Serial sample

Using the serial sample bundle

The serial example bundle in samples/serial demonstrates the ability to exchange data with a device that is connected via serial. Here is a guide to how to get it working.

Prerequisites

You will need a working nodecg-io installation. If you have non yet take a look at installation guide. You may need to install this bundle, so take a look at the “Try an included sample”-Guide. It will also tell you how to log in and how to use the GUI.

You also need:

An Arduino or any other microcontroller development board that can send and receive data via serial.

Configure the serial sample bundle

In NodeCG, create a new serial service instance.
Enter the information of your device:
```
{
    "device": {
        "port": "COM1"
    }
}
```
```
{
    "device": {
        "pnpId": "usb-Arduino__www.arduino.cc__0043_75835343030351E0D171-if00"
    }
}
```
After entering it, click save.

Note

If you want to list all connected devices you can open a terminal in nodecg-io-serial and run npm run list. Note: If you are using multiple devices you might want to use the pnpId, since ports can change between reboots!
Set the sample's (serial) dependency to be the newly created service instance (of type serial).
Check the NodeCG logs:

You should see an error or a success message and nodecg-io will send ping to the microcontroller every 10 seconds. The Arduino device will respond with pong. You should see the pong message displayed in the log.

If you see an error or nothing at all, try making sure your microcontroller is plugged in and recognized correctly. Then restart NodeCG, so the service is cleanly restarted.

Sample Arduino sketch

String inputString = "";
boolean stringComplete = false;

void setup() {
    Serial.begin(9600);
}

// the loop routine runs over and over again forever
void loop() {
    while (Serial.available()) {
        char inChar = (char)Serial.read();
        inputString += inChar;
        if (inChar == '\n') {
            stringComplete = true;
        }
    }
    if (stringComplete) {
        Serial.println("pong");
        stringComplete = false;
    }
    delay(1);        // delay in between reads for stability
}