https://github.com/diazadr/rs485-pc-communication-vb6

A simple chat application developed as part of the Communication Data / Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) course at Bandung Manufacturing Polytechnic. This project demonstrates PC-to-PC communication using RS485 as the transmission medium and Visual Basic for the user interface.
https://github.com/diazadr/rs485-pc-communication-vb6

rs485 rs485-communication rs485protocol vb6 visual-basic

Last synced: 2 months ago
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A simple chat application developed as part of the Communication Data / Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) course at Bandung Manufacturing Polytechnic. This project demonstrates PC-to-PC communication using RS485 as the transmission medium and Visual Basic for the user interface.

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/diazadr/rs485-pc-communication-vb6
• Owner: diazadr
• License: mit
• Created: 2025-03-19T02:41:53.000Z (2 months ago)
• Default Branch: main
• Last Pushed: 2025-03-19T06:14:54.000Z (2 months ago)
• Last Synced: 2025-03-19T07:25:00.839Z (2 months ago)
• Topics: rs485, rs485-communication, rs485protocol, vb6, visual-basic
• Language: Visual Basic 6.0
• Homepage:
• Size: 372 KB
• Stars: 0
• Watchers: 1
• Forks: 0
• Open Issues: 0
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.md
  • License: LICENSE

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README

        
# RS485 PC-to-PC Communication using Visual Basic

![Project Status](https://img.shields.io/badge/status-completed-brightgreen) [![License](https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-blue)](./LICENSE)

This tutorial demonstrates how to create a chat application in Visual Basic that enables communication between PCs using RS485 as the transmission medium.

## Technologies Used

- **RS485 USB Adapter**: Hardware for serial communication.

- **Visual Basic**: Used to build the chat application interface.

## Features

- **PC-to-PC Communication**: Enables message exchange between multiple computers via RS485.

- **Serial Communication Handling**: Uses MSComm for data transmission and reception.

- **Message Parsing**: Processes and validates messages with specific protocol formatting.

## Demo

### **System Overview**

RS485 allows multiple devices to communicate over a single bus. The chat application is designed to send and receive messages based on predefined addressing and formatting rules.

### **Message Formatting**

Messages are structured as follows:

```

*SourceAddress|DestinationAddress|Message#

```

- `*` : Start of the message

- `SourceAddress` : Address of the sender

- `DestinationAddress` : Address of the receiver ("A" for broadcast to all)

- `Message` : The actual message

- `#` : End of the message

### **Parsing the Data in Visual Basic**

To extract relevant message information, the following parsing functions are used:

- **Len()**: Determines the length of the message.

- **Left()**: Extracts the first characters from the left.

- **Mid()**: Extracts a substring from a specific position.

- **Right()**: Extracts the last characters from the right.

### **Visual Basic Form Interface PC1**  

Below is an example of the Visual Basic user interface:



  



### **Visual Basic Form Interface PC2**  

Below is an example of the Visual Basic user interface:



  



### **Message Reception and Processing**

Messages are only processed if they meet the following conditions:

1. The message starts with `*` and ends with `#`.

2. The destination address matches the receiving PC’s address or is set to broadcast (`A`).

3. Parsed messages are displayed in the chat window with the sender’s address.

### **Message Transmission**

To send a message, the application:

1. Concatenates the required components into the correct format.

2. Sends the formatted string over the RS485 network.

## MSComm Setup in Visual Basic

To configure MSComm for serial communication:

1. Click **Project**, select **Components** (or press **Ctrl + T**).

2. Check **Microsoft Comm Control 6.0 (SP6)** and click **OK**.

3. Configure the `CommPort` and serial settings:

   - Baudrate = 9600

   - Data = 8 bits

   - Parity = None

   - Stop bit = 1

## Installation and Usage

1. **Connect RS485 adapters** to the PCs.

2. **Set up MSComm** in Visual Basic.

3. **Run the application** and start sending messages between PCs.

## Project Status

This project is **completed** and will not be further developed.

## Contributions

Feel free to submit an **issue** or create a **pull request** if you wish to contribute.

## License

This project is licensed under the **MIT License**. See the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for more details.