Semi-remote access to cbus

It's been many years since I've been here - too many other things demanding my time.

I installed my cbus system about 10 years ago, and apart from some tweeking, it's been fine ever since. My daughter has just moved home, and I need to make a few small changes to some of the network... and herein lies my problem. It's been so stable for so long.... all the old stuff is gone!

The old laptop with the software etc... inoperative.
Fortunately I did a P2V and have it as it was in a VM on my desktop machine.
All there, all good.... but refers to the serial port it used to be connected via.
New computer has no serial. Not only that, but old office has been retasked and no chance of getting a computer back in there to do this (even if I had one with the serial port and software)

I *DO* however have a Lantronix ETS8P there, that I can probably connect to the PCINT4. I'm sure I did this at one stage, but it may have been after the P2V... so I've no idea of the config!

I gather that the PCINT4 expects to see RS232, 8 data, no parity, 1 stop, 9600 bps. I further presume that needs to be in binary mode (not line buffered, no expanding CR to CRLF, etc).

In chus toolkit, when I go to network, edit network, I can choose Serial, CNI, etc, etc. I'm presuming I should pick CNI (that's basically what this is). Enter IP address and port. (I can ping the IP from this computer, and if I telnet to the IPort I see a few bytes com back every few seconds), but when I attempt to connect to the network, I immediately (in the java terminal) get

20150120-154432 751 //(name) - Tag information changed at tag address: //(name)/!78d
(bunch more hex) oldtag: Local Network newtacK Local network

After about 10 seconds another java message says

20150120-154432 824 //(name)/1 (bunch of hex) unknown response: ~~~ ***


After about 50 seconds from trying to connect, cbus-toolkit pops up a window saying "An error has occurred. PCI failed to reset. Unable to open the Network." (Error 22918)

I'm presuming I've got some serial comm settings wrong... anyone able to point me in the right directions? (Once I've got this done, I will also want to connect (again, via the RS232 through the lantronix) to reprogram the old B&W touchscreen from piced.

Thanks in advance!

 

Hi Ross
Does the Ethernet device server have various operating mode settings?
On my Moxa device server the one I use is called "TCP Server"

 

Aye, it does, and it's in that mode now.
It's an 8-port device, I'm using 5 ports for other things already, so I know it "can", I'm just at a loss as to why it "isn't". As I say, I'm suspicious I have either the wrong baudrate, or bits/parity, or need handshaking (and have none set) or something equally daft.

 

Hi Ross

Here is some pictures of the settings I use.

I wonder if you could power cycle the PCI and try to connect with Diagnostic utility.
Download and install it on any Windows PC on your network.

That should rule out any issues with the connection itself.

Toolkit and Piced have had many updates over the years so be very careful when installing new versions.
Some updates might not allow you to go back.
Make sure you have all your projects backed up.

 

In Toolkit check or edit the network settings for your project here.

 

Thank you Daryl for your efforts.

I'm a long way closer than I was.
From my virtual machine, I can now connect to the CBUS network and have been able to update the relay units I needed (adding some interlock code).

However I still can't connect to the touchscreen, which is kinda critical since that's where the abovementioned interlocks are set!

I can run PICED, it will connect to cbus ok over the network. I can see the changing status of things on the emulated touchscreen in the VM, and I can control things from it - so that part works. However, it won't let me transfer the project to the touchscreen over the cbus. (From memory, this was pretty touch-and-go even with a direct connection to cbus).

Unfortunately, piced does not have an option to connect to the touchscreen via "RS232-over-ethernet".

In desperation, I found the old hardware I had been using. The laptop screen has completely failed, as has its keyboard, but with external screen and KB, I was able to coax it to life. Serial directly to the touchscreen, and I can "Connect to device" fine... but then the wheels fall off!

PICED is version 4.7.2 but as soon as I try to transfer the project to the touchscreen I get an error screen:

WARNING:
Unit Firmware Version is 3.60.0
This configuration software is for version 3.39.100 to 3.49.99.
Either change the software or the firmware to give compatible versions.

I can't get past that.

I've searched the machine, I don't have any other (newer) versions of PICED, so I can't figure out how the touchscreen can have a later version code!

Anyone got any sage ideas on how to move forward from here?
Dare I try a newer version of piced? (Will it still support the ancient old B&W touchscreens?)

 

Years ago I had a similar problem and I remember connecting the device serial port to my laptop and then I could telnet from another (or same if you really want to confuse yourself) PC to the serial port via port 10001. Once I got that going I connected it up to my PCI and it's been working ever since as a CNI. My device is the XPress-DR-IAP.

<Edit>Ok, I just read the previous post so it seems connectivity is up and running.

Ingo

 

Hi Ross

Good to hear you got Toolkit connected and working.

Re the Touch screen maybe you should start a new thread listing the screen model, OS and software version info.

As far as using your new computer with serial devices goes there is a mode on my device server called Real Com.
I install the software on my PC and then I can create what I suppose is a virtual com port.
I've used that previously for software with no TCP connection option and I imagine your device server will have something similar.

Or even easier you could search the forum for a suitable USB to RS232 adapter.

 

A USB->RS232 adaptor would need to be almost 30 metres long to reach.
The greater issue right now though, is the firmware version of the touchscreen and piced. I don't *recall* having any newer version, so puzzled about the discrepancy or how to "fix" it.

 

Can't you just download the latest PICED and update the firmware in the screen to match the latest?

You then should be able to do what you want and you are at least running the latest of both!

 

So you are using a desktop machine?

What I would be guessing is that at some stage you used another PC to transfer a project to the Touch screen.

I'm not familiar with a Touch screen that uses RS232 to program it and I presume it is an early model.
B&W MKII uses a USB connection behind the facia and the Colour Touch uses TCP.
That is why I suggested to list all that info in another thread to see if you can get some others to chime in.

I would start by trying Piced to upload the project from the Touch screen.
Piced, CGate and Toolkit have to be compatible versions.
Firmware updates for the Touch screen are installed with new versions of Piced.
If necessary some projects are converted by the updates.

Check here for compatibility and old versions of the software.
http://www2.clipsal.com/cis/technical/downloads/c-bus_toolkit

The later or latest versions of Toolkit and Piced should work fine but firmware will be updated and projects converted.
I'm not sure you can undo that.
It wouldn't hurt to get someone to talk you through it or call the nice folks at CIS tech support.

 

I did ask if the "current" version still supported the "ancient" ctouch.

I've also been cautioned that the later versions will likely modify things in a one-way process that would prevent me going back.

As it turns out, I went through all my VMs and found, much to my disgust, that I clearly DID install another copy on one of the other machines. PICED 4.9.0 (I think, it's in the middle of transferring the project now so I can't easily check)

So the problem is now solved - thanks to everyone who gave me pointers. It was an almost "perfect storm" of events that led me down this particular rabbit-hole, but looks like I can see light at the end of the tunnel now.

 

Am now, but it was all done originally from a laptop with built-in serial port.

That is what I concluded too, but I couldn't remember (or find) any other machines that fit the bill. Either they didn't have the software on them, or didn't have serial, or were not here at the time, etc.

Of course, the failure in all this is that my desktop, with vmware, can "fire up" any of a couple of dozen "different machines". Some XP, some windows 7 or 8, lots of freebsd and linux, etc. The XP virtual machine that is a P2V (physical-to-virtual) conversion of the old laptop was (I thought) "THE" cbus machine. It seems however, at some point I installed a (slightly later) version on another VM but over time, forgot about it.

This is B&W, probably the original version. No USB.

So thanks again for all your ideas and assistance, but I think I'm done now.
(Just need a few more minutes without phone calls, or people barging in and interrupting me every 11.2 seconds!)

 

We have a few of the old small C-Touches around the place. I haven't had an issue yet with using the latest releases of PICED so far!

I would be interested if people have had issues too so I can watch out for them. But once you work out the right pinout for the RS232 I have found it usually just works.

 

Because I didn't have a virtual com port set up, and couldn't get a physical RS232 anywhere near the ctouch, but WAS able to talk to the cbus network itself via the terminal-server over TCP, I was able to transfer the updated project to the ctouch over cbus. It is hideously slow, but it worked!
All is well with the world now, changes made, occupants happy, and I've clearly labeled which VM is for cbus so I don't fall into the same trap next time!