Roomba Serial Connection

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1

I just got a Deluxe Serial Adapter and am trying to figure out how to connect it to the serial port on the recent-model roomba. (product suggestion: db9 to mini-din with the necessary electronics and correct wiring might be a good seller)

One thing I’m not clear on is the vcc pin, does this mean that the serial adapter needs it’s own power supply? I was assuming it would be powered by the serial cable to the PC.

other than tx->rx and rx->tx what connextions do I have to make?

The spec for the roomba can be found here: irobot.com//images/consumer/ … Manual.pdf

Thanks for any suggestions.

2

Hello,

You need to supply power to the serial adapter (the COM port does not provide power). The power should be whatever logic level you’re looking for, which looks like 5V for your application. Since the Roomba connector only gives you unregulated power, you’ll probably need a 5V regulator. Looks like you might need to do something with the device detect pin, too.

- Jan