Alex: Some of the Serial Communications FAQ applies here.

Rather than trying to debug the PC->MCU problem, try having the MCU send to the PC. When you send from the MCU to the PC, is the PC receiving what you sent from the MCU? If not, try to fix that first. Once that works, you very well may find that your receive problem has been fixed, too--and it's often easier to determine what is received by the PC than it is to determinewhat was received by the MCU.

If you are using the Cygnal Development Kit, Erik's idea of using an ICE is perfect. Set a breakpoint in your code in the Cygnal IDE when you read SBUF and see exactly what you received.

Also, Erik mentioned it would be good to see your code--specifically timer and SCON settings. I agree. Could you copy/paste that section of code to the forum to see if there is any problem there?

Finally, try doing everything you're doing at a lower baud rate, such as 9600 or 19200. Does it work?

Craig Steiner