>Hi Jim,
>
>Thanks for the lead. I'll be testing this in the next few days.
>Can the test with this utility only be done when data is being sent through the comport?
>

Let's be clear - my utility works on received data and a user supplied 'filter' string to do it's thing automatically. You can, however, just set your port parameters manually and select Fixed mode and any received data will be show in an editbox. My thinking here was to try a known working app and see if it also displayed 'garbage'.

>I don't know if you're acquainted to the ACD module of Nortel networks, but the owner told me that only Procomm had worked good up to now for capturing the dumped information (plain text), on the com-port, which normally will be printed on a printer attached to the com-port.
>

Standard fare - a lot of switch vendors provided Procomm as it has everyting needed for remote switch management. Modem control, terminal emulation, scripting, logging, etc. With a direct connection to the switch port, you should be able to proceed without it.

>BTW the ACD will only sent a dump to the serial port once an hour between 8:00 and 17:00
>which can make testing even more limited.
>

That makes it a little tougher. Do you have a sample of the data dump from Procomm you can share? We might be able to speed up the testing.

>Does Procomm make any translation of the string sent to the com-port?

On the receiving end? I don't believe so, unless there is something in the stream that is terminal related.

>How does the following information:
>Transport protocol ZMODEM
>Transmit method STREAMING
>Error detection 32 bit CRC
>Terminal type VT 100
>Enquiry type CIS B+
>
>Impact the communication on a serial port?

In your case, on the receiving end, with no modems in the path - none.