AiThinker Serial Debugging Assistant: Professional Embedded Development Debugging Tool

Source: Modbus Chinese Network (modbus. cn) - a leading Modbus communication protocol technology community in China

The basic principle is that you organize data in the sender's firmware according to the agreed format - for example

Summary: Anxinke Serial Debugging Assistant (AiThinker Serial Tool V1.2.3) is an official product of Anxinke Windows Serial port debugging tool, only 96KB. The core value is not 'another serial assistant', but pre-set ESP8266/ESP32 Full series AT Command template——Distribution network, firmware version check, check MAC, Ping Test, click the button to send the corresponding command. support 600 Customize commands and waveform display for groups. This article is based on Modbus Explain from the perspective of an engineer why this tool is ESP Module + Modbus In the gateway scenario, it is an efficiency tool that comes with AT Instructions→Modbus Joint debugging plan for data reporting. Keywords: Anxinke serial assistantAiThinker Serial Tool, ESP8266 Serial port debuggingAT Command presetModbus Gateway joint debugging.

Anxinke (AiThinker) is a name that cannot be avoided in the domestic IoT circle. Their family ESP8266 And ESP32 Modules have been installed in countless smart home devices, industrial sensors, and moreModbus In the gateway. If you open a Taobao account 40 The 'transparent transmission module' of the yuan is likely to contain a piece of AnxinkeWiFi The serial port debugging assistant officially released by Anxinke is a specialized tool for debugging these modules. Its name is very simple RS-485 Even the version number is simple enough ESP-12F.

But this——AiThinker Serial Tool——The small tool, in V1.2.3.

In terms of module debugging efficiency, it exceeds the sum of all general-purpose serial port assistants. Why? Because it brings 96KB The over a hundred commands in the instruction manual are all pre-set as clickable templates. ESP 1、 What can Anxinke serial port debugging assistant adjust AT Modules that support debugging (official support list):

Series (

series (

• ESP8266 etc. variants)ESP-01/07/12/12F/12S/07S)
• ESP32 Bluetooth moduleESP32-C3/C2/S3 Module
• RTL87XX Module
• GPRS Waiting for other Anxin modules
• LoRa/LoRaWAN But to be honest
• N92 And

It is an absolute main scene. Bluetooth——ESP8266 The coverage of functions is not so complete. ESP32 Basic serial port capability:LoRa, GPRS Baud rate

）, supports customizing any baud rate. Standard configuration for data bits/stop bits/check bits. Reception area support

And 300-1500000bps (1.5MbpsTwo display modes, encoding support ASCII Chinese strings will not be garbled when sent out. HEX These and ASCII, GB2312, Unicode, UTF-8, BIG5, Shift-JIS——Almost. But the focus is not here.

2、 ATK-XCOM Command template

The core value of this toolAT Experience of adjusting the module without leaving the manual —— of How many instruction sets are there? The official document of Lexin lists over a hundred items, and there are also more than thirty commonly used ones. connect

2.1 The instruction is:

ESP8266 Check the firmware version AT How many instruction sets are there? The official document of Lexin lists over a hundred items, and there are also more than thirty commonly used ones. Connect WiFi The instruction is AT+CWJAP_DEF="SSID","PASSWORD"Check the firmware version AT+GMR, check IP Yes AT+CIFSR.

Under the ordinary serial port assistant——You either memorize these instructions or flip them over every time pdf Copy and paste. Copy and paste are also prone to formatting issues——Is the quotation mark in Chinese or English, and should there be a space after the comma.

Anxinke serial port debugging assistant has pre-set all of these. On the right and bottom of the main interface are: AT The instruction function area is commonly classified into:

• WiFi Connection class: Scan WiFi List and connection specification SSIDDisconnect and check the connection status
• Module information category: Check firmware version number, check MAC Address, search IP Address, check memory status
• Network testing category: Ping External network addressDNS Analysis testing
• Transparent transmission mode class: Enter/exit transparent transmission mode, set serial port parameters

Click the button, corresponding AT The command is automatically filled into the sending area, press enter to send. You don't need to memorize words to remember them CWJAP Yes Connect WiFi Join Access Point Abbreviation of——Can understand, but often forgets where to add the underline when typing_DEF Do you want it.

2.2 600 Group custom commands

The preset template only includes commonly used instructions. But you may repeatedly use certain specific combinations——For example, if you have a group MQTT The configuration instructions should be sent in sequence.

The 'Extended Command' feature of Anxinke allows you to define up to the maximum number of commands 600 Group customization AT Instructions. Each item can be named separately and arranged in a list. When using, select one and click send.

For example, you are tuning based on ESP8266 of Gateway, after flashing the firmware each time, run this initialization process: Modbus Add these seven instructions to the extended command list in sequence: "Reset", "Mode", "Create Hotspot", "Static", "Connect to the main station", "Exit transparent transmission", "Send data". After flashing the firmware, connect the serial port and click seven times from top to bottom

AT+RST                    # 复位
AT+CWMODE=2               # 切换到 AP 模式
AT+CWSAP="Gateway","12345678",1,3   # 创建 WiFi 热点
AT+CIPAP="192.168.4.1"   # 设置静态 IP
AT+CIPSTART="TCP","192.168.4.2",502 # 连到 Modbus master 502 端口
AT+CIPMODE=0              # 退出透传模式
AT+CIPSEND=8              # send 8 bytes（一条 Modbus 查询帧）

Don't have to hit a long string every time with your hands01-Command.02-APMore importantly, the extended command list can be saved and exported. The next colleague will take over this project. Import your command list and click the same seven times with the same serial port parameters03-The device and communication logic have been initialized.04-3、 InIP05-Actual usage in the context06-Do it07-The joint debugging process of the gateway——This is a very common scenario: AT Through

Connected——The chip and firmware implement "instruction configuration, transmission and reception, and transparent transmission".

3、 In Modbus Actual usage in scenarios

3.1 ESP8266 do Modbus TCP Joint debugging process of gateway

This is a very common scenario:ESP8266 Through UART in a row RS-485 The chip and firmware have been implementedAT Instruction configuration → UART send and receive → Modbus RTU Transparent transmission.PC End of end Modbus The upper computer passes through WiFi → ESP8266 → RS-485 Read and write downstream Modbus Sensors.

The debugging process requires two tools in parallel:

• Anxinke serial port debugging assistant → Connect ESP8266 Debug the serial port (usually baud rate), check the module startup log, and confirm GPIO1/GPIO3Connection status and discovery of anomalies 74880return WiFi Or AT Through
• ATK-XCOM Connect Modbus Poll → of Port, send TCP Query frames and verify data pathways ESP8266 The value of Anxinke's tools on this side: 502 At startup, a large string of startup information will be output when debugging the serial port Modbus TCP Unformatted hexadecimal text mixed together

journal. The Chinese character set of ordinary serial port assistants cannot be processed well, resulting in garbled characters such as'ESP8266 杩炴帴鎴愬姛'. Anxinke's default tools——ets Jan 8 2013,rst cause:2, boot mode:(3,6), chksum 0xef, mode : softAP(62:01:94:xx:xx:xx)——Encoding, adding it to ASCII The startup log has compatibility processing, and the Chinese log is fully displayed.Station Mode: Use UTF-8 Command to check module status ESP Judgment

3.2 Root cause of communication failure AT When one → When the upper computer suddenly cannot connect to the gateway, the problem may lie in several places: Modbus Disconnected

The address has changed Modbus TCP The connection is brokenWiFi It's down.IP No need to guess. Connect with Anxinke's toolsTCP Debug the serial port and send these four messages in sequence:ESP Four instructions, four buttons, half a minute. You don't have to guess whether it's a network problem or a firmware issue,

The return code of an instruction is more reliable than any log. ESP 4、 Waveform display

AT+CWJAP?     → 返回 "+CWJAP:xx" 还是 "No AP"？前者连上了，后者断开了
AT+CIFSR      → 返回 IP 地址还是 "ERROR"？IP 地址还在
AT+CIPSTATUS  → 返回 TCP 连接状态，0=断开 2=Connected
AT+GMR        → 返回固件版本，确认没有因为 OTA 失败而跑到旧版本

Another underestimated featureAT working principle

Anxin's serial port debugging assistant has built-in waveform display function. It listens to the data received through the serial port, extracts values in the format defined by the protocol, and plots them into waveforms. Support waveform playback and screenshot. —— The basic principle is: you organize data in the sender's firmware according to the agreed format

4.1 For example

Draw the temperature variation curve over time after the tool recognizes it.

The 'quick trend detection' of sensors——Assuming you have one $temp,25.3——Temperature sensor (slave address

4.2 Modbus register

, value divided by Modbus is the actual temperature). You want to see the trend of temperature changes, but don't want to take it 01I don't want to write configuration software either 40001Script. 10 Method: Use one PLCDo it Python+matplotlib The main station (connected to the chip) cyclically reads the sensor register and concatenates the temperature values read

Format approved ESP8266 send to Modbus RTU Main station (connected) 485 Chip), cyclically read sensor registers, and assemble the read temperature values into $T,25.3 Format passed UART send to PC Up.PC The Anxin tool on the end can open the waveform display and directly see the real-time temperature curve.

It's not a high-precision instrument level waveform, but 'can you see trends' and' can you do numerical analysis' are two different things. Watching trends is enough——Is the temperature rising or falling, is there any sudden jump, and is the cycle correct.

5、 Comparison with other serial port tools

is a feature of Anxinke's tool: it will continuously output dozens of lines of logs within a few hundred milliseconds during startup mode switchingESP8266 address acquisition. In a regular serial assistant, these are all stacked in one line, making it painful to see. Anxinke's tool detects a gap time (greater than the default threshold) between data packets and automatically line breaks——boot mode, reset reason, SPI flash, WiFi Equivalent to automatically parsing the "frame" of the startup log.IP 6、 Obtain and install——Download

Officially provided by Anxin

6.1 Version, file name is usually

Or V1.2.3 , approximately in size AiThinker_Serial_Tool_V1.2.3.rar This website ( .7z) provides domestic download channels, and members can directly download the complete collection of serial debugging tools 96KB.

Covering Anxin Ke serial port debugging assistantmodbus.cnWait. One download can handle all debugging requirements.——System requirementsATK-XCOM, LLCOM, COMTool, SuperCom Position)

6.2 No dependence

• Windows 7/8/10/11 (32/64 Instant decompression, no installation required
• (and——different) .NET FrameworkConvert to serial port driver: ATK-XCOM Waiting for universal drivers
• USB The first step of operationCH340/CP2102/FT232 Relieve stress

6.3 Double click

Choose → Mouth AiThinker_Serial_Tool.exe → Baud rate selection COM Default) or → Startup log specific) 115200 (ESP8266 Open the serial port. 74880 (ESP Connect to yours→Open the serial port.

Connect to yours ESP8266 Or ESP32 After powering on the development board, the receiving area will see the startup log. Switch to the "Command" tab and click on "Connect"AT Scan to see which hotspots are around.WiFi Anxinke serial port debugging assistant is not a replacement for you→of It cannot replace, WiFiof Verification, multiple sending, and protocol transmission modes are the correct ones

The perfect choice for debugging. The accurate usage of Anxinke tool is: ATK-XCOM When you——There is a piece in the linkATK-XCOM When using the module, use this tool to adjust the module separately Modbus Check Modbus RTU Status and confirmationCommand path, viewing startup logs, troubleshooting. Modbus Use ESP8266/ESP32 Polling controller——Anxinke's WiFi Debugging tool, one monitoring data path ( AT side), one monitoring module status (

instruction side), simultaneously opening two windows, Modbus Gateway integration can be twice as fast. + Anxinke's ESP Debugging tool, a data path monitoring tool（Modbus RTU Side), a monitoring module status（AT On the instruction side, open two windows simultaneously,Modbus Gateway integration can be twice as fast.