Docklight News

In light of the current Corona / COVID-19 crisis, we have noticed some very interesting and potentially life-saving projects in respirator technology: https://hackernoon.com/the-open-source-ventilator-game-has-changed-ambovent-and-medtronic-covid-19-ventilators-open-source-s77l3y4s https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3806207,00.html https://github.com/AmboVent-1690-108/AmboVent Docklight has over the years found its applications in med tech environments, including the development & maintenance of such equipment. While we do not hold any specific knowledge about the protocols and data transfers involved, we assume there have been already in the past Docklight project files and scripts for such purposes, e.g. to assist in device testing and simulation of sensor data. What we did support more extensively, and where we also provided starting points and example scripts in the past, are data communications in medical laboratory equipment and testing facilities....

Docklight V2.3 adds project doc support UPDATE 2020/01 - standard V2.3 release out now. Here are the download links for our V2.3 release versions : Download Docklight V2.3 Release Version Download Docklight Scripting V2.3 Release Version New  features include: Sequence and project documentation area RTF logging new Scripting commands for creating custom tools: DL.SetUserOutput / DL.SetWindowLayout / DL.GetKeyState Docklight makes device testing easier for your clients Quickly building small demo applications for clients is a task where Docklight really shines. It is a major reason for Docklight’s popularity among equipment manufacturers or integrators using RS232/RS485/TCP/UDP/HID-based communication interfaces. With Docklight or Docklight Scripting you can swiftly create an example project that shows typical protocol commands and the device responses in action. So along with the device manual and application protocol description, the customer gets a hands-on e...

There are countless examples and resources using Docklight as a helper to "get the job done" in the Embedded world, be it for RS232, RS485, 5V / 3.3V TTL UART connections, TCP, UDP or USB HID. Let's mention a few. Integrating UART based touchscreen - Docklight to help The people at Electronics Base have recently published an extensive tutorial about setting up a sleek GUI prototype for the Nextion Intelligent Display products - LCD touchscreens with a simple UART communication link. It shows how you can create a first UI layout for the LCD module with the manufacturers toolkit within minutes, and then go ahead and use Docklight for pre-testing and simulation of the microcontroller part. Here's the post about the Nextion display  (including demo source codes and Docklight projects for download) and the Nextion tutorial video . A related product and application are the Intelligent LCD controller chips and touch screen display modules from Amulet Techno...

TL;DR; Docklight Scripting V2.1 USB HID support didn't work on Windows 10. Here is an updated version with additional improvements: https://docklight.de/download/Docklight_Scripting.zip The Problem Apparently, Windows 10 has a different behavior concerning HID access than earlier versions. Docklight Scripting uses HIDAPI from Alan Ott / Signal 11, and the problem was recently detected and resolved in the HIPAPI implementation  (see  https://github.com/signal11/hidapi/issues/231 ).  The Solution We updated Docklight Scripting's HIDAPI code, so it can now successfully open a HID connection in Windows 10: We also added two Docklight-specific improvements concerning USB HID access: Added support for variable Output Report IDs You can work now with varying, non-zero Output Report IDs using the :I communication channel option, e.g. USBHID:4D8:F708:I Now the first character of your Send Sequences is used as the Output Report ID (instead of the def...

For industrial measurement equipment, the classic serial RS232 DB9 or SUB D9 interface is still very much alive. In most cases because this was the original design. And all the device has to do, now and forever, is to pass a few measurements and respond to a few basic commands. However, in a world where RS232 DB9 connectors for PCs almost always come as external USB-to-RS232 adapters, and tablet computers with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are becoming increasingly popular for operating panels, this does not really make sense any more. This is why equipment makers are gradually updating their connectivity, many times keeping their application layer serial protocol, but providing a modernized transport layer and physical connector to the end users. Popular solutions include: USB connector with integrated RS232-to-USB UART, e.g. using FTDI or Prolific chipsets and boards. Embedded Serial Device Server for TCP/IP via Ethernet or Wifi, e.g. Lantronix XPort or MOXA device server modules. ...