Introduction

nanoUART-wl is a wireless serial port tool composed of a transmitter and a receiver launched by Muse Lab. It is easy to use(plug and play) and supports up to 460800 baud rate. It can achieve full duplex communication within 10 meters as the transmitter and receiver use 2.4G wireless to communicate. In some scenarios, such as the target board (aircraft, cars, robots, etc.) is always in a moving state or the target board is hanged on a high place, the wireless serial port can better solve the debugging problems and effectively improve the development efficiency.

Features

● Wireless WIFI to transmit data

Both the transmitter and the receiver use WIFI module as wireless transmission module which can effectively ensure signal stability and supports up to 460800 baud rate. WiFi uses spread spectrum principle to achieve wireless communication. Its broadness and stability are unmatched by other wireless communication methods such as Bluetooth and GFSK.

● Easy to use ( plug and play )

There is no need to install additional software on PC. Just power on the transmitter and receiver separately, they will automatically establish connection. You can start debugging immediately once connection is established successfully.

● Reliable and stable data transmission

Transmitter and receiver use the TCP protocol for wireless data transmission. TCP protocol is a full-duplex communication with data confirmation and packet loss re-transmission, which can effectively ensure the reliability and stability of data transmission.

● Support one-to-many pairing

nanoUART-wl supports one transmitter to be paired with multiple receivers. In some scenarios, you can just purchase one transmitter and multiple receivers and pair them without installing additional software (Note that only one pair of transmitter and receivers can work at the same moment).

● Support multiple pairs of serial tools to work at the same time

Each pair of transmitter and receiver have been paired before sale. They will not interfere or cross-connect with each other. In theory, it can support 256 nanoUART-wl to work at the same time.

Specification

Driver

While Linux and Mac OS don’t require any drivers, Windows version older than Windows 10 will require a serial port driver. Please download “usbser.inf” from https://github.com/wuxx/nanoUART-wl/tree/master/driver

How To Use

1. Connect the receiver of nanoUART-wl with the target board as shown below. Note the receiver needs to be powered by the target board.

2. Plug the transmitter of nanoUART-wl to the host computer. Check the serial port number in device manager.

3. Both the transmitter and the receiver blue LED starts to flash slowly which indicates the transmitter and the receiver are trying to establish a connection with each other. Once the connection is established successfully, the blue LED of transmitter and receiver will stop flash and stay on.

4. Open serial port tool on host computer, such as Putty, SSCOM. Configure the serial port number and baud rate to connect with the target board. Then the host computer can communicate with the target board.

Documentation

● https://github.com/wuxx/nanoUART-wl

FAQ

● Q: The computer prompts that there is no serial port driver on Windows 7?

    A: While Linux and Mac OS don’t require any drivers, Windows version older than Windows 10 will require a serial port driver. Please download driver from https://github.com/wuxx/nanoUART-wl/tree/master/driver

● Q: What do the different LED status of the transmitter and receiver mean?

    A:

● Q: Sometimes the wireless communication would be disconnected during the debugging. How to solve the problem?

   A: The transmitter and the receiver are connected by ISM 2.4G public frequency band, while Bluetooth, wifi, and some remote controllers also work in this frequency band. These electromagnetic interferences may cause the cause communication failure. Furthermore, if you are debugging board indoors, occlusion of the indoor objects , location of the antenna, and multipath effect of the communication may also cause the connection to be disconnected. When detecting the disconnection, the transmitter and receiver will automatically try to re-establish the connection. Please observe the LED status indicator. If their blue LED stay on, you can re-debug. If communication is frequently disconnected, please check whether the power supply of the receiver is stable, and adjust the position and distance appropriately, which can improve the stability of communication

● Q: How long can nanoUART-wl support wireless communication?

    A: In the open field, nanoUART-wl can achieve wireless debugging within 10m

● Q: How many nanoUART-wl can be used at the same time, and will they interfere with each other?

   A: Each pair of transmitter and receiver have been paired before sale, and they will not interfere or cross-connect with each other. In theory, it can support 256 nanoUART-wl to work at the same time.

● Q: Can one transmitter be paired with multiple receivers?

   A: nanoUART-wl supports supports one transmitter to be paired with multiple receivers. (Note that only one pair of transmitter and receivers can work at the same moment). In some scenarios, you can just purchase one transmitter and multiple receivers and pair them without installing additional software. Just shortcut CTS pin and GND pin of the receiver. Then supply power for the transmitter and the receiver, the receiver will re-search for the transmitter in current wireless frequency band and pair with it if found. When the red LED of the receiver turn to green, it Indicates that the transmitter and receiver are paired successfully.

Shipping List

● Transmitter X 1

● Receiver X 1

● 20cm DuPont Line X 4