Can get HD Radio running on my test pc not but the carpc.. help

Sonicxtacy02 · 11-13-2007, 01:39 PM

i got my directed HD unit today and i'm trying to figure out why i can get it to work on my work pc but not my car pc. Here is the stuff i've done to try to get it working

-opened the HDRadio Folder and ran the runme1st.bat
-added hdradioport=1 to rr.ini
-added radiomode=8 to rr.ini
-using test HD radio bmv skin

in my office, i can hear static just as soon as i hook the radio up and unmute the mic/line-in line. The unit clicks indicating its turning on and off as it should and music is played as it should be. In the car, hooked up the same way with my creative live 24-bit card i dont hear any static upon hooking the unit up and unmuting the line in. Now this could be an issue with the sound card... but there's another difference between the work pc and the car pc in that on the work pc i can successfully scan for local channels using the radio function menu. If i try using this menu in the car the radio skin goes to 89.30 then sits there not scanning for anything. Power in the car is good.. the radio clicks on and off as it should.. i just dont hear anything. What could this be?

guino · 11-13-2007, 05:22 PM

Well, first thing I'd try is to (WITHOUT changing the other connections) plug the original control pod from the tuner instead of mitchjs's adapter cable (Which you know works cause it works at your work pc). With that plugged in, try to get it to turn on and tune stations to see if you can hear anything through the PC -- if not, plug something directly to it to see if the sound comes through correctly -- If it DOES, then its something to figure out with the sound card, if it doesn't then it's likely to be something with the install itself. Once you get it to work with the original control pod, plug it back onto the PC and it most lileky will work (As long as the COM port setting is correct and the required files are in place.

Sonicxtacy02 · 11-14-2007, 08:39 AM

well i tried it with the original control pod and it works so its definitely not sound card related. Only thing i can think of is my serial port doesnt put out enough power to hit the ON switch ... though oddly i hear the click of a relay when i go to the radio screen. I'll have to get a serial to usb adapter then see how that goes.

Sonicxtacy02 · 11-14-2007, 05:26 PM

the serial adapter now works and i can hear the radio using mitch's program... but now that the com port has changed rr does not start the device when i enter the radio screen. I set hdradioport=10 in rr.ini and i hear no clicking from the device when i enter the radio screen. I've tried other com ports to the same result. If i manually enter the com port into mitch's program the radio is found and clicks on like normal. Are there settings other than default that rr needs to control the com port? Could it have something to do with the fact that the port is created from the usb/serial cable software?

mitchjs · 11-15-2007, 07:14 PM

Guino, any known issues in VB with comport #'s > 9?

Sonicxtacy02, try changing the comport number to < 10, its in device management...

mitch

guino · 11-16-2007, 05:04 AM

depends on how you're opening the com port -- you do know I'm only passing the port number to your COM object... I know that if using the windows api, you can use "COM1" to "COM4" and then anything above COM4 has to be opened with "\\.\COM5" for instance. If the code you're using takes a "string" for the port to open, you probably need to do that, if the code you use to open the port only takes a number, then you probably don't have to worry about it.

I do suggest changing the port to a lower number in device manager as well -- this will keep you away from problems.

Sonicxtacy02 · 11-16-2007, 07:33 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by guino

depends on how you're opening the com port -- you do know I'm only passing the port number to your COM object... I know that if using the windows api, you can use "COM1" to "COM4" and then anything above COM4 has to be opened with "\\.\COM5" for instance. If the code you're using takes a "string" for the port to open, you probably need to do that, if the code you use to open the port only takes a number, then you probably don't have to worry about it.

I do suggest changing the port to a lower number in device manager as well -- this will keep you away from problems.

i've tried it on lower port numbers (numbers, 5 & 6). i've even tried to change the motherboard's serial ports COM number and it does the same thing.. if the device isnt on COM 1 it doesnt get turned on in RR, in mitch's program however it works fine on any port. I'm testing this using the 11/4 beta release you provided me guino.

guino · 11-16-2007, 08:01 AM

Check that you're using the DLLs provided in the release package, and not some other DLLs that came with mitch's test app.. this may be an issue with the version of the DLLs (VB is very picky). But if you can try a Port between 1 and 4.

Sonicxtacy02 · 11-16-2007, 11:31 AM

i downloaded the latest binary, ran runme1st.cmd in the HDradio folder.. and it says everything was done successfully. Changed the port number to 3 in device manager, changed hdradioport=3 in rr.ini and the same thing occured. Started mitch's program and it clicked right on as it should again. The only thing weird i noticed is when i try to register the hdradiocomm.dll file i get a message saying somethin about the dllregisterserver entry point was not found. I glanced over the source code to see if maybe port 1 was set as the default and the variable was bein incorrectly set but i didnt see any issues.

Nanner · 11-16-2007, 04:04 PM

I went through the very same problems when setting up the Directed HDRadio on my test system. I kept getting the dll register error you mention. I then looked at what was being registered and it looks like a .NET assembly. I downloaded and installed Microsoft .NET 2.0 and it registered successfully. It took me a little while and it sure would have been nice if someone mentioned that .NET needs to be installed. I have the HD Radio on my test box working using a USB to serial adapter (cheapy generic from Ebay) using Mitchjs' cable. The USB to serial created a new port; COM3 which I set in rr.ini. I'm currently updating my radio skin to display the new HD info.

Sonicxtacy02 · 11-16-2007, 06:12 PM

can you confirm that rr turns on the radio when its on com port 3? I downloaded and installed .net 2.0 as it was required to even install mitch's application. I'm wondering if there are other requirements i just dont know about like VB runtime files or something.

mitchjs · 11-16-2007, 07:59 PM

yup .net 2.0 is needed... no other requirements by my dll

it has to be registered as a comobj so RR can use it, aka the runme1st.cmd file

mitch

guino · 11-17-2007, 06:29 AM

Sonic, did you check if you perhaps have more than one file/version of the HDRadioComm.dll in your carpc ? I woudn't be surprised if the Test app came with one version and RR is expecting another.

mitchjs · 11-17-2007, 02:05 PM

my test app (HD Radio PCR), has the dll in the assembly... so u shouldnt have any issues with that. Basicly 1 file (an .exe)

mitch

Sonicxtacy02 · 11-17-2007, 02:29 PM

well i used the unregme.cmd, re-installed .net (repaired the install), re-ran the runme1st.cmd and now it appears to be working . Not sure what the issue was but i'm glad its solved