Using of Hyperterminal in Windows.

[labmaster]

Dear all,

I was told Hyperterminal could be powerful tool to test the serial communication.
But I have never used the hyperterminal.

If the connection of hyperterminal is successful, what am I expected the result in the hyperterminal?
During my trials, I can't see anything and write any RS-232 commands in hyperterminal.

Thank you in advance.

[Dennis_Knutson]

If you can successfully connect, then you should be able to send and receive information. Failure to get anything could be due to a lot of reasons. In your other post, you mentioned that you built the cable. This could be wrong. Check to make sure that the transmit and receive are correct. Typically, the tx line of the instrument is connected to rx of the pc and vice versa (null modem connection) but some use straight through wiring. A serial breakout box is handy for debugging cable issues. This is an inexpensive device with jumpers or switches that allow you to try out different cabling schemes. Another possibility is mismatched comm paramters. This includes baud rate, parity, stop bits, etc. The settings in Hyperterminal and the instrument have to match. The manual for the instrument should explain what the defaults are or how to change them. What is the make and model of the instrument? Posting that information might get you a response from someone who's used it. If there's an electronic copy of the programming manual or a link to one, you could also post that.

[labmaster]

Thank you for the comments.

1. Cable was home-made but I checked the schematics described in the manual and two ends' connectivity using a elelctrical multimeter.

2. During my trials using Labview(VISA communication), I can't receive any error message.
For example, when I send a message which was expected to resonse from the instrument, OK(0) message was issued in error-out message even if the RS-232 cable was not connected to the instrument.

I think COM port can be a problem.

Therefore I would like to test the cable and the computer setting of COM1 port.
Could you please let me know how to check them effectively?

and describe the screen of hyperterminal?
(If connected, can I always see some HELLO messages from the instrument?)
(and should I press any special key to send a command?)

Thank you again and looking forward to seeing you again.

Message Edited by labmaster on 06-03-2005 02:03 PM

[Dennis_Knutson]

If you're using VISA Open, VISA Configure Serial Port, or VISA Write, you won't get an error message because these functions only depend on ther being a valid serial port on your pc. If you were to try a VISA Read with some non-zero number of expected bytes, then you will get an error.

To test the cable and com port, you can do a simple loopback. On the pc, you can connect tx to rx. In Hyperterminal, you should see echoed back whatever you type. If that works, connect tx to rx of the cable you built. You should see the same thing. Success with that, however, does not necessarily mean that the cable is correct for the instrument. It doesn't matter if you have continuity from pin 1 of the pc to pin x at the other end if it should be going to pin y.

I'm not sure what you mean be describe the screen of Hyperterminal. Every instrument is different. Some send back an acknowledgement when it recieves a valid command (usually after you hit the enter key). Some echo back an invalid command. Some return nothing but you can see a change on the instrument control panel. I would hope that this is all explained in the manual for the instrument. They should explain all of this or provide a utility program that you can use to test.

I'm trying to help but without the manufacturer's name/model number, manual, or the instrument, it's pretty hard. At this point, your best bet might be to contact the vendor. I wouldn't even mention LabVIEW. Just ask how to talk to the thing with Hyperterminal or some other terminal emulator program.

[labmaster]

Thanks again.

My instrument is Inficon IC/5, thin film deposition controller.
They didn't supply a RS-232 cable (female-male connector!) and have no LabView driver or support.
If you are familiar with IC series, please email me at poyntor AT yahoo.com.
Very thank you.

Lee

Message Edited by labmaster on 06-03-2005 02:46 PM

[AnalogKid2DigitalMan]

This 3rd party software mentions the use of a straight through (not null modem) RS-232 cable.
With a serial snooper, you may get some ideas:

http://www.ftgsoftware.com/ic5dlog.htm

Did not find any specifics on the instruments port settings or command language set.