RS232 Data Logger (Serial Data Logger) is a friendly yet very professional software that offers its native terminal, data export, advanced filters, flexible search options, etc. What's great about this program - you don't need any additional hardware to use it. There are two editions available in Serial Port Logger - Standard or Professional. 4 channel temperature meter and data-logger kit for use with Dallas DS18S20 high precision 1-wire digital thermometer sensors. The temperature data, in degrees C or F, is output as a continuous data stream over an RS232 serial port.
Free Serial Port Monitor
With a free Serial Port Logger, you can easily read the incoming serial data from up to 256 real and virtual RS232 ports and save it to a specified text file for later serial packet analysis.
- Monitor all data received by your local COM ports
- Read serial data from up to 256 serial ports simultaneously
- Run Free Serial Data Logger under your virtual machine
Learn more about free, open source Serial Port Monitor
Advanced Serial Port Monitor
Serial Port Monitor is a professional solution that makes it possible to sniff data transmitted in and out of a COM port you are testing. This powerful utility can connect to RS232, RS422 and RS485 ports, even if they are already opened by some other apps, and capture data exchanged via these interfaces.
- Monitor communications with any type of serial software and hardware
- Record data from any number of COM ports at a time
- View captured serial data in different formats
- Work with RS232, RS422, and RS485 communication ports
- Sniff and decode Modbus RTU and Modbus ASCII data
Download Advanced Serial Port Terminal for absolutely free
This lightweight software application will help you send a wide variety of commands to serial ports, receive their responses and view this data in different formats.
Request a free license Free Serial Port Monitor overview
The software is designed to assist you in analyzing communications established between a computer and connected serial equipment.
COM port data logging
FREE Serial Port Monitor has a simple interface, so to begin serial logging, you just need to select a serial port, choose where to file serial communication data, define RS232 port's parameters and click 'Start'.Working in a virtual environment
FREE Serial Port Monitor can be installed and used under virtual machines, like VMware or Hyper-V. Such functionality can be successfully used for testing. Our serial port logger is great for learning purposes, too.Collecting serial data in real time
When you attach COM-based devices, like scales, meters, barcode scanners, etc. to an RS232 port of your computer, FREE Serial Port Monitor lets you connect to this port and collect data it receives from the serial equipment. With FREE Serial Port Monitor, it's simple to see and learn how serial ports work!
Serial Port Monitor overview
Serial Port Monitor is a highly-functional and friendly utility that works with RS232/RS422/RS485 ports and allows you to save a lot of your time while developing and testing serial applications and hardware. It offers the full set of advanced port monitoring features, including a built-in terminal, unique data filtering options, convenient data viewing modes, session playback capability, and more.
Analyzing COM port data
If a COM port you want to monitor is already opened by a third-party application, Serial Port Analyzer will still be able to connect to it and record its activity. It will capture the port’s data and display it to you. Serial Analyzer software will let you select whether to show serial data in the Table, Line, Dump or Terminal mode. Also, you can enable all available visualizers at a time.Data viewing modes
With the Table view, you get the data in the form of a table consisting of the recorded IRPs. When you select the Line view, you will see more details about each request passing in and out of a monitored COM port. The Dump view will display all incoming and outgoing data in hexadecimal and string formats as a data dump. In the Terminal mode, the monitoring data will be shown as ASCII characters.Saving data to a file
All captured data, including serial input/output control codes (IOCTLs) with full details, can be recorded to a selected file. Also, you can save your monitoring session and load it next time you need it. Serial Port Monitor software allows reading serial port data in real time, which means you’ll be able to solve any problem immediately after it occurs.Monitoring of multiple ports
Serial Port Sniffer lets you test an unlimited number of COM ports within one RS232 monitoring session. Just select “Start session” in the main menu of the app and get the ability to track the communications of any serial program with several devices at a time. All data will be recorded using the first-in, first-out method, which makes it more convenient for analysis.Sending commands via a terminal
With RS232 monitor software, you can not only log serial traffic but also emulate sending data to a particular serial port as though it were sent from the monitored app. This enables you to easily check how a device connected to this port reacts to specific data.Parsing of Modbus RTU/Modbus ASCII
The software makes it possible to perform monitoring and analysis of Modbus communications. It allows intercepting Modbus RTU and Modbus ASCII frames exchanged between Modbus-enabled devices or apps.
Feature list comparison
Check out the main differences in feature packs of free open source and advanced versions
# | Options | Free | Advanced |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Support for RS232 ports | ||
2 | Compatibility with RS422, RS485 ports | ||
3 | Reading COM port data and saving it to a file | ||
4 | Logging data from any number of serial ports at a time | ||
5 | Capturing all data received by a COM port | ||
6 | The possibility to add several ports for monitoring in one session | ||
7 | Support for all baud rates | ||
8 | Search options | ||
9 | Filtering of recorded IPRs | ||
10 | Availability of several data viewing modes | ||
11 | Sniffing COM ports already opened by other apps | ||
12 | Command line support | ||
13 | Sessions comparison | ||
14 | Parsing of Modbus RTU and Modbus ASCII protocols | ||
15 | Redirected file can be either split into a bunch of files or can be limited to user-defined size | ||
16 | The ability to copy captured data to clipboard |
Frequently asked questions about
Serial Port Monitor
Serial Port Monitor displays, logs and analyzes serial communication.
To start a serial monitoring session download and launch Serial Port Monitor. Then click ‘Start monitoring’ to initiate the monitoring session.
To start a serial monitoring session download and launch Serial Port Monitor. Then click ‘Start monitoring’ to initiate the monitoring session.
Serial Port Monitor is a professional tester that comes with a slew of powerful features, including advanced filtering and search options, built-in terminal, convenient data visualizers, the ability to record serial communication data to a file.
Yes, Serial Port Monitor lets you monitor an unlimited number of serial ports at a time. All you need to do is to launch a new instance of the software for every new COM port interface.
Serial Port Monitor
4.6 rank based on 75+ users
Get a download link for your desktop
Submit your email address to get a link for quick download on your desktop and get started!
Submit your email address to get a link for quick download on your desktop and get started!
Requirements:Windows (32-bit and 64-bit): XP/2003/2008/Vista/7/8/10, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2016, 9.16MB free space
Latest version: v7.0.342, Released 13th Jan, 2018Release notes
Category:Serial Port Software
Demo limitations: fully functional 14-day trial
Pricing: Starts from $99.95
Languages: English
The registered users of the previous version can upgrade with a 50% discount. Learn more
Serial ports are used to connect computers with many types of scientific and industrial devices. Using a machine’s COM port you can capture the data transmission and display it in spreadsheets, databases, and other types of analysis software.
Monitoring and analyzing serial communication requires the use of a serial data logger. This specialized software reads and displays RS232 data and can save it to a file so it can be analyzed at a later time.
You need serial data logger software that can interact with a computer’s COM ports to collect the transmitted data. The best choice in this kind of software is Serial Port Logger. It offers a fast and easy method of displaying serial port activity and recording it to a file.
In this article, we will look at how to use COM Port Logger to monitor and log your serial port data.
Table of contents:
COM port logger settings
The first thing that needs to be done is to set the communication parameters in the software to conform to those being used by the serial device. We are talking about the COM port number, parity, data and stop bits, and the baud rate.
COM Port Number
The COM port that will be used by the RS232 data logger needs to be specified. Your computer may have more than one COM port. It might also not have any serial interfaces. If that is the case, you can add more using hardware converters, software or software solutions depending on the communication options available on the computer. Select a converter that works with your machine whether through the Ethernet, Bluetooth or USB. For information on using USB converters check out Tips on Using USB-to-Serial Converters.
Baud Rate
Data transmission through COM ports employs serial communications where messages are sent one bit at a time in a sequential manner. The baud rate describes the maximum speed of data transmission. Both the COM device and the computer must use the same baud rate to enact serial communication. Select the baud rate that conforms to your device when setting the parameter in the data logger software application. A faster baud rate reduces the time required to send and receive messages, and you should select a high value if your device offers that option. If you are connecting over long distances or you find the communication is unreliable, you may need to lower the baud rate.
Regardless of the connection speed, the RS232 port logger will determine how fast you can capture information about the transmission.
Data Bits
A serial port receives data one bit at a time but processes it in groups of seven or eight bits. It’s critical when using a serial port data logger that the software and device group the received data in the same way. The device’s user manual should indicate the number of data bits that it uses. When in doubt, use eight data bits in the RS232 logger as this is the more commonly used setting.
Parity
Parity defines whenever an entity is odd or even. It can be used for error checking in serial communication. When parity checking is enforced, the number of 1’s in a group of data bits being sent is counted. The device or computer determines if there is an odd or even number of 1’s and sets the parity bit based on that information. When the data is received the same procedure is used to verify if the value of the Parity Bit agrees with the one which was sent.
A parity check implies that the computer and serial device use the same method when calculating the value of the Parity Bit. Parity can be set to on for either an odd or even number of 1’s in the transmission. Both sides of the checking equation must set the value in the same way. Using Even Parity sets the Parity Bit to one when an even number of 1’s are involved, with an Odd Parity value of one indicating an odd number of 1’s have been sent.
Parity checking provides a basic and limited form of error checking. While it will alert you to an error of a single bit, this type of error checking will not help if two bits were affected. No information concerning which bit is in error is supplied. There are other error checking techniques such as cyclic redundancy checks or employing the Start and Stop bits.
Parity can be set to “None” and should be done so in the COM port logger if you cannot determine the parity settings of the device.
Start and Stop Bits
Asynchronous communication is used in RS232 ports, meaning that data transmissions are sporadic and are not constrained by set time intervals. This requires that a device has the capability to identify the start and end of a message. Start and Stop bits are used for this purpose. The Start Bit is sent before any of the data bits and the Stop Bit is appended after the data bits or the Parity Bit if it is in use.
Data lines can be in the on or off state. Idle lines are considered to be on. The line is set to off by an instrument or computer when it is preparing to send data. This is the Start Bit and is immediately followed by the data bits that comprise the message.
The Stop Bit is used to enable a computer and device to sync with each other if an error, such as noise on the line, interrupts the transmission. The baud rate and the number of data and parity bits are used to calculate the time interval between the Start and Stop Bits. Stop Bits are always on, so if an off value is detected at the receiving end it indicates that an error has been encountered.
Though the term Stop Bit is used, the entity is not a physical bit. It is a value that indicates the minimum length of time a line must be on when data transmission is complete. On PCs it is usually either 1 or 2 bits which is specified in the driver parameters. The most commonly used value is 1 and your message may be slower when using a value of 2. If the number of data bits is less than 7 you may see a Stop Bit of 1.5. ASCII characters cannot be transmitted with 7 bits so this setting is rarely used.
Flow Control (Handshaking)
When you first connect a device to a computer you should try it without using flow control. Flow control may be needed if you find the device is missing parts of messages which can cause it to fail or work incorrectly.
If you need to implement flow control it will most often be an Xon Xoff (software) selection. You can learn more about handshaking in our manual of testing serial port
RS232 data logger software:
A step-by-step guide
Once you have configured the settings in the software you can start using Serial Port Logger to collect data from your system’s COM ports. Follow these steps to start monitoring serial data:
1. Download, install and launch Serial Data Logger.
2. Choose “Session >>> New session” from the main menu, use the CTRL+N shortcut or click “New” on the main toolbar.
3. The “New monitoring session” window will be displayed:
Select how you want to view your data using the visualizers that will be employed during the session.
- Line view displays detailed information about the data transmitted through a specific serial line.
- Terminal view displays the data as ASCII characters in a text console.
- Table view displays recorded IRPs in a table format.
- Dump view displays all of the sent and received data passed through the serial line.
- Modbus view displays received and sent Modbus data (RTU and ASCII).
By using the “Start monitoring now” and “Start in new window” checkboxes you can control the characteristics of a new monitoring session.
Capture options allow you to determine which events you wish to monitor from these choices: Create/Close, Read/Write or Device Control.
4. Click “Start monitoring” to start the new monitoring session after selecting the settings.
A new monitoring window will be opened by the RS232 logger, displaying the data using the previously selected visualizers.
5. Save a session by choosing “Session >>> Save session/Save session As” from the main menu. You can also or click “Save” on the main toolbar, or press the CTRL+S keyboard shortcut.
Conclusion
RS232 Data Logger is a professional utility that enables you to easily monitor and save serial communication data for immediate use or later analysis. Its settings are fully customizable, allowing you to use the application with any serial device or interface. Its a great tool for individuals who work with serial devices or applications.
Serial Port Monitor
4.8 rank based on 41+ users
Get a download link for your desktop
Submit your email address to get a link for quick download on your desktop and get started!
Submit your email address to get a link for quick download on your desktop and get started!
Requirements:Windows (32-bit and 64-bit): XP/2003/2008/Vista/7/8/10, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012/2016/2019
Latest version: v7.0.342, Released 13th Jan, 2018Release notes
Category:Serial Port Software
Demo limitations: fully functional 14-day trial
Pricing: Starts from $99.95
Languages: English