Electronic Team, Inc. — Local services in Alexandria

As a researcher focusing on the mathematical modeling of battery degradation, my work involves extensive experimentation and data collection. The precision and reliability of our data acquisition process are crucial, as they directly impact the accuracy of our models. We utilize battery cyclers that communicate through the COM port to gather this data. Unfortunately, the default software provided with these cyclers is quite limited in functionality, necessitating the development of our own in-house interface tailored to our specific needs.

In this context, the Advanced Serial Port Monitor has proven to be an indispensable tool. Here’s why:

Key Benefits: Detailed Monitoring: The ability to monitor and log all serial port activity has been immensely helpful. By capturing the exact commands sent by the existing software to the battery cycler, we can decipher the communication protocol in use. This is critical for developing a custom interface that can replicate and extend the functionalities of the original software.

Real-Time Data Analysis: The real-time data analysis feature allows us to observe interactions as they happen, providing immediate feedback on the commands and responses. This is particularly useful during the debugging and development phases of our new software.

User-Friendly Interface: Despite its advanced capabilities, the software remains user-friendly. The clear and intuitive interface makes it easy to set up and start monitoring without a steep learning curve. This has saved us considerable time and allowed us to focus more on the actual development work.

Versatility and Customization: The Advanced Serial Port Monitor offers a range of customization options, enabling us to tailor the monitoring process to our specific requirements. We can filter and search through the captured data, making it easier to pinpoint the exact information we need.

Robust Logging Capabilities: The software’s robust logging capabilities ensure that we can keep comprehensive records of all serial communications. This is crucial for documenting our findings and maintaining a detailed history of interactions for future reference.

Impact on Our Project: Since incorporating the Advanced Serial Port Monitor into our workflow, we have made significant strides in developing our custom interface. Understanding the precise communication between the existing software and the battery cycler has allowed us to recreate and enhance these interactions in our new system. This, in turn, has improved our data acquisition process, providing more accurate and reliable data for our battery...

Loving the USB Network Gate! Simple setup, easy to use, had it up and running in minutes. My partner and I have our computers in the same room (Windows 11 on mine, Windows 10 on hers), and it doesn't make sense to have duplicates of every device, or to constantly be swapping cables around... but not all devices readily lend themselves to sharing.

With two copies of USB Network Gate, I can share the scanner from her computer, the label printer from my computer, and more! I haven't fully experimented with all the capabilities yet, but the scanner and label printer work flawlessly. I'd previously used a Remote TWAIN product and it worked fine for years, but it's not playing well with newer software so I went hunting and found this.

The great thing is, the scanner is an ancient but reliable CanoScan LiDE 70... I was afraid we might have to bite the bullet and buy some new, networked multifunction abomination along with its bloated software to get equivalent shared scanning functionality. Now with USB Network Gate, the scanner just shows up in my applications just like it'd been plugged into my own computer, through native WIA support. My partner still has to install the label maker software to use my Brother QL-700 label printer, but that's just a limitation of the label printer (she'd have to do that if it were plugged directly in). She can design labels to her heart's content, hit print, and I can pick them up on my desk and pass them over to her... easy peasy!

At first blush it might feel a little pricey for personal use like this, but considering how often we find ourselves scanning and printing for one another, if this lasts us 5-10 years, it's really not that much! Furthermore, their support is responsive; they confirmed that the Lifetime Upgrade guarantee will continue to support future versions of Windows (it currently works fine on both Windows 10 & Windows 11), and they will also support transferring of licenses to new systems when it's time to upgrade hardware.

I haven't fully explored it yet, but it looks like the sky's the limit, sharing cameras, audio devices, whatever. I don't necessarily have use cases for all of this, but it gets me thinking! Heck I just got another idea from another review here... I have a BSD-based router; my desktop is near it, but if I shared the (USB to )serial console device, I could remote directly into the console from other devices! This is an...

I am a freelance video technician who also works on ob-van broadcasts. During the production of sporting events it often happens that POV box cameras are used. We recently replaced them with Marshall CV504 which have the advantage of having the parameters remotely controllable via the RS 485 serial port. Since the cameras are positioned far from the OB-Van, for the transport of the video signal we use HD-SDI to fiber converters which also allow the transport of the RS 485 serial signal. On the OB-Van we convert the serial signal with PUSR serial RS485 to ethernet converter, one for each camera. The reason why we convert RS485 to ethernet is to be able to control the cameras from any point of the ob-van where there is an ethernet port on our network. The driver software generates a virtual COM port for each of the PUSR converters that the PC detects as a real com port. The Marshall camera control software only works by connecting to the cameras via a single serial port, so you have the problem of connecting a virtual com port (the one selected in the Marshall software) to two, or more, physical com ports (real com port) . Using the Join real COM ports functionality we can control multiple cameras with a single Marshall GUI. I found Virtual Serial Port Driver Pro extremely versatile but, at the same time, intuitive and easy to use. VSPD provided me with the solution for a particular need that I didn't find with other...