Best Interface Option

[ele1200]

Hey,<p>I am looking to interface a called ID decoder chip to my computer. The chip's output is serial data, 1200 baud, 1 stop, 8 data for a total of 10 bits. Should i go into the serial port directly with this or convert it parallel with a UART and go to the parallel? I want to use VB to record the data and process it, so which is the best way to go? Any Alternatives?

[chessman]

I personally would go with a UART converting it to parallel because it makes it much easier to write software. The code required is a lot more simple to read a full byte of data instead of reading in the serial data.

[Colinr]

just to equal the balance i suggest you stick to the serial data and feed it in to a serial port (you may need to convert to RS232 levels first ) Visual Basic must still have some form of "open Com" commands to configure the serial port and and some form of input commpan to read from the port ( I have not programed in basic since Q basic so can not confirm this)<p>Colin

[rshayes]

Connecting to the serial port would only require a single RS-232 interface chip. Connecting to the parallel port would require a UART, some logic for timing, and at least 8 data buffers and a couple more for control signals.<p>Visual Basic appears to be different from QuickBasic in the way the serial port is controlled. It appears to use a routine called an "ActiveX control". The one for serial communication may be MSCOMM.OCX. I would look for information on the Microsoft web site.

[ljbeng]

VB is great for using serial data. There are many commands for monitoring, sending and receiving serial data and it supports all the normal baud rates. Parallel data into VB is another story. You would need extra third-party components to get the data in and out of the port. But once you have the necessary drivers, parallel is just as easy as serial. I don't know what kind of through-rate you can get with VB and the parallel port but I would think using the serial port is the best way to go.<p>[ March 04, 2003: Message edited by: ljbeng ]</p>

[vapor]

It would probably be easier to read the port data via a C or C++ program. <p>If you cannot read parallel directly into VB, then write a C routine to read the parallell port and then transfer it to the VB ap.