I eventually figured it out, but it took quite a while. I suggest you add the following to the page that describes the Software Serial.
There are 3 necessary statements to make the Software Serial ports work. Each must go into the specific area of the program as shown below. [Note that I am not certain that the MySerial.print can only be used in the Loop area. Can it also be used in the Setup area? EDIT, i FOUND AN EXAMPLE THAT SHOWS THAT IT IS OK TO USE SEND/RECEIVE DATA COMMANDS IN BOTH THE SETUP OR LOOP AREAS. -Joe]
#include <SoftwareSerial.h> //Load the software serial library.
SoftwareSerial MySerial(11, 10); //Define software serial (RX,TX)
void setup() {
MySerial.begin(9600); // Start the Software Serial port, and set baud rate
}
void loop() {
/* Commands that actually use the Software Serial port go in the void Loop area.
* any of the sub-function can be use, here we use the print function.
/*
MySerial.print("hello World"); // Send a text message out the Software Serial port.
}
I will mention another minor issue. I would prefer that all the sub-functions, such as the MySerial.print, MySerial.println, etc. be explained on the same page, rather than each being a link to a new page.
-Joe