Generic TCP Serial Module

A generic module to forward a TCP connection to an attached serial/comm/rs232/rs485 port

This is a Serial (RS232) to TCP bridge for Companion. By itself it is not very useful.

Most Companion modules use TCP networking to control devices. This module creates a TCP server connected to a serial port on the Companion computer.

Many devices have older models that communicate via serial port. Some manufactures release newer devices with ethernet but still use the remote commands as the serial ports. Several Companion modules work with the ethernet devices in this fashion. This bridge module allows the TCP module to interface with those older model serial control devices.

This module allows 4 incoming TCP connections. It may be possible to confuse the device if more than one client sends a command at the same time.

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Contributions for maintenance and development of this open source module are always welcome https://github.com/sponsors/istnv

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Traffic Flow

• Data coming from a TCP client is forwarded as-is ONLY to the serial port. This prevents other clients from seeing commands that may not correspond to device feedback notifications.
• Data coming from the serial port is sent as-is to ALL connected TCP clients. This allows all clients to adjust feedback/variables if possible or necessary.

Configuration

Setting	Description
Listen Port	Enter the IP Port number to listen for a TCP connection. Defaults to 32100 and will need to be changed if more than one serial port is to be configured.
Show Native (non-USB) Ports	Include native (on-board) ports in selection [3]
Serial Port	Choose the Serial port attached to the device [1] [2]
Baud Rate	Choose the baud rate for the serial port
Data Bits	Choose the data bits for the serial port
Parity	Choose the parity for the serial port
Stop Bits	Choose the stop bits for the serial port

Variables

Variable	Description
ip_add	Address of the clients connected to the TCP server

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This is a helper to assist other modules. There are no actions.

[1] When the module first starts up, it will scan the system for serial ports. Until ports are found, the configuration drop-down menu will be empty or not available. The log will show 'No serial port configured' when the scan is complete.

[2] You can optionally type the full path to the OS locaton of the serial device. Incorrect values will not work.

[3] On Linux (and Pi) this will show many 'phantom' ports that are not connected to anything.