The worst programmer ever to grace this forum - ME!

[HankMcSpank]

Thanks for your input.

I'm struggling a little with the options available to get variable 'contents' to the outside world! Here's my understanding (though could be worng!)...

1. Hardware serial .... the traditional manner (neds a converter such as a MAX232). I'd like to keep it simple & component count low as possible, so I'm not pursuing this route.

2, PICKit2 - Uart tool....this is what I'm using at the moment, but like I say,the high number of interupts is causing havoc with the data I'm seeing onscreen..

Now this is where it gets a little 'grey' for me ....I'm using the command "Debug" to get my variable contents out and onto my PC via the Pickit2 Uart tool... I'm not calling any special .bas files - it just works! Is this using software or hardware?

Now then, I'm just reading on this page...

http://www.electro-tech-online.com/m...t-example.html

where the guy declares in one of his headers...

Device = 18F4550
Clock = 8
Config FOSC = INTOSCIO_EC

// import usart module...
Include "usart.bas"

I'm figuring that going this route might actually use the PIC uart hardware? If so, this sounds ideal....can anyone shed any light here please?

[Jumper]

Some of the new 18-series PIC has the possibility to invert the hardware usart using a register setting. Your pic does not have that option..

just remember that sometimes people take component count and simplicity too far and they end up complicated and miserable. Sometimes a MAX can help... especially if you find one that requires zero external components :-)

[HankMcSpank]

Thanks once again.

I have to hold my hand up & say I'm getting a little forgetful nowadays....

it's been a bit of a long journey & during the many twists & turns, I'd forgot that a few weeks ago, I was actually using the HSEROUT command, with my PIckit2 programmer as the 'glue' between my PIC & my PC (http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=73184 ...though in that thread, you'll see for that particular 'moment in time' I aborted the HSEROUT route in favour of using DEBUG...but I can't use DEBUG anymore due to the high number of interrrupts my program is having to handle - also, I never did get to the bottom of why the command hserout ["Hello World", 10,13] only line feeds intemittently!

This HSEROUT/Pickiit2 method obviously does use hardware to get data out of the PIC (as opposed to the software based DEBUG command method), so I'm hoping that revisiting that aspect tonight will yield good results with the heavy amount of encoder wheel black stripe interupts!

[ShaneMichael]

I had the same trouble when I used "Debug" and interupts, using the HSEROUT worked great. You can read about it in a thread I had
"DT Interrupt and Elapsed Time Running Slow"

http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=11056

hope that helps,

Shane

[HankMcSpank]

Hi Shane...thanks for the info.

Just to report that my PC onscreen text from my PIC is no longer garbled with (heaps) of interupts ...using the HSEROUT command (9600 baud) coupled with the PICKit2 Uart tool - not a MAX232 chip in sight :-)

The last thing I now need to achieve is user input!

Essentially, when my program first starts, I need to prompt the user for input (using the HSERIN or SERIN command)- the input will always be three characters long - terminated with a CR.

I've googled a fair bit on this one (HSERIN & SERIN), but surprisingly, I've not find anything that a newbie like myself can latch onto easily!

Could anyone be so kind to help out?

[Jumper]

Just because the lid is on doesn't mean that the box is emplty.. there might not be a max232 chip, but something similar is inside the pickit2 providing the same function..

[HankMcSpank]

Just because the lid is on doesn't mean that the box is emplty.. there might not be a max232 chip, but something similar is inside the pickit2 providing the same function..

I realise that.

The thrust of my joy being, that as a newbie who has already outlayed for a Pickit2 starter kit...that I can actually use that to 'glue' my PIC to my PC (h/w serial comms wise)...ie I don't have to buy extra IC hardware, veroboard etc! (nor have my time sumped having to figure out how to connect it all together - I have enough on my plate as it is with PICs!)

How can I convert my three character string (which will always be numbers) into an actual number that my program can use - I guess what i need is a way of converting a string into a number? (or perhaps a way of taking the input as raw number vs the string method I'm using?)

My input doesn't work as a number wrt my program, as when I run it my counter starts at a different number to what I input (if for example I input 0032, the count below starts decrementing at 48, in fact it starts at 48 no matter what number I input!!)[/I]

Here's what I'm doing .....

turns_required VAR BYTE[3]
counter var byte
counter = 0
pause 800
HSEROUT [13,10]
HSEROUT ["Enter Number of turns required (with a leading 0)>>>", 13,10]

Main
HSERIN 5000,finish,[WAIT("0"),STR turns_required \3]
HSEROUT ["Number of turns will be.... ", STR turns_required \3,13,10]

counter = turns_required ' this is the key bit that isn't working as turns_required is a string

count_loop:
counter = counter -1
HSEROUT [DEC COUNTER,13,10]
pause 200
GOTO count_loop

[HankMcSpank]

Oops, that last posting of mine missed a middle bit out! It should have read more like below...


I've kludged the following code taken from here & there (plagiarism is alive & well!), towards getting the HSERIN working to fit my needs.


I'm using HSERIN to take 3 characters (which always will be numbers), input from my PC keyboard into my PIC. I'd then like to use these three separate numbers & combine them into a variable. All my serial end to end connectivity is is now working (no gobbledegook etc)...I'm happy with the signal flow aspect, fuses etc - ddata is moving to & fro fine - my query is now a basic simple programming one!

With HSERIN, I'd read that's it's best to have a 'trigger' character, followed on immdeiately by the actual data. So this is what I've done, when my PIC sees a leading 0, it takes in the folloiwing three bytes as a string. I need my 3 byte input string to be 3 actual numbers that my PIC program can act upon.


Here's what I'm doing .....

turns_required VAR BYTE[3] ; this is the user input for how many turns of a motor
direction_change var byte[3] ; again, user input for when the motor should change direction.

turns_required VAR BYTE[3]
counter var byte
counter = 0
pause 800 ; let things settle
HSEROUT [13,10]
HSEROUT ["Enter Number of turns required (with a leading 0)>>>", 13,10]

Main
HSERIN 5000,finish,[WAIT("0"),STR turns_required \3] ; wait for 3 bytes following the character '0;
HSEROUT ["Number of turns will be.... ", STR turns_required \3,13,10] ' oyutput it to screen to confirm

counter = turns_required ' this is the key bit that isn't working as turns_required is a string

count_loop:
counter = counter -1
HSEROUT [DEC COUNTER,13,10]
pause 200
GOTO count_loop


How can I convert my three character 'input' string (which will always be numbers) into an actual number that my program can use - I guess what i need is a way of converting a string into a number? (or perhaps a way of taking the input as raw number vs the string method I'm using?)

When I run the program, I can see the counter starts decrementing from a different number to that what I input (if for example I input 0032, the count below starts decrementing at 48, in fact it starts at 48 no matter what number I input!!)