ABACOM - ELECTRONIC SOFTWARE

Hello Abacom and all,

I would like to use Profilab to create a pc application to control a machine. Now this is done with a terminal with RS232 interface. Sending strings to the machine is not a problem, however i do encounter some difficulties in receiving the data. The data which i would like to receive is normally displayed on a LCD display on the terminal.

When i use the "Receive String by RS232" the data is being buffered until a recognized character is seen, and the buffer (data previous to character) is sent out. I would like to have a starting character ($0C) after which the received data will be received and handled.
(The "Receive String by RS232" buffers the text before the starting character so i will constantly be 1 line/string behind ...)

Is this possible, and if so, how can i accomplish this?
Thanks in advance for your help!


Antworte in Deutsch sind kein problem, ich habe nur schwierigheiten in Deutsch zu schreiben ...

Wie könnte das möglich sein? Irgendwie muss dass Ende Daten doch gekennzeichnet werden, es sei denn man hätte immer eine feste Länge an Bytes.

Thank you for your fast answering!

I will explain some more:
With a port monitor i can see the following being received by the RS232 port: The following is displayed on the 2*16 LCD on the terminal:
As you can see the string starts with the '0C' but does not have an end. When sending a new command to the machine, a new line is returned, also starting with '0C'.
I've tried to use the '3D' as divider, but i will always not be able see the second line, until a new command is given. Maybe i using the wrong approach of the application?
Please advise.

Thanks in advance for your help!

If you neither have an unique end character nor a fixed length of data, there is no chance to solve this problem.
You must have some indicator for "data transmission ready", otherwise it´s impossible. Think about.

You could try RECEIVE BYTE instead. Convert the byte to analogue value, then to ASCII character and add each received character to a $BUFFER. Receiving $0C you clear the buffer to prepare next transmission. Unfortualtely you will have a "growing" string in buffer during transmission, in that case. If there is a longer pause between two data strings, you could try to solve this, building a "stand still" indicator that triggers a $HOLD component.

@DikkyDik

With a port monitor i can see the following being received by the RS232 port:

Können Sie mal noch mehr empfangene Daten hier einstellen, vielleicht ist ein System erkennbar.

Thanks for your answers,

I've tried the option with 'Receive Byte' and it worked!!! Thanx Abacom!
The bytes are converted to ASCII and put in a buffer. 0C clears the buffer. In outlines it is working. Some finetuning left.

Now up to the next challenge: translating the string into a readable format.
The handheld terminal does have 2*16 LCD where the text is displayed. I've seen, Profilab does also have a LCD controller in the hardware. I don't have any experience with LCD. Can this unit being used to use the control characters ( ) to format the text in a readable way?
I've found the following logic in the strings:
Textline1: starts with '!!'
Textline2: starts with '!"' (or line1 does have a linebreak)
It would be great if the LCD unit in Profilab can make these kinds of 'translations'. Or do have to create these 'rules' manually?

The LCD component is NOT what you need. It is made to CONTROL display, not to "READ" them.
You have to use $Function components, to extract the information you want, from the received data.
Hard stuff!