Serial plugin -- how to detect text message on port?

[miked]

I have a device connected to the serial port that sends message text data on occassion. What I'd like to do is have girder detect incoming activity on the serial port and capture the data, so that I can then use an OSD plug-in to display the data on the screen. I.e., can the serial plug-in be used to detect as an event incoming message text data on the serial port, and capture that data.

Although I know how to use the serial port plug-in to send data to a device on the serial port, and am aware of the switches plug-in that detects as an event the pressing (or unpressing) of a switch connected to two leads on the serial port, I'm not sure how to detect as an event incoming data on the serial port.

Thanks!!!

- Mike.

[JimHugh]

You need to configure a script to accumulate incoming data.

From the Plugins | Settings for Generic Serial, choose your Serial Device

Then Look at Message Definitions | Receive

I have one that has Enable, Fixed Length, 1 Character, Translate Bin->Hex, Define Script

I use the Lua variable DSSLastResponse to accumulate the incoming data and then use the TriggerEvent to trigger the OSD when the combo of current commmand and correct string length is valid.

with the following script

-- Channel
if DSSLastCommand == "FA07" then
     DSSLastResponse = DSSLastResponse .. SerialValue
     if strlen(DSSLastResponse) == 8 then
-- 00CC hex should be 204 decimal
        DSSChannel = format ("%d", tonumber(strsub(DSSLastResponse,3,6), 16))
        TriggerEvent("DSSOSD",203,"Channel", DSSChannel)
     end

-- Strength
elseif DSSLastCommand == "FA10" then
     DSSLastResponse = DSSLastResponse .. SerialValue
     if strlen(DSSLastResponse) == 6 then
-- 58 hex should be 88 decimal
        DSSStrength = format ("%d", tonumber(strsub(DSSLastResponse,3,4), 16))
        TriggerEvent("DSSOSD",203,"Strength", DSSStrength)
        DSSLastResponse = ""
     end

-- DateTime
elseif DSSLastCommand == "FA11" then
     DSSLastResponse = DSSLastResponse .. SerialValue
     if strlen(DSSLastResponse) == 18 then
--s = CLng("&H" & Mid(LastResponse, 5, 2)) & "/" & _
--CLng("&H" & Mid(LastResponse, 7, 2)) & "/" & _
--Year(Now) & " " & _
--CLng("&H" & Mid(LastResponse, 9, 2)) & ":" & _
--CLng("&H" & Mid(LastResponse, 11, 2)) & ":" & _
--CLng("&H" & Mid(LastResponse, 13, 2))
--        DSSDateTime = format ("%s", strsub(DSSLastResponse,5,14))
        DSSDateTime = tonumber(strsub(DSSLastResponse,5,6), 16) .. "/"
        DSSDateTime = DSSDateTime .. tonumber(strsub(DSSLastResponse,7,8), 16) .. " "
        DSSDateTime = DSSDateTime .. format("%02d", tonumber(strsub(DSSLastResponse,9,10), 16)) .. ":"
        DSSDateTime = DSSDateTime .. format("%02d", tonumber(strsub(DSSLastResponse,11,12), 16)) .. ":"
        DSSDateTime = DSSDateTime .. format("%02d", tonumber(strsub(DSSLastResponse,13,14), 16))
        TriggerEvent("DSSOSD",203,"Time", DSSDateTime)
        DSSLastResponse = ""
     end

-- Ignore everything else
else
     DSSLastResponse = ""
end

The full GML file at http://www.girder.nl/serial.php?Link=471

[miked]

I see! For TriggerEvent, I understand that the "DSSOSD" is the EventString, 203 is the device id -- but in your example, are "Strength" and DSSStrength parameters that are passed to your command?

[JimHugh]

Anything after the EventString and DeviceID are payload parameters.

Payloads can be accessed in the triggered event as pld1 thru pldN

In this case I use it to pass the info that I actually want the OSD command to display.

i.e. for the OSD Popup, triggered by DSSOD, I use [pld1] [pld2] as the message text. Therefore pld1 = "Strength" and pld2 = the value of the LUA variable DSSStrength.

[miked]

Very cool! I'll test all this out now! :P

[miked]

Jim, if you don't mind, one more question -- you said that you are using the Lua variable DSSLastResponse to accumulate the incoming data. How do you specify this? It appears to be in the line

DSSLastResponse = DSSLast Response . . SerialValue

Is SerialValue always the incoming data? What if I have a string of X characters?

Thanks!

[miked]

Jim, never mind -- I answered my own question! I should have read the help files for serial.dll after I originally received your question! ops: