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Serial Port (USB) Connection Issues When Reading Raw ADC Data

Issue

  • Config port selection in the Flash Binary or Test Connection screen of the Hardware Setup process does not display the correct serial port or sometimes, no serial port.

  • Clicking Flash Binary or Test Connection buttons in Hardware Setup process fails with connection errors.

  • dca1000 object creation fails with serial port (Config Port) connection errors.

  • Tab completion option for ConfigPort name-value argument does not show the required ports.

Solution

  1. Ensure that the Texas Instruments® (TI) mmWave Radar is properly plugged in.

  2. Check if the serial ports (Data port and Config port) corresponding to radar sensor are listed in the Device manager. The serial ports should appear as mentioned in Identifying Serial Ports for TI mmWave Radar Connection.

  3. If the ports do not appear as mentioned in step 2, you may need to install the required USB drivers (Silicon Labs CP210x Driver). To install the required drivers, run hardware setup screens by calling mmWaveRadarSetup function.

    After installation, reconnect the device and check the Device manager to see if the ports are listed as mentioned in step 2. If the ports do not show in the Device manager, you may need to update the driver again:

    1. Open Device Manager.

    2. Identify the COM port corresponding to the TI mmWave radar sensor connected to your computer.

      Note

      The port may appear under Other Ports section in Device Manager because the driver installation was not successful previously.

    3. Right-click the port name and click Update Driver. Perform this action for both data port and configuration port of the radar sensor.

    4. Wait for the update to be completed, and then go to Flash Binary or Test Connection screen of the Hardware Setup process and then select the correct COM ports.

  4. Ensure that the serial ports required for connection with the TI mmWave Evaluation Module are not being used by any other application. To check if a serial port is available for use in MATLAB, execute the following command in MATLAB and verify that the required port is listed:

    serialportlist("available")