USB UART receives gibberish, but logic analyser says all ok

[Netaro]

Hi!
I'm trying to access parallella via UART. I've got an RS232 to USB dongle, LogiLink AU0002E, and max232-based UART to RS232 converter. However, when I connect parallella to it, all I can see is gibberish () (I've also tested it on miniterm on linux to exclude if there's something wrong with CoolTerm, but it's also nonsensical.

I've connected the uart to saleae's logic analyser, and surprise, it shows that what parallella sends is correct (as per this pastebin: ). Starts with \r\n\r\nU-Boot 2012.01-00003-g792c31c (Jan 03...... and so on...

I do not think it's a problem with either the dongle or the rs232-uart board, as I've tested it on my rPI, and it shows all's OK. So, is there any way to solve it?

The board I'm using is the one with zynq7010.

[aolofsson]

Make sure you are running with the right rate (115,200), connect the ground pin and didn't reverse the tx/rx (all mistakes I have made in the past...)

[Netaro]

Those were first things I've checked, no dice.

[Olaf]

I would guess parity and number of bits or number of stop bits.

Something else could cause it is where the wiring passes something that induces electrical noise like a power supply, motor,....
Or the case that I had here, one powered USB that actually caused a current that traverses the ground wiring on my PC. I saw sparks when I disconnect an USB cable.