plotting serial data

[GreenLeader]

I've been playing around with a program to plot graphs of data coming in from a serial source (like a PICAXE).
There are some these around, but I've not found one that does quite I what I wanted, so I had a go at my own...

Its an executable that runs on a Windows desktop or Windows pocket PC.
The idea was to make something simple that could show the data graphically and numerically, and ideally could also run on a handheld device, accepting data on the bluetooth serial port.
Android would have been ideal, but I am not much of a programmer so I stuck to something I managed to understand (an obslete compiler called ZEUS).

So, my program accepts up to 10 channels of comma-separated numbers arriving on the serial port like this:

$,0,0,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000,0.000
$,156,0.156,0.155,0.614,1.353,0.156,0.155,0.614,1.353,0.614
$,281,0.281,0.277,1.066,2.240,0.281,0.277,1.066,2.240,1.066
$,421,0.421,0.409,1.492,2.859,0.421,0.409,1.492,2.859,1.492

A $ is used to indicate the start each of each new "scan" or batch of channels.
The program is setup using two simple text config files.
The first has one line to specify the serial port, baud rate, ID of a channel config file, and the number of channels to plot. eg
10,9600,1,5
The second is the channel config file which has one line for each channel to define the title, units, min and max values eg
time,s,0,40.0
ch2,m/s,-1,1 etc

The data gets plotted as soon as it arrives.
I am attaching a .wmv file of a few seconds of video to show what it looks like so far..
(replaced the .wmv file with a .zip file with a demo of the software)

3-6-2012
Added new zip file with V1.02 including user manual, PPC and Desktop versions. (Does 10 channels, adds logging capability. Expires Oct 2012, but email me if you find it useful and I'll send an extended version)

 

[matherp]

Looks great - are you going to make the program available?

rgds

Peter

 

[GreenLeader]

Hi Peter
I'll try an load a demo version in my first post...
Let me know if were able to make it work!

 

[nick12ab]

Hi Peter
I'll try an load a demo version in my first post...
Let me know if were able to make it work!

"demo" version?

Yes it works but why a demo?

But on the other hand, it is incredibly user unfriendly and in that sense would be poor quality even for freeware.

 

[MFB]

Good work but have you tried StampPlot Pro? Its free to download, well documented and versatile.

 

[mrburnette]

StampPlot Pro.. use it, love it. The ability to tie an equation to a channel prior to plotting is a grand feature.
Personally, I do not do "demo" programs.

- Ray

 

[nick12ab]

From the StampPlot Pro site:

Upcoming License Changes: Due to a pending distribution agreement, this package will no longer
[FONT=Arial, Arial, Helvetica] be free for use starting sometime in 2012 and will be a higher price. Multiple improvements and new documentation are planned. Current licenses will be honored - get yours now at the discounted price of $19.00 USD. An older version will be available to support educational material on the market currently.[/FONT]

What is a "pending distribution agreement"? Doing a Google search, the first thing that comes up is the page for StampPlot Pro, so maybe they just mean that "we want to make more money from the software than we currently do".

 

[IronJungle]

nick: I have never used StampPlot, but "pending distribution agreement" could mean that they have been using somebody else software utility (could be freeware, could be paid for) and do not have permission to distribute it as part of their product?

 

[MFB]

My understanding is that this software is moving from being a free resource (originally developed to support the Basic Stamp in US schools) to being widely marketed for more general use and this requires funding. It can only help to make this excellent application come to the notice of more potential users.

 

[GreenLeader]

Good work but have you tried StampPlot Pro? Its free to download, well documented and versatile.

Thanks - I have seen StampPlot, and also plx-daq for excel.
I like plx-daq and have used it to collect data and plot it into an excel template to make a neat test report.
But neither of them run on a Pocket PC or any other type of handheld device.
I have not been able to find anything that runs on Android either, which is a great pity..

I had found a program that is GPS-specific and limited to Pocket PC, which allowed the user to create his own customised displays - http://www.gpsskinner.com. It has a selection of graphs and dials for displaying GPS-type data. I thought it would be really good if, instead of reading only NMEA strings, it could read a a generic serial string, and direct the data to whatever type of display the user chose to configure. I contacted the developer in the hope he might be interested in customising it, but since PPC is pretty much dead, I think he felt there was not much point . And converting to Andorid would involve too much effort.

And so I ended up having a go at making my own basic PPc serial plotter....

 

[nick12ab]

@GreenLeader - You still haven't specified why the version you've posted here is only a "demo" version. Are you afraid of getting a response saying "maybe I should exclude most wizards in a free version of my PICAXE Calculator program and maybe WestAust should exclude most components in the free version of PEBBLE (and in both cases, charge for the full versions)" if you say that you'll be charging for your software?

 

[MFB]

It's disappointing that you say there are no simple serial plotting/logging apps for the Andorid, as they seem to be using this cheap portable computing power for all sorts of things. Even sending them into space! It maybe worth contacting Selmaware about developing an Androrid version of the basic StampPlot application. I have always found the author to be very responsive.

 

[GreenLeader]

@GreenLeader - You still haven't specified why the version you've posted here is only a "demo" version. Are you afraid of getting a response saying "maybe I should exclude most wizards in a free version of my PICAXE Calculator program and maybe WestAust should exclude most components in the free version of PEBBLE (and in both cases, charge for the full versions)" if you say that you'll be charging for your software?

I don't follow why you brought PEBBLE or the PICAXE calculator into the discussion!
But to answer your question - no I am not afraid that if I said I was charging for my program (which I didn't), that might trigger the rest of the world to start charging for their free software!

I don't have any particular aversion to paying for software - I have a bunch of programs that I find useful and either paid to get them or I donated as a token of my appreciation to the developer.
I never suggested I expected anyone to pay for my program. Maybe Lite would have a been a better term than demo as demo could imply there is a paid full version, and paying seems to be what is bothering you.

I did limit it to 4 channels for now. That way if anyone found it useful after their first quick look, they would likely ask about a version that could do more channels, or ask about adding more features like logging etc.
I don' think you'll be chasing another version as you made it quite clear you thought it was rubbish .

If the full version was available right away I thought there would be less chance of knowing if anyone that has downloaded, is actually using it.
If there was interest in the "demo" then I'd be motivated to put some more effort into it and keep it available.
(Or even better, someone else with better programming skills than me might be inspired to put out an Android version!)

 

[GreenLeader]

It's disappointing that you say there are no simple serial plotting/logging apps for the Andorid, as they seem to be using this cheap portable computing power for all sorts of things. Even sending them into space! It maybe worth contacting Selmaware about developing an Androrid version of the basic StampPlot application. I have always found the author to be very responsive.

Thanks for that suggestion - I might give that a whirl....

 

[nick12ab]

I don' think you'll be chasing another version as you made it quite clear you thought it was rubbish .

The graphing part isn't rubbish - all that I've said is that the user interface is rubbish. The 'console' part was probably put there by the compiler but the program really does need some integrated help and/or more descriptive buttons. Although there is a file included called 'readme', I never read them as they always say "Copyright xxxx xxx" followed by "This computer program is protected by international treaties..." or "This software comes with absolutely no warranty..."

 

[GreenLeader]

I added a new version of my serial plotting program (see the first post for the zip file):
- Windows PPC and Desktop versions
- plots up to 10 channels
- added data logging capability
- updated user manual

 

[nick12ab]

I added a new version of my serial plotting program (see the first post for the zip file):
- Windows PPC and Desktop versions
- plots up to 10 channels
- added data logging capability
- updated user manual

- Expires Oct 2012

What?

Oh well, it can be bypassed just by setting the clock backwards Well if the clock is set to after October, a message pops up but then the main window doesn't close.

 

[MartinM57]

Nick - with respect, if you have nothing to add except nit-picking about this, I suggest you increase your post count by making your usually positive contributions on other threads