Re: Re: Doorbells!

[Kevin Hawkins <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Dan,

danward79 wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Thanks for your responce.
>
> I thought you would be interested to know.  I have had more success
> with the Serial Bridge now.
>
> The DOS window now shows the xAP msg's I am sending.  They still do
> not show on the viewer, but the heart beat does, so I am assuming it
> has something to do with the msg I am sending, that is making the hub
> reject it?
>
> I think my initial problem was that I did not realise there is a Basic
> Serial Transport Wrapper, I needed to use.
>
Yes you must wrap the xAP messages for serial transmission (details
are in the spec) and there is an (optional) checksum requirement too. I
am not sure if P's bridge enforces this.  Viewer can be setup to hide
(or display) malformed messages received - however it is best to use it
in hub mode I think for this (or on another PC as the only xAP app) as
otherwise the hub could already have dropped them, particularly if its
the service hub.  Viewer will show xFX hub in its title bar when acting
as a hub.  Malformed messages could be dropped via the hub.
> Am I right in thinking as long as I comply with this I can send bsc
> type msg's?
>
>


BSC is simply a xAP schema so yes you will be able to...    where
are you originating the xAP serial messages from and is  the bridge
putting out the Ethernet originated xAP traffic onto serial OK ?

K
> --- In xap_automation@xxxxxxx, Kevin Hawkins <lists@...> wrote:
>
>> Hi Dan..
>>
>> danward79 wrote:
>>
>>> I would be able to test my ideas if only I could get the
serial bridge
>>> working.... hint, hint Patrick! ;-)
>>>
>>>
>> I have just had an email from Patrick who is in the Australian
outback
>> somewhere - with very little chance of internet access for the
next few
>> weeks....(sends apologies)  so looks like it may have to wait a
bit.
>> OTOH what features do you need from a serial bridge Dan - have you
much
>> network traffic on the xAP side that would need some filtering ?  
I
>> could probably knock up a really simple app for you - assuming
you're
>> Windows based .  Would you be using checksums on the RS232 serial
data
>> and what speed would you intend to run at.
>>
>
> My xAP Network traffic at the moment is fairly low, so I would not
> need any filtering.  I was intending to run at 9600 baud, and I would
> prefer not to use checksums.
>
> With regard to filtering I would actually prefer absolutely no
> filtering from Serial to eithernet direction, but going the otherway
> may be useful.
>
>
>>> Would yoi be
>>> I have found it quite hard to locate any detailed info on
electronics
>>> projects which involve xAP, I have found a few, or are there
just not
>>> many writeups on the web?
>>>
>>>
>> There are Lehanes switches and lcd displays,  my C-Bus gateway
based on
>> a  Rabbit core (although source code is not available but
originated
>> from Patricks C libraries), and maybe Ian's relay controller.
There is
>> also the xAP Netiom as a commercial product which is a great
enabler
>>
> for
>
>> hobbyists not wanting to roll their own embedded device....good
for
>> interfacing to all manner of things
>>
>> Within my controller I have 'hacked' up some rudimentary control
>>
> options
>
>> e.g. binary inputs/outputs , pulse counters and I intend pulse
width
>> timers (that I will use for electricity consumption). The binary
inputs
>> and outputs send BSC messages , just like the Netiom, and although
I
>> don't (yet) have my doorbell connected to them I do  have a number
of
>> devices attached  to either this or the Netioms, although not all
are
>> coded yet.
>>
>> external & internal PIR's
>> exterior break beam detectors
>> driveway car sensor
>> utility meters (gas , electric, water) *
>> boiler display and control *
>> heating pumps and zone valves
>> TOM10 10 channel temp sensor * - reports as 10 xAP Text BSC
devices
>> Quasar 4 Ch temp boards (Netiom serial port) - reports as a raw
stream
>> serial device currently - still to do ;-)
>> Switches for C-Bus *
>> Relays controlled from C-Bus *
>> Water level sensor (problem valley roof gutter)
>> Daylight sensor
>> Serially controlled video/audio matrix switcher
>> Serially controlled AV amp
>> Alarm panel
>>
>>
>>
>> Netioms require a partnership with  a controller application for
>>
> 'logic'
>
>> handling to  (like Girder, HomSeer, xAP Desktop, xAP FloorpPlan,
BSC
>> Mapper, Charmed Quark, MisterHouse etc) so in my xAP embedded
>>
> controller
>
>> I have concentrated on supporting devices (marked with a * above) 
that
>> benefit from standalone logic handling or have unusual I/O  , and
hence
>> don't rely on any software controller.  I have switches that
control
>> C-Bus, and loads that are controlled via C-Bus so speed and
reliability
>> were essential. I have inbuilt BSC mapping, within the controller
to
>> assist endpoint connections (like an old fashioned switchboard
>> operator). The pulse width counters and nearly all serial based
I/O
>> benefits from embedded support as the data needs reformatting to
be
>> useful. The boiler for example has a 7 segment LED that I needed
to
>> convert the 7 inputs to one BSC level device based on a state
matrix.
>>
>> I eventually hope to add support for the Meteor CID unit , and
also
>> maybe X10 to the embedded controller. there is a port for an X10
mains
>> interface on the board already. However as in all these things
there
>> just isn't enough time, and you tend to focus on things you want
to
>>
> work
>
>> in your own setup (so X10 for example is a way down the list). I
want
>> to  add HomeVision support too but again I've veered away from
that
>> dependence in my own setup a bit now, but it would be useful, as
an I/O
>> device with x10 and also to be able to leverage the 'scheduler'
and
>> script engine.
>>
>> I don't know whether anyone would like to assist in any of these
>>
> tasks -
>
>> as the Rabbit core is easily programmable in ANSI C and the
hardware
>> boards are fairly low cost and have a lot of onboard I/ O ??  My
main
>> priority is getting things working for me , and moving from that
to
>> making the device useful to others is a huge step that is likely
to
>> remain a long way off still.
>>
>> I'm playing with trying to get a core set of xAP applications
>>
> running on
>
>> my NAS file server which runs XP embedded - currently xAPTel runs
there
>> (the CID application) and also BSC Mapper and I am finding it very
>>
> solid
>
>> - using new builds of these applications that have removed a
memory
>>
> leak
>
>> the previous versions could exhibit.
>>
>> Kevin
>>
>>
>>
>>> Looking forward to some interesting responces!
>>>
>>> Cheers
>>>
>>> Dan
>>>
>>>
>>>
> Thanks for the ideas above I will have a look at them if I get a
> chance today.
>
> Cheers
>
> Dan
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
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