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RS232 Monitor Software

You have a serial device. You need to know what is going on.

The existing software is not good enough, and it consumes a lot of resources, or you need to swap several free and simple utilities every minute to do one simple action.

RS232 Monitor is a unique monitoring tool for communications via the RS-232 interface. It has a rich set of features and allows you to view all received data in a human-friendly form. The program is designed to use as few resources as possible.

It is not a display connected to an RS-232 port :).

RS232 Monitor - Traffic monitor

How can I monitor and control an RS232/RS485 line?

  1. Launch the Serial Port Monitor utility.
  2. Select the necessary mode (look at the "Mode" menu and answers about methods below).
  3. Select the COM port from a drop-down box on the toolbar.
  4. Start port monitoring by clicking the "Open" button in the main window before starting another application.
  5. Select an ASCII and HEX data view mode.
  6. Monitor RS-232 communication in real-time, or enable writing to a file using the "Write to file" button on the bottom toolbar.
  7. Click the "Close" button to close the monitoring session.
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Easy RS232 Port Monitoring

FAQ about RS-232 monitoring using Serial Port Monitor by AGG Software

Can I monitor data traffic between two peripheral devices?

Yes, you can use a special RS-232 monitoring cable, and the cable will both send and receive data at the same time.

Does the program support full-duplex?

If you want to monitor traffic sent from your computer to an external device: it works by default without the need for tweaking by you, and it does not require additional hardware.

In the case of controlling traffic between two external serial devices: use the "Dual Port" mode in Serial Port Monitor with a self-made monitoring cable (see above).

Can the program work in the terminal mode?

The terminal mode is named "Manual" in Port Monitor, and you can easily switch between modes (serialmon, terminal, dual ports) at any time.

Can implement an RS-232/RS-485 analyzer and watch serial protocols without a breakout cable?

You can watch real-time communications between your serial application and a peripheral device using the "Spy" mode. In this mode, our utility monitors data transfer and all COM port activity of another program, as if "dropping in" between the serial interface and the studied program. It can work on any baud rates (it does not matter because the program intercepts data exchange in the driver).

Monitoring Mode Selection

Can RS232 Port Monitor work in virtual environments?

Yes, the program and its drivers can work in a virtual machine VMWare, VirtualBox, Parallels, etc., on any host OS and with the Windows guest. Additionally, you can use our software through Remote Desktop. Sorry, but the program does not work with compatibility layers like Wine or CrossOver on MacOS.

Can this serial port software protocols without a breakout cable?

To view the traffic between your serial application and a peripheral device, use "Spy" mode. In this mode, our tool monitors data transfer and all serial port activity, just like if it were "dropping in" to observe the communication between your computer's serial interface and any other program. It can work on any baud rates (as the program intercepts the data exchange in the driver).

Advanced Features

Supported COM types

Virtual ports (VCP)
UART
RS232-USB (USB cables or dongles),
RS232-LAN,
Bluetooth,
Software-based virtual COM port

RS422/R485 converters Yes
Supported equipment Various independent (lab equipment, industrial equipment, DIY)
Windows 10 (64-bit) compatible device driver Yes
Manually send requests with HEX or ASCII data Yes
Serial port sniffer mode Yes
Logging to a file Yes (can capture binary or text data)
Advanced Serial Protocol Analyzer MODBUS RTU & ASCII
Advanced Features (dual ports mode, plugins, ports autodetection) Yes
Remote monitoring No
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Try Advanced Features and Plugins

Portmon is the free alternative for port monitoring.

Portmon monitors Windows kernel-level I/O packets sent/received between serial port device drivers and Win32.

Portmon

Target Groups

Our software solution is handy for the following target groups:

  • Serial port software application developers.
  • Firmware developers for devices with RS-232/422/485 interface.
  • System integrators and consultants.
  • DIY hobbyist (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and other SMB computers).
  • Programmers, testers, and other IT specialists.
  • SCADA designers.
  • Industrial control equipment support specialists.

Usage scenarios

You can use this product to analyze serial protocols. Serial Port Monitor will come in handy for:

  • Testing and troubleshooting serial protocols between a device and a host computer
  • Monitoring of serial port traffic between any compatible device and Windows serial application
  • Development of RS-based peripheral devices and device firmware
  • Debugging any serial port software or hardware, snooping serial data and control requests
  • Researching functionality of any third-party hardware devices and software applications
  • Reverse engineering of communication protocols
  • Capture data exchange logs
  • Simple device simulation with ASCII or binary data packets

    ASCII device emulator plugin

  • Send a request to a device to execute internal commands
  • Replay log files

How can RS232 Monitoring Tool help you to improve your work?

This tool will help you develop serial interfaces, analyze serial errors, troubleshoot serial communications. It can autodetect all your COM ports, and it has a simple and user-friendly interface optimized for RS232 interface usage.

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Eliminate RS-232 cables