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ScienceHideout
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Genesys 2 or 5 Software
As you may or may not know, I got a Genesys 5 spectrophotometer with a scanning ability and fixed it up to be really nice. Finally, I got it to power
up and work perfectly.
Lately I have really been wanting to connect it to a computer via RS-232-C, and I have the appropriate cord. What I DON'T have is the software, and I
don't even know what I need... perhaps something like WinSpec. If anyone can point me in the right direction to get spectrophotometer software,
preferably free, that would be greatly appreciated.
Just some info about the connection:
9 pins:
-1-Data Carrier Detect
-2-Receive Data
-3-Transmit Data
-4-Data terminal ready
-5-Signal Ground
-6-Data Set Ready
-7-Request to Send
-8-Clear to Send
-9-Ring Indicator
DCE Format
Baud Rate: 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, or 9600 (selectable)
Transmission mode: Full duplex
8 data bits with even, odd, or no parity (selectable)
The following page gives a list of 'commands' that can be typed in, I am assuming to the computer, and it will perform that function.
Thanks in advance!
-Dean
hey, if you are reading this, I can't U2U, but you are always welcome to send me an email!
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The Volatile Chemist
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What Page (For the commands)? But If the commands are just text, it should be easy to access. Open up a serial terminal on your computer and try
typing one in. If you give me a list of the commands, I have enough free time to make a program that does them for you (With a GUI), if you'd like...
[Edited on 4-3-2014 by The Volatile Chemist]
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ScienceHideout
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Volatile, you are truly awesome and I would love it so much if you would be kind enough to do that. My computer knowledge is somewhat... erm...
lacking, so I commend you 
http://www.artisantg.com/info/PDF__5370656374726F6E69635F476...
On page 102 of the above manual it discusses all about the RS-232-C, and on the following page it gives the commands.
Once again, thank you very much!
Dean
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The Volatile Chemist
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Glad to be of assistance! It made my day that the very thing you needed was one of the only things I knew how to do well! Looking into it, I'll be able to give you a test program in 5 hours (School
first...), Then maybe a real program within 3 days. Good? Just checking, you run windows, mac, or linux-based???? ( may not be able to do it on the
second two....)
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The Volatile Chemist
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So, run the below program, with your spectrophotometer on serial mode, even parity, and 9600 baud. When the program runs, a tiny message box will pop
up. Click the test button. If all works well, a message "Hello World!" Will be displayed on your spectrophotometer. If it doesn't work, don't worry, I
probably just mixed something up. The program runs on windows only. If it does work, be sure to tell me! The purpose of this is to test my system of
communication that I used with the Spectrophotometer.
Hope it works!
Nathan
PS: I'll soon be getting on the real program, just want to make sure it works first. Give me a list of things you would like to be able to do with
your spectrophotometer through this program.
Sorry, forgot the program! :
http://ptp.x10.mx/test.exe
[Edited on 4-4-2014 by The Volatile Chemist]
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ScienceHideout
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Thank you, I will test this as soon as I get a chance, probably later tonight I
will let you know ASAP if this works.
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ScienceHideout
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Okay, it looks like it is all good and the Hello World message comes up Thank
you soo much!
Here is a list of commands that I would like the machine to perform:
AUTOZERO
AUTOZERO absorbance
BASELINE
CELL cell number
CELL +
CELL -
DATAMODE ABS
DATAMODE TRANS
DEUTERIUM OFF
DEUTERIUM ON
EXIT
PRINT
SCAN resolution start wavelength stop wavelength
WAVELENGTH wavelength
Now, I am not sure if this is possible, but can the machine take the data from a scan and send it directly to the computer instead of on the soft card
in the machine?
Thank you again, very much 
Dean
[Edited on 4-4-2014 by ScienceHideout]
[Edited on 4-4-2014 by ScienceHideout]
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The Volatile Chemist
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Quote: Originally posted by ScienceHideout  | Okay, it looks like it is all good and the Hello World message comes up Thank
you soo much!
Here is a list of commands that I would like the machine to perform:
AUTOZERO
AUTOZERO absorbance
BASELINE
CELL cell number
CELL +
CELL -
DATAMODE ABS
DATAMODE TRANS
DEUTERIUM OFF
DEUTERIUM ON
EXIT
PRINT
SCAN resolution start wavelength stop wavelength
WAVELENGTH wavelength
Now, I am not sure if this is possible, but can the machine take the data from a scan and send it directly to the computer instead of on the soft card
in the machine?
Thank you again, very much
Dean
[Edited on 4-4-2014 by ScienceHideout]
[Edited on 4-4-2014 by ScienceHideout] |
It worked? That's great! I'll get on the program. I can make functions for all of those commands (And probably throw in a few more. For example, you
said something to the means of you having to work on this before it turned on? I'll make it run a diagnostic check to )
In answer to your question, is a "scan" a picture, or a number (Data). There seems to be a command (DATA) that retrieves data at a wavelength. I could
make a program that changes the wavelength and reads data for a cell, generating a list of values for many wavelengths. It would output CSV (Comma
separated Values) files, which could be inputted into Excel (Or other spreadsheet program) to make a graph of how well a substance absorbs light at
certain wavelengths. Is that what you were talking about?
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ScienceHideout
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Yes, that sounds amazing! Thank you again so much!
hey, if you are reading this, I can't U2U, but you are always welcome to send me an email!
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The Volatile Chemist
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Glad to hear it! was working on the actual program when you posted the last reply. I've implemented Autozero, Autozero <absorbance>, Baseline,
and baseline with settings (choose the start & stop wavelengths, and the wavelength increment, this function was built in, I'll make another one
for generating data for graphs.
Glad to be of help! (It's fun for me too! )
Nathan
Tomorrow, or later today I'll give you a copy of what I've done so far (Not much, but it should at least be helpful)
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The Volatile Chemist
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First version finished. Only has a few of the features you wanted, but I thought I'd give you something of my day's work. I'll add the rest later
(Tomorrow). You can get it here:
http://ptp.x10.mx/SpecControl.exe
Features (So far)
Scan- Type in resolution, start, and stop values in 3 text boxes, hit 'scan' button.
Moving between cells- Hit the up and down buttons next to the textboxes to move between cells. Hit the 'X' to move to the cell in the number box next
to it. Hit the Baseline button to perform the baseline function.
Port Number- Select the COM port in the upper right corner, change is instant.
Adjustment > Set Zero Value - Sets the last read value as zero absorbance
Adjustment > Set Correct Value - Sets last read value to it's correct value, as input-ted by you
The wavelength function under Adjustment doesn't work yet...
Glad to help!
Nathan
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ScienceHideout
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Okay, so I just went down in the lab and tested the machine... I connected it, turned the RS-232 on... everything looked good. Then I pressed a button
on the program and the machine said there was an 'Serial Communication Error.' I tried a few different buttons, tried typing text in the message box,
nothing worked. This puzzled me, so I opened up the 'Hello World!' program that you made earlier, and I can still get the message to come up fine on
the spec... however, if you leave it to idle with that message for a few minutes, the error comes up. This really baffles me... Looked in the
troubleshooting section of the manual and It doesn't even list this code. I honestly have no idea what parity is, but could that affect it? I know
that most programs have no parity... Hmmm... Do you think that changing it to another 'COM' port would do anything? I can go into my device manager
and change it to COM 3 or whatever...
Anyways, thanks for what you have done so far! I can't wait to perform scans and stuff!
hey, if you are reading this, I can't U2U, but you are always welcome to send me an email!
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The Volatile Chemist
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| Quote: Originally posted by ScienceHideout | Okay, so I just went down in the lab and tested the machine... I connected it, turned the RS-232 on... everything looked good. Then I pressed a button
on the program and the machine said there was an 'Serial Communication Error.' I tried a few different buttons, tried typing text in the message box,
nothing worked. This puzzled me, so I opened up the 'Hello World!' program that you made earlier, and I can still get the message to come up fine on
the spec... however, if you leave it to idle with that message for a few minutes, the error comes up. This really baffles me... Looked in the
troubleshooting section of the manual and It doesn't even list this code. I honestly have no idea what parity is, but could that affect it? I know
that most programs have no parity... Hmmm... Do you think that changing it to another 'COM' port would do anything? I can go into my device manager
and change it to COM 3 or whatever...
Anyways, thanks for what you have done so far! I can't wait to perform scans and stuff! |
Well, that at least will be easy to solve. What commands did you try running? Did you set your machine to 9600 Baud, even parity? I'll try a few edits
to the transmit code, change it back to how it was. This should fix it. If it doesn't, it's likely it has a problem with a command or commands. which
did you try?
Expect an updated file afternoon tomorrow, which will hopefully fix the problem you described.
Thanks for the info!
Nathan
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The Volatile Chemist
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Alright. I uploaded a hopefully better program.
http://ptp.x10.mx/SpecControl2.exe
Please do the following test (It now runs at these following specs.) Set your Spectrophotometer (Sheesh, long word...) to 4800 Baud, with EVEN parity.
Only open one program at a time which accesses the COM port that the machine is using. Set the COM port in the upper right corner to whatever port you
are using. Press Communication >> Screen Message, and type in something. If an error comes up then, restart everything. If an error comes up
when you start the program.... Tell me. Next (If it doesn't error on start), press the 'Up' arrow button. This SHOULD move up one cell. Tell me what
happens.
Thanks!
Nathan
It's possible you asked the machine to do something it couldn't. To run a scan, you must type reasonable numbers into the resoulution, start
(Minimum), and stop (Maximum) text boxes.
[Edited on 4-6-2014 by The Volatile Chemist]
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ScienceHideout
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Okay, I changed the baud rate, made sure the parity was even, com 1, etc... Typed in something, and I still got the same error on the machine. I reset
the machine and everything, and I tried to press other buttons thinking 'maybe it is only the message command that is corrupt." I pressed the button
to move the sample cell, still, the error came up 
hey, if you are reading this, I can't U2U, but you are always welcome to send me an email!
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The Volatile Chemist
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Slashed this first part....
Note: You have to run a baseline before running a scan no matter what, probably should have read more...
[Edited on 4-7-2014 by The Volatile Chemist]
Edit: PROBLEM-Solved.... I figured out the command terminator was a CR.... I was using CRLF!!!! Wohoo! I'll implement it tonight!
[Edited on 4-7-2014 by The Volatile Chemist]
OK, This should be fixed. Go to your RS-232 C settings. Keep it at even parity, 4800 baud, etc. One thing, check your settings for RS-232C TERMINATOR:
which should be CR right now. If not, tell me, but try to run this first:
http:/ptp.x10.mx/SpecControl3.exe
It should work, as I saw an error, I had used the wrong line terminator!
[Edited on 4-7-2014 by The Volatile Chemist]
[Edited on 4-7-2014 by The Volatile Chemist]
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ScienceHideout
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Unfortunately it doesn't seem like that was the problem I can try the 2nd edition
again and see if I can change the machine to CLRF, otherwise, I have no clue what the issue may be. Is the program running 8 data bits?
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The Volatile Chemist
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| Quote: Originally posted by ScienceHideout | | Unfortunately it doesn't seem like that was the problem I can try the 2nd edition
again and see if I can change the machine to CLRF, otherwise, I have no clue what the issue may be. Is the program running 8 data bits?
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I think so.... Did you try the thing you proposed above? Running version 2 with CRLF? That may work! I'll look for other problems in it tonight. If
the CRLF thing doesn't work, change it back to CR, and I'll make another one tonight. Actually, I'll make a few. Tell me if any of them work. I'll
post them as a second post to this one.
Sorry about how it's going so far...
Nathan
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The Volatile Chemist
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Try This at CR, 4800 Baud, Even parity, 8 bits data:
http://ptp.x10.mx/SpecControl.exe
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aga
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Hi from an Ancient.
RS232 is generally a Bitch unless all the parameters are known.
First off, what cable do you have ?
Second, is there any Setup that you can do on the machine, such as DIP switches etc ?
If you're on windows, try using hypertrm.exe and see if the machine talks nicely to you.
If you do not have hypertrm.exe i'll send it to you.
[Edited on 8-4-2014 by aga]
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aga
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Sorry. I missed the 'It worked' statement.
Most likely you are hitting a buffer overflow error - the machine's RS232 buffer cannot keep up with the rate the PC sends data (not the baud rate :
the rate at which the PC sends characters at whatever baud rate).
You can work around that by introducing a delay in software between sending characters (depends on PC speed) or, much better, use the CTS/RTS/DTR
lines of the RS232 interface.
Another method is XON/XOFF which is much the same, but without the extra wires.
Both methods prevent the sender (the PC) sending anything if the machine is busy/unable to accept more characters.
Seeing as the machine and the PC were OK with short messages, it is likely that this is the problem.
[Edited on 8-4-2014 by aga]
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The Volatile Chemist
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| Quote: Originally posted by aga | Sorry. I missed the 'It worked' statement.
Most likely you are hitting a buffer overflow error - the machine's RS232 buffer cannot keep up with the rate the PC sends data (not the baud rate :
the rate at which the PC sends characters at whatever baud rate).
You can work around that by introducing a delay in software between sending characters (depends on PC speed) or, much better, use the CTS/RTS/DTR
lines of the RS232 interface.
Another method is XON/XOFF which is much the same, but without the extra wires.
Both methods prevent the sender (the PC) sending anything if the machine is busy/unable to accept more characters.
Seeing as the machine and the PC were OK with short messages, it is likely that this is the problem.
[Edited on 8-4-2014 by aga] |
Thanks! ScienceHidout, did you try it??? (The most recent link?)
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aga
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Just for completeness, the CTS/RTS/DTR pins on an RS232 connection are as follows :-
CTS = Clear To Send - a signal saying 'you may send me some data'
RTS = Ready To Send - a signal saying 'i have some data is to send you'
DTR = Data Terminal Ready - a signal saying that a device is ready to accept data, dependent on CTS.
The C in RS232C just means that the RS232 signals run at 12 volts.
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ScienceHideout
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Unfortunately, the newest program didn't work nor did changing the termination thing on the previous ones... So far the best working one was the
'hello world' one 
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The Volatile Chemist
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| Quote: Originally posted by ScienceHideout | | Unfortunately, the newest program didn't work nor did changing the termination thing on the previous ones... So far the best working one was the
'hello world' one |
Looking into it...
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