Send different commands to RS232 during measurement

[BruteForceMethod]

I have a Watts Up? Pro watt meter plugged into Dasylab 11 via RS232 com port.  when starting measurement, the RS232 input module is set up to send a command which resets data logging from the device and tells the device to begin external logging (to the computer).  my problem is that at certain times during measurement, I need to send the reset command to the device such that the output of logged data starts back at zero without stopping measurement (the device measures watt-hours since last reset command)

Start Command:

    Reset datalog

    \n#R,W,0;\n

    Set External Logging
    \n#L,W,3,E,0,1;\n

Stop Command:

    Set Internal Logging

    \n#L,W,3,I,0,1;\n

    Reset datalog
    \n#R,W,0;\n

I was looking into perhaps setting up variable strings and changing them from a switch module somehow, but doing something like that (if it is at all possible) is way out of my league to figure out without some help.....

[Tim_W.]

Given that your issue doesn't involve NI hardware or drivers, you may consider checking out the DASYLab support page.

Tim W.

Applications Engineering

National Instruments

http://www.ni.com/support 

[BruteForceMethod]

Thanks

[BruteForceMethod]

So I logged into the Dasylab support page and could only find a link back to this forum .... I'm kinda thinking that this project may be a bust without having access to the action module (In the Full version), anyway since there doesn't seem to be a way to actively change commands being sent to the RS232 interface during measurement ...  Oh well, I guess it isn't really that big of a deal stopping and re-starting measurement every time a new command is needed to be sent.

keep it simple

[TomRizzo]

Hello,

the only way I learned to do it is by using action lists.  So you use a pulse generator to collect data and and when you need to send data, you stop the pulse, sens the data command, and then start pulsing.

We had this problem with a temperature controller and this is how we solved it.

[CJ_Butler__DASYLab_Pro]

Ignore the person behind the curtain. This is currently the only active forum that I monitor for DASYLab.

We will help you here! 

Do you have DASYLab Full or Pro? If so, there is an Action that you can use to send the Reset command.

If you need a different reset command, then you can make a RS232 Output module, configured for "winth input" or Action, to send the reset command on demand.

[TomRizzo]

CJ,

We did found a problem on sending commands while the module was receiving them.  That is why I suggested the above method.

[BruteForceMethod]

I'm currently running with the basic version, which is missing some of the modules (like the Action Module)

I'll try getting the Pulse Generator working though for now, Thanks

[TomRizzo]

Yes but you will need the pulse to activate an action unfortunately.

I would suggest to download the demo version and see if it solve your problem.

Tom

[Martin wijaya]

i'm using dasylab and I want to stop the machine from working (as if keeps working, it can get spoil).

I heard that RS232 can solve that problem, so I'm a bit confused how do I stop the machine from working after it reach certain values.

Regards

Martin Wijaya