genericserial broken?

[dreamhost]

With Mario's help I finally managed getting my serial connection working, whooohoo!

I'm starting another thread so this question doesn't get so lost in my other thread.

I've noticed that at least 50% of the time when I try and use the generialserial plugin, the command gets 'lost' and nothing happens. It makes no difference what command I use, they all have the same problem.

So, I opened hyperterminal, and have been messing around in there for about an hour now. I've tested every single command from denon's list, and they all work 100% of the time, zero misses, and I mean zero so far.

Here is part of the log file from just one time when it 'missed'

Received request for sending data to device: MSEXT.IN-1
Char - 1 - Value = M - Asc = 77
Char - 2 - Value = S - Asc = 83
Char - 3 - Value = E - Asc = 69
Char - 4 - Value = X - Asc = 88
Char - 5 - Value = T - Asc = 84
Char - 6 - Value = . - Asc = 46
Char - 7 - Value = I - Asc = 73
Char - 8 - Value = N - Asc = 78
Char - 9 - Value = - - Asc = 45
Char - 10 - Value = 1 - Asc = 49
Sending request with carriage return
Command sent successfully
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command
Received data: - Writing out ascii value
Current Buffer =
Verifying for partial match of command



My question is...
Is there a problem with the genericserial plugin?
Why does it miss the commands so often?
Is there a fix?
If not.... what should be my next step to getting this working 100% reliable like hyperterminal does?

[srgny]

I'm having a little better luck with MLGenericSerial and my Denon AVR 4306. Firstly, it seems that the Denon commands (for this unit, at least) will accept ONLY a carriage return at the end. If anything else (such as a line feed or another command) comes "too quickly" after the CR, then nothing gets executed. Don't ask me what "too quickly" means as I haven't tried to find the shortest interval. However, two sequential commands from MLServer without a pause will not work.

I had to uncheck the "append CR/LF" and manually append a CR to each command. I use "sendmap" rather than "send" and finally separate all commands by 0.5 sec with MLPause. This system seems to work reliably, however it was a major PIA to manually enter all the commands then "learn" the ending CR.

The Denon AVR 4306 also has TCP/IP control. This works "out of the box" for commands, but MLTCPSend doesn't set ML variables. MLGenericSerial sets the variables but the wild cards allow a lot of overlap.

[dreamhost]

I'm having a little better luck with MLGenericSerial and my Denon AVR 4306. Firstly, it seems that the Denon commands (for this unit, at least) will accept ONLY a carriage return at the end. If anything else (such as a line feed or another command) comes "too quickly" after the CR, then nothing gets executed. Don't ask me what "too quickly" means as I haven't tried to find the shortest interval. However, two sequential commands from MLServer without a pause will not work.

I had to uncheck the "append CR/LF" and manually append a CR to each command. I use "sendmap" rather than "send" and finally separate all commands by 0.5 sec with MLPause. This system seems to work reliably, however it was a major PIA to manually enter all the commands then "learn" the ending CR.

The Denon AVR 4306 also has TCP/IP control. This works "out of the box" for commands, but MLTCPSend doesn't set ML variables. MLGenericSerial sets the variables but the wild cards allow a lot of overlap.

I understand what you mean by uncheck append.... and manually append <CR> to each command.

What I don't understand is what 'sendmap' means and what it means to 'learn' the ending cr.

Could you provide an example or two please?

[srgny]

I had some trouble sending the MyConfig.xml file by PM. Here it is. The Syntax for ML commands is:

MLServeCmd.MLGenericSerial|SendMap~PWON~3

Where "3" is the tab number for the denon unit in the MLGenericSerial plug-in.

[dreamhost]

I had some trouble sending the MyConfig.xml file by PM. Here it is. The Syntax for ML commands is:

MLServeCmd.MLGenericSerial|SendMap~PWON~3

Where "3" is the tab number for the denon unit in the MLGenericSerial plug-in.

Thank you!
This one imported without any issues and so far seems to be catching the commands much better than the one I was using before.

[dreamhost]

Just a quick update:
So far after trying hundreds of commands, your script has not missed a single one! Wow, what an improvement over the manual way of doing it.

I did notice that there are a few differences between your denon file and my receiver. So far the main one I found is that I have an input called dbs/sat where the command is SIDBS/SAT your receiver has SIDBS with no /SAT on the end.

Now forgive me as I'm very new to this part, but I went into the command mapping popup, chose SIDBS and tried changing the name and incoming to both SIDBS/SAT and clicking save. However when I later try that command, nothing happens, so I'm missing a step somewhere.

Could you please explain to me how I go about adding in the command?

I haven't dug really deep yet, but I believe it's the only one I'm missing. I will check all the codes for the 5800 and compare them to this file to see if there are any further ones today.

thanks for the help. After 5 days of banging my head into the same wall I'm finally able to make some serious headway.

[srgny]

Glad to hear things have improved. My Denon also uses the SIDBS/SAT command. I think changed the call name to "TV2" as this is how the rest of my system is configured. (I am no longer at home, so I can't check)

Don't forget that the "SendMap" command calls the NAME assigned to the command not the command itself. In most instances, I named the command the same as the command itself. In my set up, MLServeCmd.MLGenericSerial|SendMap~TV2~3 causes the MLGenericSerial Plugin to sent SIDBS/SAT<cr> to the Denon.

To change the name of the command map, go back into "map commands" and find the map named "TV2". Click on this. The command should come up on the right with "TV2" in the top box, SIDBS/SAT| in the second box and nothing in the third box. DO NOT CHANGE THE SECOND BOX. THAT IS THE ACTUAL COMMAND. Change the top box to SIDBS/SAT (or any other name you choose). MLServeCmd.MLGenericSerial|SendMap~SIDBS/SAT~3 should trigger an input change to DBS/SAT (assuming you are using Denon as device #3 in the plug-in).

I think I added just about all of the Denon commands. If you want to add one I might have left out, do this:
1. Open "map commands"
2. Type the command name in the top box. THIS NAME IS IMPORTANT BUT DOESN"T HAVE TO BE THE SAME AS THE COMMAND
3. Type the command (eg PWON) in the second box
4. Click on the "learn" box next to the middle box on the right
5. Wait until something changes at the Denon or make some manual change at the Denon. This will cause the Denon to send a status change to your computer which will show up in the middle box after whatever command you typed. The point of this is so that you can "capture" the carriage return symbol. The CR symbol is the little black rectangle. This is crucial. Once you have received the CR symbol, click on "stop"
6. Delete all the characters between your typed command and the CR symbol. Also make sure that there are no characters after the CR symbol. If there are characters, even blank spaces, after the CR symbol, the command will not work.
7. To use the command from MLServer, the syntax is MLServeCmd.MLGenericSerial|SendMap~command name~denon device number where command name is whatever you named the command and denon device number is the plugin number for the denon. (I found that MLServeCmd.MLGenericSerial|SendMap~command name~DENON which is supposed to work, didn't but the device number did).

You will also notice that I have used other maps to generate MLServer variables. For example, I have a variable, "denonpower" that updates the ZM power status. You can create your own variables in the following fashion:

1. Open "map commands"
2. Type a name in the top box. This name is not critical.
3. Type the Denon parameter of interest in the second box. For example, ZM* covers the Main zone power states, ZMON and ZMOFF. The "*" is the variable part of the info sent from the Denon. SI*, MS*, TF* etc are all possible.
4. Type MLServeCmd.SetVariable|variablename~<<*1>> in the bottom box
5. Save

When the Denon sends ZMON (for example) to your computer, the plugin recognizes this input and fires the SetVariable command so that "variablename" in the above example will change to "ON". Whatever corresponds to "*" in the received status will be set to the variable.

One last thing. With every change in volume, my denon sends two reports back to the computer. These are (for example): MV65 and MVMAX80. These mean that the current vol is -15 dB and the max allowable vol is 0dB. This causes the plugin to set my variable, "denonvolalt" first to "65" then to "MAX80". This, of course, screws up the volume display in my scenes. My work-around is partly contained in the mapped command for MV*. I have set it up so that the variable only chnages when what follows MV in the received status is a number . I have a fairly complex command map that then calculates the dB value based on the info received from the Denon. This command map is called from the MLGenericSerial Plugin as "denon.calculate.value" (or something like that). This hocus pocus is not necessary for you to understand. If you find that you want the dB value for the main zone as a ML varible. let me know and I will give you the command map that does the magic.

[dreamhost]

One last thing. With every change in volume, my denon sends two reports back to the computer. These are (for example): MV65 and MVMAX80. These mean that the current vol is -15 dB and the max allowable vol is 0dB. This causes the plugin to set my variable, "denonvolalt" first to "65" then to "MAX80". This, of course, screws up the volume display in my scenes. My work-around is partly contained in the mapped command for MV*. I have set it up so that the variable only chnages when what follows MV in the received status is a number . I have a fairly complex command map that then calculates the dB value based on the info received from the Denon. This command map is called from the MLGenericSerial Plugin as "denon.calculate.value" (or something like that). This hocus pocus is not necessary for you to understand. If you find that you want the dB value for the main zone as a ML varible. let me know and I will give you the command map that does the magic.

Thank you for such detailed information on all of this. Everything works perfectly, and I was even able to create a few missing buttons that work everytime as well.

(Mario or another moderator should really make your post a sticky on this site as it would apply to any receiver etc.. and would work much better than anything else, it really was quite easy once you explained it so clearly)

As to the volume:
Yes, my ultimate plan is to use a slider on the touchscreen, as well as up/down arrows, where it will also display the current volume setting.

Once I finish everything up, I will also 'finally' be adding in zone2 from the receiver into another room in the house. I plan on using a 7" touchscreen in that room, so having volume control and reporting for zone2 would be nice as well.

I'm kinda taking 'baby steps' as this is going so much further than the standard ir control that I've used over the past year with ml.

[srgny]

Glad you're up and running.
Here's more magic:
This is the command map for the volume.

1. Go to the MLServer main screen
2. Click "utilities" then "map commands" from the drop down menu
3.Right click "Commands" then "add new"
4. Type denon.vol.cal in the "name" box
5. Click on the three dots ("...")
6. Copy this and past it in the new box:

MLServeCmd.MLMath|Divide~DVA~{{denonvolalt}}~{{denonvolalt}}
MLServeCmd.SetVariable|DVA1~{{denonvolalt}}
MLServeCmd.MLMath|Divide~DVA2~{{DVA1}}~10
MLServeCmd.SetVariable|vol~false
MLServeCmd.MLConditional|IsEqual##{{DVA}}##1##wscVBSEvaluate|({{denonvolalt}}>=100 or "{{denonvolalt}}"="005" or "{{denonvolalt}}"="015" or "{{denonvolalt}}"="025" or "{{denonvolalt}}"="035" or "{{denonvolalt}}"="045" or "{{denonvolalt}}"="055" or "{{denonvolalt}}"="065" or "{{denonvolalt}}"="075" or "{{denonvolalt}}"="085" or "{{denonvolalt}}"="095")~vol##
MLServeCmd.MLConditional|IsEqual##{{vol}}##true##MLMath|Divide~denonvolalt~{{DVA1}}~10##MLMath|Subtract~denonvol~{{denonvolalt}}~80
MLServeCmd.MLMath|Subtract~denonvol~{{denonvolalt}}~80
MLServeCmd.MLConditional|IsEqual##{{DVA1}}##99##SetVariable|denonvol~- - -##

7. Click "build" then "save"

To work correctly you need to have the plug-in, "wscVBSEvaluate" installed and running in MLServer. Unfortunately, I have no idea where I got this plugin or how I installed it.

When coupled with the MLGenericSerial command map named "MZVol" this command will generate two variables. "denonvolalt" and "denonvol". "denonvolalt" is the volume number sent from the denon unit as "MV255" (for example). Unfortunately, the denon output is a little screwy in that there is no linearity between the output and the dB value. Hence the complex computation to generate "denonvol" which is the actual dB value.

To make a volume slider, you can do one of two things:
1. enter in all the MV commands (MV001, MV002...MV99) as described in my previous posts OR
2. use MLTCPSend

I chose the latter as I was tired of entering the commands manually. If you hook up the denon to your network, the MLTCPSend commands work fine, and the MLGenericSerial plugin sets the variables. Of course, you will need to configure the Denon to work on the network and you will need to configure the MLTCPSend plugin to the IP address of the denon

To make the slider:
1. Put the slider on the scene
2. Label the slider {{denonvolalt}}
3. Click the "hide value" box.
4. In the MLServeCmd box (at the bottom) type:
MLServeCmd.Macro|SetVariable|denonvolalt~{{value}}!MLTCPSend|Send~denon~MV{{denonvolalt}}

Voila

[dreamhost]

To make a volume slider, you can do one of two things:
1. enter in all the MV commands (MV001, MV002...MV99) as described in my previous posts OR
2. use MLTCPSend


To make the slider:
1. Put the slider on the scene
2. Label the slider {{denonvolalt}}
3. Click the "hide value" box.
4. In the MLServeCmd box (at the bottom) type:
MLServeCmd.Macro|SetVariable|denonvolalt~{{value}}!MLTCPSend|Send~denon~MV{{denonvolalt}}

Voila

Thanks to your information, I now have all commands working perfectly, and I'm moving onto the volume slider today. So far I have found no documentation on use of sliders on these forums, so I'll ask the expert for more help

You said to do
1. enter in all the MV commands (MV001, MV002...MV99) as described in my previous posts OR

If I understand correctly, are you saying I need to create separate volume commands for every single possible volume level?
If so, I noticed you started with 001, 002 through 99 -- is that correct?

right now from your map I have mvup, mvdown, and mv?
So If my assumption is right I would do the following
1. create new command named MV001
2. make sure incoming is also MV001
3. capture the terminating characuter - (I'm guessing that I would start with the volume all the way down on my receiver and press the vol+ button on my remote 1 time to capture the terminating characuter - then repeat all the way to top volume? speakers unplugged of course LOL)
4. repeat through top volume.

Now as to placing slider steps:
4. In the MLServeCmd box (at the bottom) type:
MLServeCmd.Macro|SetVariable|denonvolalt~{{value}}!MLTCPSend|Send~denon~MV{{denonvolalt}}

the 5800 did not have tcp/ip port just serial so I cannot use that particular command.
what would be the proper command for doing the same with serial plugin?


TIA - btw I pm'd Mario about making your replies above a sep thread and a sticky, as it explains how to do serial capture better than any other docs I've found anywhere. Your explanations were simple and to the point, and very easy to replicate.
Thank you again

[srgny]

No serial-bummer.

To do the slider volume thing you will need to enter the various volume commands as outlined. My Denon seems to change the volume in 0.5 dB steps. With the manual dial and the MVUP command, but in smaller steps (I think) with direct commands (eg MV654). I may be wrong on this. In any case, 0.5 dB steps should be sufficient.

The MV commands (which are the same for Z2 and Z3 by the way) are non-linear. MV99 is completely off but MV95 is blaringly loud at +15 dB. To make matters worse, the MV values have significant leading zeros. MV005 is not the same as MV05 or MV50. This is what screws up the math calculations on the computer side as the computer recognizes "005" as "5".

If it were possible to send a MLGenericSerial command "MLServeCmd.MLGenericSerial|Send~MV{{value}}~3 then all would be well. As you know, this doesn't work, hence the "sendmap" work-around. Remember that "sendmap" sends the command associated with the command NAME. In the plug in you have made the NAME and the command the same. If the NAME in the plugin was SRG associated with PWON| then "MLGenericSerial|SendMap~SRG~3 would send the power command to the denon.

So to make this work in the form "MLGenericSerial|SendMap~MV{{value}}~3 you need to map all the appropriate volume commands in the plug-in. These would be: MV005, MV010, MV015..MV10, MV105, MV11, MV115, MV12..MV65, MV655, MV70, MV705, MV71..MV905, MV95..MV99. If the NAMES are the same as the commands, then "MLGenericSerial|SendMap~MV{{value}}~3 will trigger the command MV65 at the Denon when {{value}} is equal to 65. Under these circumstances the slider command would be MLGenericSerial|SendMap~MV{{denonvolalt}}~3 in place of MLTCPSend|Send~denon~MV{{denonvolalt}}.

Pretty confusing, huh?

[srgny]

I think I may have solved your problem with the slider.

1. in the generic serial plugin highlight the carriage return symbol (the little black rectangle) on any command
2. right click and "copy"
3. go to MLServer. In the "send server command" box type: "MLserveCmd.SetVariable|cr~" (without the quotes) then right click and click "paste". This should put the little black rectangle after the tilde.
4. Click send. This should set the ML variable "cr" to the little black rectangle
5. Check the MLServer box "save variables on close".
6. Close MLServer. This "permanently" sets the ml variable "cr" to the carriage return symbol, the little black rectangle. DO NOT REASSIGN THIS VARIABLE
7. Restart ml server

You can now send commands such as "MLServeCmd.MLGenericSerial|MV{{variable}}{{cr}}~3". This sends the correct command (without needing to go via the command maps) to the Denon. So in the scene with the slider, assign the slider label {{denonvolalt}} and type this command in the lower box:
MLServeCmd.Macro|SetVariable|denonvolalt~{{value}}!MLGenericSerial|Send~MV{{denonvolalt}}{{cr}}~3

Should work

[srgny]

Sorry, last paragraph should have read:
You can now send commands such as MLGenericSerial|Send~MV{{variable}}{{cr}}~3

[dreamhost]

Thanks for the information.
As I'm only running beta right now, and things are so different, I'll have to ask someone where the step3 box is now. Also don't seem to be able to copy/paste anything in new vs. At least it doesn't place whatever I copy into any area visibly.
Once I figure the new system out, I'll let ya know if it worked or not.