Host Interface

Host (PC or Android) connection to the RS485 bus can be achieved by an RS485 to USB converter. As an example, the RS485-USB converter from FTDIchip (FTDIchip Products USBRS485) was used for development by the author. Another possible candidate could be the Sparkfun BOB-09822 breakout board https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9822. However, these solutions will not provide host-based collision detection and only a limited capability of host based collision avoidance. A project for a USB RS485 interface (discussed below) may provide these facilities in a future release.

Various applications exist to communicate with the RS485 nodes on the bus. For simple command responds testing, a simple terminal emulator such as Putty (www.putty.org) or FTDI UART terminal can be sufficient. More complex applications must be developed explicitly. (In a future post, the development of an Android specific application will be published.