Embedded Systems

Serial protocols

Use this for “How many bytes per second can a 115 200-baud 8N1 UART send?”

Diagram

startdata, LSB firststop0S10110213040516071E1 bit = 1 ÷ baud = 8.681 μs10 bits = 86.81 μs
The line idles high; a start bit pulls it low, then the byte 0x4B goes out LSB first and 1 stop bit high. frame = 1 + 8 + 0 + 1 = 10 bits.
This is an example. Type your own values to start a new problem.
nframe
=
1
+
ndata
+
nₚₐᵣᵢₜᵧ
+
nₛₜₒₚ
r (B/s)
=
baud (b/s)
÷
nframe
tbyte
Time a byte
calculated

Formulas

nframe = 1 + ndata + nₚₐᵣᵢₜᵧ + nₛₜₒₚ
10 = 1 + 8 + 0 + 1
r
=
baud
nframe
11,520
=
115,200
10
tbyte
=
nframe
baud
8.6806 ×
10
-5
=
10
115,200
Formulas are worked in s. The step-by-step shows the conversions.

Assumptions

•
The line idles high; the start bit pulls it low, then the data bits go out LSB first.
•
8N1 means 8 data bits, no parity bit and 1 stop bit; 7E1 is 7 data bits, even parity, 1 stop bit.
•
Each bit lasts 1 ÷ baud, and frames follow each other with no idle time between them.

Step-by-step

WE KNOW
baud = 115,200 b/s, ndata = 8, nₚₐᵣᵢₜᵧ = 0, nₛₜₒₚ = 1
FIND
bits a frame (nframe), bytes a second (r), time a byte (tbyte)
Step 1 · Find bits a frame (nframe)
Use nframe = 1 + ndata + nₚₐᵣᵢₜᵧ + nₛₜₒₚ
One start bit, then the data bits, the parity bit if there is one, and the stop bits.
nframe = 1 + 8 + 0 + 1
nframe = 9 + 1
nframe = 10
Step 2 · Find bytes a second (r)
Use r = baud ÷ nframe
Every byte costs a whole frame of bits, so divide the bits a second by the frame.
r
=
115,200
10
r
=
11,520
B/s
Step 3 · Find time a byte (tbyte)
Use tbyte = nframe ÷ baud
Each
bit
lasts
1
baud
seconds,
and
one
byte
takes
the
whole
frame.
tbyte
=
10
115,200
tbyte
=
8.6806 ×
10
-5
s
Step 4 · Convert the answers
Change each answer back to the unit you chose.
tbyte = 8.6806 × 10⁻⁵ s = 86.8056 μs (1 s = 10⁶ μs)
Check
Put the numbers back in. Both sides should match.
10 = 1 + 8 + 0 + 1 ✓
11,520
=
115,200
10
✓
8.6806 ×
10
-5
=
10
115,200
✓
Topic check
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