Connecting via Serial - MacOSX

= Connecting via Serial - MacOSX =

Note: Just starting to look into this myself, so setting up this page to collect relevant info.

To connect the Gumstix to a Mac you can use the serial port in the tweener board. This board also has a power jack to power the Gumstix. Many computers don't have a DB-9 connector anymore and rely on the USB serial bus; if that is your situation you will need a USB to Serial converter.

If you are using ZTerm to connect to the Gumstix over Bluetooth or a USB-to-Serial, it is possible to send files using the Send ZModem... feature in the FIle menu. Just remember to configure the ZModem options (in the Settings menu) to use rz (Unix) rather than uz (Opus). To be safe, set all transfers to send binary data via the Transfer Convert submenu under File.

For gumstix boards with a -BT suffix, Bluetooth can be a good option for serial communicaitons if your Mac has a Bluetooth adapter.

= References =

Serial terminal software

 * screen - /usr/bin/screen
 * ZTerm - http://homepage.mac.com/dalverson/zterm/
 * kermit
 * http://www.macgeekery.com/gspot/2006-08/terminal_software_for_mac_os_x
 * http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/
 * Install ckermit via Fink repository
 * http://todbot.com/blog/2006/02/23/howto-mac-os-x-bluetooth-serial-port/
 * Possible platform-independent, Java-based serial client: http://java.sun.com/products/javacomm/index.jsp
 * minicom
 * Install minicom via Fink repository

Hardware

 * Sparkfun
 * USB to Serial breakout boards - http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?cPath=20
 * FTDI
 * http://www.ftdichip.com/FTDrivers.htm