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Asked: 2024-09-25T16:58:12+05:30 In:

How can I read data from a serial port in Ubuntu?

I’ve been tinkering with a cool project that involves some hardware that communicates over a serial port, and I’m stuck trying to read the data from it on my Ubuntu machine. To give you a bit of context, I’m working with an Arduino that sends some sensor readings over serial, and I want to grab that data in real-time.

So, here’s where I need some help. I’ve heard that there are a few different ways to approach this, but honestly, I’m a bit overwhelmed with the options. I tried using some basic terminal commands to open the serial port, but I keep running into permissions issues or just getting gibberish data that I can’t make sense of.

A friend suggested using something like `screen` or `minicom`, but I wasn’t sure if those were really meant for this or if they’d just give me a nice terminal view without the ability to process the data further. I’d love to know if there’s a way to read the serial data that’s more programmatic, maybe something that involves Python, since I’m somewhat familiar with that language. However, I know there can be issues with libraries and dependencies, so I’d appreciate any pointers on that front too.

Also, I need to figure out how to handle the setup for the serial port communication. Things like configuring baud rate and ensuring the port is set up correctly—where do I even start with that? Is there a particular library in Python that you guys find works best for reading the data? Or should I be considering using a different approach altogether?

If anyone has been through this kind of thing before or has some solid advice, I’d really appreciate your input! I’m kind of at a standstill and could really use some friendly guidance to get me over this hurdle. Thanks in advance for any tips or insights you can share!

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    2 Answers



    1. Help with Serial Port Communication on Ubuntu

      Need Help with Reading Serial Data from Arduino

      It sounds like you’re really getting into some exciting stuff with your Arduino!
      Here’s a simple way to tackle the serial port communication on your Ubuntu machine using Python.

      1. Installing Required Packages

      First, you’ll want to make sure you have the right libraries installed. To start with, you can use pyserial which is very popular for handling serial communication in Python. You can install it using pip: 

      pip install pyserial

      2. Granting Permissions

      If you’re running into permission issues, you probably need to add your user to the dialout group to access the serial port: 

      sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER

      Log out and back in for the changes to take effect.

      3. Setting Up the Serial Port

      Next, you’ll need to open the serial port in your Python script. Here’s a small snippet to help you get started. Just make sure to change /dev/ttyUSB0 to your actual port and set the right baud rate (like 9600): 

      
import serial

# Set up the serial port
ser = serial.Serial('/dev/ttyUSB0', 9600)

while True:
    # Read a line from the serial port
    line = ser.readline()
    print(line.decode('utf-8').rstrip())  # Decode bytes and strip newline

      4. Troubleshooting

      If you’re still getting gibberish, double-check the baud rate setting on both the Arduino and your script. They need to match!

      Also, make sure you’re using the right data encoding (often UTF-8 works well).

      5. Using Terminal Programs

      Tools like screen or minicom are great for checking if your Arduino is sending information correctly. You can use them to quickly test your setup before diving into coding.
      But for processing the data, the Python approach is definitely the way to go!

      Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have more questions—it’s all part of the learning process! Good luck with your project!



    2. To read data from your Arduino over a serial port on your Ubuntu machine, using Python can indeed provide a more programmatic approach. The `pyserial` library is a great choice for this purpose, as it simplifies serial communication. You can install it via pip with the command `pip install pyserial`. Once you have it installed, you can open the serial port using the following code snippet:

            import serial
      import time
      
      # Configure your serial port settings
      ser = serial.Serial('/dev/ttyUSB0', baudrate=9600, timeout=1)  # Adjust the port and baud rate as necessary
      
      while True:
          data = ser.readline()  # Read one line from the serial port
          if data:
              print(data.decode())  # Decode bytes to string

      Ensure you have the correct permissions to access the serial port; you might need to add your user to the `dialout` group using the command `sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER`, and then restart your terminal. Setting the correct baud rate is crucial as it must match what the Arduino is transmitting. If you continue to receive gibberish, double-check the baud rate setting in both your Arduino code and your Python script. Libraries like `minicom` or `screen` are useful for quickly checking data but won’t provide the processing capabilities you’re looking for. Making use of `pyserial` should give you a solid foundation for reading and processing your serial data effectively.


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