SerialTester Online Help

SerialTester is a Windows-based application for testing and/or monitoring a StressLogic controller via RS-232 bus.

Shortcuts

Controller

Read controller	Ctrl + r
Autostatus on/off	Ctrl + a
Power on	Ctrl + p
Power off	Ctrl + 0 (nil)

Log/Terminal

Save log:	Ctrl + s
Load command file:	Ctrl + l
Pause/Continue logging:	Pause
Mark line:	Ctrl + m

Individual motors

	Motor 1	Motor 2	Motor 3
Start:	Ctrl + F1	Ctrl + F5	Ctrl + F9
Stop:	Ctrl + F2	Ctrl + F6	Ctrl + F10
Read:	F1	F5	F9
Parameters:	F2	F6	F10
Calibrate:	F3	F7	F11
Set Zero:	F4	F8	F12
Manual drive:	Cursor up Cursor down	Page up Page down	Cursor left Cursor right

To begin testing

1) Start SerialTester.

2) Connect (Connection -> Connect).

3) Initialize controller (Connection -> Initialize SL).

4) Turn motor power on (Ctrl + p).

5) Load and send parameters for each motor (Setup -> Parameters -> Motor A, B, C).

Menus

File

Save Log as	saves the log into an ASCII file.
Load Command File	loads a command file.
Save Command File as	saves the command buffer as a command file.

Edit

Clear Log

clears the log.

Setup

Parameters (submenu)	opens the motor parameter dialogs.
Autostatus	sets automatic reading for controller and motor status on/off (default: Off).
Preferences	opens the Preferences dialog.
Autoscroll	Sets automatic log scrolling on update on/off (default: On).

Connection

Connect	opens the serial port.
Disconnect	closes the serial port.
Port Settings	opens the port settings dialog (changes take effect upon next connection).
Initialize SL	sends the initialization command to the controller.

Help

Help	opens this file in the default browser.
About SerialTester	shows the version and copyright information of the software.

Dialogs

Preferences

Log Buffer Size	is the maximum allowed size for the visible log (1 – 100000 kb).
Autostatus Interval	sets the interval that the autostatus feature sends its status polls on (200 – 60000 ms). Values of 1000 or greater are recommended.
Save log automatically	While this option is on, SerialTester will save the log automatically in a new file whenever you exit the program.

Parameters for Motor <motor indicator>

Load	loads parameters for this motor from a parameter (.par) file.
Save	saves parameters for this motor in a parameter (.par) file.
Send	sends the current parameters for this motor to the controller.
Close	closes the dialog.

Port Settings

NOTE: Any changes to these options take effect upon the next connection.

Port used	sets the COM port used (default: COM1).
Bits per second	sets the baud rate (default: 9600).
Data bits	sets the number of data bits (default: 8).
Parity	sets the parity (default: None).
Stop bits	sets the number of stop bits (default: 1).
Flow control	sets the handshaking mode (default: None).

Other controls

Motor box controls

Param	opens the parameter dialog for the motor.
Cal	sends the calibration command to the controller.
Zero	sends the “set to zero” command to the controller.
Start	starts the motor.
Stop	stops the motor.
<	manually drives the motor into the negative direction as long as the button is pressed.
>	manually drives the motor into the positive direction as long as the button is pressed.
Read	reads motor status.

Log controls

Mark	inserts a marker line into the log (does nothing unless there already is something in the log).
Pause	pauses logging (press again to continue).
Save	saves the log into an ASCII text file.

Terminal controls

NOTE: You may also press Enter in the terminal window to send individual commands.

Send	sends the command under the text cursor to the controller.
Send all	sends every command in the command buffer to the controller.
Load	loads a command file (which is just ASCII text).
Save	saves the commands into an ASCII text file.

Controller controls

NOTE: Clicking on any of the output LEDs turns the corresponding controller output on or off.

Read	reads controller status.
On	turns motor power on.
Off	turns motor power off.

SerialTester v1.0 (c) Stresstech Ltd 2003 - Created for Stresstech Ltd by Susanna Blomqvist, Antti Korhonen, Heikki Mylläri and Pekka Pakari under the supervision of the Department of Mathematical Information Technology, University of Jyväskylä.