http://msmvps.

com/blogs/coad/archive/2005/03/23/SerialPort-_2800_RS_2D00_232-Serial-COM-Port_2900_-
in-C_2300_-.NET.aspx

SerialPort (RS-232 Serial COM Port) in C# .NET
Posted Wed, Mar 23 2005 19:28 by coad
.NET has a great class called SerialPort (MSDN reference) part of .NET 2.0 and is freely available in C#
Express on MSDN. It is easy to use. Heres how
BTW, this article is about communicating through the PC's Serial COM RS-232 port using Microsoft .NET 2.0
or later by using the System.IO.Ports.SerialPort class. If you're looking for USB info, see here.

Example Application & Sample Code: SerialPort Terminal
Prerequisites: You will need Microsoft .NET 3.5 to run the app. It is installed as part of the regular Windows
Updates (make sure your computer is fully up to date, see Microsoft Updates for more info) or if that doesnt
work for some reason, you can install .NET 3.5 from here.

SerialPortTerminal.zip via ClickOnce
To start off, here is sample code in a terminal application which you can try out to see how the SerialPort class
is used. This requires Visual Studio 2010 to compile, which can be obtained free via C#Express. It is just a
simple little application with basic support for text or binary (hex) modes to send and receive data. A nice
feature or two is auto-detection of installed COM ports that update at runtime if you plugin or remove USB-to-
Serial adapters, also you can change the DTR and RTS levels and monitor the CTS, DSR, and CD lines.
Build Note: You will receive an error that Visual Studio isn't able to find NoahCode.pfx. This is expected as it
is the click-once certificate for publishing and is NOT NEEDED for normal code use. J ust go to Project
Properties >Signing >Click on Create Test Certificate. thats it


Get Connected
You can obtain USB to Serial adapters and have just about as many ports on your PC as you like. I carry around
two adapters with a null modem (wikipedia) between them so I can create a loopback to send & receive through
to separate ports on most any computer. I'd recommend doing the same for when writing code for the serial
port.
If you'd like to quickly and easily create your own external devices to communicate with the PC, I recommend
starting with the Arduino, NetDuino (like an Arduino but programmed in C#), or Parallax BASIC Stamp
modules. All three have many accessories and sensors available (such as LCDs, RF, Sounds, AD & DA, etc).
sparkfun.com is a great place to look. After that you could migrate to an Atmel Microcontroller (recommended)
or Microchip PIC.

Write Data Out
Here is an example of how easy it is to use the new SerialPort control. Very simply, here is how you can send a
bit of data out the port.
/ / Thi s i s a new namespace i n . NET 2. 0
/ / t hat cont ai ns t he Ser i al Por t cl ass
usi ng Syst em. I O. Por t s;

pr i vat e st at i c voi d SendSampl eDat a( )
{
/ / I nst ant i at e t he communi cat i ons
/ / por t wi t h some basi c set t i ngs
Ser i al Por t por t = new Ser i al Por t (
" COM1" , 9600, Par i t y. None, 8, St opBi t s. One) ;

/ / Open t he por t f or communi cat i ons
por t . Open( ) ;

/ / Wr i t e a st r i ng
por t . Wr i t e( " Hel l o Wor l d" ) ;

/ / Wr i t e a set of byt es
por t . Wr i t e( new byt e[ ] {0x0A, 0xE2, 0xFF}, 0, 3) ;

/ / Cl ose t he por t
por t . Cl ose( ) ;
}


Read Data From Port
Now let's take a look at what it takes to read data in from the communications port. This demonstrates reading
text.
1. Create a new "Console Application" and replace all the default class code with this code
2. Add a reference to "System.Windows.Forms" to the project
3. Run w/ F5, to exit the app, press Ctrl-Break.
4. Get Connected with two USB to Serial adapters and a null modem
5. Use another app, the code above, or the SerialPortTerminal.zip example to send data and watch it come
in with this code
#r egi on Namespace I ncl usi ons
usi ng Syst em;
usi ng Syst em. I O. Por t s;
usi ng Syst em. Wi ndows. For ms;
#endr egi on

namespace Ser i al Por t Exampl e
{
cl ass Ser i al Por t Pr ogr am
{
/ / Cr eat e t he ser i al por t wi t h basi c set t i ngs
pr i vat e Ser i al Por t por t = new Ser i al Por t ( " COM1" ,
9600, Par i t y. None, 8, St opBi t s. One) ;

[ STAThr ead]
st at i c voi d Mai n( st r i ng[ ] ar gs)
{
/ / I nst at i at e t hi s cl ass
new Ser i al Por t Pr ogr am( ) ;
}

pr i vat e Ser i al Por t Pr ogr am( )
{
Consol e. Wr i t eLi ne( " I ncomi ng Dat a: " ) ;

/ / At t ach a met hod t o be cal l ed when t her e
/ / i s dat a wai t i ng i n t he por t ' s buf f er
por t . Dat aRecei ved += new
Ser i al Dat aRecei vedEvent Handl er ( por t _Dat aRecei ved) ;

/ / Begi n communi cat i ons
por t . Open( ) ;

/ / Ent er an appl i cat i on l oop t o keep t hi s t hr ead al i ve
Appl i cat i on. Run( ) ;
}

pr i vat e voi d por t _Dat aRecei ved( obj ect sender ,
Ser i al Dat aRecei vedEvent Ar gs e)
{
/ / Show al l t he i ncomi ng dat a i n t he por t ' s buf f er
Consol e. Wr i t eLi ne( por t . ReadExi st i ng( ) ) ;
}
}
}


Listing Available Ports
One of the (several) new methods that is supported, and one I'm very glad is finally here, is the ability to obtain
a list of the COM ports installed on the computer (ex: COM1, COM2, COM4). This is definately helpful when
you want to present the list of ports avalible for the user to select from (as in the SerialPortTerminal.zip Win
App example).
f or each ( st r i ng s i n Ser i al Por t . Get Por t Names( ) )
Consol e. Wr i t eLi ne( s) ;


Sending Files
Here are two helpful little methods for sending files through the serial port. Of course, these are the bare
essentials and as always, you should check to make sure the port is open first (port.IsOpen) and use try/catch
around trying to open a file, but you get the gist with this code. The binary sending routine is limited to about
2GB (the size of an int), but this should be okay for most uses.
usi ng Syst em. I O;

pr i vat e st at i c voi d SendText Fi l e(
Ser i al Por t por t , st r i ng Fi l eName)
{ por t . Wr i t e( Fi l e. OpenText ( Fi l eName) . ReadToEnd( ) ) ; }

pr i vat e st at i c voi d SendBi nar yFi l e(
Ser i al Por t por t , st r i ng Fi l eName)
{
usi ng ( Fi l eSt r eamf s = Fi l e. OpenRead( Fi l eName) )
por t . Wr i t e( ( new Bi nar yReader ( f s) ) . ReadByt es(
( i nt ) f s. Lengt h) , 0, ( i nt ) f s. Lengt h) ;
}

RS-232 Project Photos
Each of these involve RS-232 serial port communications.

Just what's needed to get started with microcontrollers,
a Basic Stamp, mini LCD display, power, and RS-232 port.


Two USB to Serial adapters with a null modem
to loopback and test your serial software.


The brains to a mini automated radio station that let me
control my PC & home using my HAM radio from around town.


Port Wiring Notes
DB9 Mal e ( Pi n Si de) DB9 Femal e ( Pi n Si de)
DB9 Femal e ( Sol der Si de) DB9 Mal e ( Sol der Si de)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
\ 1 2 3 4 5 / \ 5 4 3 2 1 /
\ 6 7 8 9 / \ 9 8 7 6 /
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

DB9 Femal e t o DB9 Femal e Nul l - ModemWi r i ng
2 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 6&1| 5 | 4
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6&1

9- pi n 25- pi n Assi gnment Fr omPC
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Shi el d 1 Case Gr ound Gnd
1 8 DCD ( Dat a Car r i er Det ect ) I nput
2 3 RX ( Recei ve Dat a) I nput
3 2 TX ( Tr ansmi t Dat a) Out put
4 20 DTR ( Dat a Ter mi nal Ready) Out put
5 7 GND ( Si gnal Gr ound) Gnd
6 6 DSR ( Dat a Set Ready) I nput
7 4 RTS ( Request To Send) Out put
8 5 CTS ( Cl ear To Send) I nput
9 22 RI ( Ri ng I ndi cat or ) I nput

- RTS & DTR ar e bi nar y out put s t hat can be manual l y set and hel d
- DCD, DSR, CTS, and RI ar e bi nar y i nput s t hat can be r ead
- RX & TX can not be set manual l y and ar e cont r ol l ed by t he UART
- maxi mumvol t ages ar e bet ween - 15 vol t s and +15 vol t s
- bi nar y out put s ar e bet ween +5 t o +15 vol t s and - 5 t o - 15 vol t s
- bi nar y i nput s ar e bet ween +3 t o +15 vol t s and - 3 t o - 15 vol t s
- i nput vol t ages bet ween - 3 t o +3 ar e undef i ned whi l e out put vol t ages
bet ween - 5 and +5 ar e undef i ned
- posi t i ve vol t ages i ndi cat e ON or SPACE, negat i ve vol t ages i ndi cat e
OFF or MARK

Protocol Development
If you are making your own serial interface/protocol, you really must have a good standard in place. Serial data
flows into the com port byte by byte and must be buffered and parsed correctly. Think of it this way, if a
terminal sent your computer "Hello World" it may come in as four OnComm triggers: "H", "ello", " Wo", and
"rld"
The best protocols are usually a mix of these methods. Here are three simple protocol techniques:
1. Beginning and Ending ("Start" & "Stop") Codes
This is good for sending text as it lets everybody know when text starts and ends. You simply tack on a
non-normal byte at the beginning and end of the text. For example, you'd use '---' to signify the start of
the string and '===' to signify the end. So you would use: com.Output ="---Hello World===";

2. Fixed Length Codes
Used for specific commands. You can create your own codes to send and specify what they mean. Say I
want to control the lighting in a house, I'd setup a protocol of commands like this:
1st byte =House Code, 2nd byte =Light Code, 3rd byte =On or Off (0 for off, 1 for on)
So to turn on the 11th light in my house (house code #3) I'd use:
com.Output =new byte[] {3, 11, 0};
3. Prefixed Data Packet
This is probably the most common and flexible but requires the most coding. J ust prefix your data
packet with the length of the data. The prefix must be a fixed size, such as two bytes which would allow
a data packet of up to 65,535 bytes. Then the receiver knows how much data is in the packet because it
always takes the first two bytes and uses the rest as the data packet.
Example: com.Output =((char) 00) +((char) 11) +"Hello World";

Other Resources
Here are some additional sites, libraries, tutorials, etc. These are links that I just found around the net and am
providing for convenience (they are not endorsed).
RS-232 on Wikipedia
SerialPort on MSDN
o Search on Google #1, #2, #3

The Final Say
The new SerialPort class in .NET 2.0+rocks! It is much easier to use than getting the old MSComm.ocx control
going in a .NET app, contains new functionality, is a 'native' .NET control, has docs built into the MSDN
Library, and is easy to use.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
I'm adding this section (as of 8/10/06) to address the common questions I get on this post and through e-mail.
Chances are, if you ask a good question in the comments here, I'll post it here for others to see easily. Some of
the most popular topics are usb, device, cable, lines, power, packets, bridge, permissions, help.
1. Q: When updating a control (like a text box) while in the DataRecieved event, I get an error.
A: The SerialPort class raises events on a separate thread than the main form was create on. Windows
Forms controls must be modified only on their original thread. Thankfully there is an easy way to do
this. Each Windows control has a "Invoke" method which will run code on the control's original thread.
So to put the recently received data into a text box (txtLog), this would do it: txtLog.Invoke(new
EventHandler(delegate { txtLog.Text +=comport.ReadExisting(); }); You can see this more in action
in the "Log" event of "Terminal.cs" my sample code project, SerialPortTerminal.zip.

2. Q: I can't find the System.IO.Ports namespace.
A: Using Visual Studio 2003? The new namespace, and SerialPort class, is part of .NET 2.0 and Visual
Studio 2005. It is not included in .NET 1.x (and Visual Studio 2003). Even if you have .NET 2.0 or
Visual Studio 2005 installed, you can not access the class from within Visual Studio 2003.

3. Q: I only have .NET 1.1, what can I do?
A: Upgrade to .NET 2.0. Seriously, it's free. In fact, you can get the great C#and VB Visual Studio
Interactive Development Environment (IDE) editors for FREE now with C#Express and VB Express.
The .NET Framework Software Development Kit (SDK) for command-line development is also free. If
you really must stay in .NET 1.1, you can use a 3rd party library.

4. Q: I'm sending data to my device, but it is not responding.
A: First make sure the device will respond using a standard app like Hyperterminal. Check the settings
(baud rate, data bits, stop bits, etc) and make sure they match with your code. Try sending binary data
via binary arrays. Many devices expect a carriage return at the end of a command, so be sure to send
0x0D or \n. String data can be easily converted to a binary array using:
byte[] data =System.Text.ASCIIEncoding.Default.GetBytes("Hello World\n");
com.Write(data, 0, data.Length);
Many devices require several carriage returns first to sync baud rates, so send several, like:
com.Output("".PadLeft(9, '\n')); It you're communicating with a modem, make sure Echo Back is turned
on. Send "ATE1\n". Other than this, just keep trying and playing around with it. It can be hard because
you don't see the response from the device as easily as you would with a terminal app.

5. Q: When I put received data to a text box or rich text box, I get a strange symbols.
A: The default font of text boxes is designed only to show standard characters. Try using "CharMap" (a
free tool in WinXP, click "Start", "Run", type "CharMap", enter). "Terminal" is a font designed to show
classic ASCII characters and is what most terminal apps (like my sample code and Hyperterminal) use.
There are also many ASCII codes that won't display correctly. This is why I choose to show the hex
data instead of an ASCII string a lot of the time. System.Convert.ToString(mybyte, 16) will convert a
byte to a string hex code, for example: byte b =13; string s =Convert.ToStrong(b, 16).PadLeft(2, '0'),
then s will contain "0D". See the "ByteArrayToHexString" and "HexStringToByteArray" methods in
my sample app, SerialPortTerminal.zip.

6. Q: What about USB communications? How can I do USB?
This blog post isn't about USB. Believe me, I wish the .NET framework supported USB natively, and
I'm doing what I can here at Microsoft to see USB get into the framework in the future. For now, you
can use a USB to Serial adapter. I use a lot of these. They plug into the USB port, then appear just as a
SerialPort to the PC.

For native USB devices, microcontroller vendors such as Microchip, Atmel, and TI make chips that do
this for projects as well as have chips that support USB natively (I'm using the PIC18F14K50). There is
a lot of info and USB C#libraries readily available online with a quick search, try USB C#, which turns
up resources like this great article or this USB HID C#open source project.

For simple USB-to-Serial bridges that allow your device to communicate via RS-232 but connect via
USB to the PC, check out the section below on USB-to-Serial Bridge Chipsets

7. Q: Can I use the sample code here in my own projects (commercial or not)?
Yes! All sample code on my blog is free public domain material. I'm not a legal guy so I don't know
the exact words to use, but I'll try... I'm not responsible for any problems! Use at your own rick etc.
However, have at it, if it helps you out, fantastic, that's what it's here for.

8. Q: When using SerialPort.Open() (or SerialPort.PortOpen = true) I get the exception
"UnauthorizedAccessException" or the error "An unhandled exception of type
'System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException' occurred in axinterop.mscommlib.dll"
It may be one of a few factors:
o It may require Administrative privileges to use the port.
o The port may already be open by another program, only one app can use a port at a time.
o The port may not exist on the computer (this happens a lot). Verify the port you're trying to open
is listed in the Device Manager (FAQ #9).
o The name being provided is not exactly correct.
Use the full name of the port when opening, like "COM1" (not "1")

9. Q: How do I know what COM ports are on my PC?
Use the Device Manager ("Start", "Run", "devmgmt.msc") and look for the "Ports" node (see below). If
you don't see a Ports node, it's because there are no Serial or Parallel ports installed in the PC. You can
also use System.IO.Ports.SerialPort.GetPortNames() to return the list of available ports. Many laptops
these day's don't have a serial port. You can get more serial ports very easily today with USB to Serial
adapters.



10. Q: How do I communicate with my specific device? Modem, Mobile Phone, LED/LCD Display,
Scanner, GPS, GSM/GPRS, CDMA, test equipment, etc
This post is specific to device independent serial port communications. RS-232 is a hardware standard
and there are hundreds (if not thousands) of software protocols that are created for communicating over
RS-232. An analogy would be that physical telephone hardware is used around the globe (like the RS-
232 hardware standard), but there are hundreds of languages people can speak through the phone to each
other to communicate (the software protocol). You will need to find information about the protocol
used for your specific device elsewhere. I'd recommend looking on the manufacture's website,
writing/calling the manufacture, or searching online for your specific device. Sometimes you can find
fans or hackers of a device that congregate on a forum. Some protocols can be found through wikipedia,
like the GPS NMEA 0183 serial protocol that GPS units use to send their data via a serial connection.
Honestly the RS-232 communications is the easy part, I personally find the more interesting challenge is
writing software for the particular protocol in use. Best of luck in finding specifications on the protocol
youre device uses!

11. Q: What control lines can I manually manipulate?
Control lines on an RS-232 serial port were introduced to provide flow control of serial data. Even
though a modem or PC may be rated for a particular baud rate, it doesnt always mean that the device
can process the data that fast. For example, bits may flow in through a modem at 2400 bps (bits per
second) but in the early days a PC couldnt process the data fast enough, so it would toggle control lines
to tell the modem that it was read for more data or to pause send it data. Now since PCs are quite fast
these lines are mostly ignored. They can be used as a simple way to toggle an LED or send or receive
high or low states. RTS/CTS control flow is one such technique which is supported natively by the
control via the Handshake property.

Lines marked Output in the table can be set by the serial port to a high or low state (True or False) and
the Input lines can be read as high or low. You can use the PinChanged event to be notified when one
of the input pins changes. The Handshake property can be set to use RTS/CTS (uses hardware control
lines) or XON/XOFF (uses software) or both.
Control Line Name DB9 Pin SerialPort
Property
I/O
DTR Data Terminal Ready 4 DtrEnable Output
RTS Request to Send 7 RtsEnable Output
CTS Clear to Send 8 CtsHolding Input
DSR Data Set Ready 6 DsrHolding Input
CD (or DCD) Data Carrier Detect 1 CDHolding Input
12.
For detecting a Ring Indication, see the next question.

13. Q: How do you detect the Ring Indicator line?
There isnt a property off of the SerialPort class to test the current state of the Ring Indicator (DB9 pin
9), but there is an event that gets triggered, PinChanged. You can attach an event listener to
PinChanged and when the event is called, SerialPinChangedEventArgs is passed with a EventType
property of type SerialPinChange which will indicate if a ring indication was detected. Here is an
example:
compor t . Pi nChanged += new Ser i al Pi nChangedEvent Handl er ( compor t _Pi nChanged) ;

voi d compor t _Pi nChanged( obj ect sender , Ser i al Pi nChangedEvent Ar gs e)
{
i f ( e. Event Type == Ser i al Pi nChange. Ri ng) Ri ngDet ect ed( ) ;
}


14. Q: What pins can I use for powering devices, a high signal, or for boolean input & output?
The TX & RX pins carry the standard serial signal, but the other pins can be used as high/low
input/output pins. The output pins (4 DTR or 8 CTS), supply 5 to 15 volts (15v is proper RS-232
standard, 5v is what youll usually get) when high and low is 0 to -15 volts. They only supply flea
current (very little current) so they're not meant to be used for powering any devices (like USB is
designed for). However, they can be used as a reference voltage or for switching to one of the input pins
for a high or low signal. The input pins (1 DCD, 6 DSR, 8 CTS, and 9 RI) can be used to detect a high
or low signal. Proper RS-232 signal levels are -15v for a low and +15v for a high (compared to ground,
pin 5). A MAX232 or similar chip takes a TTL 0-5v input and produces the -15v to +15v levels.
However, most PC RS-232 COM ports will accept a 0v for low and 5v for high, but it is not guaranteed
and alters from PC to PC. If you want a simple "toggle high", just hold pin 4 DTR high, and switch it to
pin 1 DCD. The .NET SerialPort class has easy to use properties for switching the output pins high or
low and for detecting the current level of the input pins. I have been able to use pin 4 DTR for a very
low current (20ma max) PIC processors, but not reliably. I prefer to always supply external power and
use pin 4 as a signal to turn on or off my device. I'll attach pin 4 to a transistor that switches my power
source to my PIC to turn it on or off.

15. Q: What about packets? Does RS-232 support any commands or data segregation? OR Data
comes in at seemingly random times?
Serial data flow through RS-232 has nothing to do with packets. Its just a stream of bytes in and out.
There is no guarantee that data arrives together.

Packet Protocols
Any notion of data compartmentalization (packets) would have to be coded by you for your unique use.
Much of my time working with serial has been spent on defining useful packet like protocols, that
usually include some type of header, command structure, and CRC check. For example, the first two
bytes are the packet length, the next two bytes is the command, next two bytes are parameters, and the
last byte is a CRC. Then my apps would buffer incoming data and look in the buffer for valid packets.
Of course it differs depending on the device youre working with and your specific needs. USB does
have specific communications protocol defined, one of them being command based, like the little packet
just mentioned. But with USB, youre able to get the whole command and parameter together at once,
with serial you have to create the protocol yourself, buffer, and parse the data.

Buffering Incoming Data
Since bytes may come in at any time, buffering incoming data is critical. For example, you may send a
command out to your device, and the response back to the PC could trigger a single DataReceived event
with all the 30 bytes of response data in the receive buffer. Or more likely, it could be any number of
separate triggers of the DataReceived (up to the number of bytes received), like 4 triggers, first with 2
bytes, then 15 bytes, then 1 byte, then 12 bytes. Dont look for a complete response in a single
DataReceived call, instead:
1. buffer the incoming data
2. then scan your buffer to find complete data
3. remove the used data from the buffer

To buffer incoming data, use a coding pattern like this:
(download the code SerialComBuffering.zip)
using System;
using System.IO.Ports;
using System.Collections.Generic;

namespace SerialComBuffering
{
class Program
{
SerialPort com =new SerialPort(SerialPort.GetPortNames()[0],
9600, Parity.None, 8, StopBits.One);
List<byte>bBuffer =new List<byte>();
string sBuffer =String.Empty;

static void Main(string[] args)
{ new Program(); }

Program()
{
com.DataReceived +=
new SerialDataReceivedEventHandler(com_DataReceived);
com.Open();

Console.WriteLine("Waiting for incoming data...");
Console.ReadKey();
}

void com_DataReceived(object sender,
SerialDataReceivedEventArgs e)
{
// Use either the binary OR the string technique (but not both)

// Buffer and process binary data
while (com.BytesToRead >0)
bBuffer.Add((byte)com.ReadByte());
ProcessBuffer(bBuffer);

// Buffer string data
sBuffer +=com.ReadExisting();
ProcessBuffer(sBuffer);
}

private void ProcessBuffer(string sBuffer)
{
// Look in the string for useful information
// then remove the useful data from the buffer
}

private void ProcessBuffer(List<byte>bBuffer)
{
// Look in the byte array for useful information
// then remove the useful data from the buffer
}
}
}


16. Q: How do you detect when a device is connected or disconnected?
Simply put, the device usually starts or stops sending data. There are no built in events when a device
connects or disconnects. But there are a few tricks you can do, if youre creating the serial device
yourself, then you have more options. Ive had my devices (and PC apps) send a constant are you
there set of bytes, like 00 00 11 11 00 00 hex (Id use a are you there custom packet as in Q13
above) till a device on the other end responds. You could also use hardware, thats what some of the
other signals lines are for (CDC, DSR, RTS, CTS, RI), you can tie one of these high and then catch an
event when the line goes high so you know theres a device there, when it goes low the device is gone.

17. Q: How do I transfer files?
If youre interested in sending entire files between computers or to a device, you have two primary
choices. First choice is to write your own protocol for breaking a file into manageable packets,
detecting errors, sending/receiving, etc. Second choice is to use a protocol already created, like
XModem, YModem, ZModem, etc. These protocols were created long ago specifically to send files
over a serial connection with features like error correction, being able to resume transfers, compression,
etc. Im only aware of commercial implementations for .NET right now, like Sax Softwares
CommStudio. If anyone find an open source implementation, please let me know!

18. Q: Where can I get USB-to-Serial cables?
USB-to-Serial adapter cables allow you to get a standard RS-232 DB9 cable by plugging in the adapter
to your USB port. You can use several of these to get multiple DB9 ports. Many laptops, even
desktops, dont have serial ports these days which makes these particularly handy.

Every so often I source a good cable for a decent price, typically around $12. Here is the deal Im
currently using. http://amzn.to/J nZ7ag

Be forewarned, not all cables are created equally! There are two issues to contend with
1. There are a number of companies that create USB chipsets that emulates an RS-232 port. Some
are much more compatible with PCs and Macs than others. For example, the Prolific and FTDI
chipset are used in the most compatible adapters (unlike Ark Micro, or others). Those
companies produce WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) certified drivers and the drivers
are built into most Windows and Mac systems already. So when shopping for a cable, be sure to
check the chipset manufacture. Here are some handy links to drivers in case you need them.
1. Prolific Chipset Drivers
2. FTDI Chipset Drivers
2. Standard RS-232 signals range from 3 to 15 volts (plus or minus), 0 is not a valid signal. The
USB-to-Serial interface chips used in these cables produce 0 to 5 volts, standard TTL level
logic. While this works for some PCs, and certainly most microcontrollers, it is not 100%
compatible. The correct USB-to-Serial cables incorporate an additional line level driver, like
the MAX232, that take the 0 to 5 volts and convert it to an appropriate +/- 12 volts for RS-232.
The problem is that many low-quality cables exist out there without this line level driver chip.

19. Q: How can I best interface with my microcontroller? USB-to-Serial Bridge Chipsets
If you are building your own devices, usually with some type of
microcontroller, and want to interface with the PC, you can certainly use
RS-232 either plugged straight into your PC or via a USB-to-Serial
adapter cable, but another option is to use an USB-to-Serial bridge
chipset directly in your project (what is inside of the USB-to-Serial
adapter cables). This allows your device to use RS-232 internally, but
connect to a computer via USB and you as a project designer never need
worry about the USB interface or drivers (your device and PC software
just see serial RS-232). You could use a native USB microcontroller
(without an RS-232 bridge), such as the PIC18F14K50, but that requires writing your own USB drivers
and a much deeper understanding of the USB infrastructure (both in hardware and software). That
particular PIC also comes with a Serial emulator and drivers like below. This article is focused on serial
RS-232, so Im covering the USB-to-Serial bridges here.

These modern ICs dont require external crystals, can power your device from USB Power, provide
clock sources for your micro if you like, and come with Windows Certified (WHQL) drivers that are
actually included in Windows Vista and beyond (also built in Mac drivers). Here are a few
0. FTDI FT232RL
The FTDI chips are most popular in electronics projects and used by companies like Parallax and
the Arduino Duemilanove. They also have the best support in terms of evaluation modules, well
written datasheet, and product availability. product info, evaluation modules, buy from Mouser,
drivers

1. Prolific PL-2303HX
These are the chips used in the most popular USB-to-Serial cables. They are slightly less costly
than the FTDI chips in bulk, but are not quite as well supported in the US market. product info

2. TI TUSB3410
Another option from Texas Instruments. I havent used this chip. Product Info

p.s. For trying it out and prototyping, I personally recommend this particular FTDI evaluation board, the
UM232R since it plugs into typical solderless protoytpe breadboards and has most of the pins easily
accessible. Last priced it was $20 from Mouser.



20. Q: How do I automatically detect the baud rate of a device?
The PC doesnt have built-in automatic baud detection, but there is an easy trick to implement basic
baud detection for many devices. If there is a known call & response to the device you can set the baud
rate of the port to one setting, open the port, send the call, see if you get the expected response, and if
not close the port, set a different baud rate, and repeat. For my own devices Ive had some of them send
a known character string (could be anything, like 000ABCD) after they receive a high on the DTR line.
This way my serial code can set DTR high, see if it gets the ABCD at one baud rate and if not, close the
port, set another baud rate, open the port, turn DTR high, and try again. If the baud rates match the
characters will be read correctly, if not then the characters will be jumbled. This can be done with many
other devices as well if there's a known call and response, like sending a modem an AT command with
an expected response code.

21. Q: May I have permissions to use your code?
Yes! The code and samples here are released under the MIT License.

22. Q: How can I get more support? What are my support options?
Read this FAQ section! :)
You can try leaving a comment below. Perhaps someone knows the answer
Read the official MS documentation, MSDN on SerialPort
See if the article Wikipedia on RS-232
Try doing a search and look for other content. SerialPort C#, Serial Com C#, serial port .net
Post a question in the .NET Base Class Library in MSDN Forums