Go Back   IceInSpace > Equipment > Equipment Discussions

Reply
 
Thread Tools Rating: Thread Rating: 2 votes, 2.00 average.
  #1  
Old 24-05-2017, 11:12 AM
luka's Avatar
luka
Unregistered User

luka is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 1,164
Do you have a TEMPer or TEMPerHum USB device? Making ASCOM driver for it.

Hi,

I am writing an ASCOM driver for the TEMPer or TEMPerHum devices that can be obtained from ebay or other places cheaply. Currently such driver can be used by SGP and the support in APT is coming before the end of the year. I am not sure what other software supports ASCOM ObservingConditions interface as it is relatively new.

The source code for the ASCOM driver will be released as open source with GPL license so anyone can use it as long as they keep their modifications open. I believe this will benefit the community the most.

I got my device yesterday and already got the basic ASCOM driver working. However, I would like to include the other variations of the TEMPer(Hum) devices. To call it variations is actually misleading, really the only similarity sometimes is the misuse of the name. They can have different sensors and talk different protocols and some even appear like identical but incompatible devices.


So, if you have such device I would like to help, my plan is to first find out who has which type of device. Then I would write some basic software that can read temperature/humidity from that particular device, which you will need to test. Once/if this is working the temperature/humidity code will be ported into the ASCOM driver which again will need testing.

First I need to know which type of device you have. To get the information:
On Windows:
1. Connect your device
2. Go to device manager
3. Expand the Human Interface Device section by clicking on little plus or arrow next to it.
4. You may see more than one device there. If you do you will need to find the right one. Start from the top and work your way down until you find the right one. Some devices may even appear more than once.
5. Right click on the device and select properties.
6. Properties window will open. Click on Details on the top.
7. Under Property you will need to scroll down (a lot) and find Bus reported device description and select it. In my case the value is
TEMPer1F_H1_V1.4
Look for something that start with TEMP... this will tell you that you have the right device. If you see something like USB keyboard, that is obviously not it. If you don't have the right device, close the window and go back to step 4 and pick the next one from the device manager.
8. Back under Property select "Hardware Ids" (usually 2nd from top). You will see something like
USB\VID_0C45&PID_7402&.....

In this case VID = 0C45 and the PID = 7402. Note that the numbers are hexadecimal and may include letters A to F.


I will need the description and the two numbers to identify the device.


On linux:
Open shell and run lsusb -v|less |grep TEMP
You should be able to see PID, VID and the device information that I need.



If you can send me those two findings by PM or post here that will get the ball rolling. I will try to find information about your device and, if it is different than the ones I already have and if I can find information how to talk to it, I will send you a small program that will test reading of temperature/humidity (If you don't want to run executables from me I can send you a source code and you can compile it yourself using free Visual Studio from Microsoft).

Last edited by luka; 25-05-2017 at 09:24 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 24-05-2017, 07:50 PM
LaughingBeagles's Avatar
LaughingBeagles (Peter)
Registered User

LaughingBeagles is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Ocean Reef, Western Australia
Posts: 105
More than happy to get on board and help.

I too have:

TEMPer1F_H1_V1.4

and
Hardware ID's:

USB\VID_0C45&PID_7402&REV_0001&MI_0 1
USB\VID_0C45&PID_7402&MI_01
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 24-05-2017, 08:11 PM
RobF's Avatar
RobF (Rob)
Mostly harmless...

RobF is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 5,716
Next time I fire the rig up I'll go digging.....
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 25-05-2017, 12:24 PM
luka's Avatar
luka
Unregistered User

luka is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 1,164
Peter, that is the same as mine. I already have a very basic version of the ASCOM driver that I tested with the trial version of SGP. Not sure what other software I can use to test it...


See if I find time do a bit more work on it tonight and will then share it for testing.


Please note that at this stage the driver will work ONLY with this device.



Rob, thank you.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 25-05-2017, 06:45 PM
LaughingBeagles's Avatar
LaughingBeagles (Peter)
Registered User

LaughingBeagles is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Ocean Reef, Western Australia
Posts: 105
Thanks Rob, looking forward to it.

Pete
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 26-05-2017, 12:55 AM
luka's Avatar
luka
Unregistered User

luka is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 1,164
Peter, as you probably have identical device to mine, I should mention that the software that came with the device is useless. It gives different readings than the device itself (if you press the button on the device it will type it into whatever software you have open, e.g. word, notepad, excel etc.). My guess is that the software was written for a slightly different device and never updated as it was "close enough".


Also the device itself gives the correct readings. I had to open it to find out which sensor it is using (SHT20) and then to figure out how the manufacturer was manipulating the data. I can confirm that the device is giving identical readings to what I read in the sensor datasheet. No idea what the software does.


I sent you a PM with the first version of the driver for testing.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 26-05-2017, 06:36 AM
LaughingBeagles's Avatar
LaughingBeagles (Peter)
Registered User

LaughingBeagles is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Ocean Reef, Western Australia
Posts: 105
Thanks Luka,

I've replied to your PM. Will be interesting then to compare outputs given it's the same device as yours.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 27-05-2017, 06:11 PM
RobF's Avatar
RobF (Rob)
Mostly harmless...

RobF is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 5,716
This is mine
Attached Thumbnails
Click for full-size image (Temperhum.png)
14.8 KB95 views
Click for full-size image (TempH.png)
13.6 KB71 views

Last edited by RobF; 27-05-2017 at 08:01 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 27-05-2017, 07:25 PM
luka's Avatar
luka
Unregistered User

luka is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 1,164
Thank Rob. Can you also get the "Bus reported device description" from the same screen. Different devices are using the same PID and VID so it is impossible to determine which is which just from that information.

Pete, I forgot to mention that SGP already has TEMPerHum device support (but I don't think it works with our devices). You will need to select "TEMPerHum ASCOM driver" as the device.
Also the first readings will be all zeroes as SGP requests values before the driver manages to get a reading. You will need to wait 30sec for the values to refresh in SGP.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 27-05-2017, 08:01 PM
RobF's Avatar
RobF (Rob)
Mostly harmless...

RobF is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 5,716
Added another shot of device name - hope that's what you were after luka?
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 27-05-2017, 08:51 PM
luka's Avatar
luka
Unregistered User

luka is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 1,164
Excellent, thanks Rob. That is a different device to Pete's and mine. According to the Internet it talks the same protocol but has a different sensor.

At the moment the driver is working only for our devices but I have started adding framework to support multiple devices. The automatic detection is more complex than I initially thought due to variety of these devices. Yours will be added next.

Can you PM me your email address so I can add you to the shared folder with the drivers. No rush, they won't work with your device yet.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 27-05-2017, 10:07 PM
rally
Registered User

rally is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 896
I found 2 of mine (which are the same as each other) in original packaging
The devices are labelled as TEMPer1

Hardware ID's:

HID\VID_1130&PID_660C&REV_0150&MI_0 1
HID\VID_1130&PID_660C&MI_01
HID_DEVICE_UP:0001_U:0003
HID_DEVICE

===============
There were 4 lines of data unlike others that listed 2

In Win10 there was no entry for Bus reported device description
The only property I found anywhere that had the word "Description" was one that said something generic like "HID_Device"

I can send you one if you want to check it out if that helps, just send it back when you're finished.
The installation/setup and ##.msi files were dated 2010 and 2009, some of the other files in the DOTNetFX directory were dated 2004, 2005
So that possibly gives some idea of the vintage

Couldnt find the others which I think were TEMPerHums

Rally
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 27-05-2017, 10:41 PM
luka's Avatar
luka
Unregistered User

luka is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 1,164
Hi Rally,

Thank you for the info. That is definitely a different device from the rest. I have possibly found some information about that particular device. Let me see if we can get it going, otherwise we can try posting it.

Luka
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 27-05-2017, 11:55 PM
rally
Registered User

rally is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 896
Luka,

No worries - see how you go
PM me an address when you're ready and I'll send it - at least you will know for sure !

I cant find the others we spoke about by PM - but from correspondence back in Dec 2010 to my astro buddy who at the time we were working on some observatory automation and control together - they were supposed to be the TEMPerNTC model.
Seems they may have sent me the wrong ones and I may or may not have ever got the
TEMPerNTC version.
Ill keep checking

Last edited by rally; 28-05-2017 at 12:21 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 28-05-2017, 09:35 AM
LaughingBeagles's Avatar
LaughingBeagles (Peter)
Registered User

LaughingBeagles is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Ocean Reef, Western Australia
Posts: 105
Quote:
Originally Posted by luka View Post
Thank Rob. Can you also get the "Bus reported device description" from the same screen. Different devices are using the same PID and VID so it is impossible to determine which is which just from that information.

Pete, I forgot to mention that SGP already has TEMPerHum device support (but I don't think it works with our devices). You will need to select "TEMPerHum ASCOM driver" as the device.
Also the first readings will be all zeroes as SGP requests values before the driver manages to get a reading. You will need to wait 30sec for the values to refresh in SGP.
Understood mate.

Hoping to get the gear out tonight - weathers good our way so fingers crossed!
Reply With Quote
  #16  
Old 28-05-2017, 09:48 PM
RobF's Avatar
RobF (Rob)
Mostly harmless...

RobF is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 5,716
Quote:
Originally Posted by luka View Post
Excellent, thanks Rob. That is a different device to Pete's and mine. According to the Internet it talks the same protocol but has a different sensor.

At the moment the driver is working only for our devices but I have started adding framework to support multiple devices. The automatic detection is more complex than I initially thought due to variety of these devices. Yours will be added next.

Can you PM me your email address so I can add you to the shared folder with the drivers. No rush, they won't work with your device yet.
Shall do.

I believe all this device to device variation is what drove the SGP guys mad in the end. Just too hard to keep up, especially if you're charging people for commercial software.

I'm pretty happy with mine and its tracking software - plots humidity and temp all night as well as calculating dew point. Worked well over last couple of weekends here where fog came in on both occasions. Predicted pretty well when that was going to occur.

What are people expecting to get from the ASCOM drive in SGP? Better choice of focusing options?
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 29-05-2017, 02:00 PM
rally
Registered User

rally is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 896
I thought Id try to open the device in LabView on a Vista machine
Vista has only listed with the first two lines of the 4 lines I found on the Win10 machine

Win is installing its generic HID driver for mine, which doesnt give LabView access to it. So I think I'd need to remove the default MS HID driver and play around to create a VISA driver for it or maybe not bother !
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 31-05-2017, 12:20 AM
luka's Avatar
luka
Unregistered User

luka is offline
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Perth, Australia
Posts: 1,164
Rob, the tracking software that came with mine is useless. If I press the button on the device it will output the temperature and humidity and the values are about 3 degrees C and 10-20% different than in the tracking software. And the values provided by the device are correct when I compared them to the datasheet.

My guess is that the tracking software was written for another device which uses the same commands for reading but has a different sensor which uses different calibration values. Hence the wrong readings.

I am not sure what people are expecting from the ASCOM driver in SGP. It is a good question...

What I noticed is that people want and are building temperature/humidity loggers and considering the price of these devices and that require no DIY skills (DIY is not for everybody), with the working driver these devices would open the temperature/humidity logging to the masses. That was my thinking.

Rally, all those devices are programmed to come as HID devices. Actually often they appear as two HID devices at the same time. I don't think you can remove the MS HID driver. Can you use LabView to access HID devices? There are MS DLLs with functions that allow low level access. Once you can open it then you will need to send the correct commands to read temperature/humidity and then calibrate the readings. But opening the HID device would be the tricky part.


edit: No progress on the driver in the past few days. Have a backlog of work to do Also the sky has been clear and I just got a new (2nd hand) NEQ6 that feels lonely and needs someone to play with it
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 31-05-2017, 09:26 PM
RobF's Avatar
RobF (Rob)
Mostly harmless...

RobF is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 5,716
Realistically it seems likely the ASCOM model will be the future of monitoring devices. I salute you sir!
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old 06-06-2017, 04:46 PM
trent_julie's Avatar
trent_julie
Registered User

trent_julie is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Canberra
Posts: 581
Quote:
Originally Posted by LaughingBeagles View Post
More than happy to get on board and help.

I too have:

TEMPer1F_H1_V1.4

and
Hardware ID's:

USB\VID_0C45&PID_7402&REV_0001&MI_0 1
USB\VID_0C45&PID_7402&MI_01
+1 This device
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +10. The time is now 09:00 PM.

Powered by vBulletin Version 3.8.7 | Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Advertisement
Testar
Advertisement
Bintel
Advertisement