East Tester ET4410&ET4510 Desktop LCR Meter

[Martin72]

It worked for me, or rather, I assumed that was the reason why I had to restart Testcontroller so that the ET4410 would be recognized.
(It was not recognized manually.)

[HKJ]

It worked for me, or rather, I assumed that was the reason why I had to restart Testcontroller so that the ET4410 would be recognized.
(It was not recognized manually.)

The functions of "Scan serial ports" are:
Take any serial port that is not on the load list (I.e. a device with a checkmark), set the port to 9600N81, send a *idn?, if a response is received: scan the full database of devices for a match and load it.
Originally I was thinking about scanning at multiple baudrates amd settings, but it takes too long in my opinion and I dropped it.
Also be aware that TC is multitasking and basically launches all scans simultaneous, together with all regular connection requests.

A curiosity: When I originally programmed it I had some fun with this: The definition is the master, but "Scan serial ports" must work without a master and accept the master at a later time without needing to redo anything. And to make it extra fun, many definitions add a extra communication layer (That is the way I move everything into SCPI like commands).

[jsh818]

Hi,
Just to make sure we're all on the same page, go through this list:
1. Switch on the LCR
2. Establish a USB connection to the laptop – can you hear a sound?
3. Check in Windows Device Manager that another COM port is listed when the LCR is connected to the laptop.
4. Right-click to open this COM port and ensure that the baud rate set there corresponds to the setting on the LCR.
Make a note of the COM port number.
5. Download the latest test controller version, if you haven't already done so.
6. Check “Scan Serial Ports,” then click “Reconnect.”

1. After turning on the ET4510 and connecting it to the laptop via USB-b cable, a connection sound is heard and a COM7 port is created.
2. To confirm that this COM7 port is indeed assigned to the ET4510, removing the USB cable causes the port to disappear.
3. After synchronizing the baud rate between the ET4510 and the created COM port to 9600, I ran Test Controller. I added the ET4510 from the Load devices menu and entered COM7 in the Address field.
4. After that, even when pressing the Reconnet button, the device is not recognized.

I believe I followed the same connection process as other users, but I don't understand why the device isn't recognized.
It seems increasingly likely that the device is defective. Has anyone else experienced similar symptoms or issues?

[HKJ]

1. After turning on the ET4510 and connecting it to the laptop via USB-b cable, a connection sound is heard and a COM7 port is created.
2. To confirm that this COM7 port is indeed assigned to the ET4510, removing the USB cable causes the port to disappear.
3. After synchronizing the baud rate between the ET4510 and the created COM port to 9600, I ran Test Controller. I added the ET4510 from the Load devices menu and entered COM7 in the Address field.
4. After that, even when pressing the Reconnet button, the device is not recognized.

I believe I followed the same connection process as other users, but I don't understand why the device isn't recognized.
It seems increasingly likely that the device is defective. Has anyone else experienced similar symptoms or issues?

A reason TC might not recognize the device may be because the *idn? response has been changed by the manufacturer, some brands do that.
Start TC in debug mode (There is a .bat file for that) and look at the response to *idn?, the start of it must match a #idString in definition. If it do not, try adding a new #metadef section with the changed line. If that work, post it in the TC thread and specify you SW version.

[jsh818]

A reason TC might not recognize the device may be because the *idn? response has been changed by the manufacturer, some brands do that.
Start TC in debug mode (There is a .bat file for that) and look at the response to *idn?, the start of it must match a #idString in definition. If it do not, try adding a new #metadef section with the changed line. If that work, post it in the TC thread and specify you SW version.

When I run Test Controller Debug Mode and press the Reconnect button, errors appear in the command window as shown in the attached image.
Could these errors be caused by a communication defect in the ET4510 device? Or is it due to incorrect settings on my computer?

[HKJ]

A reason TC might not recognize the device may be because the *idn? response has been changed by the manufacturer, some brands do that.
Start TC in debug mode (There is a .bat file for that) and look at the response to *idn?, the start of it must match a #idString in definition. If it do not, try adding a new #metadef section with the changed line. If that work, post it in the TC thread and specify you SW version.

When I run Test Controller Debug Mode and press the Reconnect button, errors appear in the command window as shown in the attached image.
Could these errors be caused by a communication defect in the ET4510 device? Or is it due to incorrect settings on my computer?

That is a issue with TC and your computer. The issue is in the serial library (JSerialComm) I use and I hope it will be fixed soon.
Because Java do not support serial ports, I use a library that deploys a binary that match the OS and processor to do the communication, but on a few computers the library fails doing that. Some people have found ways around the issue, but I have no experience in that.
You can try post the two screen shots in the TC thread and see if somebody can tell you to get around it.

[Kean]

Just to check the device is responding properly, do you have a terminal application installed like PuTTY or CoolTerm?

If so, you can try connecting to the same serial port at the set baud rate and send: *IDN?

You sometimes need to try with different line endings if just pressing ENTER doesn't give a response.  I believe the SCPI specification says LF aka NL aka CTRL-J, and that CR is optional.  Sometimes the devices want (or are happy with) CR, some LF, some CRLF.  Different terminal programs may send different sequences for the ENTER key.

[KungFuJosh]

A reason TC might not recognize the device may be because the *idn? response has been changed by the manufacturer, some brands do that.
Start TC in debug mode (There is a .bat file for that) and look at the response to *idn?, the start of it must match a #idString in definition. If it do not, try adding a new #metadef section with the changed line. If that work, post it in the TC thread and specify you SW version.

When I run Test Controller Debug Mode and press the Reconnect button, errors appear in the command window as shown in the attached image.
Could these errors be caused by a communication defect in the ET4510 device? Or is it due to incorrect settings on my computer?

If you're using JDK, try switching to JRE instead. JDK adds some issues with TC and the serial port driver. There's a recent post I linked more information with in the TC thread.

[thephil]

I think flash2b may be on to the something:

For the ET4510 meter there are two ports an RS232 and USB so you also need to select the correct one on the meter

As far as I can tell, that's the only thing that hasn't been discussed in this thread, yet.

[thephil]

I believe the SCPI specification says LF aka NL aka CTRL-J, and that CR is optional.  Sometimes the devices want (or are happy with) CR, some LF, some CRLF.  Different terminal programs may send different sequences for the ENTER key.

Good point! When I wrote my python class (https://github.com/philpagel/ET44.py) for controlling these devices, I played with that and found the device to require  CR+LF for it to work.

[w.v.s.]

I think flash2b may be on to the something:

For the ET4510 meter there are two ports an RS232 and USB so you also need to select the correct one on the meter

As far as I can tell, that's the only thing that hasn't been discussed in this thread, yet.

"Select" in terms of menu-settings? I don't find such setting for my ET4410. Regarding the interface, there is only the baud-rate to adjust.
I would also like to point out, that from my point of view, the chance of a defective device is rather low. The device seems to be recognized, so the usb interface seems to be working hardware-wise and there's not much between the µC and the USB port. So if there was an issue with the device, I would rather assume it's the firmware than the hardware. But currently I assume the issue is on the host-software side, not the device side.

[flash2b]

If the USB port is enumerated, this does not mean that there is a problem inside the ET4510. If the low voltage (TTL) side is disconnected or broken, it will still enumerate as a serial device.



There are two ribbon cables inside the device. It might be a bad connection.

[Martin72]

I believe I followed the same connection process as other users, but I don't understand why the device isn't recognized.
It seems increasingly likely that the device is defective. Has anyone else experienced similar symptoms or issues?

Alternatively, you can download and use the NI-Visa suite. If that doesn't work either, something is seriously wrong.

[KungFuJosh]

You might need to hit the Read key when sending commands to the device if you don't get a response.

[Martin72]

Query is “better”; if you use “read,” a message appears stating that 5 bytes were received—but no “plain text,” which...

[KungFuJosh]

I suppose it depends on the device. Some SCPI devices / GPIB work with Send & Read only.

[jsh818]

Thanks for all the advice!
After connecting the ET4510 to my laptop via USB cable, I tried entering *IDN? using PuTTY or TerraTerm, but there was no response, so I suspected a device malfunction.
As a last resort, I used Python to verify communication with the device. Fortunately, under LF/CRLF conditions, there was a response to *IDN?.
However, PuTTY and TerraTerm still show no response to *IDN? (even with CRLF settings identical to Python), and the device isn't recognized in Test Controller either...
Why is there no response even though the new line setting is identical to Python?

Also, I accidentally discovered that *IDN? response was generated even when the baud rate set in Python differs from the baud rate set on the ET4510 while connected via USB cable to the laptop. I'm not sure why that happens either...
The Python code I tested is as follows.

import serial, time

for baud in [9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200]:
    with serial.Serial(“COM7”, baudrate=baud, bytesize=8, parity=‘N’, stopbits=1, timeout=1) as s:
        s.reset_input_buffer()
        s.write(b“*IDN?\n”)
        time.sleep(0.2)
        resp = s.read(4096)
        print(baud, resp)

[thephil]

Terminal emulators can be tricky. I'm sure some setting is still not correct (hardware handshake? Some other oddball thing...).

But good that the device appears to be working correctly. Out of curiosity: What is the response to IDN? If that differs in your firmware version testcontroller and other software will not be able to detect it correctly.

[Lexy]

Hi, i have a ET4510 for some time now and i think my firmware is outdated:


I've looked through this thread, but I cannot find the 'Update tool" to update the firmware? Can anyone help me with this?

[w.v.s.]

Hi, i have a ET4510 for some time now and i think my firmware is outdated:
I've looked through this thread, but I cannot find the 'Update tool" to update the firmware? Can anyone help me with this?

Be careful not to update to a V6 version with your hardware. Check the experience made by axb first.

Success!!!

I was right, my hardware is clearly too old and incompatible for the v6.x firmware .
Luckily the manufacturer wrote me back and sent me the LCRV1.00.2232.019 version.
It loaded the first time with no problem. Everything seems to be working.

Thank you very much for all your attempts to help me!

So V1.00.2232.019 is probably the latest you should target. I think the link to the tool was shared in "Reply #145 on: May 30, 2024". I don't know, if it is still alive.

[EEMax]

Hello everybody, I am new in this forum and am currently looking into purchasing an East Tester ET4501 benchtop LCR meter. While researching, I have read mixed reviews about the stock leads and am considering pairing the unit with Tonghui TH26011CS Kelvin clips instead.

According to the product specifications, the TH26011CS is rated for 5Hz-100kHz, which aligns with the ET4501’s frequency renge (10Hz-10kHz). Does anybody know if East Tester uses a different BNC terminal layout compared to Tonghui?
For those who own this meter, would these clips be a compatible upgrade? I want to ensure the BNC spacing is correct and that they will not cause issues during short/open circuit compensation before I commit to the purchase.

Thanks for your insights!

[cbelcher2020]

ET4510 was working like a champ.  East Tester sent me some some new firmware and update utility.  Had Gemini translate the instructions, followed to the tee.  Things obviously didn't go so well, she's bricked.  Any ideas how to bring her back to life, sucks I really don't want to send this back to China.

I'll attach the file East Tester sent me.  Shot of the PCB rev and one screenshot of the app, only after it was dead.  It sure wasn't Chinese characters it was displaying.

The file ET sent is 13MB, I had to break it up to get it uploaded.

Will not let me upload the PCB version pic, don't know what its problem is.
Reads: 

ET44.M.V1.8
2024.03.12

Thanks all.

[w.v.s.]

Any ideas how to bring her back to life, sucks I really don't want to send this back to China.

Try uploading the firmware again several times after reading the instructions and observations in this thread. Maybe go to an older hex-file. As long as the bootloader is still working, chances are good that you can recover a device with corrupted firmware.

[cbelcher2020]

Problem is when you launch the app the buttons are just filled with garbage. I just started clicking on things, not the brightest move in my career.

Maybe someone can try to run the app and see what they can make of it?

[w.v.s.]

Look at this message:

Hi,

here an update.

A friend of mine contaced Bangood directly via email for an official Update for the ET4410.
They reacts immediately and sent him the update and a video with an howto (chinese).
It was the identical as from the other blog site.

He flashed two ET4410 successfully.
One is a Musttool and one was an East-tester (mine one).
By the way the East-tester has kept its logo in contrast to Musttool where there was none anyway.

@w.v.s
Sri he has no capability to trace the Update via RS232.

Use at your own risk!

You only need the Flash-tool itself and you must not register the MSCOM.
Copy the folder with the Flash program (6 files) in a separate folder with no chinese signs in foldername.
This makes trouble. Check if you can start and close the program!
If this works everything is ok.

The screenshots below are from the video that was sent.

Hint: The device must on before you start the program.

1. Update only works via RS-232 so you have to use your USB<->RS232.
    Do not use the Handler Port.
(Attachment Link)

2. The tool must be started with admin rights.
    It is the only exe in the folder. (程序升级工具.exe)
(Attachment Link)

3. Then select Com port
(Attachment Link)

4. Then select firmware file.
(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)

5. Then press the first button below the number with the 100ms.
(Attachment Link)

6. The program now waits for the et4410 to be switched off and on again.
    After switching it back on, the screen remains black.
(Attachment Link)

You now see something about Flash in the update program and a few strange characters.
But the upload counter in % at the bottom is important.
Here you can see when the flash process has finished.
(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)

When the flashing process is complete, the ET4410 will restart automatically.
This takes a few minutes.
(Attachment Link)

If everything goes well you will see the screen.

Use at your own risk!

Added:
Hint: The device must on before you start the program.

Contrary to the version in the file name, the correct version that is inside is: V6.00.2405.039

and those following. You can set your (virtual) machine to Chinese language to see more (at least Chinese text). Or you guess what is displayed in the pictures, which were posted here.