Faking an RS232 Serial Port

Question

I m developing a project that has a number of hardware sensors connecting to the deployment machine through RS232 serial ports   But     I m developing on a machine without an physical RS232 serial ports  but I would like to make fake serial ports that I can connect to and output data from with the aim of faking input from hardware sensors   Does anyone know of a way to create a fake serial port and control it on Windows XP

User · Answer

i used eltima make virtual serial port for my modbus application debug work  it is really very good application at development stage to check serial port program without connecting hardware

User · Answer

I use com0com - With Signed Driver  on windows 7 x64 to emulate COM3 AND COM4 as a pair   Then i use COM Dataport Emulator to recieve from COM4   Then i open COM3 with the app im developping  c   and send data to COM3   The data sent thru COM3 is received by COM4 and shown by  COM Dataport Emulator  who can also send back a response  not automated    So with this 2 great programs i managed to emulate Serial RS-232 comunication   Hope it helps   Both programs are free

User · Answer

If you are developing for Windows  the com0com project might be  what you are looking for   It provides pairs of virtual COM ports that are linked via a nullmodem connetion  You can then use your favorite terminal application or whatever you like to send data to one COM port and recieve from the other one   EDIT   As Thomas pointed out the project lacks of a signed driver  which is especially problematic on certain Windows version  e g  Windows 7 x64    There are a couple of unofficial com0com versions around that do contain a signed driver  One recent verion  3 0 0 0  can be downloaded e g  from here

User · Answer

Another alternative  even though the OP did not ask for it   There exist usb-to-serial adapters   Depending on the type of adapter  you may also need a nullmodem cable  too   They are extremely easy to use under linux  work under windows  too  if you have got working drivers installed   That way you can work directly with the sensors  and you do not have to try and emulate data   That way you are maybe even save from building an anemic system   Due to your emulated data inputs not covering all cases  leading you to a brittle system     Its often better to work with the real stuff

User · Answer

There s always the hardware route   Purchase two USB to serial converters  and connect them via a NULL modem   Pro tips  1  Windows may assign new COM ports to the adapters after every device sleep or reboot  2  The market leaders in chips for USB to serial are Prolific and FTDI   Both companies are battling knockoffs  and may be blocked in future official Windows drivers   The Linux drivers however work fine with the clones

User · Answer

I know this is an old post  but in case someone else happens upon this question  one good option is Virtual Serial Port Emulator  VSPE  from Eterlogic It provides an API for creating kernel mode virtual comport devices  i e  connectors  mappers  splitters etc  However  some of the advertised capabilities were really not capabilities at all  EDIT A much better choice  Eltima   This product is fully baked   Good developer tech support   The product did all it claimed to do   Product options include both desktop applications  as well as software development kits with APIs  Neither of these products are open source  or free    However  as other posts here have pointed out  there are other options   Here is a list of various serial utilities  com0com   current  com0com - With Signed Driver  old version  Yet another place for com0com with Signed Driver  Pete s Blog  Tactical Software Termite COM Port Serial Emulator Kermit  obsolete  but still downloadable  HWVSP3 HHD Software  free edition

[windows] Faking an RS232 Serial Port

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