Manual

7 - 1
IPN 074-517-P1D
Guardian Co-Deposition Controller Operating Manual
Chapter 7
Communications
7.1 Introduction
The computer interface capabilities of the EIES-IV software allow operation from
an external computer via Ethernet or RS-232 serial communications using a simple
ASCII command set. Programs like the EIES_Vxxx_COMM.EXE running on the
same computer as the EIES software can control the EIES-IV software using
ActiveX
®
. Or, you can control the EIES Guardian controller directly using ASCII
commands as described under Guardian Controller Direct Communications, see
section 7.3 on page 7-8.
7.2 ActiveX (COM) Interface
EIES-IV software must be running to use the AxtiveX interface. Any program that
supports Microsoft’s COM (ActiveX) interface (i.e., LabVIEW
™
, Wonderware
®
, etc.)
can communicate with the EIES-IV software. A small ActiveX interface program,
EIES_Vxxx_COMM.EXE, (found in the Comm sub-directory of the EIES-IV
software), provides receive data and transmit data entry points to the global
cComm242 class.
7.2.1 Setup for ActiveX Control
Load the EIES_Vxxx_COMM.EXE program on the same computer that is running
the EIES-IV software. Start the EIES_Vxxx_COMM program and select ActiveX on
the Utility tab. Start the EIES-IV software also.
7.2.2 EIES ActiveX Comm Program
EIES_Vxxx_COMM.EXE is a simple Windows program to demonstrate EIES
communications concepts. With it you can easily send commands and read the
responses returned by the EIES-IV software. EIES_Vxxx_COMM is written in
Visual Basic. Currently, only the ActiveX interface is supported.
The response from the EIES-IV software should show in the Comm program
Response window. A typical response is @QU;ACK;5.1.1;02, which indicates
software version 5.11. The next section describes the Query/Update and
Response strings in detail.
NOTE: EIES software does not refresh screens as commands are sent to it
changing properties. The screen must be reopened to refresh the values.
NOTE: New parameters sent to the Guardian via external communications using
commands as described under section 7.3, Guardian Controller Direct
Communications, on page 7-8, will not be updated on the EISE-IV
Guardian software screens, even after a screen refresh.