I'm trying to get data from a mercury analyzer (Seefelder-Messtechnik Hg Analyzer 3000) that gives output to a 9-pin R232 serial port to my OSX 10.10 laptop.
I've followed the steps described here to install the PL-2303 driver: http://pbxbook.com/other/mac-tty.html
The device manual (http://www.seefelder-messtechnik.com/V71-3-02-21e.pdf) lists the communication protocol as "9600 Baud, 8 data bit, 1 stop bit, no log, no parities".
I attempt to read from the device by using the 'screen' command:
screen /dev/tty.usbserial 9600
The result is a string of seemingly non-sensical characters that print to the screen in a regular interval:
�8b4����b��8b48bs��8G�8b�8���8������8����< 8�8��b��KW��\b����8b����b� �b�b����KW�K �8b��\G�� �<���8
�8b�"���[��؉��
�bG�3�ˁ�G��\K��[W�pb�8��8ʱ�\pa���ʁ�c t��8�h¡�38b�8�q�����\�8���bS�8b8�8�q���X��8��<��£8���2�8�����ؖ�ؖ�ؖ�8bS��\�܉�ؖ����[S�8��s���fq�8�����������8fq����������
S�܊��b���b�؉����\���S��K���ݎ����S��b��b��S����S�\������KS��S�؊��\S�1S�\b�S�؉�\�ذ����KS�\����S����bS�؉�����1S�؊��[����ز������؉\���ز��\����i���$\�$���\��8���$��\�\����܂�زXk�B��7��\k�\X�<��8Xkz��Yj��L�������H�\���]j�،k:��Yj�؈��
I've also tried using 'minicom' rather than screen, and get a different ("?]???ܰ??Yk??2"), but also non-sensical result. I saw that there was another SO query similar to mine that remains unsolved: weird characters displayed during serial communication OSX
Any tips? It looks to me that I'm not interpreting the output correctly, but I don't know what to try next.