RickS

Probably true but I can barely make my way through C#...I can use a converter to turn C# into VB though. I just found a site that may convert C++ directly to VB though...hopefully that will work.

MP3Car.com

 

armstrom

I ordered a dev kit and have started on a managed API dll (.NET Framework 2.0). Obviously I will not release anything until my encoder arrives but the interface seems pretty simple. I have built a few hardware APIs in the past so if you want an idea of what to expect you can take a look at the documentation on my EzLCD API:
http://www.mr2-power.com/ezLCD/

Obviously, the API for the encoder will not be nearly this complex but you get the idea. It will be fully documented just like the above example.

If anyone's curious, here's info on the EzLCD lcd itself, it's a pretty cool device.
http://www.ezlcd.com/

turbocad6

hey armstrom, I've looked at your ez lcd... really nice package... been considering using that as my climate control interface...., actually been considering even more than just climate control.... this thing can do so much looking forward to whatever you come up with on this haptic encoder...

parksgm, I'm talking about a pivot designed for this encoder... I've been kinda deep into another project & haven't gotten around to ordering this encoder yet though, but I did order the benz knob for it... I've considered several different ways to use this encoder, a joystick is one the things I've considered as well as integrating this & the space navigator as one control... when I do do something with this, I'll let you know

__________________
MY NEWEST INSTALL:modded infiniti fx with big screen - "If my typing sucks it's probably because I'm driving....................."

first windows carpc install........my liquid cooled LVDS screen :D

hybrids

So I recieved my haptic encoder tonight and am having some issues installing it... the drivers that you have listed on store page dont seem to have the correct drivers. The folder inside the zip folder says they are for a XM usb adapter. Are these the correct and im just doing something wrong??

armstrom

The USB adapter board is simply a USB to TTL adapter. Chances are this board was designed with the same USB chip as the XM adapter (both need the same functionality). Just install the driver anyway the worst that can happen is that it doesn't work My encoder will be here today so if you want to wait until someone else tries the supplied driver just wait until tonight and I'll post my results.

RickS

I installed the drivers on two computers and they work great...I didn't pay attention to what it said they were for though.

REALLY looking forward to your managed API for this thing though I will have to do a bunch of work to get my FE rebuilt in .NET 2 (needed to do it anyway and now I've got three reasons).

hybrids

How did you install the drivers? Windows keeps telling me that the drivers dont contain any information about the product and wont let me install them.

RickS

I unzipped the files in this download http://www.mp3car.com/products/PR-10...der_driver.zip then plugged in the device and pointed it there when it asked for the drivers. It installs two of them (one for the "serial port" and one for the device). Worked like any other install for me.

hybrids

So I tried reinstalling the device tonight and I am still having the same problems.... it automatically installs some driver that windows provides, or thinks is appropriate. Then when I try to update the driver to the correct one it says "The specified location does not contain information about your hardware." Any way I can stop windows from automatically installing a driver for it?

Zip-Lock

It should work just as RickS described. What default driver is it trying to load? What version of windows do you have?

hybrids

In the device manager it shows up as unknown device... in the properties it says that the driver provider is Microsoft and the driver version is 5.1.2600.0

I am running Windows XP with service pack 2.... I also have the same exact problem on my other laptop with Windows XP. Is it possible I got a faulty unit?

armstrom

Just a quick status update on the Managed API:
I finally had a chance to get started on the project today (work has been crazy). I should be done some time Sunday. At that point I'll post an initial release with as much documentation as I can scrape together.

There was also some talk earlier about where to get a knob for this thing... Well, as most of who ordered them know, it seems to have come with a black plastic knob that will work well if you're not too concerned about how it looks. Since I didn't know the knob would be included, I went ahead and machined one out of aluminum. I have attached a picture of it along with the cheap radio shack enclosure I mounted the encoder and USB adapter board in for testing.

More info to come.

-Matt

Attached Images

 

Zip-Lock

You just need to get the correct driver installed. Give us a call 410-526-2852 during normal business hours and we'll walk you through the process.

Zip-Lock

Looks nice Matt!

armstrom

Sorry for the delay. I came down with a cold this weekend which slowed my progress a great deal. I have completed a preliminary release of my managed SDK for the encoder. I tried to make the interface as simple as I can by providing events for all of the important state changes and allowing easy setup of "scenes" for the device.

Also, I have tried to greatly simplify the process of creating and loading "scenes" on to the device. With the API provided you can load pr1 files saved by the Immersion Studio application as well as create some basic effects using what I call the BalanceFaderScene and the SimpleBoundRangeScene.
These two should provide a great deal of functionality without ever having to learn the native message structure of the encoder. To demonstrate this I will release a more advanced demo program as soon as I get a chance, for now, take a look at the simple demo I included and use your imagination

For those who love to hack things together yourselves you can still do that. All of the register addresses and other key values are available as named enumerations taking all of he guess work out. You can leverage as much or as little of the "advanced" features as you like.

The three configurable scene classes I provide all implement the ITouchSenseScene interface, so you can create your own if you so desire. It's pretty simple.

You can download it here and give it a try. Please, take a look at the documentation first. The critical class is the TouchSenseEncoder class. That's where all the magic happens. Aside from that, play around with the demo and let me know what you think.

http://www.mr2-power.com/downloads/TouchSenseSDK.zip

Here's what the zip contains:

• A signed release build of the DLL you need to get going.
• A CHM file documenting the entire class structure
• Source code for a very simple demo app that should give a good indication of how the API works.

Notes:

• You must develop using the .NET Framework 2.0 (any managed language should do)
• The API only communicates with the device via the COM Port interface.
• Please keep in mind this is a first pass at this hacked up over the course of a couple of days. Please report any bugs to me directly, not on here (no need to clutter the thread)

Any feedback on the API would be very helpful.

Enjoy!
-Matt Armstrong

MP3Car.com