the above statements are true is this how the separate serial port controls were meant to be used and if not what is a typical scenario of how both serial port controls would be used together?

Your thoughts and clarifications on this would be much appreciated....Rick B. :)

No - it's used for debugging for advanced users who are using uart hardware or terminals.

Hello DJ,

Which serial control is used for advanced Debugging and could you give me a typical scenario of how it would be used? I hear what you are saying but need to understand better how you would use it?

Would I be correct in assuming that the ezb serial terminal is used exclusively to monitor and send data to serial device connected to ez-bv4 uart?

Thanks again DJ for your help ! :)

You are partially correct, there is no "monitoring". Serial terminals do not intercept data. They are a client. The Terminal EZB is used exclusively to SEND and RECEIVE (not monitor) data to and from a device that supports a UART communication.

Scenarios which an advanced user would use the either PC or EZB terminal control is for connecting to a UART device and interacting with it. I use it often when debugging code on microcontrollers. For instance, while writing the code today for the upcoming EZ-Robot's Neopixel x 7 controller, i used the terminal program to display debug data that I wrote in code of the microcontroller.

Unless you are a programmer of a microcontroller (even arduino), you would never use it with an ez-robot.

Many Arduino sketches will have serial debug output. You could connect the serial debug output to either the terminal PC or EZB.

Without a purpose to use it, there is no other way to explain it. It's like trying to explain what a wrench is if you've never seen a bolt before.

Hello DJ,

Are you saying that a program like hyperterminal or other terminal program can't recieve data as well as send data? I think of ezb terminal and pc terminal controls as similar to hyper terminal. Also when I use the term "monitoring" I mean sending and revceiving data. Maybe a misuse of words.

Seems like we are both saying the same thing here but maybe in a different way and maybe not. It appears that ezb and pc terminal controls are one and the same and are only used to receive debug data from other rs232 devices. It also appears that you can't send data with either terminal control. Would this be correct? How does the debug data get to ezb terminal without a direct rs232 connection to the laptop? Is it via the wifi connection?

Seems both ezb terminal and pc terminal are the same and are only used for debug purposes. Would this be correct?

Thanks much again for your help on understanding these controls. Maybe some example code will clarify things better?

:)

There is no code for an example. This has nothing to do with code. i do not think there is anything more I can add to this topic. Like I said, it's a tool (similar to hyper terminal or any other of the 5,000,000 terminal programs) for communicating with uart devices. There's no reason why you would ever use it. And if you decide to learn how to program microcontrollers or something in c for complicated features, at that point you would know enough to use it. Until then, it's not useful for you at all. And there's no "example" to use it. There's no "code". There's nothing more that can be said about it.

Let me see if I can simplify this.

Yes, it is just like Hyperterminal (which Microsoft no longer provides in current windows versions). It sends anything you type in the terminal window. It displays anything it receives from the connected device. The PC version send and receives from any PC com port (just like Hyperterminal). The EZ-B version uses any of the UART ports.

Its only purpose is testing to see that the connected device is responding as you expect before you write scripts or a plugin to use the uart or send serial commands from any digital pin or your comm port. It is a test tool. Nothing more.

Alan

Hello,

Thanks for the help. First thing is that I know how to program and have programmed the arduino and other microcontrllers in machine language, C++, C, python, etc. Certainly not anywhere near your capabilities and especially DJ's capabilities. I have also used programs like hyperterminal and others many times to work with microcontrollers, etc.

DJ, I am not sure what you mean by there is no code involved. Maybe I'm mixing up my terms. If you can send hex values from the terminal controls to a connected device and receive hex values or binary values from the connected device I guess you would be correct. Again my terms probably are not correct?

If ez terminal and pc terminal are the same why is there a need for both. It is a bit confusing the way this is set up.

Thanks again for hanging with me..Rick :)

Once again. PC terminal connects from the PC comm port. Ez-b terminal connects from an ez-b UART port. If you are testing a device connected to a UART then the PC version would be useless for that test. If you are testing from the PC com port, then then ez-b version would be useless. Different tools for different jobs.

Alan

It's not confusing.

1. It's the same as hyperterminal but the UI is designed to display hex values and enter hex values. Hyperterminal is not a good programmers terminal. Hyperterminal was only for connecting to oldschool routers and such.

2. The reason there are TWO different terminal programs in ARC is because ONE works with direct local com devices and the OTHER works with the UART on the EZ-B

They are absolutely totally different methods of connecting.

The EZ-B is a wifi connected device. Wifi means wireless and therefore there are no wires. This is how your computer can connect to the ezb without wires, because it travels over the air wirelessly, like a radio. The purpose of the Terminal (EZB) is so you can connect to a UART device that's wirelessly. Perhaps in a different part of the world, or a different room, or over the internet, etc.

WIRELESS and WIRED are different things.

There is absolutely no other way i can explain this - there are two different Terminal versions because they are both different connection types.

For anyone who has programmed a micro controller or used a terminal program, they would understand. This feature is not for you and is for advanced DIY users. Again, please ignore this feature because until you begin programming microcontrollers and needing to debug connectivity, there is no use to using either of the terminal programs included in ARC.

I would like to continue this discussion but as i have stated before, there is nothing else i can add to this topic.

Rick, you keep circling back to the same point of confusion for yourself even though we have all tried to explain it and are repeating ourselves.

So why don't you see it with your own eyes, do this..Add both controls PC and EZB for the serial terminal to a project. Do they look "exactly" the same? Your answer had better be no, otherwise you doing something wrong.

The EZB Terminal has options for which board (which EZB board incase you have multiple boards) and which uart port because it's specific for things connected to the EZB.

The PC Terminal has an option to select which serial port physically on your PC running ARC.

Those are two mighty big differences. You might be thinking they should be the same or function the same, but they are separated for reason.

Alan,

Thanks for the clarification. Let me know if this scenario would be correct. Say I have an arduino connected to the ezbv4 uart0 port. I write code for the arduino and put some code in the sketch to send to ez terminal for debug purposes. I guess what puzzles me is if the ezbv4 is connected to the arduino how does the debug info get to the ARC control on the laptop. Only thing I can think of is via the wifi connection to the laptop. Would this be correct thinking? Again, thanks for hanging in there with me..Rick

Yes. EZ-B passes the data between uart and ARC via wifi.

Alan

What I meant in the above statement is how does the debug data get to get to the ez terminal control and it has to be wirelessly over the wifi connection. Would this be correct. Also I do know programming and do want to know how to use these controls....Rick

Yes... Wirelessly over WiFi.

Alan

The Tech Guru,

Thanks much, that was the key piece of information I was searching out. Thanks to all the other people that hung in there with me on this.

I think I should probably explain why I go in circles sometimes. Two years ago I was in a very serious car accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury and have some short term and executive function deficits that remain. They will be with me for the rest of my life but thank GOD I am alive. My capabilities definitely are not what they used to be, but the desire is still there and I am plugging along one step at a time.....Rick :)

Sorry to hear about your struggles. We'll try to continue to be patient and helpful. Don't be discouraged if I, or DJ, or Richard R (or anyone else really, but we are the most likely...) snap at you if we get frustrated trying to explain something . We all have our bad days.

Alan

TheTechGuru,

I certainly understand and again thank you all ! It is time to experiment now ! Rick

You are one of the most patient new users I've ever seen :). Got that going for u!

Hello DJ,

Yes and I never give up. May take me longer than some but I will get there. Again want to thank you and all the others that have helped me out and for the very quick responses. The best support system around not to mention the awesome hardware/software products ! Rick :)

Hello DJ,

Really looking forward to the new controller and other software/hardware products coming out this year ! Rick