Simple Maths Going Wrong

[Bill Legge]

DT,

I used StampPlot from Selmaware for a PID motor control demonstration last year, thoughts on it ~ may be of some interest in your development?

1. Fantastic that I could produce a PC interface without learning Visual Basic.

2. I think it was free, or I paid a very small amount of $ for the improved graphic design function.

3. The complexity of the commands was OK once you had an example to modify ~ working with the User Guide alone was, in some cases, very difficult.

4. The supplied controls, whilst functionally good, were visually poor ~ I imagined they were modelled on instruments in a Soviet 1950 power station.

5. I would have been prepared to pay more for a better product that had the benefit of lots of polishing.

6. However, excellent value for the very low cost ~ a labour of love for the developer.

Regards Bill Legge

PS Any recomendations for a book on learn Visual Basic?

[rsocor01]

Bill,

Take a look at this software
http://www.abacom-online.de/uk/html/...ab-expert.html

I haven't used it yet but it looks like it would do the job. Has anybody used it?

Robert

[phoenix_1]

Bill,

Take a look at this software
http://www.abacom-online.de/uk/html/...ab-expert.html

I haven't used it yet but it looks like it would do the job. Has anybody used it?

Robert

Here is I use it and is very good.
My scope project.

[jellis00]

DT,

I used StampPlot from Selmaware for a PID motor control demonstration last year, thoughts on it ~ may be of some interest in your development?

1. Fantastic that I could produce a PC interface without learning Visual Basic.

2. I think it was free, or I paid a very small amount of $ for the improved graphic design function.

3. The complexity of the commands was OK once you had an example to modify ~ working with the User Guide alone was, in some cases, very difficult.

4. The supplied controls, whilst functionally good, were visually poor ~ I imagined they were modelled on instruments in a Soviet 1950 power station.

5. I would have been prepared to pay more for a better product that had the benefit of lots of polishing.

6. However, excellent value for the very low cost ~ a labour of love for the developer.

Regards Bill Legge

Bill, I also am trying to get an application going without having to use VB6. I need to interface a laptop computer to an 18F4550 based microcontroller via USB to read the data stored by the 18F4550 in its EEPROM over a 31 day period [93 bytes = 31 daily measurements x (date value, Data_LSB, Data_MSB) ] . I need the data to be inserted on the PC side into an Excel spreadsheet for plotting and analysis purposes by the user. It appears that StampPlot might be a candidate to do this, but it appears it really only works with BasicStamp and RS232 or serial interfaces and not USB. As a user of StampPlot can you advise me if I can adapt it to use for USB and PICBASICPro without a huge learning curve? My controller is done and my project has a short fuse so can't spend a lot of learning time to get the PC side and USB interface going Would really appreciate your advice!~

[Bill Legge]

Jellis,

I thought this thread was long dead! My thoughts on PIC/USB/StampPlotPro:

1. StampPlotPro won't talk USB.
2. I don't know enough about USB comms to know how one would 'change' an incoming USB data stream, inside the laptop, to get it to talk to StampPlotPro.

I've now modified my weather station to record CSV files on a thumb drive by using a Vdrive2 module from Vinculum - about $50 - and transfer the data about once a month. However, this does not solve your need to get a 'real time display.'

I expect there must be some 'easy to customise' softwear for a PC that talks USB and gives a virtual instrument panel.

I keep putting off starting to learn VB. I'm told that it's quite easy? Thoughts on StampPlotPro:

1. Fast and easy to cobble displays together.
2. Documentation is pretty good.
3. I paid the extra ($20 I think?) for the add on bits - worth it.
4. The graphics are a bit '1950 Soviet power station' style - but you can add your own.

Sorry to be of little/no help to you. If you solve it, please let me know how.

Regards Bill Legge

[Darrel Taylor]

If you use USB as CDC, it looks just like a COM port to the PC.

You should be able to convert any SEROUT's to ARRAYWRITE's, then send the array out USB to StampPlot.

Or you can send CSV text using CDC and capture it to a file with HyperTerminal.
Then import to excel.

[jellis00]

If you use USB as CDC, it looks just like a COM port to the PC.

You should be able to convert any SEROUT's to ARRAYWRITE's, then send the array out USB to StampPlot.

Or you can send CSV text using CDC and capture it to a file with HyperTerminal.
Then import to excel.

Thanks for your input Darrel. Unfortunately the reason I need to use a USB interface is the the user of this only has a laptop that doesn't have a serial port....only USB port. If I did it as a USB CDC on the PIC side, wouldn't he have to use one of the USB to Serial adaptor cables....which I know from experience don't always work that well.

I did Google an article on CDC since I didn't know anything about CDC that says it "...describes the Microchip PIC32 USB CDC serial driver and acts as a programmer's guide for developers wishing to adapt it to their own application." However, I am using 18F2550/4550 chips so don't know whether that would apply.

It took me a few weeks to understand your adaptation of Mister-E's HID with your DT-HID/USB interface well enough to even get it to work....and although I have fairly well mastered the PIC side of the USB interface, the VB6 HID side is still pretty much a mystery to me. So I am looking for an easier way to do the PC side of a USB interface if that is possible??? StampPlot looked like such an approach, but if I can't use USB with it I guess I have to pass on it.

[Darrel Taylor]

Thanks for your input Darrel. Unfortunately the reason I need to use a USB interface is the the user of this only has a laptop that doesn't have a serial port....only USB port. If I did it as a USB CDC on the PIC side, wouldn't he have to use one of the USB to Serial adaptor cables....which I know from experience don't always work that well.

No, not at all.
You connect it to the PC's USB bus, just like you would with HID.
But to the PC it looks like a COM port. So just about any PC program that works with RS232 will work with USB.

Squibcakes started this thread on CDC ...
USB CDC Communications for Dummies!
http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=5806

I added an update for 2.60 with a servicing routine ...
http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/show...0301#post80301

The USB_ASM_SERVICE isn't compatible with DT_INTS, but the handler is, so it will be easy to modify, since I already know you're using them.

[Acetronics2]

Hi, Darrel

Using ARRAYWRITE for such uses causes me some trouble when using STR\n ...

as Manual states on p.54

The length is determined by the count ,less than 256 OR when a "0" is encountered in the string

quite annoying for sending numbers as strings ... as you can see it in the DT_USB Demo you showed us i.e. . ( in the right window, strange numbers appear ... )

do you have a fix or turnaround for that ???

Alain

[mackrackit]

http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=5806
Might help you out. The PC will see the USB connection as a virtual serial port.