probing the serial port for data

[Jeff]

I've been told that it's possible to probe the serial port for data even
when you don't know the format of data that the device sends and receives.
Has anyone done this in VBA?

I have a Radio Shack PRO-95 scanner
http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog_name=CTLG&product_id=20-52
5 It can store 1000 channels and is programmable through it's PC/IF port
from a PC serial port. The cable looks like this:
http://www.radioshack.com/images/ProductCatalog/ProductImage/20/20-289.jpg

The scanner has 10 banks and each bank can store 100 channels. The scanner
can download and upload all its channels through its PC/IF jack to a PC
serial port. I'd like to do this from Microsoft Access. There is a free
program to do this at http://www.starrsoft.com/freeware/win95/default.asp
and you can cut and paste columns of channels into Excel and Access, but I'd
like to write my own application in Access and VBA so I can quickly
reprogram my scanner without cutting and pasting to another program. Is
there a way to do this in VBA without using addins?

Jeff

 

[Douglas J. Steele]

Tony Toews has some useful information about programming for the serial port
at http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/serialport.htm