TX2 add UART ports

Hi.

The project I’m trying to implement needs more UART ports, at least 6, better if it’s more than 6.
I have already tried to use USB hub and several USB-> UART adapters, it works but a long time of use has shown that this solution is not reliable. Sometimes the adapters disappear from the system for a few seconds and then reappear, it looks as if the adapter has been disconnected and then connected again. Because of this, my software gives an error that the port is missing and needs to be restarted.

Can anyone suggest a simpler and more reliable solution for adding UART ports?

I have an idea to use a PCIe-> RS232 board but I’m not sure about the support of such boards in JetPack.
Can anyone suggest such a board or chipset on which it should be built to have support in JetPack or at least to have available drivers for Linux and their build and use did not cause problems?

Best regards,
Ihor Starnavskyi

hello svl4583,

you may access Jetson TX2 Series OEM Product Design Guide,
Jetson TX2 bring five UARTs out to the main connector, please also refer to [Table 74. UART Pin Descriptions].
thanks

hello JerryChang,
Thanks for your reply.
I have already read the available information, not enough five ports, I need at least 6 ports and better more.

hello svl4583,

may I know what’s the actual use-case for having at least 6 UART ports
thanks

Need 6 UART ports is something weird?
I use UART to control peripheral devices, such as camera lenses, compass, GPS, and more.
Some devices support i2c communication, but the use of i2c has previously proved unreliable. Using USB-> UART adapters worked better than i2c communication. When using the UART ports available on TX2, everything works perfectly. But I need at least 6 ports.

Peripheral devices are at some distance from TX2, the wires that connect peripheral devices are shielded, but still it seems to me that some electromagnetic interference spoils the connection via USB or i2c bus. When using UART I do not observe any problems, everything works fine.

you can try exploring RS-485 protocol
Or may be use CAN bus on TX2

hello Bibek
Thanks for your reply.
The idea of using a CAN bus looks good but then I need to somehow adapt the devices with a UART interface to work with a CAN bus.
I still just wanted to get extra UART ports.

Best regards,
Ihor Starnavskyi

I, you can use an I2C to UART converter or simply use a USB hub,
Regards

How should I do if I want to just open two serial communication? The [Table 75. UART Interface Mapping] reads only UART1 (UART3) is serial port, can I use J20 and J17 at the same time and build two serial port?
Thanks

Hi surefyyq,

Please help to open a new topic if it’s still an issue.

Thanks