Minicom not working

Question

I am trying to connect my Pi 4 running Rasbian 2020 to an Arduino, after making all the connections I try to communicate with the Arduino by using Minicom. However, Minicom doe not respond to anything I am typing nor any of the commands such as ctrl + a.

I am running Minicom with the following command: minicom -b 9600 -o -D /dev/ttyAMA0

This is the code I have running on the Arduino:

byte number = 0;

void setup(){
Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop(){
if (Serial.available()) {
number = Serial.read();
Serial.print("character recieved: ");
Serial.println(number, DEC);
}
}

Have you uploaded some Serial code into your Arduino and set the bit rate ? `/dev/ttyAMA0` exists on your RPI ? `-o` is really necessary ? — Ephemeral, Mar 08 '22 at 23:36
Yh, I do. I just put that up. Also, yes the baud rates match. — Beulah Akindele, Mar 08 '22 at 23:40
From this [example](https://www.arduino.cc/reference/en/language/functions/communication/serial/read/), your condition `if (Serial.available()) {}` must be `if (Serial.available() > 0){} `, I check if it is important — Ephemeral, Mar 08 '22 at 23:47
[available](https://www.arduino.cc/reference/en/language/functions/communication/serial/available/) -> Returns :The number of bytes available to read., For Arduino Mega the example code is the same as you. — Ephemeral, Mar 08 '22 at 23:49
Try to add `int bytesSent = Serial.write("hello");` in your loop before `if (Serial.available()) {}` to see if you see anything in minicom ? — Ephemeral, Mar 09 '22 at 00:00
I haven't used minicom for a while but I can read: `it's +, then `, you can also use `screen` instead of `minicom` — Ephemeral, Mar 09 '22 at 00:12
`+` is supposed to set you into special inputs so you can use the keys for a plethora of commands... not just the `z`. The `+` command is not doing that for me. Also the `Serial.write` did nothing. — Beulah Akindele, Mar 09 '22 at 00:18
maybe try with `screen` ? [help](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/terminal-basics/command-line-windows-mac-linux) — Ephemeral, Mar 09 '22 at 00:21
Let us [continue this discussion in chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/134647/discussion-between-ephemeral-and-beulah-akindele). — Ephemeral, Mar 09 '22 at 00:32

Milliways · Answer 1 · 2022-03-09T03:26:30.517

2

/dev/ttyAMA0 is connected to Bluetooth so this won't work.

See How do I make serial work on the Raspberry Pi3 or later

It IS POSSIBLE to disable Bluetooth but this is unnecessary to use serial. In the unlikely event you really need a fully featured UART the Pi4 has another 4.

There is no such thing as "Rasbian 2020"

edited Mar 09 '22 at 03:26

answered Mar 09 '22 at 02:24

Milliways

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Why do you think it is unnecessary to use Serial? and What do you mean by fully-featured UART? – Beulah Akindele Mar 09 '22 at 18:24
@BeulahAkindele "Why do you think it is unnecessary to use Serial" is said no such thing - re read the Answer. – Milliways Mar 09 '22 at 23:03
@BeulahAkindele "What do you mean by fully-featured UART" the linked Answer explains the difference between mini UART & fully-featured UART. – Milliways Mar 09 '22 at 23:04

Minicom not working

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