USB and RS232 communications at same time on a Uno

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) General Frequently-Asked Questions
#1

Hi.

I was reading about SoftwareSerial and it sounds like you could lose data when using it? Am I reading that right and is there any way around it? Like using an interrupt? My current need is to debug some software. I want to use the USB port to communicate with the Uno and to allow use of the serial monitor. The SoftwareSerial ports will be used to receive data from an Maxbotix XL- MaxSonar®- WR1?.

Here is a link to the sensor datasheet: http://www.coolcomponents.co.uk/resources/MAXBOTIX/XLWR1/MB7060-MB7070_Datasheet.pdf

Pin 5 outputs 5 bytes every 100 mS. Is it possible to capture this data without loss and use it in my app? I am not concerned with the TX pin since I only need data from the sensor. Is that an issue if I only write software for RX?

Thanks for any help!

#2

Two points:- 1) I would use the hardware serial ports for the data you want and the software serial for debugging. Then it doesn't matter if the odd byte is dropped. Of course this makes the hardware a bit more unwieldy.

2) New software serial is better than software serial and less likely to drop bytes as it uses interrupts.

#3

OK. Thanks for your input Grumpy_mike!

#4