A universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter is a dedicated microchip or a module within a microcontroller that handles asynchronous serial communication. It converts bytes of data from a processor into a sequential stream of bits, adding start, stop, and parity bits for synchronization without needing a shared clock line. Both the transmitting and receiving UARTs must be pre-configured to the exact same baud rate to decode the bitstream correctly.
Heard on the job
Hook up the logic analyzer to the TX and RX pins and see if the UART is spitting out the right hex values.