Gunners TekZone

That executable seemed to work (I ran it from within the folder). This time on a Windows 7 (32bit) system with fixed COM ports. I did NOT install or update any .Net... just what may have been original, or installed with older LEGO Mindstorms programs. As with the prior one (that I hadn't yet responded about), when attempting to connect the 2nd interface (Set COM3 and press Start Lego), even though I chose COM3, it crashed... referencing that it can't re-open COM2. ================================================================= See the end of this message for details on invoking just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box. ************** Exception Text ************** System.InvalidOperationException: 'PortName' cannot be set while the port is open. at System.IO.Ports.SerialPort.set_PortName(String value) at LegoNS.LegoInterfaceB.set_ComPort(String value) in C:\Users\sengx\source\repos\LegoDemoB\LegoInterfaceB.cs:line 64 at LegoNS.Lego.CmbComPort2_SelectedIndexChanged(Object sender, EventArgs e) in C:\Users\sengx\source\repos\LegoDemoB\Lego.cs:line 61 at System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox.OnSelectedIndexChanged(EventArgs e) at System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox.WmReflectCommand(Message& m) at System.Windows.Forms.ComboBox.WndProc(Message& m) at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(HWND hWnd, MessageId msg, WPARAM wparam, LPARAM lparam) ************** Loaded Assemblies ************** System.Private.CoreLib Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- LegoDemoB Assembly Version: 1.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Runtime Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Windows.Forms Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.ComponentModel.Primitives Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Windows.Forms.Primitives Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Drawing.Primitives Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Collections.Specialized Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Runtime.InteropServices Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Threading Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Diagnostics.TraceSource Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Collections Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Drawing.Common Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.IO.Ports Assembly Version: 9.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Linq Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- Microsoft.Win32.Registry Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Memory Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- Microsoft.Win32.Primitives Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.ComponentModel.EventBasedAsync Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Threading.Thread Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- Accessibility Assembly Version: 4.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.ComponentModel.TypeConverter Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Numerics.Vectors Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Diagnostics.FileVersionInfo Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.ComponentModel Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- Microsoft.Win32.SystemEvents Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Collections.Concurrent Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.ObjectModel Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Private.Uri Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Collections.NonGeneric Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Threading.ThreadPool Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Threading.Overlapped Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Diagnostics.StackTrace Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Reflection.Metadata Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Collections.Immutable Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.IO.MemoryMappedFiles Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Text.Encoding.Extensions Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- System.Runtime.Loader Assembly Version: 8.0.0.0 Location: ---------------------------------------- ************** JIT Debugging **************

Having only disassembled/reassembled it once, all I can suggest is A) Do NOT tip the opened "top" over... The red button and all those small light pipes will fall out and make a game of 52 card pickup look easy :D The black and coloured 9v connection parts are clipped in, and will stay put just fine. When disassembling, place the "top" face down on a smooth, hard surface. The board can then be gently pried out around the edges. The two grey plastic pins that look like they are holding clips seem more likely to be alignment pins. Be gentle when releasing them, as you don't want them to break. When reassembling, align the board as best able with the "top", then carefully press slowly across the board, where the connectors are, until they all feel solidly pressed into place. Again, the two plastic pins seem more to be alignment pins then holding pins, and between them and the flared spring clips on the board, self aligning to the back of the "top" 9v connections goes fairly easy.

PS You are welcome, and Thank You! :D Thank You! I has set up Termite terminal to repeatedly send the startup phrase every 3 seconds. Then with my USB-UART adapter/tester, I used that signal to confirm that the signal was getting to the Rxd pin (21) on the processor. And then found the response on the Txd pin (22). I then manually traced the... trace... from the via, off of the Txd pin on the processor, along the back of the board and up to a pair of resistors on the front, upper left of the board. There is a translucent section where the UART optical isolation section is. I found the correct via and resistor with the signal, but it ended on the other side of the resistor. I expeditated my resistor test with a fine tweezer across the resistor (to short it) and suddenly my terminal started showing the response signal.

Well... how silly of me to not check that, after everything else I was doing. I was clearly not running on all threads... My primary PC is a laptop without any Serial port, so I was using a USB-Serial adapter. And had forgot to plug it back in when last attempting to check out your program. Amazingly, it popped up just fine with said adapter first plugged in. TeeHeeHee...Oops! The small PC I will be using all the interfaces on does have 4 built in serial ports, so forgetting that will be a bit harder :) Thanks... Amazingly it also loads when the adapter is plugged in :P (But I checked without anyhow... And still same ghosting issue. Perhaps a warning if no COM port detected?) Also... A suggestion?... When labeling the outputs, use A-H instead of 1-8. That way it matches the Interface-B designations. Now after my "morning" coffee, I will start testing with multiple interfaces.

Thanks for this little tidbit... It was what kickstarted my further testing of a non-functional Interface-B that I just received from ebay (and on this last Christmas day of all times). All it did was blink the online/offline LED every 2 seconds when plugged into a serial link. Nothing more. Control Lab didn't even complain that it wasn't there... It just obviously didn't do anything. I had opened it up and basically looked for obvious power, burnt, broken component issues, etc. And having found none, had given up on it as having mystery logic issues and becoming a costly parts doner. But after reading your post, and realising I have a cheap (cost and function) FNIRSI 1014D that I picked up about a year ago... and honestly barely understand how to use it. But after reading what you did, I was motivated to try, and was able to get squiggly lines in the various spots I tested, and could confirm that something data like was entering (and possibly leaving... but looking drastically odd) the processor on the Interface-B. But this crappy scope doesn't even have any Serial decoding. Then I realised that I could probably use a simple USB-UART adapter, as used on Arduinos, etc. reading out on a terminal program. And, yes... that worked, and I was able to confirm the starting phrase p\0###Do you byte, when I knock?$$$ was feeding into the processor. And more importantly... the Interface-B WAS responding with the acknowledgement command ###Just a bit off the block!$$$ followed by the data stream (that was causing the odd look on the scope)... It just wasn't getting any further down the line and was causing the unit to time out. Some tracing later, and I found a faulty resistor... that was it! And, not having such surface mounted parts, I just removed it and bridged the gap. Now everything is working perfectly!!! Again, thanks for your posting your trials that gave me the insight to continue my own :D

Hello and Welcome, Bliss. Apologies on my former account's deleted posts. I was having technical issues with that account, and once realising we can't delete accounts here (go fig??)... And no one replied to my requests for assistance over last year... I just blanked what few posts I had done, created a proper account, and will redo this latest post :D That all said and done... I had just gotten through reading (AKA skimming) this whole Dacta Control Lab topic, on this past Christmas day, when on that same day I received a delivery of my 2nd Interface-B (Yah, parcel deliveries on Christmas, and the guy wasn't even wearing anything red :) ). So while on Christmas Day I had tested your program briefly, on my existing Interface-B, and it worked! :) but I was too busy trying to fix my "new" one to do much more. Eventually I was able to bypass a faulty resistor in the interface's Serial transmit circuit... and figured I would try out your program again, this time with it's multi-device option... Only now your LegoB.exe doesn't do... anything?!?!... No error, no nada. I rebooted and tried again... still nothing. Odd??? I run Windows 10, 64bit. I have reinstalled the latest .Net framework in-case that has anything to do with it (not something I actively use... but apparently did have already installed for something else.). However, even that didn't work. I can't understand what is happening... I click on the executable, it briefly shows the hourglass, flashed the drive LED... Then crickets... If I hadn't actually seen and used your program the initial (and only) time, a day or so ago... I would be a bit SUS. However nothing is flagged on my anti-virus, and I have rebooted, reinstalled .Net, removed and re-downloaded your zip file. Even tried the installable option. Again, it just briefly shows the hourglass, flashed the drive LED... and nada, zip zilch...??? Oh well... I think I will just leave this alone and move on. I hope others will be able to get it working and test it for you on multiple boxes. Take care!