Propeller Tool Software COM port issue
Ashok Kumar
Posts: 5
Guys...
I finally took time out to assemble my propstick but got stuck at this weird error.
I have radioshack USB to Serial cable and the drivers installed. Its using COM17 port.
There are COM6 to COM16 ports used up by some bluetooth device i installed.
When i try to make the propeller software connect to serial port, first of all it doesnt
give options to select th COM port and it searches from COM6 to COM16 and stops
and gives an error saying, Propeller not detected.
I checked the hardware device list (windows xp home) and it shows up all the ports
including COM17. Also, i am able to connect Basic Stamp Editor to COM17 (i can
select the COM port in this case).
Is there a way out ? I am using v0.98.1.
Appreciate any help on this.
Ashok
·
I finally took time out to assemble my propstick but got stuck at this weird error.
I have radioshack USB to Serial cable and the drivers installed. Its using COM17 port.
There are COM6 to COM16 ports used up by some bluetooth device i installed.
When i try to make the propeller software connect to serial port, first of all it doesnt
give options to select th COM port and it searches from COM6 to COM16 and stops
and gives an error saying, Propeller not detected.
I checked the hardware device list (windows xp home) and it shows up all the ports
including COM17. Also, i am able to connect Basic Stamp Editor to COM17 (i can
select the COM port in this case).
Is there a way out ? I am using v0.98.1.
Appreciate any help on this.
Ashok
·
Comments
If COM17 truly isn't being accessed by the Propeller software, it's likely because Windows isn't reporting it (in the same way as the others) as an available port.·
I wrote a small program (attached to this post) in anticipation of this situation with some USB to Serial devices.· Please do the following:
· 1)·Plug in your USB to Serial adapter.
· 2) Run the COM Port Enumerator.exe program.
· 3) Click on the "Get COM Ports" button
· 4) Look at the list it displays·(you may have to scroll) and see if you can find port 17 listed anywhere.·
· 5) Take a screenshot of that list and either post it here or send it via private message to me.
I'll see if I can determine a way to correct the problem based on these findings.
Thanks!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
--Jeff Martin
· Sr. Software Engineer
· Parallax, Inc.
I will do this once i get home today.
But as a quick note, i checked the device list in Hardware Devices in Windows XP and it shows all the devices including COM17.
The ones the tool is recognising all have 'Serial Port' in their description, while COM17's description doesnt have it.
Also, as i told, COM17 is a perfectly working port as i do all my Boe Bot stuff on that.
Will test with your program once i get back home tonite.
Thanks Again.
Ashok
On my laptop, when I first plug in my Prop., it was detected on COM12, but some of the terminal programs I use does not go up that high, so I just re-assigned it to COM2, and it works just fine. I only need to do this once, as it remembers the new port.
I have attached the output of the program you sent.
I changed my port to COM4, but still tool cant detect it.
I hope we can make a change so that we can force a COM port.
Thanks
Ashok.
Now this thing has bitten me, too. I have an FTDI USB serial port on COM3. The Stamp IDE recognizes it, but the Propeller IDE won't even scan it. This is true with the original USB adapter that came with the beta Demo Board, a USB Stamp board, and a new Propeller board I'm working on. It's also true using the Propeller IDE versions 0.70, 0.71.1, 0.95.1, and 0.98.1. I tried your EnumerateCOMPorts program, but it only sees COM1 and COM2, whaich are both native RS232 ports on my machine.
But here's the kicker ... and maybe a clue. I've configured the USB port that registers as COM3 — per the FTDI recommendations — to ignore the FT232R serial number, so it won't assign a new COM port for every new device that's plugged in. If I use the same hardware on a different USB port, it registers as COM4, and both the Stamp IDE and the Propeller IDE recognize it. Your port scanner finds it, too.
It would appear that the methods used by the Stamp IDE and the Propeller IDE for locating candidate serial ports are different, with the Propeller IDE's being more sensitive to certain driver settings.
-Phil
The Stamp Editor allows you to specify ports to try or to ignore (it allows the user to Force a port to be checked).· That feature still remains for legacy reasons, but we are now using Microsoft's recommended method of getting the information from the OS, regardless of the user's security settings (security settings per use on NT-based OSs were what led us to do the "force it" method in the Stamp Editor.
It appears that there is something else going on.· I'll look into it.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
--Jeff Martin
· Sr. Software Engineer
· Parallax, Inc.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Beau Schwabe
IC Layout Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
Also, in that version, if the Propeller was not found, it will give a list of ports tried and status for each one, so the problems caused by Hot Sync holding a port hostage would be seen as a port being unable to open.
The interesting thing is the new problem which was metioned above, where the Propeller Tool doesn't detect that a particular port exists.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
--Jeff Martin
· Sr. Software Engineer
· Parallax, Inc.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support
csavage@parallax.com
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Paul Baker
Propeller Applications Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
Post Edited (AppCogSys) : 9/7/2006 8:37:10 PM GMT
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Paul Baker
Propeller Applications Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Paul Baker
Propeller Applications Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
I think AppCogSys is reporting that the IDE didn't even examine his USB com port because it didn't know one was there — not that it couldn't find a connected Propeller. I'm basing this on his account of using Jeff's com port enumerator and finding "nada". (This could be verified further under the 0.98.1 IDE, which lists the ports it examines.) There is an issue with the IDE not finding all the available com ports on a PC, which Jeff is investigating. Based on the evidence presented, my gut feeling is that this problem, like some of the others mentioned here (mine included), falls under this category rather than those involving DTR issues.
-Phil
The 19HS works with other programs.I can backup my Palm, for instance,
I tried the Prop tool on both WinXP home and on the new Beta version of CrossoverMac, which runs Widows programs in a Mac environment.
The Crossover app. runs the Prop tool just fine, allowing proper program writing and saving , etc. About the only thing that doesn't work is that the character Maps don't display properly.( I can click on some black blobs that will then write characters to my program) I have no idea if this a Crossover Beta version problem or the Parallax folks doing some non-standard programming in the IDE, but even with this problem, the combination would be a great one if the darn thing would just program a chip.
I have the same problem with MACBS2, but with a twist. I get "Stamp not found" or "Comm Port not recognized" messages, seemingly at random, but I know the port is comunicating. If I have a program installed on a Stamp that writes to the DEBUG window or is supposed to get info from DEBUGIN , that works just fine. MACBS2 just won't program a Stamp on my Intel Mac. I ran the Windows Stamp IDE on Crossover and WinXP on the Mac with the same result.
Until the serial interface gets solved, I'm forced to keep my crumby Wintel NEC laptop in service just for programming Satmps and Props. Close but no cigar.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
I have a MacBookPro and use BootCamp and dual boot WinXP and have no problem at all. Using the latest FTDI Windows drivers for either Propeller, stamps, or SX Key. I also have no problem with stamps or FTDI with KeySpan drivers. I have no luck with MacBS2 and the FTDI Intel driver under OSX.
CrossOver is still garbage and documentation is almsot nil. They have a long way to go. Parallels still needs a lot of work on USB drivers. Setup Bootcamp with a FAT32 partition (so OSX can read/write from/to it) and you can get rid of your other laptop.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
cheers ... brian riley, n1bq, underhill center, vermont
See the K107 Serial LCD Controller at
www.wulfden.org/k107/
This is strange, theFTDI driveron my system sets up as COM3, COM5, COM7 depending on which USB port I use and so far Prop Tool has always found it. I am running a fully up to date Win XP Pro with latest FTDI driver on a MacBookPro booted under Windows not VMed.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
cheers ... brian riley, n1bq, underhill center, vermont
See the K107 Serial LCD Controller at
www.wulfden.org/k107/
The FTDI setup on one of my USB ports is one that entailed changing some registry keys (among other things) so that multiple, unique FT232Rs could be connected in sequence without creating a new com port each time. This was done so that multiple FTDI-equipped PCBs could be tested without overflowing the port assignments past COM99. (This is not necessary for the older FT232BMs, BTW — only the newer "R" version parts, each of which transmits a unique serial number.) Another USB port on the same machine is configured with normal FTDI settings. It's the first port that the IDE won't recognize; the second works fine. But the important fact is that both ports work fine with other apps. It's only the Propeller IDE that fails to acknowledge the one with the "unusual" settings. Jeff's software uses a Microsoft-recommended procedure for enumerating the available com ports. But it's not finding them all. When he comes up with a solution most, if not all, such problems should vanish &mdash at least on native Windows machines.
-Phil
For what it is worth. I tried a Keyspan USB2SER when I first got my Prop, and was building my demolition board. I don't recall the model, but it was the one that was recommended for use with the AtomPro (back when I was slummin it). It worked great for that, but didn't work on my Prop. I did not play with any drivers (for instance FTDI)·though, I must say. But I did try using it on the Prop with a computer that I KNEW worked for the AtomPro.
[noparse][[/noparse]Note; I just check Keyspans site, I have the 19HS model, at least without confirming, it visually looks identical. I'll gladly confirm after work if necessary.]
-Parsko
PS- I made a custom cable with an in-line black box that had a mini toggle on it to switch the DTR while trasferring data from eeprom to Hyperterminal (using the Keyspan and the AtomPro), and had no problems. I will be attempting this same thing (using·the cable with the black box to switch DTR)·this weekend with the Prop once I can figure out how to reliably read my eeproms.
Post Edited (parsko) : 9/8/2006 6:38:16 AM GMT
I did notice when I look at all assigned COM ports through the Keyspan serial assistant that my Max Stream install has grabbed a port even though no device is connected at all and, if it was, it would be connected through the Keyspan adapter. Is it normal for a piece of software to permanently usurp a port number like that? I may try uninstalling that and trying the Prop Tool again.
I look forward to any fixes Jeff may come up with. While this issue may cause headaches on newer systems some of the time, it doesn't detract from an overall remarkable product.
I have to say I have been flying along blindly trusting the drivers (read that as no registry edits, no configs run, just plugging the adapters into a USN 4 port hub I have and off and running) and so far it has given me no cause to distrust it. I have had simultaneously plugged in a USB2SER, the Prop Demo Board and the old style Parallax/FTDI USB2Serial adapters with Stamp Editor and SXKey and Prop Tool all running and had no problems.
I guess maybe being irish is a god thing ! <grin>
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
cheers ... brian riley, n1bq, underhill center, vermont
See the K107 Serial LCD Controller at
www.wulfden.org/k107/