VB6 and VB.NET Serial (COM1) data error

[aattanayake]

Hello,
I'm new to .NET. I have an application that is running in VB6. It sends text through COM1 port to another device.

When I converted the VB6 code to .NET the string it sends out is different! I have tried so many things and don't know what to do. I used a serial data analyzer and found the two strings are different even the the source code is the same.

VB6 source code:
MSComm1.CommPort = 1
MSComm1.Settings = "9600,O,8,1"
MSComm1.PortOpen = True
MSComm1.Output = Chr(&H2B) & _
Chr(&H4) & _
Chr(&H3) & _
Chr(&HE8) & _
Chr(&H0) & _
Chr(&H2) & _
Chr(&HF6) & _
Chr(&H71)
MSComm1.PortOpen = False

The analyzer gets the following string in hex: 2B 04 03 E8 00 02 F6 71

VB.NET source code:
Dim Port As SerialPort = New SerialPort("COM1", 9600, Parity.Odd, 8, StopBits.One)
Port.Open()
Port.Write(System.Convert.ToChar(&H2B) & _
System.Convert.ToChar(&H4) & _
System.Convert.ToChar(&H3) & _
System.Convert.ToChar(&HE8) & _
System.Convert.ToChar(&H0) & _
System.Convert.ToChar(&H2) & _
System.Convert.ToChar(&HF6) & _
System.Convert.ToChar(&H71))
Port.Close()

The analyzer gets the following string in hex: 2B 04 03 0F 00 02 3F 71

Why is there a difference in the string?
Please help me correct it...
Thanks

[dglienna]

Why not just create HEX?

[aattanayake]

What do you mean by create hex?
is it like this?

Port.Write(System.Convert.ToChar(Hex(42)) & _
System.Convert.ToChar(Hex(4)) & _
System.Convert.ToChar(Hex(3)) & _
System.Convert.ToChar(Hex(232)) & _
System.Convert.ToChar(Hex(0)) & _
System.Convert.ToChar(Hex(2)) & _
System.Convert.ToChar(Hex(246)) & _
System.Convert.ToChar(Hex(113)))

[dglienna]

I would create a string of characters, then convert THAT to Hex

[aattanayake]

I don't think I can do that.
I think there is a difference in the new .NET control itself

[aattanayake]

I found something interesting.

when I convert a number using System.Convert.ToChar(X) and sends it through serial the X can only be hex: 0 to hex:3F if I want to get the correct value from the other side. Any value greater than hex:3F will not be hex:3F.

for example if I send
hex:64 you will get hex:3F
send hex:E8 you will get hex:3F

It seems like it max out with a 6 bit register value,
Please help me correct this mess ...

[DataMiser]

Hmm... I have did a bit of serial in both. I found I needed to use a bytearray to send in several cases. If you send the binary values you should get the results that would would have gotten in VB6

[DataMiser]

TCP Sockets do the same thing.
If you read the data from a file using Binaryreader and send it to the port as binary no encoding takes place.

I struggled with this for a while before I found the binary method. I have not tryed the convert to byte method, Instead I had used read bytes and sent the bytes to the port. I was able to get an exact file copy through the port using that method whereas in VB6 there was no need to read the file as binary.