I have had this board waiting for months and the project for it - just not had the time to learn a programming language
this looks to be just what i needed and having had a short play with the functionality you have given us this looks perfect!
thanks for all your hard work,
if you are looking for additional features then the ability to monitor the current device status would be a great addition to this software (eg. so you could tell what is the current value of all i/o’s)
nice helpfull tool and thank you fro helping get this board pressed into the service i built it for
It’s almost ready now. At this moment I’m working on it and have to debug a few things.
It also shows if timers are true or false and the time they are set on.
The button “Show the status of the server.” shows an almost identical screen with the values of the server.
To use it I’ve written a special server program for it and it will also be available for download soon.
using the easy interface you have written it was the biggest difficulty I found as you inevitably need to debug. the card itself gives you a good idea what is going on but in my case was not accessible once running.
this is a great way to introduce programming to those not familiar and has both let me start making use of the card and prompted me to write the software I needed (I ended up using the VB demo and adding the functions I needed to that to give me the feedback)
I am sure that there will be many others like myself who use this as a stepping stone before delving into the rather daunting task of programming.
The manual isn’t updated at this moment. I’ve tested the network capabilities via a vodafone stick and my homenetwork. It worked pretty well, but don’t use it for high speeds.
Hey.
at first, thanks for the great program…
i have the 8055 a while but just not had the time and interests to learn a programming language
but now i can finaly start with some of my projekt.
And next a question.
how come the server program is more informative, like I/O status in realtime and analog values with numbers
isn’t that possible to get the dashboard the same way without running the program?
Im working on a climate control system program with start/stop for heater and air condition etc. and use temp sensors to the analog inputs,
and need the analog numbers so i can translate 0 - 255 analog to 0 - 100°C for example.
For now i must open EasyProgIntFace server to get the input number for example 20°C then i must close server and open EasyProgIntFace
to continue programming.
And then some tips if you want them.
Include a changelog.txt in every new packages.
In EasyProgIntFace server, change color on active buttons on digital IN,
its hard to se the white color when every one else is light green
the color from the dashboard is much easier to se.
Update and include the manual in the package. i am still not sure how to use the the 2 programs in a netwok/internet.
the dashboard was intended to be as small as possible and only indicating changes. I didn’t realise you would use it during programming. So it’s useful and I have already made some changes.
The colours of the inputs have been changed. I also had trouble seeing the difference on another screen than my usual computer.
The inputs of the local machine connected interfaces are updated when the ladder program isn’t running.
The input colours of the server are also changed.
Changes of the program are presented on the website. (Dutch only at this moment.)
I’m working on the manual right now…
Instructions for using the network capabilities…
Start the EasyProgIntFace Server. At the bottom of the screen you’ll see the IP address and Port number. Only the port number can be changed by clicking on it. Remember the IP address and Port number. Then click the Serve button. The program is waiting for a connection now.
On another computer (can even be the same for testing) start EasyProgIntFace. Make a condition for a connected Velleman card on the server. Example Velleman card 0 input 1, and enable the network check box.
Make a condition as you like. (It can also be an output of the Velleman card connected to the server.)
The IP address and the Port should be the same as on the server. Edit it by clicking on it. The address can be something like 192.168.0.42 on most home networks.
Now start the program and the server will be searched. When found you will see that the programmed action will take place when input 1 of the server is pushed.
This also works on a computer connected to the internet, but usually you’ll have to open a port in you router.
Hilbrand Boorsma.
08-08-10 I’ve added a picture of the new dashboard.
Hi Hilbrand,
your program looks great, just what I need for experimenting. Unfortunately I have a problem running it.
All the Velleman K8055 demos run perfectly.
Your EasyProgIntFace Server also runs fine and responds to button presses on the K8055.
However, if I install EasyProgIntFace things get weird.
I run the EasyProgIntface.exe the splash screen comes up, the progress bar goes across three times, the splash screen disappears, but then NOTHING.
If I run EasyProgIntface.exe again, the splash screen comes up, the progress bar goes across three times, the splash screen disappears, but then a message to say no USB card detected and the program will go to parallel port. Click OK and the ladder screen comes up but the card is not connected.
If, at this point I disconnect the card, the processor goes immediately to 100% utilization and the machine becomes difficult to shut down. It is not possible to kill the process EasyProgIntFace from Process Explorer.
I’ve tried all the usual, uninstalls, re-installs etc. so far no change.
Any ideas gratefully accepted!?
Windows XP SP3, Pentium4 2GHz with 1GB Ram.
The first command when starting the program is calling an API call for the wheel of the mouse.
I know this is a quite dirty thing to do. I have to disable it when programming otherwise the program will hang when breaking it.
So I have compiled a version for you without wheel support.
Hi Hilbrand,
thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
Unfortunately, with the new NoWheel build, the symptoms are exactly the same.
I tried disabling all background apps like antivirus, Skype etc. but no difference.
One thing I noticed, after the second startup, when EasyProgIntFace is running in parallel mode (having not found the K8055). Instead of unplugging the USB connector (which caused 100% processor), I exit EasyProgIntFace with the exit button. Then try to shut down the computer it goes very slowly, then says that there is another instance of EasyProgIntFace running which is not responding to shutdown command. This is presumably the one that was first started but gave nothing after the splash screen. At this point the processor is again running at 100% utilization.
I’ve been thinking it over and over but still have no idea what might cause this problem.
My first thoughts were about the video card because on Dell computers at my school there is an issue when resizing. The background picture can’t be loaded so the computer just ignores it. Maybe your problem had to do with this. (Dell sometimes has some trouble showing pictures witch are drawn outside the form in Visual Basic.)
So I tried is on an old HP Omnibook 4150 (Ahum… Pentium II 400 MHz 128 MB, Windows XP SP3 Version 2002) and it runs ‘of course with some speed limitations’ at this very moment and is connected to the computer I type this text on running the lights of the USB interface.
So the problem should be something else. Now I think the problem could be in the recognition of the USB interface. I will make a version without USB support. If the program then runs correctly I know where something is wrong with it.
As you already have installed the program and the needed files I have a link here for the exe only. You only have to download it and use EasyProgIntFace No USB.exe http://www.edutechsoft.nl/elektro/easyprogintface/easyprogintface%20No%20USB.exe
Have you tried it on another computer? It’s good to know if the same problem appears. It would also be good for you to see how the program works. At least if it does so.
I tried the No_USB build, it loads up fine. Splash screen followed by the Ladder GUI. If I try it with the K8055 plugged in (I know it won’t connect) it still does the same thing when I unplug the K8055 - the processor goes to 100% and shut down becomes difficult.
It doesn’t do this when running the Velleman demos or your Server version.
Anyway I loaded it up on a Toshiba laptop and everything runs fine.
I’m happy to run the program on the laptop so I wouldn’t waste too much time on this. Maybe I’ve just got an unlucky hardware configuration.
Thanks again for all the help.
Best Regards,
Derek
Is it possible to give saved lessons , rather than haveing to do them so you can see if you did it right .
I want to control the 8055 via a webserver so that I can switch on or off dig 1 > 8 and vary the analogue out … bacisally click buttons and sliders and your program looks idealy suited for that purpose.
I don’t really understand what you mean by using a webserver. When I understand right what you want to do, this program can do it.
There is no need for a ‘special’ webserver. A computer connected to the internet will do.
I’m not sure I understand exactly what you mean so maybe it’s not the answer you are looking for.
I think you want a longer signal even when the function key is pushed for a short time. Normally you can use a memory for that.
When a function key is pushed you can set M1. (line 1)
M1 then can be used as a condition. (line 5 and 6)
In the example you can see I use a timer to reset M1. (line 3)
In this case M1 will be true for 5 seconds when F1 is served. (line 0)
As long as M1 is true, output 1 will be true. (line 5)
Last week I noticed a really big BUG in the program. Yesterday I’ve updated the website with the fixed problem. There was a problem using the analog outputs when using more than 1 Velleman card they messed up.
I’m not sure if there is a problem with the program so I’ll show you how to set an action.
When the program is started you should see the button Add action.
When you click this button an action field is drawn. Here you click Edit.
On the right side of the screen you should be able to edit the actions.
If buttons or fields don’t appear please describe exactly what isn’t show.
This morning I’ve downloaded and installed the software and I was able to edit the actions.
There is however a new version available. (9-feb.-2011)
There were however some problems. When you wanted to edit sound, the correct Tab was shown but it showed the settings of the output. Most problems appeared when the program was resized to full screen.
It seems to me there are a few problems when using the SSTab functions in Visual Basic 6.0
The font size of the dashboard is increased.
On the dashboard you can see the timers ‘running back’.
