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I developing a wide range of relatively simple firmware devices. Every one of these ends up talking to the PC (or another device) via the RS-232 port in one way or another, so I spend a lot of time implementing and debugging their communication protocols.

My most common use case is to snoop on a program running on my PC that is communicating with a device via the serial port (RS-232). I want to see what is sent and when, mangle / delay incoming and outgoing data and perhaps inject data (especially in response to incoming data based on rules).

Free tools

  1. Free Serial Port Monitor - With a name like that, how didn't I find it?

Good commercial tools

  1. SerialTest - Demo version does no snooping at all, have to pay to get a real trial.
  2. RS232 analyser - Demo version can't monitor, have to pay to get a real trial. It doesn't seem to do software monitoring, only using hardware can it snoop. It has a useful mode where it can act like a simple RS-232 device with programmable auto-responses.
  3. SerialSniffer - again, commercial. The demo doesn't seem to include functionality.
  4. Docklight has potential, the demo looks useful, hardware snooping only and simulation like RS-232 analyser.

Related

  1. com0com - Create virtual serial ports on your PC and then connect them to each other to connect one application to another without hardware

What I want right now is basically WireShark for serial. I love the way it snoops and decodes standard network protocols. I just wish it could snoop serial ports (perhaps there is a good plugin?)

Community
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Tom Leys
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  • Tom, have you found a tool that fits your needs? We've also been building serial-enabled embedded devices for over 20 years, and we've resorted to hardware analyzers and home-grown software solutions. I'd love a free software solution that displays data alongside traces of the RS232 signals. – Adam Liss Oct 05 '09 at 11:24
  • Hi Adam. I've been scraping by with Free Serial port monitor. My father (an electronics engineer) has found a couple of other good tools that I need to add here when I get a mo (don't have the names on hand right now) – Tom Leys Oct 05 '09 at 21:57

1 Answers1

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I propose Free Serial Port Monitor. I used two years ago, and it was very useful and also free.

Free Serial Port Monitor allows you to intercept, display and analyze all data exchanged between the Windows application and the serial device. It can be successfully used in application development, device driver or serial hardware development and offers the powerful platform for effective coding, testing and optimization.

Peter Mortensen
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