USB and Serial Bridges

Talking to a computer.

Many boards include a small chip that converts USB into UART, so your computer sees a serial port. Some newer MCUs have USB built in and can act as a keyboard or storage device.

Open a terminal program, choose the port and match the baud rate. If garbage appears, the baud rate or the clock accuracy is usually wrong.

Never connect a 5 V adapter to a 3.3 V-only input.