Attempting to get YUNO-VFD serial display to work

[rohan!]

Hi,

I'm having some problems figuring out how to get a Serial VFD working on Ubuntu 14.04.

The VFD is part of an Aures point of sale unit. The specs say it's a YUNO-VFD.

I've not had much success in searching for information regarding this display online, though I think that it is manufactured by Aures.

So, firstly, I'm presuming that I need to load a driver, though as it's an uncommon display I'm not sure that there will be drivers... is there a generic driver for serial VFDs??

Secondly, I've tried to see which device it is in my /dev folder using dmesg and setserial (outputs below), but there are 5 different serial TTYs... how do I know which one refers to the display?



$ dmesg | grep tty
[ 0.000000] console [tty0] enabled
[ 1.630314] 00:02: ttyS0 at I/O 0x3f8 (irq = 4, base_baud = 115200) is a 16550A
[ 1.651110] 00:03: ttyS1 at I/O 0x2f8 (irq = 3, base_baud = 115200) is a 16550A
[ 1.671896] 00:04: ttyS2 at I/O 0x3e8 (irq = 5, base_baud = 115200) is a 16550A
[ 1.692722] 00:05: ttyS3 at I/O 0x2e8 (irq = 10, base_baud = 115200) is a 16550A
[ 1.713561] 00:06: ttyS4 at I/O 0x2d8 (irq = 6, base_baud = 115200) is a 16550A
[ 1.734392] 00:07: ttyS5 at I/O 0x2d0 (irq = 11, base_baud = 115200) is a 16550A




$ setserial -g /dev/ttyS[0-5]
/dev/ttyS0, UART: 16550A, Port: 0x03f8, IRQ: 4
/dev/ttyS1, UART: 16550A, Port: 0x02f8, IRQ: 3
/dev/ttyS2, UART: 16550A, Port: 0x03e8, IRQ: 5
/dev/ttyS3, UART: 16550A, Port: 0x02e8, IRQ: 10
/dev/ttyS4, UART: 16550A, Port: 0x02d8, IRQ: 6
/dev/ttyS5, UART: 16550A, Port: 0x02d0, IRQ: 11


I'm really struggling here. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[dino99]

here is an old updated howto; hopes it will help https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SerialConsoleHowto
the ares support http://www.aures-support.fr/UK/utilities/ but 'yuno' is unknown, so lshw might help to identify the hardware.

http://www.binarytides.com/linux-lshw-command/

[rohan!]

Hey,

Thanks for the quick response. I tried the howto, but didn't have any success: minicom says offline at the bottom, and the suggested alternative of using screen just gives me a blinking cursor. Neither method causes anything to happen on the serial display.

Below is the output of lshw. I've highlighted the part that seems relevant to me, where it says "serial" is unclaimed. Does this suggest I need a driver for the device?



$ lshw
ubuntu
description: Hand Held Computer
product: X72 (System SKUNumber)
vendor: Quanta
version: 03
serial: QCQX01F50201QM
width: 64 bits
capabilities: smbios-2.7 dmi-2.7 vsyscall32
configuration: boot=normal chassis=handheld family=BayTrail System sku=System SKUNumber uuid=00000000-0000-0000-0000-5403F50527F8
*-core
description: Motherboard
product: X72
vendor: Quanta
physical id: 0
version: 03
serial: QCQX01F50201QM
slot: Part Component
*-firmware
description: BIOS
vendor: Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
physical id: 0
version: X72P-008
date: 10/20/2014
size: 128KiB
capacity: 4032KiB
capabilities: pci upgrade shadowing cdboot bootselect edd int5printscreen int9keyboard int14serial int17printer int10video pc98 acpi usb biosbootspecification netboot uefi
*-cpu
description: CPU
product: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU J1900 @ 1.99GHz
vendor: Intel Corp.
physical id: 4
bus info: cpu@0
version: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU J1900 @ 1.99GHz
slot: CPU 1
size: 1333MHz
capacity: 4GHz
width: 64 bits
clock: 83MHz
capabilities: x86-64 fpu fpu_exception wp vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer rdrand lahf_lm 3dnowprefetch ida arat epb dtherm tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid tsc_adjust smep erms cpufreq
configuration: cores=4 enabledcores=4 threads=1
*-cache:0
description: L1 cache
physical id: 6
slot: L1 Cache
size: 32KiB
capacity: 32KiB
capabilities: synchronous internal write-back instruction
*-cache:1
description: L2 cache
physical id: 7
slot: L2 Cache
size: 2MiB
capacity: 2MiB
capabilities: synchronous internal write-back unified
*-cache
description: L1 cache
physical id: 5
slot: L1 Cache
size: 24KiB
capacity: 24KiB
capabilities: synchronous internal write-back data
*-memory
description: System Memory
physical id: 8
slot: System board or motherboard
size: 4GiB
*-bank:0
description: SODIMM DDR3 Synchronous 1333 MHz (0.8 ns)
product: TS512MSK64W6H
vendor: Transcend
physical id: 0
serial: 00101116
slot: DIMM0
size: 4GiB
width: 64 bits
clock: 1333MHz (0.8ns)
*-bank:1
description: SODIMM [empty]
physical id: 1
slot: DIMM1
*-pci
description: Host bridge
product: ValleyView SSA-CUnit
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 100
bus info: pci@0000:00:00.0
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
configuration: driver=iosf_mbi_pci
resources: irq:0
*-display
description: VGA compatible controller
product: ValleyView Gen7
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 2
bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
configuration: driver=i915 latency=0
resources: irq:107 memory:d0000000-d03fffff memory:c0000000-cfffffff ioport:2050(size=8)
*-storage
description: SATA controller
product: ValleyView 6-Port SATA AHCI Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 13
bus info: pci@0000:00:13.0
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz
capabilities: storage msi pm ahci_1.0 bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=ahci latency=0
resources: irq:104 ioport:2048(size=8) ioport:205c(size=4) ioport:2040(size=8) ioport:2058(size=4) ioport:2020(size=32) memory:d0814000-d08147ff
*-usb
description: USB controller
product: ValleyView USB xHCI Host Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 14
bus info: pci@0000:00:14.0
version: 0c
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi xhci bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=xhci_hcd latency=0
resources: irq:103 memory:d0800000-d080ffff
*-generic
description: Encryption controller
product: ValleyView SEC
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1a
bus info: pci@0000:00:1a.0
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=mei_txe latency=0
resources: irq:106 memory:d0700000-d07fffff memory:d0600000-d06fffff
*-multimedia
description: Audio device
product: ValleyView High Definition Audio Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1b
bus info: pci@0000:00:1b.0
version: 0c
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=snd_hda_intel latency=0
resources: irq:108 memory:d0810000-d0813fff
*-pci:0
description: PCI bridge
product: ValleyView PCI Express Root Port
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1c
bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.0
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=pcieport
resources: irq:16 ioport:3000(size=4096)
*-pci:1
description: PCI bridge
product: ValleyView PCI Express Root Port
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1c.1
bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.1
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=pcieport
resources: irq:17 ioport:4000(size=4096)
*-pci:2
description: PCI bridge
product: ValleyView PCI Express Root Port
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1c.2
bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.2
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=pcieport
resources: irq:18 ioport:1000(size=4096) memory:d0500000-d05fffff ioport:d0400000(size=1048576)
*-network
description: Ethernet interface
product: RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller
vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
physical id: 0
bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0
logical name: p2p1
version: 18
serial: 54:03:f5:05:27:f8
size: 1Gbit/s
capacity: 1Gbit/s
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi pciexpress msix vpd bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp mii 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt 1000bt-fd autonegotiation
configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=r8169 driverversion=2.3LK-NAPI duplex=full firmware=rtl8168f-2_0.0.4 03/27/12 ip=192.133.1.28 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes port=MII speed=1Gbit/s
resources: irq:105 ioport:1000(size=256) memory:d0500000-d0500fff memory:d0400000-d0403fff
*-pci:3
description: PCI bridge
product: ValleyView PCI Express Root Port
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1c.3
bus info: pci@0000:00:1c.3
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pci pciexpress msi pm normal_decode bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=pcieport
resources: irq:19 ioport:5000(size=4096)
*-isa
description: ISA bridge
product: ValleyView Power Control Unit
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1f
bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.0
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: isa bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=lpc_ich latency=0
resources: irq:0
*-serial UNCLAIMED
description: SMBus
product: ValleyView SMBus Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1f.3
bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.3
version: 0c
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm cap_list
configuration: latency=0
resources: memory:d0814800-d081481f ioport:2000(size=32)
*-scsi
physical id: 1
logical name: scsi0
capabilities: emulated
*-disk
description: ATA Disk
product: Techman SCSH01
physical id: 0.0.0
bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0
logical name: /dev/sda
version: 1.08
serial: 15051001342
size: 59GiB (64GB)
capabilities: gpt-1.00 partitioned partitioned:gpt
configuration: ansiversion=5 guid=4dbf8544-f8f0-46c4-aa7e-ab41bc43427e sectorsize=512
*-volume:0
description: Windows FAT volume
vendor: mkfs.fat
physical id: 1
bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,1
logical name: /dev/sda1
logical name: /boot/efi
version: FAT32
serial: a29d-8a76
size: 510MiB
capacity: 511MiB
capabilities: boot fat initialized
configuration: FATs=2 filesystem=fat mount.fstype=vfat mount.options=rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,co depage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro state=mounted
*-volume:1
description: EFI partition
vendor: Linux
physical id: 2
bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,2
logical name: /dev/sda2
logical name: /boot
version: 1.0
serial: aceb0561-6bed-47b3-9056-4785cb3ada2d
size: 244MiB
capabilities: extended_attributes ext2 initialized
configuration: filesystem=ext2 lastmountpoint=/boot modified=2015-04-27 08:21:19 mount.fstype=ext2 mount.options=rw,relatime mounted=2015-04-27 08:21:19 state=mounted
*-volume:2
description: LVM Physical Volume
vendor: Linux
physical id: 3
bus info: scsi@0:0.0.0,3
logical name: /dev/sda3
serial: NbuL13-F3bO-Z6xn-mFa1-NEQx-5Rxv-cSnuTA
size: 58GiB
capabilities: multi lvm2
*-battery
product: Smart Battery
vendor: Intel Corp.
physical id: 1
version: 2010
serial: 1.0
slot: Rear


Any more suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[dino99]

does not know what 'unclaimed' really mean here. That baytrail chipset got more support recently; maybe try the 3.19 kernel; you can downlad the 4 files (2 headers + 2 images) into an empty folder from http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/ , then do 'sudo dpkg -i *'

https://www.happyassassin.net/2014/06/27/a-long-winded-and-probably-inaccurate-guide-to-the-kernel-development-process-particularly-regarding-baytrail/

[dino99]

does not know what 'unclaimed' really mean here. That baytrail chipset got more support recebtly; maybe try the 3.19 kernel; you can downlad the 4 files (2 headers + 2 images) into an empty folder from http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/ , then do 'sudo dpkg -i *'

https://www.happyassassin.net/2014/06/27/a-long-winded-and-probably-inaccurate-guide-to-the-kernel-development-process-particularly-regarding-baytrail/

you probably also try to update ids:
sudo update-pciids
sudo update usbids

[rohan!]

Thanks for the response again.

I attempted to install 3.19 kernel but it caused lots of problems (no network, no keyboard...). So instead I tried to use the latest Ubuntu live version (which ships with 3.19). I still get that serial unclaimed issue though. Attempted to set up a getty task for serial devices and using screen to connect still doesn't work (the getty instance appears to crash when I connect the screen instance).

Not really sure where to go from here.

Thank you ever so much for the help so far.

[dino99]

when searching about 'linux/ubuntu baytrail kernel driver' we can find some kernel's bugs and issue about acpi/sound. Also seen some users surprised by the lspci output, to be quite 'exotic' compared to what was usually expected (probably some specific hard chipset links that disturb the kernel) so its seems that either the kernel or the gallium driver still needs more work (or both)

[dino99]

Also found that 'yuno' pdf (quite long to load) to says that the serial port is a usual RS232 one
http://support.j2rs.com/Documents/TechnicalDocs/YUNO_User_Manual_V1.0%28EN%29.pdf

http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/find-out-linux-serial-ports-with-setserial/
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Minicom

[rohan!]

Ok. Not sure what I've changed, but am now getting some junk characters printed to the display (see attached), which I guess is an improvement. This happens when the getty instance launches for ttyS5 (can confirm but stopping and starting it from the commandline). Trying to connect minicom or screen to ttyS5 doesn't seem do anything. lshw still says that serial is unclaimed.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDqpYm_UkAA0ebz.jpg:large

Thanks again

[rohan!]

Yay! I got it working. Turns out that the baud rate needed to be set to 9600 as opposed to 115200.



$ cat /etc/init/ttyS5
# ttyS5 - getty
#
# This service maintains a getty on ttyS5 from the point the system is
# started until it is shut down again

start on stopped rc RUNLEVEL=[12345]
stop on runlevel [!12345]

respawn
exec /sbin/agetty -h ttyS5 9600 vt102


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDq1TjXVIAAsN66.jpg:large

Thanks so so much for all the help :)

[dino99]

as always the devil is hidden in the details :p

[fbianco2]

Hey rohan!

Which kernel are you using now ?

(solved with 3.19, at least I see the VDF display)