For this activity, I established serial communication between two Arduino Uno R3 microcontrollers using their
TX and RX pins. The goal was to demonstrate data being transmitted from one project to another through a
direct serial connection.
Equipment Used
- Arduino Uno R3 (Transmitter)
- Arduino Uno R3 (Receiver)
- USB Cables
- Jumper Wires
- Arduino IDE
1. Developed separate transmitter and receiver programs.
2. Uploaded the code to each Arduino individually before connecting the communication wires.
3. Connected the TX and RX lines between the boards.
4. Opened the Serial Monitor to verify that messages were being transmitted and received successfully.
Challenges Encountered
Several issues were encountered during development:
- Incorrect programmer settings caused upload failures.
- A low-quality USB cable resulted in communication and upload problems.
- Leaving the Serial Monitor open during uploads caused additional errors.
- Uploading code before connecting the communication wiring improved reliability.
After correcting these issues, communication between the two boards worked as expected.
Results
The transmitter Arduino successfully sent serial messages to the receiver Arduino through the
TX/RX connection. The receiver processed and displayed the incoming data, demonstrating
successful communication between two independent microcontroller projects.
What I Learned
This activity helped me understand how microcontrollers exchange information through serial
communication. I learned the importance of proper TX/RX wiring, shared ground connections,
correct programmer settings, and reliable USB connections. Troubleshooting these issues
provided a much better understanding of how embedded systems communicate with one another.