Terminal Emulator

This option allows you to communicate with a datalogger or other device in a remote terminal mode. It is used primarily for troubleshooting. The device to be tested is selected from the Select Device drop-down list box. When All Caps Mode is selected, all alpha characters that are typed will be sent to the device in upper case. A datalogger requires upper case commands; however, some modems or other communication devices recognize lower case commands.

Press the Clear button to erase all text from the Terminal Emulator window. Press Close Terminal to end the terminal emulator session.

Choose Edit | Copy from the Terminal Emulator menu or right-click in the window and select Copy to copy the entire contents of the terminal emulator window (up to 1000 lines) to the Windows clipboard. Choose Edit | Paste from the Terminal Emulator menu or right-click in the window and select Paste to place the contents of the Windows clipboard into the Terminal Emulator window.

Datalogger Remote Terminal Mode

Press the Open Terminal button. Press Enter a few times. The datalogger will respond with datalogger_name> (for example, CR1000X>), and you can begin typing in commands. Type an H and Enter to return the terminal emulator menu.

Comms Watch

Comms Watch (also known as sniffer mode) allows you to view communications traffic on any communications port, except the port you are using to view the communications. To enter Comms Watch:

  1. Type W, Enter

  2. Type the number corresponding to the port you want to watch, Enter.

  3. Type Y, Enter (for ASCII).

The communications on the selected communication port will be displayed. Lines preceded with a T are being transmitted; lines preceded with an R are being received.

When you are finished, press Esc to exit Comms Watch.

Talk Through Mode

Talk through mode allows you to issue commands from the keyboard that are passed through the datalogger port to the connected device. There are terminal mode commands for both Serial Talk Through (P) and SDI12 Talk Through (SDI12). In this way, you can manually interrogate sensors and enter settings in probes connected to the datalogger.

For how-to instructions for communicating directly with an SDI-12 sensor using a terminal emulator, watch this video: https://www.campbellsci.com/videos/sdi12-sensors-transparent-mode .

COM Port Feedback Test

To perform a feedback test:

    Select the COM port to be tested.

    Press the Open Terminal button.

    Connect the Transmit and Receive lines (2 and 3) of the serial port cable using a small Philips head screw driver or paper clip.

    Type characters on the computer keyboard.

If the characters are echoed back to the screen, the COM port is working.

The characters on the screen can be cleared by selecting the Clear button.

Peripheral Device Test

The Terminal Emulator can also be used to test a peripheral device attached to the COM port such as a phone modem. Commands can be sent to test initialization strings or to manually dial a modem to connect to the datalogger.

To test a peripheral device, select it from the drop-down list box and press the Open Terminal button. Issue characters using the computer keyboard. The device must be in command mode.

The commands to be entered are specific to a device. Refer to the device's user manual for details.