Using panel due's UART while using the IO_0

[thomas.weiss]

Hey everybody,

we have a couple of Duet 3 mini 5+ boards for a project. Everything is going quite okay so far, but I have a question regarding the use of the IO_0.

On the actual 5-Pin IO_0, I have an end-stop switch attached. On the Panel due connector, there is a microcontroller that is trying to communicate via Serial/UART. This is not really tested to work yet since I noticed, that the panel due RX/TX pins are labeled as io_0_in and io_0_out.

Are the panel due's RX/TS pins the same pins that are attached on the 5-Pin IO_0? Will using both of them be a problem?

I appreciate any help or ideas to learn from. Thank you!

[dc42]

@thomas-weiss yes they are the same pins, so you can't use both at once.

[thomas.weiss]

@dc42 Oh wow. That was a fast and precise reply. Thanks a lot!

If I may ask one more question without opening a new topic just for that. I have a laser (a pointing laser, not a cutting one) that runs on 3-5V with 20 mA. Can I directly run this by connecting it between out_6_buff and GND? Can I pull 20 mA from that pin?

[dc42]

@thomas-weiss do you mean the Laser/VFD port? Yes you can connect it directly to that port; however it has a 100 ohm series resistor plus the internal resistance in the buffer, so you might not get quite enough voltage and current if the laser needs 20mA.