Posted by mypapit on in GNU/Linux, Tips & Guides, Ubuntu/Debian
advertisement logo

 

Though some might argue that Serial port are things in the past, it is still the most popular port for those who are into electronic DIY. Building electronic device with serial port interface is cheaper than buiding one that uses USB. That is the reason why people still sell USB-Serial adapter to those electronic DIY enthusiast.

Here’s how to enable USB-Serial port adapter in Ubuntu Linux (with credit to Freeman from RepRap forum)


Linux DIY USB Serial Port Adaptor

First plug in the USB-Serial Port adaptor to one of your USB port. Wait for a couple of second, then run “dmesg”. You should see these message at the end of dmesg output.


usb 1-1: new full speed USB device using uhci_and address 2
usb 1-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice

After that, unplug the device and type “lsusb”. You will see a list of output similar to this.

Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 007: ID 03f0:4f11 Hewlett-Packard
Bus 002 Device 006: ID 05e3:1205 Genesys Logic, Inc. Afilias Optical Mouse H3003
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 15d9:0a33

Plug in the USB-Serial Port converter back, and run “lsusb” again, and you shall see an additional line, like this.


Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 007: ID 03f0:4f11 Hewlett-Packard
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 4348:5523 --- --- --- (notice the additional line!)
Bus 002 Device 006: ID 05e3:1205 Genesys Logic, Inc. Afilias Optical Mouse H3003
Bus 002 Device 004: ID 15d9:0a33

Now we know the vendor id and the product id of the USB-Serial Port converter, this will enable us to load the linux kernel module “usbserial” to activate the device, like this :


sudo modprobe usbserial vendor=0x4348 product=0x5523

Run “dmesg” again and you shall see lines similar like this :

usbserial_generic 1-1:1.0: generic converter detected
usb 1-1: generic converter now attached to ttyUSB0
usbcore: registered new interface driver usbserial_generic

As you can see, the new serial port device is mapped to /dev/ttyUSB0. You can instruct Ubuntu to load this module automatically by include the line : “usbserial vendor=0×4348 product=0×5523″ inside “/etc/modules” file.

Bonus: What application benefits from usb-serial port adaptor?
For starters, there are modems which uses RS-232 serial port. Some home-made devices includes Infrared remote control which uses LIRC which also depends on the serial port.

I use the adaptor to hook up my morse keyer in order to send morse code through the internet using Xchat CWIRC plugin. The site has an excellent circuit diagram to build such interface.

You can see my home-made morse code oscillator here : My Homemade Morse Code Practice Oscillator

Where can I get USB to Serial port converter?
You can get it from your local computer stores or order it online !


Share this post

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Keep updated with the latest posts, be a part of over 1,000 subscribers! : email iconSubscribe to your email

35 smashing comments for this post.

  1. david lee Said:
    November 1st, 2008 at 2:35 am

    “How to enable USB-Serial Port adapter (RS-232) in Ubuntu Linux” is very well written and enabled me (complete newcomer) to get COM2 recognised by the SeaClear.exe navigation program running under wine. Unfortunately the prog. is not receiving and NMEA input from my GPS, and any advice on what I should do next would be appreciated. Other problem – using nano I added the “usbserial vendor…” line to the “/etc/modules” file, but couldn’t work out how to save the addition. Could you help, please? Thanks a million.

  2. Rainy Said:
    December 31st, 2008 at 9:15 am

    Perfect instructions to get my USB serial converter running.

    Thanks

  3. Oldbitcollector Said:
    January 9th, 2009 at 8:27 am

    Instructions were “spot-on” for install my Belkin USB/Serial adapter. Thank you!

  4. Hu Said:
    January 17th, 2009 at 12:14 am

    Great instruction, it did help me a lot. Thanks.

  5. yehdev_cc Said:
    January 30th, 2009 at 6:02 am

    Thanks very much… I really needed it… please some more of this fine tricks.. much appreciated.

  6. Andrew Said:
    April 3rd, 2009 at 4:18 am

    Amazing info.

    I was wondering if somebody could tell me how to map ttyusb# to a ttys# and make it persistant.

  7. Toby Said:
    June 29th, 2009 at 10:11 pm

    I was windering is any body knows how the ttyUSB0 is related to a com port or how to set

  8. Sp!ke Said:
    July 10th, 2009 at 7:43 pm

    @Toby

    I’m assuming your talking about under wine?
    If so it’s very easy, add the following to wine.conf

    [serialports]
    Com1=/dev/ttyUSB0

    Obviously you can change Com1 to 2 3 4 etc

  9. Jonathan Said:
    July 22nd, 2009 at 3:12 am

    newer versions of wine don’t have or use a wine.conf or winerc…

    from the WineHQ site (http://www.winehq.org/docs/wineusr-guide/misc-things-to-configure), here’s how you do it:
    ln -s /dev/ttyUSB0 ~/.wine/dosdevices/com1

    or…com2, com3, etc.

  10. Nicolas Said:
    July 28th, 2009 at 3:58 pm

    Thx for the intruction. I need it.

    Gracias por la ayuda. La necesitaba.

  11. Dave Said:
    October 1st, 2009 at 2:00 am

    Thanks! Your clear instructions were easy to follow, and they work!

    So what is the right way to make this happen on every boot?

  12. mypapit Said:
    October 1st, 2009 at 11:40 am

    the correct way is written on the blog post, as follows:

    “As you can see, the new serial port device is mapped to /dev/ttyUSB0. You can instruct Ubuntu to load this module automatically by include the line : “usbserial vendor=0×4348 product=0×5523? inside “/etc/modules” file.”

  13. George Said:
    October 18th, 2009 at 6:23 am

    Thank you very much!

    What could be the substitute of ‘usbserial’ in ubuntu 9.04?
    this module is no longer available from the command shell.

  14. mypapit (Admin) Said:
    November 19th, 2009 at 1:43 am

    George, usbserial is not supposed to be run from the command shell. rather, it should be included in the /etc/modules file, read the article slowly and carefully.

  15. rshuttle Said:
    March 18th, 2010 at 10:24 am

    thx dude, this kicks butt! I got my bit whacker up and running on ubuntu in no time flat thx 2 ur info.

    http://www.schmalzhaus.com/UBW/index.html

  16. adiholix Said:
    March 28th, 2010 at 12:52 am

    good job!!!

    Thanks!! it’s very usefull…. :))

  17. botNET Said:
    June 10th, 2010 at 12:15 pm

    hope someone can help me – how can one statically assign usb serial so they map to the ttyUSBX everytime. i have 4 of these usb serial dongles and I have configured ser2net for specific tcp port to ttyUSBX (so i can telnet to the console of switches)… but once i restart PC; for eg usb serial dongle 1 which is ttyUSB0 may on next reboot may become ttyUSB1 and thus when i telnet to that port actually have consoled to another unit (as ser2net config file maps specific TCP port to ttyUSB). thanks for your help in advance.

  18. Cesar Masaharu Yokoyama Said:
    September 3rd, 2010 at 2:49 am

    I’m having trouble configuring arduinoBT
    I tried to do the same steps that this site but I had no success.
    obs: I’m using Ubuntu 4.10 LTS 32bits
    and the following error appears:
    ubuntu32bits@ubuntu32bits-laptop:~$ lsusb
    Bus 008 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
    Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
    Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
    Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
    Bus 004 Device 003: ID 03eb:2104 Atmel Corp. AVR ISP mkII
    Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
    Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
    Bus 002 Device 003: ID 03f0:3d17 Hewlett-Packard LaserJet P1005
    Bus 002 Device 002: ID 5986:0137 Acer, Inc
    Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
    Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

    command:sudo modprobe usbserial Atmel = 0x03eb RS232= 0×2104
    FATAL: Error inserting usbserial (/lib/modules/2.6.32-24-generic/kernel/drivers/usb/serial/usbserial.ko): Unknown symbol in module, or unknown parameter (see dmesg)
    dmesg
    17308] usb 4-2: config 1 interface 0 altsetting 0 endpoint 0×82 is Bulk; changing to Interrupt
    [ 297.317317] usb 4-2: config 1 interface 0 altsetting 0 endpoint 0×2 is Bulk; changing to Interrupt
    [ 297.344460] usb 4-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
    [ 1332.091589] usbserial: Unknown parameter `Atmel’
    [ 1492.323389] usbserial: Unknown parameter `Atmel’
    [ 1511.087014] usbserial: Unknown parameter `Atmel’
    [ 1726.664078] usbserial: Unknown parameter `Atmel’
    [ 1745.794821] usbserial: Unknown parameter `Atmel’
    [ 1789.904073] usb 2-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 3
    [ 1790.056180] usb 2-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice

  19. Rahul Agrawal Said:
    November 27th, 2010 at 11:07 am

    Hello guys ,
    the information here is indeed really useful and i wouldnt have wasted a day looking for drivers , had i known it would work so easily .. However my question is that , I am trying to connect a zigbee through this serial port , so can i directly write /dev/ttyUSB0 instead of the file for the Serial (i.e. /dev/ttyS0
    or do i need to convert it somehow ?

    i am a beginner to Linux too so please forgive me if my questions are stupid.

    Looking forward for some help !!

  20. utoto Said:
    January 19th, 2011 at 10:58 pm

    Many thanks! It worked right off! Also with libelium’s help to add X-CTU com port. I have been trying to get X-CTU to see my USB com to configure XBee mod for days. Now I finally can get back to work. Nice!

    I sometimes need to run 2 USB serial coms. Both being from the same manufacturer, they both show the same address. Even though they are USB0 and USB1 they both have the same numbers so get the same address. Any way to change address of one so both work simultaneously?

  21. utoto Said:
    January 19th, 2011 at 11:01 pm

    Rahul Agrawal-

    check it out here:
    http://www.libelium.com/squidbee/index.php?title=Uploading_XBee_firmware

    Look at this spot:

    4 – Make a symbolic link between ttyUSB0 and com2

    type in terminal: ln -s /dev/ttyUSB0 /home/your_home/.wine/dosdevices/com2

    5 – Add com2 port to X-CTU

  22. 3gp download Said:
    February 19th, 2011 at 3:13 pm

    If you’d like to take your videos along with you anywhere, make sure you first convert them to 3GP format so that they can be read on handheld devices including Mp3 players, iPhone and other cellphones

    Plato Video to 3GP Converter is software enabling you to convert your avi, mpeg, flv 3gp, rm, divx, xvid, wmv, asf, mov, qt, swf to 3GP format. It supports batch conversion and likewise provides the possible ways to convert merely a element of your video by setting a start point and a breakpoint around the source file.

    You can even customize the output quality of your 3GP file. Observe that the chosen parameters might be unspent in an account for future use.

  23. madsatellite Said:
    February 20th, 2011 at 10:50 pm

    Hi, I’m a newcomer and my eeepc doesn’t recognize when I plug my etrex (garmin gps) to the pc via a serial usb converter. So I followed the instructions but I do not know the meaning of the last command:

    As you can see, the new serial port device is mapped to /dev/ttyUSB0. You can instruct Ubuntu to load this module automatically by include the line : “usbserial vendor=0×4348 product=0×5523? inside “/etc/modules” file.

    what should I exactly type? Sorry if the question may sound silly, but I’m really a newcomer and don’t know how to get it work. Thank you very much for any answer!

  24. cornell Said:
    May 25th, 2011 at 1:37 am

    I ran dmesg | grep usb to get the usb portion of the listing making it easier to determine if the adapter was connected. The usb portion of the dmesg listing was not at the end but stuck somewhere in the middle of the output. I am running Ubuntu 8.04. Got the adapter connected. Thanks.

  25. Amer Said:
    March 27th, 2012 at 4:47 am

    Great. It worked with me.

    Thanks alot :)

  26. Luis Said:
    April 3rd, 2012 at 6:18 pm

    Thank you so much !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  27. Tweezak Said:
    May 27th, 2012 at 12:14 am

    I haven’t tested it yet but hopefully this will allow me to program my HP 48GX calculator from Ubuntu. The calculator was made long before USB and many modern computers like my netbook are no longer equipped with serial ports. For those of us who use Linux, instructions like these are invaluable! Thanks for taking the time to write up this novice-friendly guide.

  28. om prakash Said:
    October 5th, 2012 at 1:35 pm

    i need driver of this serial port converter.

  29. mezis Said:
    December 30th, 2012 at 12:35 am

    Thank you so much !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  30. whitefeather Said:
    February 6th, 2013 at 6:33 am

    Mypapit

    Wow! Thank you so much for the sharing this info. I’m just a linux layman but I use it exclusively and sometimes have trouble with other people’s explanations of commands via the terminal.

    Your’s got my serial apt up and running within minutes!
    Kudos my friend. Thanks again!

  31. Lester Said:
    February 6th, 2013 at 5:24 pm

    Thanks to you Mypapit, I can run my RS232 serial microchip picstart programmer under linux using mplabx and usb.
    My old Windows ME laptop finally died and I am resisting the wine solution.
    Cheers Lester

  32. Quang Said:
    February 19th, 2013 at 4:08 am

    Any help is greatly appreciate on my situation. I’m running RHEL open source and I have to use two usb 2 seral adapters. The first one I was able to configure but the second I can’t. I’m running a virtual machine of windows XP, certain software requirements only run on XP, and everytime I plug in the second adapter I get this message:

    USB redirection error: Could not auto-redirect USB Device at 3-16: usbredirhost error: resetting device: -5

  33. Quang Said:
    February 19th, 2013 at 4:17 am

    Scratch that last question. I figured it out. I had to do it through the vmware.

  34. Anderson Venturini Said:
    February 21st, 2013 at 1:12 am

    Great instructions! It helped me a lot. Thanks

  35. James Said:
    March 10th, 2013 at 8:46 am

    Hola MyPapit,
    I am trying to interface an Icom AIS receiver with my Ubuntu 12.04 controlled plotter. The plotter program is OpenCPN.

    Your instructions are helpful and clear, but am still having problem. Apparently Ubuntu is recognizing the USB to RS232 converter. Using your suggested command lsusb, I see the device. I’m just not getting a data stream from the Icom. So I still don’t know if the problem is in the hardware or the software.

    Can you offer any suggestions?

    I am N7NST and still have active license but inactive for years now. Writing to you from Puerto Armuelles, Panama and headed for Ecuador.
    73 Jim

Leave a Comment

About Author

Mohammad Hafiz (mypapit)

Blogger
Alor Setar, Kedah, MALAYSIA


I work with a local university in Malaysia. I code for fun and I support Free and Open Source Software.


Visit

 


 



Read Planet Fakap!