Question 1

How do I connect modbus-serial to a serial port on Windows?

Accepted Answer

Use the connectRTUBuffered method with the correct COM port, e.g., 'COM3', and ensure the serialport dependency is installed. If installation fails, try using --unsafe-perm or install serialport separately, as noted in the README's install options.

Question 2

modbus-serial or node-modbus: which is better for industrial projects?

Accepted Answer

modbus-serial is a pure JavaScript library with broader protocol support and easier TCP/UDP deployment, while node-modbus might offer better performance with native bindings for serial. Choose modbus-serial for flexibility and Node.js integration, but consider node-modbus for high-throughput serial needs.

Question 3

Why does modbus-serial fail when I try to use serial functions?

Accepted Answer

This usually happens if the optional serialport dependency isn't installed. Install it explicitly with npm install serialport, or check that it wasn't skipped during installation using --no-optional, as explained in the README's dependency section.

Question 4

How can I create a MODBUS TCP server with modbus-serial?

Accepted Answer

Use the ServerTCP class by providing a vector object with callback functions for handling requests, as shown in the examples. Set up the server with host and port options, and handle events like socketError for robustness.

Question 5

Does modbus-serial support reading from multiple slaves efficiently?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it supports polling multiple slaves with async/await and timeouts, as demonstrated in the 'Read on multiple slaves' example. Use setID to switch between devices and implement error handling to manage unresponsive units.

Question 6

What are the Node.js version requirements for modbus-serial with serial support?

Accepted Answer

For serial support, Node.js 20 or newer is recommended due to the serialport 13.x dependency. TCP/UDP usage works on older versions, but serial functionality may require downgrading serialport or using specific install flags.

modbus-serial

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