Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Everything about rooting Toons 1 and 2.

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bartch
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Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Post by bartch »

Hi all,
this week I received my cheap aliexpress usb to ttl converter..it did not work..
Then i found this video about using a arduino as usb to ttl converter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqSLwK1DP8Q
Fortunately i had an old Arduino laying around :)
It works perfectly!
Notice that you have to connect the TXD>1 from the arduino to the TXD on your Toon
and the RXD<0 from the arduino to the RXD on your Toon.
(Arduino has a strange way to show where it's TXD and RXD sits on the board..)

Rooting my Toon went perfectly this way!
Thank you all for the great and usefull information on this forum.
Bart
TheHogNL
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Re: Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Post by TheHogNL »

That's indeed a nice working solution.

Another user connected a (5 euro) wemos to the TTL interface of Toon using ESP-link to connect to the console over wifi: viewtopic.php?f=87&t=11230&p=83233&hilit=wemos#p83233
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rbak
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Re: Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Post by rbak »

I am new to rooting a Toon and I am gathering information to make a clear step by step plan how to root my own Toon.

Sofar I have noticed several extremely long threads about this topic and I also came across some videos of Youtube. All seem to indicate you need to use a USB to TTL adapter that needs to be set to 3.3V. Yet the example with using an Arduino (Uno) seems to work as well. I believe that when you use an Arduino it will be using 5V instead of the 3.3V mentioned. Am I overlooking something here?

So the key question is whether or not it is safe to use a Arduino (Uno) with the RESET connected to GND or whether it is better to use an USB to TTL adapter with the option to set it to 3.3V instead. I do not want to risk damaging my Toon but on the other hand would like to use my Arduino (Uno) if it is safe to do so. I alreday ordered an USB to TTL FTDI adapter that can be set to 3.3V but as it can take some time to arrive I am intersted to consider the Arduino option as well.

Any thoughts?
marcelr
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Re: Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Post by marcelr »

rbak wrote: Sofar I have noticed several extremely long threads about this topic and I also came across some videos of Youtube. All seem to indicate you need to use a USB to TTL adapter that needs to be set to 3.3V. Yet the example with using an Arduino (Uno) seems to work as well. I believe that when you use an Arduino it will be using 5V instead of the 3.3V mentioned. Am I overlooking something here?
We also have a manuals/tutorials section.
You may find this topic useful:
viewtopic.php?f=100&t=11235#p82533
TheHogNL
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Re: Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Post by TheHogNL »

rbak wrote:I am new to rooting a Toon and I am gathering information to make a clear step by step plan how to root my own Toon.

Sofar I have noticed several extremely long threads about this topic and I also came across some videos of Youtube. All seem to indicate you need to use a USB to TTL adapter that needs to be set to 3.3V. Yet the example with using an Arduino (Uno) seems to work as well. I believe that when you use an Arduino it will be using 5V instead of the 3.3V mentioned. Am I overlooking something here?

So the key question is whether or not it is safe to use a Arduino (Uno) with the RESET connected to GND or whether it is better to use an USB to TTL adapter with the option to set it to 3.3V instead. I do not want to risk damaging my Toon but on the other hand would like to use my Arduino (Uno) if it is safe to do so. I alreday ordered an USB to TTL FTDI adapter that can be set to 3.3V but as it can take some time to arrive I am intersted to consider the Arduino option as well.

Any thoughts?
Arduino is mostly 5v indeed (only some specific boards have 3.3v). So connecting that to the Toon could fry the TTL port of the Toon. But the topic starter did this succesfully. So or he got lucky or has a 3.3v arduino board.

Better safe than sorry and wait for your 3.3v TTL adapter.
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rbak
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Re: Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Post by rbak »

marcelr wrote: We also have a manuals/tutorials section.
You may find this topic useful:
viewtopic.php?f=100&t=11235#p82533
Yes I have noticed and this will indeed be the basis I will use for rooting my Toon. Thanks for the great job on this!
TheHogNL wrote: Arduino is mostly 5v indeed (only some specific boards have 3.3v). So connecting that to the Toon could fry the TTL port of the Toon. But the topic starter did this succesfully. So or he got lucky or has a 3.3v arduino board.
Better safe than sorry and wait for your 3.3v TTL adapter.
That was exactly the reason why I responded to this thread. If the 3.3V is mandatory, the use of the Arduino Uno as shown in the video of the topic starter could indeed fry the TTL port of the Toon. So a warning in this thread might be in place. I will wait for my 3.3V USB to TTL adapter to arrive. Unfortunately that probably means a few more weeks patience as I ordered it only recently from China. On a positive note that also means a few more weeks to prepare :D
TheHogNL
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Re: Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Post by TheHogNL »

Just hoping it will arrive before the winter period ends :-)
But then again, if you fail and it is already spring your house doesn't need the thermostat anymore to heat up :-)

Maybe you have already read this but you can also use a Rasberry PI or a ESP8266 (Wemos for example) if you happen to have it.
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rbak
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Re: Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Post by rbak »

TheHogNL wrote: Maybe you have already read this but you can also use a Rasberry PI or a ESP8266 (Wemos for example) if you happen to have it.
Yes I have noticed and I do have an Rasberry Pi as well. However it is currently still in use as an Astrerisk SIP switch so I prefer not to use it for rooting my Toon. In that case I rather wait for the 3.3V USB to TTL adapter to arrive. Also to be honest I am not very familiar with Linux so I feel less confident using the Rasberry Pi for the purpose of rooting my Toon.
TheHogNL
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Re: Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Post by TheHogNL »

Using the RaspPi rooter is so much easier than using the ttl cables. And is even mandatory if your Toon is too new (have a uboot with unknown password). The guide for that on https://github.com/martenjacobs/ToonRooter is easy to follow.

And if your are lucky and have the older Toon uboot version then you can still use the Pi to connect to the toon using TTL. Only connect the tx, rx and gnd from that manual.

And, better start a bit with Linux as a rooted Toon also requires at least the same knowledge :-)

You can easily use the same Pi which is running your Asterisk. I will not interfere.
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rbak
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Re: Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Post by rbak »

OK as mentioned I did not dare to use the Arduino as it is 5 volt. Instead I ordered an FTDI interface from China that can switch between 5 and 3.3 volt. It finally arrived and I have successfully rooted my Toon this weekend.

So although it did set me back a couple of weeks I think it was the right decision to wait for the FTDI interface rather than risking frying the Toon by being inpatient.

Now the fun begins (although to be honest part of the fun was the rooting proces itself)!


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TheHogNL
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Re: Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Post by TheHogNL »

Welcome to the family :-)
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rbak
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Re: Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Post by rbak »

Thanks!

Looking forward to find out about the additional functionality that is now unleashed!
amo
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Re: Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Post by amo »

Hi all,

sorry to interrupt in this Topic, but i bought a Toon.. (old one). want to root it.
but i still don't understand what to buy :P

i have a brand new Raspberry Pi 3 model B+ (i can use it to root the toon). Do i only need 3 Dupont wires to do the trick?

Else, is this a good Ftdi to ttl s module?
aliexpress.com/item/High-Quality-FT232R ... st=ae803_3


i still think i am missing something :P

thanks all!
rbak
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Re: Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Post by rbak »

I used this one (the blue one) on my Toon 1 with bootloader version U-Boot 2010.09-R8.

aliexpress.com/item/FT232RL-FT232-FTDI- ... 4c4dkGOpZY

With the FTDI adapter you only need to use 3 wires. As I am a linux noob I thought this was a better option for me than using my Raspberry Pi. And eventhough you need to have some Linux knowledge it was not to difficult to root my Toon this way.
IdellSeitz
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Re: Use an Arduino as USB to TTL converter for rooting Toon

Post by IdellSeitz »

Hello...What kind of sequential sign do you need? On the off chance that it's a gadget intended to plug into an outside sequential attachment, it's likely utilizing RS232 flagging. All things considered I'd have thought your smartest option was to purchase a USB-to-RS232 converter - your UNO can't yield RS232 without extra equipment.
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