AVR-Chat

I am adapting a Butterfly to a small control application as part of my efforts
to become more 'fluent' in AVR applications.  I'm progressing in the AVR code
but I have a non-AVR need that I'm sure someone on this list has dealt with in
the past and I'd rather not re-invent the wheel ...

I need a Visual Basic Express (the free version of VB is the only programming
platform I have on the PC) that I can run on a Windows XP PC and connect to my
Butterfly via a serial port, and accept a data steam for view on the PC.  

At the minimum I need to be able to be able to create a data file that can be
imported into Excel (CSV - Comma Separated, etc.)

It would be nice if I could display a simple graph in real time as the data is
coming in (to see that I'm getting what I expect) as well as being able to send
simple commands to the Butterfly but this isn't required.

If anyone has VB code that I can tailor to my needs I'd be grateful.

I have searched Sorceforge with no luck.  I am currently making my way through a
mountain of sites via Google (trying to sort the 'wheat' from the 'chaff' <g>).

Thanks in advance ...

Cheers,

Chuck Hackett
"Good judgment comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgment"
7.5" gauge Union Pacific Northern (4-8-4) 844
http://www.whitetrout.net/Chuck