To open a serial port, use the CommPort, PortOpen, and Settings properties. For example:
' Open the serial port
MSComm1.CommPort = 2
MSComm1.Settings = "9600,N,8,1"
MSComm1.PortOpen = True
The CommPort property sets which serial port to open. Assuming that a modem is connected to COM2, the above example sets the value to 2 (COM2) and connects to the modem. You can set the CommPort property value to any number between 1 and 16 (the default is 1). If, however, you set this value to a COM port that does not exist for the system on which your application is run, an error will be generated.
The Settings property allows you to specify the baud rate, parity, and the number of data bits and stop bits. By default, the baud rate is set at 9600. The parity setting is for data validation. It is commonly not used, and set to "N". The data bits setting specifies the number of bits that represent a chunk of data. The stop bit indicates when a chunk of data has been received.
Once you’ve specified which port to open and how data communication is to be handled, you use the PortOpen property to establish the connection. It is a Boolean value, True or False. If, however, the port is not functional, if the CommPort property is set incorrectly, or if the device does not support the settings you’ve specified, an error will be generated or the external device may not work correctly. Setting the value of the PortOpen property to False closes the port.
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