diff --git a/py_vista_turbo_serial/communicator.py b/py_vista_turbo_serial/communicator.py
index eff2821..cf72d96 100644
--- a/py_vista_turbo_serial/communicator.py
+++ b/py_vista_turbo_serial/communicator.py
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ def communicate(self) -> Generator[MessagePacket, None, None]:
         if self.outgoing:
             msg = self.outgoing.pop(0)
             logger.info('Sending message: %s', msg)
-            self.serial.write(bytes(msg + '\r\n'))
+            self.serial.write(bytes(msg + '\r\n', 'ascii'))
         # this might be better with select(), but let's try this...
         while True:
             # @TODO handle exception on timeout