![Tor project success](https://cdn3.cdnme.se/5447227/9-3/screenshot_3_64e629479606ee7f889a24a8.jpg)
So why would you want to emulate such an archaic operation on a contemporary PC? If an instrument connected to a PC’s USB port communicates via software by hooking a COM port, then the terminal emulator provides an effective way to manually experiment with the instrument if you know its protocol ( click here to learn more about instrument protocols.) Connected to a smart device (like a computer), the terminal functioned as the input/output source.
![windows terminal emulators windows terminal emulators](https://vgkits.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/DEC_VT100_terminal.jpg)
Those were dumb devices with RS-232 (or COM) ports that contained both a keyboard and a display of some sort.
![windows terminal emulators windows terminal emulators](https://clevercontrol.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/5/0/125048109/778385171.png)
Briefly, a terminal emulator is software that allows a PC to function like an old-style terminal. I hinted that a particular advantage of an instrument that hooks a COM port is to allow simple communication using a terminal emulator. In my previous post about hooking COM ports I described how it’s achieved and why a manufacturer might want to do it.
![Tor project success](https://cdn3.cdnme.se/5447227/9-3/screenshot_3_64e629479606ee7f889a24a8.jpg)