Simple RS-232 Terminal Program like Arduino Serial Monitor

Projects Interfacing w/ Software on the Computer
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I was in the search for a simple program like Arduino's Serial Monitor. Although there are a lot of programs available, I wanted one that didn't have so many options that the interface resembled the cockpit of an F-16. The reason is that I wanted to be able to share it with my maker friends, who may not have a lot of nuts and volts knowledge, without overwhelming them with features. Termite, although the name is pretty lame was exactly what I was looking for. I like that it's free to use and share without restriction. I like that it doesn't look like a command line program. I like that one doesn't have to "install" it. I like the options and plug-ins (word wrap, Unifont). I like that it doesn't have proprietary device registry or other non-serial protocols, or other confusing features like PuTTY etc. If you are using Arduino to make a device for others to connect to via Serial, but they won't be installing Arduino, this is a good solid option for them.

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+1

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I haven’t tried your program but commend you for sharing your skills with the community.

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Something to keep in mind is that serial drivers may be needed as well if installing on computers without the IDE. AFAIK the IDE installs the usb serial driver with the AVR toolkit.

I think most are freely available but would be glad to be corrected. As other than FTDI I’ve never manually installed any.

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davetcc:
Something to keep in mind is that serial drivers may be needed as well if installing on computers without the IDE. AFAIK the IDE installs the usb serial driver with the AVR toolkit.

I think most are freely available but would be glad to be corrected. As other than FTDI I’ve never manually installed any.

Arduino has moved away from FTDI, and I don't really use Arduino boards anymore. For USB, I am using USB to UART chips that enumerate as CDC, which do not need drivers for Windows Vista or newer, Mac or Linux. For RS-232, yes, my motherboard has a COM port, I use MAX3232 chips. I could be wrong, but I believe the newer Arduino Uno R3 uses a ATmega to enumerate as CDC in the same way.