ComTestSerial Communications Test Program
Copyright © 2004-2018 MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
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Created: Wednesday, April 25, 2018 at 9:32 AM in Sunriver, Oregon.
Contents I
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction
................................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 2 Communications Window
................................................................................................................................... 3
Chapter 3 Local Commands Window
................................................................................................................................... 4
Chapter 4 User...................................................................................................................................
Defined Commands 5
Chapter 5 Connection Status
................................................................................................................................... 6
Chapter 6 Character Set
................................................................................................................................... 7
Chapter 7 Setup
................................................................................................................................... 8
Chapter 8 Serial Port
................................................................................................................................... 9
Chapter 9 Printing
................................................................................................................................... 10
Chapter 10 Troubleshooting
................................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 11 Contact MicroRidge
................................................................................................................................... 12
Copyright © 2004-2018 MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
ComTestSerial Communications Test Program Introduction 1
1 Introduction
The ComTestSerial communications test program allows you to test communications with any
serial device. The program is very easy to use. However, it is suggested that you review the
components of this help information so that you can use all of the features of ComTestSerial.
ComTestSerial supports baud rates from 300 to 115.2K and all of the commonly used
communications parameters. You can select any serial port that is installed on your computer.
There are user definable buttons that can be used to specify commands for your serial device.
ComTestSerial can be installed on as many computers as needed. You can also give
ComTestSerial to anyone who needs a serial communications test program. You cannot modify
the ComTestSerial program file in any manner. You cannot distribute ComTestSerial with any
other software or hardware that is being sold or licensed.
Copyright © 2004-2018 MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
ComTestSerial Communications Test Program Introduction 2
Supported Operating Systems
ComTestSerial is designed to run on Windows XP or later.
ComTestSerial was developed by and is the property of MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
Copyright © 2004-2017 MicroRidge Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2004-2018 MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
ComTestSerial Communications Test Program Communications Window 3
2 Communications Window
The communications window displays the data sent to and received from the serial port. You
can copy information from this window; however, you cannot paste information into the window.
If the serial port is not enabled, the communications window will be dark blue, the serial port LED
will be red, and the title above the communications window will indicate the serial port is off-line.
To enable the serial port, click on the Serial Port button in the connection status area of
ComTestSerial. The serial port status LED will turn green when the port is enabled.
Wrap text
If the Wrap Text LED is red, information will be displayed on a line until a carriage return is
received. If the LED is green, the information in this window will be wrapped so that no
horizontal scrolling will be required.
Clear Text
This button clears the information in the communications window.
New Line
Move the input cursor to column 1 of a new line. Nothing is sent to the serial port when this
button is pressed.
Printing
The contents of the communications window can be printed by pressing the print icon on the
toolbar. If an area of this window has been selected, this selected area will be printed. If no
area has been selected, printing will start with the oldest information in the window. In all cases,
a maximum of 1 page of information will be printed. The font size for the printed reports can be
modified by pressing the Setup button.
Copyright © 2004-2018 MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
ComTestSerial Communications Test Program Local Commands Window 4
3 Local Commands Window
The local commands window allows you to enter a command that will be sent to the
communications window when the Send button is pressed. If the serial port is enabled, this
information will also be sent to the port.
Send LF
If the Send LF LED is red, a line feed (\x0a) will not be sent with a new line carriage return. If the
LED is green, a line feed will be sent with each new line carriage return. A new line carriage
return is created when you press the Enter key in this window. If you enter a carriage return with
the hex code (\x0d), a line feed is never added to this carriage return.
Clear Text
This button clears the information in the local commands window.
Send
Send the contents of the local commands window to the communications window and to the
serial port.
Copyright © 2004-2018 MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
ComTestSerial Communications Test Program User Defined Commands 5
4 User Defined Commands
The user defined commands consist of a set of 12 buttons along the bottom of the program
window. There are several sets of predefined buttons for use with MicroRidge products. Any
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buttons not predefined in ComTestSerial can be defined by the user by pressing the Setup
button. When a button is pressed, the command is displayed in the communications window and
is sent out the current serial port.
The predefined command sets for MicroRidge products are listed below. Refer to the
appropriate product page on the the MicroRidge web site for more information about the
products.
§ GageWay SM
§ GageWay Pro Interfaces
§ MobileCollect Wireless
§ WedgeLink SP Keyboard Wedge
§ WedgeLink AT Keyboard Wedge
Copyright © 2004-2018 MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
ComTestSerial Communications Test Program Connection Status 6
5 Connection Status
The connection status shows the status of the serial port and display parameters. Several of the
items in this status group also function as control buttons.
Input Handshake Lines CTS & DSR
These LEDs indicate the status of the input handshake lines. The status of these lines is
controlled by the external serial device and cannot be changed from your PC. When the LED is
green, the line is low. When the LED is red, the line is high.
Output Handshake Lines RTS & DTR
These LEDs indicate the status of the output handshake lines. The status of these lines can be
controlled by clicking on the appropriate button. When the LED is green, the line is low. When
the LED is red, the line is high. The normal status for these lines is high (red LED). The
GageWay SM from MicroRidge uses these 2 handshake lines as a power source.
Serial port (COMx)
Press this button to enable and disable the serial port. The current serial port is shown as part
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of the button label. To select a new serial port, press the Serial Port button in the lower right-
hand corner of the window. When the serial port is disabled, the communications window will be
dark blue in color and the title above the communications window will indicate that the serial port
is off-line.
Display received data
Press this status button to turn on or off the update in the communications window. If the update
is turned off (red LED), any information received from the serial port will be discarded.
Show space characters in { }
Press this status button to display the space character as {space} rather that a single blank. It is
sometimes difficult to determine the number of space characters in a packet of data received
from the serial port. This feature makes it very easy to determine the number and location of the
space characters.
Show carriage return & line feed in { }
Typically packets of data from a serial device are terminated with a carriage return (CR) or a line
feed (LF). If this status button is set to green, a carriage return will be displayed as {CR} and a
line feed will be displayed as {LF}.
Copyright © 2004-2018 MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
ComTestSerial Communications Test Program Character Set 7
6 Character Set
There are 256 different 8-bit ASCII characters that can be sent out and received from a serial
port. These characters are numbered from 0 to 255. All of the ASCII characters in the range of
31 to 126 are available on the standard keyboard and can be sent by pressing the appropriate
key. A few of the ASCII control characters (0 to 31) can also be sent by pressing the appropriate
key. The control characters available on the keyboard include the Escape key (27) and the
carriage return (12) or Enter key. Typically none of the extended characters (127 to 255) are
available on the keyboard.
To enter the control or extended characters in the local commands window you must enter them
in the hex format. For example, the tab character must be entered as \x09. If you use the
Character Set window to enter these special characters, they will automatically be entered in the
proper format.
To enter the control or extended characters in the local commands window you must enter them
via one of the following methods:
• Send them from the Character Set window
• Type the hex code into the window
To enter the control or extended characters in the communications window you must enter them
via one of the following methods. You cannot enter hex codes into the communications window.
• Send them from the Character Set window
• Send them from the Local Commands window
• Send them from a user defined command
Sending characters
You can send characters from the character list to the communications window or the local
commands window by any of the following methods:
• Double click the character to be sent
• Press the space bar when the character set window has the focus
To Communications
To send characters from the character set list to the communications window, this LED must be
green.
To Local commands
To send characters from the character set list to the local commands window, this LED must be
green.
Copyright © 2004-2018 MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
ComTestSerial Communications Test Program Setup 8
7 Setup
The Setup Button on the main ComTestSerial window provides access to setup parameters such
as user definable commands and font sizes. There are 15 command sets available. Ten of
these command sets are for products manufactured by MicroRidge and 5 sets are available for
the user to specify commands. Each of the command sets contain 1 or more blank commands
that the user can define for their own needs. All of these parameters, along with the serial port
setup, can be saved to a file.
When using these commands, remember that control and extended characters must be entered
7
in the hex format. See the Character Set section for more details.
Copyright © 2004-2018 MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
ComTestSerial Communications Test Program Serial Port 9
8 Serial Port
The Serial Port button provides access to the serial port selection and communication
parameters settings. Getting the proper items selected in this dialog is the most important part of
the ComTestSerial setup. If your selections are not correct, you will not be able to communicate
with your serial device or the data received from the serial device will be all garbage.
ComTestSerial supports up to 200 serial ports. This dialog will only enable those serial ports
that are actually installed. The registry description text to the right of the serial port number may
be useful in determining the type or function of the serial port. For example, if a serial port is
associated with a modem, you may see the word modem as part of the description. A virtual
Bluetooth serial port might be reported as \Device\BtPort3.
The ComTestSerial program cannot determine the communication parameters required by a
serial device. You must determine these parameters and set them appropriately in this dialog.
Remember, "When all else fails, read the manual for your serial device!"
If you are having trouble getting communications with your serial device, refer to the
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Troubleshooting section.
Copyright © 2004-2018 MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
ComTestSerial Communications Test Program Printing 10
9 Printing
The contents of the communications window can be printed by pressing the print icon on the
toolbar. If an area of this window has been selected, this selected area will be printed. If no
area has been selected, printing will start with the oldest information in the window. In all cases,
a maximum of 1 page of information will be printed. The font size for the printed reports can be
8
modified by pressing the Setup button.
Copyright © 2004-2018 MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
ComTestSerial Communications Test Program Troubleshooting 11
10 Troubleshooting
The most common problems you may encounter when using the ComTestSerial program
involves getting readable information into this program from your serial device. Listed below are
a few situations you may encounter and some suggestion as to what you might need to do.
I cannot get any data to appear in the communications window
• Is your serial device turned on?
• Is the serial cable connected?
• Is the serial port enabled in ComTestSerial?
• Is the Display Received Data button enabled?
• Have you selected the proper serial port?
I get data, but it is all garbage
• You have not selected the correct baud rate and/or communication parameters.
• Does your serial device output human readable data?
Some data is OK, but some characters are garbage
• You have not selected the correct communication parameters.
Remember, you must set the proper serial port and communication parameters in order to
communicate with your serial device. People often ask us "How do I determine the correct baud
rate and communication parameters for my serial device?" Our response is "Check the
equipment manual and/or contact technical support for the serial device."
Copyright © 2004-2018 MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
ComTestSerial Communications Test Program Contact MicroRidge 12
11 Contact MicroRidge
Email:
Support: support@[Link]
Sales: sales@[Link]
Information: info@[Link]
Phone:
Support: 541.593.1656
Sales: 541.593.3500
Main office: 541.593.1656
Fax: 541.593.5652
Mailing Address:
MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
PO Box 3249
Sunriver, OR 97707-0249
Shipping Address:
MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
56888 Enterprise Drive
Sunriver, OR 97707
Note: There is no mail delivery to this address. This address should only be used for
package delivery services such as UPS, FedEx, etc.
Web: [Link]
Copyright © 2004-2018 MicroRidge Systems, Inc.
