Program that can log/control many multimeters and other devices.

[flash2b]

Is it just #updateModeChange somewhere after #idString section ?

I seems to have no effect in my case.

I tried both with :updateModeChange: and with :updateModeChange: removed.

Or is there a parameter after the tag ?

I noticed that after pressing log, again a full #askMode is performed when :updateModeChange: is still present in the definition and #updateModeChange somewhere at top of the definition.

With :updateModeChange: removed no #askMode and logging starts immediately.

[KungFuJosh]

I found what seems to be a performance related bug. I can change the measurement types 1000 times if I'm not on the current values tab, and there's no issue. However, when I'm on the current values tab, there is a limited amount of mode updates before TC freezes, becomes unresponsive, and must be closed with the task manager.

I discovered this issue when I added a couple more measurement options. It happens faster with 10 active measurement options, still happens when I went down to 8, and also occurred when only 3 measurements were active...though it took a little longer to trip it up.

I can change the measurement types as often as I want away from the current values tab, then go to that tab and view the values. Then leave the current values tab, change it 100 times again, and switch back to see the values.

Screenshots are of frozen states. Nothing occurs in the debug log, that freezes also.

Thanks,
Josh

[jmurray]

2. File dialogue convenience
It seems all file browse dialogues (on Windows) open to the last accessed directory. This makes sense for most programs, however I think it needs to be more granular:

For example, if from the Commands window I select "Save > Save as log", then it should default to the data directory (either the custom directory passed as an argument when starting, or the default directory if this is not present).

However, if I select any of the other options that are related to scripts, it should default to the script directory.

In the grand scheme of things these are minor gripes, but they make life a lot easier when you have vast directory structures to navigate to find your way back to the correct location - especially given that the file browse dialogue in java is fairly primitive.

The script directory is for menu scripts, not for any random script you make.
Most save dialogs remember the last save location, until you restart TC.

So you're saying that only scripts for use in the menu should be stored in the Documents\TestController\ScriptLibrary directory?
Where should other scripts be saved? How will Test Controller know where to find them?

Is it not possible for the file dialogs to open to the nominated default directory?

3. Return variables from a script
I'm struggling to determine the syntax for returning a variable from a script that has been called.
I know in C it would be return <var_name>, and the function would be called with an assignment:

Code: [Select]

uint8_t new_variable = FunctionWithReturn();
But I can't work out how to do this with the Test Controller syntax. The only method I have found so far is to create a global variable in the parent script, then assign to that variable within the child script, but that is not good practise for flexible code.

There are two ways to return values:
1) Last line of you script generate a value: It can be a function with a return value or a expression. Any datatype can be return this way.
2) You use the print() statement, it can be used multiple times in a function, the return value will always be string.

I understand the concept, but I was specifically asking for help with the syntax.
In the following (Attempts 3 & 4), trying to assign the output to a variable instead results only in the variable being assigned the value of 1.


Attempt #1

Code: (MyScriptName) [Select]

; Do things
=var path = "Some\\Directory\\Structure\\"
=var filename = "SomeFileName"
#return (string(path + filename))
does not return anything when called as follows:

Code: [Select]

#runScript MyScriptName


Attempt #2

Code: (MyScriptName) [Select]

; Do things
=var path = "Some\\Directory\\Structure\\"
=var filename = "SomeFileName"
#echo (string(path + filename))


Code: [Select]

#runScript MyScriptName
;; Some\\Directory\\Structure\\SomeFileName


Attempt #3

Code: (MyScriptName) [Select]

; Do things
=var path = "Some\\Directory\\Structure\\"
=var filename = "SomeFileName"
#echo (string(path + filename))


Code: [Select]

=var result = ""
=result = runScript("MyScriptName")
;; Some\\Directory\\Structure\\SomeFileName
=result
;; 1


Attempt #4

Code: (MyScriptName) [Select]

; Do things
=var path = "Some\\Directory\\Structure\\"
=var filename = "SomeFileName"
=print(string(path + filename))


Code: [Select]

=var result = ""
=result = runScript("MyScriptName")
;; Some\\Directory\\Structure\\SomeFileName
=result
;; 1

How do I assign the returned result from the script to the variable?



I can pass arguments to a script when called as #runScript MyScriptName (arg), but have not been able to determine the correct syntax when it is called as =runScript("MyScriptName (arg)").
In the following tests, only the first attempt actually executed the script.

Passing Argument Test #1

Code: [Select]

=var test = "testname"
#runScript MyScriptName (test)
;; Some\\Directory\\Structure\\testname


Passing Argument Test #2

Code: [Select]

=var test = "testname"
=var result = runScript("GenerateLogFilename (test)")
=result
;; 0



Passing Argument Test #3

Code: [Select]

=var test = "testname"
=var result = runScript("GenerateLogFilename (test\)")
=result
;; 0



Passing Argument Test #4

Code: [Select]

=var test = "testname"
=var result = runScript("GenerateLogFilename \(test\)")
;; Error: Trailing char < > at index 60: Documents\TestController\MyScriptName \test\.txt
var result = runScript("MyScriptName \(test\)")____<----____
=result
;; 0



Passing Argument Test #5

Code: [Select]

=var test = "testname"
=var result = runScript("GenerateLogFilename ((test))")
=result
;; 0



Passing Argument Test #6

Code: [Select]

=var test = "testname"
=var result = runScript("(GenerateLogFilename (test))")
=result
;; 0



Passing Argument Test #7

Code: [Select]

=var test = "testname"
=var result = runScript("GenerateLogFilename" + " " + "(test)")
=result
;; 0


[HKJ]

The advanced combo boxes both work great for me with commas. Thanks!

  I do not want to discuss it and do  not have time to dig into it (There are other stuff in TC I need to look at).

[HKJ]

Is it just #updateModeChange somewhere after #idString section ?

I seems to have no effect in my case.

I tried both with :updateModeChange: and with :updateModeChange: removed.

Or is there a parameter after the tag ?

I noticed that after pressing log, again a full #askMode is performed when :updateModeChange: is still present in the definition and #updateModeChange somewhere at top of the definition.

With :updateModeChange: removed no #askMode and logging starts immediately.

I have not tested it, but it is supposed to replace the call to :updateModeChange: with a full initialization, similar to the command, but only for that device.

It needs a dummy argument, it will only be accepted if it has one, this will be fixed in next test version.

[HKJ]

I found what seems to be a performance related bug. I can change the measurement types 1000 times if I'm not on the current values tab, and there's no issue. However, when I'm on the current values tab, there is a limited amount of mode updates before TC freezes, becomes unresponsive, and must be closed with the task manager.

I hate these kind of bugs, they are very hard to find, especially when I cannot reproduce it here.

[HKJ]

I understand the concept, but I was specifically asking for help with the syntax.
In the following (Attempts 3 & 4), trying to assign the output to a variable instead results only in the variable being assigned the value of 1.

Code: [Select]

=var result = ""
=result = runScript("MyScriptName")
;; Some\\Directory\\Structure\\SomeFileName
=result
;; 1


The result displayed from = works exactly the same way, but is restricted to evaluate one line at a time.

Attempt #4

Code: (MyScriptName) [Select]

; Do things
=var path = "Some\\Directory\\Structure\\"
=var filename = "SomeFileName"
=print(string(path + filename))


My test:
=print("Hello world")
;; Hello world

How do I assign the returned result from the script to the variable?

I can pass arguments to a script when called as #runScript MyScriptName (arg), but have not been able to determine the correct syntax when it is called as =runScript("MyScriptName (arg)").
In the following tests, only the first attempt actually executed the script.

From one of my scripts (Arguments are in parenthesis because they are variables and I am in # based scripts):

#runScript USBChargingFormatChart (psCurrent) (loadVoltage) (mathCapacity)

#scriptScript USBChargingFormatChart
; The routine do the actual formatting of the chart
=var psCurrent=params[0];
=var loadVoltage=params[1];
=var mathCapacity=params[2];

[KungFuJosh]

The advanced combo boxes both work great for me with commas. Thanks!

  I do not want to discuss it and do  not have time to dig into it (There are other stuff in TC I need to look at).

lol, me neither. It really doesn't bother me that I need to use commas. I was just letting you know.

I found what seems to be a performance related bug. I can change the measurement types 1000 times if I'm not on the current values tab, and there's no issue. However, when I'm on the current values tab, there is a limited amount of mode updates before TC freezes, becomes unresponsive, and must be closed with the task manager.

I hate these kind of bugs, they are very hard to find, especially when I cannot reproduce it here.

I understand. I will see if I can trip it up with other devices you do have.

Thanks,
Josh

[KungFuJosh]

Attached is my driver definition file for the Batronix Magnova. I don't know if this is a final version or not. I also shared it in the Magnova thread for other users to test (though it has been tested already, we all know how that goes).

Minimum Requirements:
TestController V2.8.6 or later.
Magnova firmware V1.6.9 or later.

I will update this with newer versions after new features are added to the Magnova in future firmwares.

Thanks,
Josh

ETA: outdated attachment removed.

[HKJ]

Attached is my driver definition file for the Batronix Magnova. I don't know if this is a final version or not. I also shared it in the Magnova thread for other users to test (though it has been tested already, we all know how that goes).

Minimum Requirements:
TestController V2.8.6 or later.
Magnova firmware V1.6.9 or later.

I will update this with newer versions after new features are added to the Magnova in future firmwares.

Thanks, it will be included with the next release.

I am impressed with your work on this driver, it uses a lot of TC's abilities.
I hope I will be able to fix the bug in TC, but I am not optimistic.

[KungFuJosh]

Attached is my driver definition file for the Batronix Magnova. I don't know if this is a final version or not. I also shared it in the Magnova thread for other users to test (though it has been tested already, we all know how that goes).

Minimum Requirements:
TestController V2.8.6 or later.
Magnova firmware V1.6.9 or later.

I will update this with newer versions after new features are added to the Magnova in future firmwares.

Thanks, it will be included with the next release.

I am impressed with your work on this driver, it uses a lot of TC's abilities.
I hope I will be able to fix the bug in TC, but I am not optimistic.

Thanks! That's not the final, but functionally no issues so far. There were some extra trailing parenthesis member hotze pointed out. For example: :readmath: replace(value,"50000","50"));. I corrected those, but they had no effect anyway from their position, and didn't affect the bug either.

Anyway, I will try and find a way to replicate the bug with something else. I tried with the KS34465A and SDG6052X, but neither one of them were intense enough to cause much more than a short delay. The SDG driver has a delay when using the comboboxes, but no crashes yet. If you have a device with a very large definition file that can affect multiple Current Values lines, that might help.

I might also try switching from the JDK to JRE and see if that changes anything.

Anyway, V1.49 is attached, and hopefully the final.

Thanks,
Josh

[2X]

Hi,
I have the multimeter U1272A (Keysight) and the BM787BT (EEVblog).

On the U1272A manual writes that the recording interval is from 1 to 99999 seconds, so If I have set the multimeter to 1sec I have also to set the logging time on the Test Controller at 1sec or this recording interval where manual refers is only for the internal memory of the multimeter (if yes what is the minimum logging value where I can select on the Test Controller)?

On the BM787BT multimeter what is the minimum logging value where I can select on the Test Controller (I didn't found an information on the datasheet)?

[KungFuJosh]

Hi,
I have the multimeter U1272A (Keysight) and the BM787BT (EEVblog).

On the U1272A manual writes that the recording interval is from 1 to 99999 seconds, so If I have set the multimeter to 1sec I have also to set the logging time on the Test Controller at 1sec or this recording interval where manual refers is only for the internal memory of the multimeter (if yes what is the minimum logging value where I can select on the Test Controller)?

On the BM787BT multimeter what is the minimum logging value where I can select on the Test Controller (I didn't found an information on the datasheet)?

Log rates on the meter don't matter. The reading speed matters. The meter might log one value per second, but how fast does it update outside of logging?

Google claims the U1272A can do up to 7 readings per second, and that's the only thing that matters since the meter's logging ability is irrelevant if you're using TestController to log data.

The BM787BT claims 5 updates per second for the display, and higher for the bar graph.

So, in either case, set what you want in TestController and it should be fine at 0.3 seconds or slower. Much faster than that, and you're probably logging duplicate readings.

Thanks,
Josh

[2X]

Hi,
I have the multimeter U1272A (Keysight) and the BM787BT (EEVblog).

On the U1272A manual writes that the recording interval is from 1 to 99999 seconds, so If I have set the multimeter to 1sec I have also to set the logging time on the Test Controller at 1sec or this recording interval where manual refers is only for the internal memory of the multimeter (if yes what is the minimum logging value where I can select on the Test Controller)?

On the BM787BT multimeter what is the minimum logging value where I can select on the Test Controller (I didn't found an information on the datasheet)?

Log rates on the meter don't matter. The reading speed matters. The meter might log one value per second, but how fast does it update outside of logging?

Google claims the U1272A can do up to 7 readings per second, and that's the only thing that matters since the meter's logging ability is irrelevant if you're using TestController to log data.

The BM787BT claims 5 updates per second for the display, and higher for the bar graph.

So, in either case, set what you want in TestController and it should be fine at 0.3 seconds or slower. Much faster than that, and you're probably logging duplicate readings.

Thanks,
Josh

For the BM787BT 1sec/5updates=0.2sec - display update interval, so the minimum logging interval on the Test Controller is the 0.3sec
For the U1272A  1sec/7updates~=0.14sec - display update interval, so the minimum logging interval on the Test Controller is the 0.3sec

One more question, there is a possibility to add to the supported devices on the Test Controller the EEVBlog 121GW? It is with bluetooth communication... maybe there is any adaptor to convert the bleutooth to RS232? It would many many helpful if you add the 121GW because the windows version of the multimeter is very limited and maybe with bugs.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/eevblog-121gw-discussion-thread/msg6035611/#msg6035611

Thanks for your time to reply me.

[KungFuJosh]

For the BM787BT 1sec/5updates=0.2sec - display update interval, so the minimum logging interval on the Test Controller is the 0.3sec
For the U1272A  1sec/7updates~=0.14sec - display update interval, so the minimum logging interval on the Test Controller is the 0.3sec

Correct. As I said, .3sec or slower should work fine with either meter.

One more question, there is a possibility to add to the supported devices on the Test Controller the EEVBlog 121GW? It is with bluetooth communication... maybe there is any adaptor to convert the bleutooth to RS232? It would many many helpful if you add the 121GW because the windows version of the multimeter is very limited and maybe with bugs.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/eevblog-121gw-discussion-thread/msg6035611/#msg6035611

Thanks for your time to reply me.

If somebody has the 121GW and they have a serial adapter that works with it, then they can potentially add a definition for it. Users add the definition driver files for their devices, and then HKJ will include it in future releases of TestController.

[2X]

Unfortunately the 121GW don't have serial port. Only Bluetooth.

[HKJ]

I can see the questions about the DMM has been answered, but.

TC do not have access to a Bluetooth library and for that reason it cannot communicate directly with Bluetooth devices. One solution is to use a ESP32 processor and Arduino to make a translation from Bluetooth to serial, I will be happy to publish that kind of project on my website, it goes here: https://lygte-info.dk/project/TestControllerUserProjects1%20UK.html

[2X]

I can see the questions about the DMM has been answered, but.

TC do not have access to a Bluetooth library and for that reason it cannot communicate directly with Bluetooth devices. One solution is to use a ESP32 processor and Arduino to make a translation from Bluetooth to serial, I will be happy to publish that kind of project on my website, it goes here: https://lygte-info.dk/project/TestControllerUserProjects1%20UK.html

Because I am not familiar with ESP32 (I have never use it) and arduino... there is any guide (about connections and libraries where I have to use) how to do this or if any other guy have done something similar to tell me?

[HKJ]

I can see the questions about the DMM has been answered, but.

TC do not have access to a Bluetooth library and for that reason it cannot communicate directly with Bluetooth devices. One solution is to use a ESP32 processor and Arduino to make a translation from Bluetooth to serial, I will be happy to publish that kind of project on my website, it goes here: https://lygte-info.dk/project/TestControllerUserProjects1%20UK.html

Because I am not familiar with ESP32 (I have never use it) and arduino... there is any guide (about connections and libraries where I have to use) how to do this or if any other guy have done something similar to tell me?

Arduino is a simplified C++ environment that makes it easy to program a wide variety of microcontrollers, it includes libraries for HW access to make hardware look similar on widely different microcontrollers.
ESP32 is a cheap and powerful microcontroller with Bluetooth, WiFi and a USB port, it can be bought as a module that directly connect to a PC with a virtual serial port, i.e. it only need a program to translate between bluetooth and serial to do the job. On my project page is one example of this for Owon BT41T+

[KungFuJosh]

Because I am not familiar with ESP32 (I have never use it) and arduino... there is any guide (about connections and libraries where I have to use) how to do this or if any other guy have done something similar to tell me?

Download and play with the Arduino IDE: https://www.arduino.cc/en/software/

That will give you options to download packages for different Arduino devices. There is a Nano version with ESP32 that supports bluetooth and wifi.

You can search google for Arduino bluetooth serial converter, and you'll find multiple projects and videos. I haven't watched it, but there's lots of stuff like this: youtube.com/watch?v=CXw1Z5V42NY

[KungFuJosh]

There's a lot of info out there for BT with Arduino. This is not a bad starting point: https://www.instructables.com/ESP32-Bluetooth-Tutorial-How-to-Use-Inbuilt-Blueto/

SerialToSerialBTM is another good search term, and there's Bluetooth examples built in to the Arduino IDE.

[HKJ]

And please document the project, I like how Gulftown did it here:

https://lygte-info.dk/project/TestControllerUserProjects1%20UK.html#Voltcraft_VC870_ESP32_based_interface_for_TC_by_Gulftown

He provided photos, connect diagram, part list, source code and even a 3D print file. The 3D print file is nice, but is mostly needed when you make a adapter that slots into the DMM.

[KungFuJosh]

First:
I previously had an older version of the SDK before the "WARNING: A restricted method in java.lang.System has been called" started showing up. Apparently, that's a feature of JDK 24+, and TC may need to work around that in future releases.

In the meantime, the workaround for now is to change the line in the debug (or the batch file for non debug):

Code: [Select]

java --enable-native-access=ALL-UNNAMED -jar TestController.jar debug %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9
The --enable-native-access=ALL-UNNAMED allows it to work, but it's not ideal.

It may be part of increased java security and I will have to include that option.

I tried it on my computer and java refused to start.
I.e. I cannot add it generally.

For the record, I uninstalled JDK and installed JRE instead, and the above doesn't work with it and isn't needed.

--enable-native-access=ALL-UNNAMED is specific to JDK users only.

Thanks,
Josh

[KungFuJosh]

I'm still trying to figure out how you can replicate the performance bug. That's the primary reason I changed from JDK to JRE; just to see if it had an effect. It didn't matter.

I also tried enabling a ton of measurements across multiple devices, and while that slowed down TC's response time, it didn't freeze.

It appears the freeze only occurs for me when the timing of the DynamicM[N] commands execute. So it seems it's the advanced scripting that causes trouble for TC.

Now that you have my full definition file, can you copy the dynamic measurement commands and use it with your dummy driver to try and replicate the performance issue?

Or maybe we can convince Batronix to loan you one of their Magnova scopes.

Thanks,
Josh

[KungFuJosh]

I received a 34410A today, so I'm working on a driver definition that will cover the 34410A and 34411A. I also have a definition for the DAQ6510 I'll eventually release when it's done.

Thanks,
Josh