Betabrite and LCD plugin

[dwight]

Hi,

Im having trouble getting my Betabrite Classic to work with GameEX - I hit TEST in the plugin manager but nothing happens. BetaBrite classic is the single line display, capable of displaying 3 colours (Red, Green, Yellow). So here is what I have done so far:

I made up a cable using the instructions at i-hacked.com, which is:

RJ12 Pin3 to DB9 Pin 3 (Rx to Tx)

RJ12 Pin 4 to DB9 pin 2 (Tx to RX)

RJ12 pin 1 to DB9 pin 5 (Gnd)

DB9 pin 7 and 8 bridged (RTS/CTS)

I then downloaded the HelloWorld and Betabrite Headlines apps from remote-control.net, and these successfully send messages and colours to the Betabrite using Com port 1, 9600 Baud, 7 data bits, even parity, and 1 sdtop bit - , so Im happy that the cable and display work. I have RSS headlines from slashdot scrolling across the display right now.

OK - using the fantabulous LCD/LED plugin v2.37beta now - I am using this to control two LEDwiz devices, and I want to use it to control the Betabrite display as well. I check enabled under the LCD tab, choose Betabrite, set com port 1 to 9600, 7, 1, E (same as what the port is configured to and BetaBriteHeadlines), set it to 40x4 (not sure this applies to the Betabrite though), and hit TEST - but nothing happens for me.

My PC config:

Vista 64bit,

Core 2 3GHz,

4GB RAM.

Any help much appreciated - Do I need to bridge pins 4 and 6 (DSRT/DTR?) as well as 7 and 8? I saw this on another site.

Thanks,

Dwight.

[headkaze]

There was a release of the plugin that was broken, so I'd make sure I had the latest version of the plugin from here. Copy the files into the C:\Program Files\GameEx\PLUGINS folder.

[dwight]

There was a release of the plugin that was broken, so I'd make sure I had the latest version of the plugin from here. Copy the files into the C:\Program Files\GameEx\PLUGINS folder.

Thanks, I downloaded the zip from your link and overwrote the files I had in the PLUGIN folder, but the problem remains. I checked the file time stamp and they have updated so Im confident Im using the correct files.

Is there a mode I can use that will write a log or something of what is being sent to Betabrite and the COM port settings being used? Or something I can do that would provide more troubleshooting doco?

Do I need to also use LCD Smartie to display something? There have been references to using this, but I think thats only for the smaller 4-line LCD displays.

Another potential issue I have found with 2.37 - after returning from attract mode, the LEDs remain in the same state as the last attract mode they were in - even after starting a game, the LEDs remain lit up the same as the last attract mode. Under 2.36 I had configured the LEDs to light up the buttons relevant to that game, and to leave these remain lit in-game, but this appears to be ignored under 2.37. After returning from attract mode, if I enter the control panel screen, the last attract mode LEDs also remain lit as each relevant button flashes (you know - "player 1, button 1") - If a button was unlit from attract mode, it is left lit after the control panel screen has finished identifying the button (which is the normal behaviour), but any other button lit up in attract mode still remains on.

Regards,

Dwight.

[headkaze]

Yes download PortMon and you can view the communication with your Com port to the BetaBrite.

Not sure why you having these problems with the plugin, I run it all the time and havn't encountered that problem yet. I'll see if I can replicate the problem. You can always look in GameEx\PLUGINS\PluginLCD\PluginLCD.log and see if there are any error messages.

[dwight]

Yes download PortMon and you can view the communication with your Com port to the BetaBrite.

Not sure why you having these problems with the plugin, I run it all the time and havn't encountered that problem yet. I'll see if I can replicate the problem. You can always look in GameEx\PLUGINS\PluginLCD\PluginLCD.log and see if there are any error messages.

Thanks -

What type of cable are you using? Is it a home-made cable or one from Betabrite? Do you have pins 4 and 6 connected on the RS232C end? Have you tried this on Vista 64bit - maybe its my poota and OS choice?

I tried PORTMON, but I get an "error 2" when trying to open a local connection - might incompatible with Windows Vista 64bit as the help file is also written in an earlier version of windows but I couldnt find info on the net to describe what error 2 might mean. It doesnt list vista as a compatible OS on the website, which is also a clue.

Yep, running new OSs is a real pain, I wanted the 64bit stuff to get the most out of mame, but the price is heavy sometimes I have attached my log file here, all looks good for the pluginLCD.log file - unless you would expect more details in there than what are showing up? Apologies for not attaching it, but I'm not allowed to upload this type of file.

25/12/2007 7:26:10 PM: PluginLCD 2.37 BETA

25/12/2007 7:26:15 PM: OS: Microsoft® Windows Vista� Home Premium

25/12/2007 7:26:15 PM: Version: 6.0.6000

25/12/2007 7:26:15 PM: Build: 6000

25/12/2007 7:26:15 PM: RAM Total: 4094 MB

25/12/2007 7:26:15 PM: RAM Used: 1176 MB

25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: CPU: Intel® Core2 Duo CPU E6850 @ 3.00GHz

25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT

25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: Video Driver: 7.15.11.6375

25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: Video RAM: 256 MB

25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: Sound Card: Realtek High Definition Audio

25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: .NET: .NET Framework 2.0 Installed

25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: Reading Config

25/12/2007 7:26:17 PM: Reading GameEx Ini

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Layout Manager

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Mame Interop

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Mame Manager

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Mame Events

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Emulators

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Layout Xml

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Reading Mame Data

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Mame Version 0.122

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Mini Info Xml

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Mame Ini

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Initializing Mame Cfg

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Reading Mini Info Xml

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Reading Mame Ini

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Reading All Mame Cfg's

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Reading Mame Ctrlr Files

25/12/2007 7:26:18 PM: Reading GameEx Emulators

25/12/2007 7:26:19 PM: Initializing Input Maps

25/12/2007 7:26:19 PM: Initializing Profiles

25/12/2007 7:26:19 PM: Initializing LWAX Xml

25/12/2007 7:26:19 PM: Initializing Speech

25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing Sample

25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing LCD Functions

25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing BetaBrite

25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing BPP440

25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing CrystalFontz631

25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing CrystalFontz632

25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing PJRC

25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing ProLite

25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing LCD Functions

25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing LEDWiz

25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing PACDrive

25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing LED Functions

25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing LED Anim

25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing LED Attract

25/12/2007 7:26:20 PM: Initializing Events

25/12/2007 7:26:53 PM: Shutdown.

25/12/2007 7:26:54 PM: Exiting.

Thanks again, and Merry Xmas to all!!

Dwight.

[dwight]

I have been trying to troubleshoot this further by updating to GameEX 9.08 and the new v2.4 LCD/LED Plugin and bridging the DTR and DSR pins (pins 4 and 6) just in case Windows Vista was doing something funny - but unfortunately I still can't get the LCd plugin to do anything with it. LED Headlines continues to send info to the Betabrite classic without a problem.

For anyone else looking to make up a cable for their BetaBrite Classic, here is what I found on the net:

RJ12 Pin3 to DB9 Pin 3 (Rx to Tx)

RJ12 Pin 4 to DB9 pin 2 (Tx to RX)

RJ12 pin 1 to DB9 pin 5 (Gnd)

DB9 pin 7 and 8 bridged (RTS/CTS)

DB9 pin 4 and 6 bridged (DTR/DSR) - apparently Windows might use this to determine the COM port is ready.

Im satisifed my cable is good now, so has anyone got the LCD Plugin working under Windows Vista 32 bit or 64 bit?

Am I doing something wrong? Im relying on the LCd Plugin doing all the magic - Im not running any other program (e.g. LCD Smartie) to talk to the LCD Plugin.

Thanks,

Dwight.

[headkaze]

What you need to do is a get a Port Monitor and compare what LED Headlines is sending to your BetaBrite that the PluginLCD isn't. At least you will be able to check if PluginLCD is in fact sending data to your Serial Port as well. Doing a search for '"Serial Port Monitor" Vista' shows up quite a few results even if you have to use a trial version.

Unfortunately I don't have hardware to help test this for you, but there have been BetaBrite users who are using the plugin. Although they may not have upgraded the Plugin since I had it working in V1. What happened in V2 was I changed to use the .NET 2.0 built in Serial Port support. But then someone using some LCD sign said the new plugin didn't work. I reverted back to the V1 Serial Port code I wrote and he said it was working again.

Now the code I wrote for BetaBrite might not support your model of BetaBrite. What we need is someone who owns a BetaBrite to confirm that the new plugin is working okay for them. Then I need to find out how different the protocols are for your sign and possibly add support for it in the plugin. But I'm really lacking information here and I can't really do much without it.

BTW I can enable or disable Dtr or Rts in my Serial Port code but I have no idea what it does.

[dwight]

You little ripper!! Solved with the help of Advanced Serial Port Monitor frpm ADD Software.

SO - I had the LCD Plugin set for parity=EVEN, but ASPM reported it was parity=none, so I set LCDPlugin to use parity=none, and tada ASPM reports parity=EVEN AND the sign comes to life.

Next I changed my COM port settigns using the "configure port" button to see if that was doing some weird XOR thing - but this did not affect results. Back to the LCD Plugin, I tried some of the other settings, and here are the results:

N = Even

E = NONE

O = Mark

M = ODD

S = SPACE

Note - only PARITY is acting weird - all other settings behave as you would expect them too. I'm using Vista 64Bit - I dont have a suitable Vista-32bit machine to test this on as well, but there you have it. In case it shows up anything interseting, here is the output to the COM port when Parity=NONE:

COM port is opened

In/out queue size 1024/1024

Purge the serial port: RXABORT, RXCLEAR, TXABORT, TXCLEAR

Set timeouts: ReadInterval=-1, ReadTotalTimeoutMultiplier=0, ReadTotalTimeoutConstant=1000, WriteTotalTimeoutMultiplier=1000, WriteTotalTimeoutConstant=0

Baud rate 9600

RTS on

DTR on

Data bits=7, Stop bits=1, Parity=Even

Set chars: Eof=0x00, Error=0x00, Break=0x00, Event=0x00, Xon=0x11, Xoff=0x13

Handflow: ControlHandShake=(DTR_CONTROL), FlowReplace=(TRANSMIT_TOGGLE, RTS_CONTROL), XonLimit=2048, XoffLimit=512

COM port is closed

COM port is opened

Baud rate 9600

RTS on

DTR on

Data bits=7, Stop bits=1, Parity=Even

Set chars: Eof=0x00, Error=0x00, Break=0x00, Event=0x00, Xon=0x11, Xoff=0x13

Handflow: ControlHandShake=(DTR_CONTROL), FlowReplace=(TRANSMIT_TOGGLE, RTS_CONTROL), XonLimit=2048, XoffLimit=512

<NUL><NUL><NUL><NUL><NUL><SOH>?00<STX>AA<ESC>0nV<ESC>0o<FS>CGame Name [len=30]

Joy [len=3]

B1:Button1 [len=10]

B2:Button2 [len=10]

B3:Button3 [len=10]

B4:Button4 [len=10]

B5:Button5 [len=10]

B6:Button6 [len=10]

B7:Button7 [len=10]

B8:Button8 [len=10]

<EOT>

COM port is closed

[headkaze]

Ahh I know what that is! I was messing around the Parity code recently and must have broken something. I'll get a fix out ASAP.

EDIT: Found the bug!

[dwight]

Ahh I know what that is! I was messing around the Parity code recently and must have broken something. I'll get a fix out ASAP.

EDIT: Found the bug!

Another question (not a bug) - on the Events TAB, when I select MAME, LCD Plugin shows digit0 and "<vale>" - am I supposed to enter something into <Value>? And if so, where would I go to find the values I can use?

Finally - In the next version of this plugin, would it be possible to have a "random" setting for the special graphics So that a different animation is played when returning from each game/chosen at gameex startup or something?

Thanks,

Dwight.

[headkaze]

Can you try out Version 2.5. I think I've fixed that parity issue. You may need to make sure the settings are right in the Plugin Manager again. Moving to that bloody Microsoft SerialPort class really messed me around, I really regret trying to move to it!

http://www.gameex.info/forums/index.php?showtopic=4564

The <Value> is replaced by the output sent from Mame. Some games show scores, some fuel etc. So it really depends on the game.

I'll have a look at the random thing some time.

[dwight]

Yep, that has fixed parity. I opened up ASPM to check everything else and found that setting stop bits to 0 actually sets stop bits to 1. Setting stop bits to 2 or 1 does work as expected, so its just a zero thing.

Parity, baud rate, and data bits all seem to work fine.

Thanks!!

[headkaze]

Yep, that has fixed parity. I opened up ASPM to check everything else and found that setting stop bits to 0 actually sets stop bits to 1. Setting stop bits to 2 or 1 does work as expected, so its just a zero thing.

Parity, baud rate, and data bits all seem to work fine.

Thanks!!

The 0 is actually supposed to be 1 and it's because I tried to make my SerialPort code closer to the official .NET one incase I decided to move back to it. If you try to use a zero parity in the Microsoft one it will actually cause an exception. So I just made mine use 1 instead. So I guess you can call that a bug by design

[dwight]

Can you try out Version 2.5. I think I've fixed that parity issue. You may need to make sure the settings are right in the Plugin Manager again. Moving to that bloody Microsoft SerialPort class really messed me around, I really regret trying to move to it!

http://www.gameex.info/forums/index.php?showtopic=4564

The <Value> is replaced by the output sent from Mame. Some games show scores, some fuel etc. So it really depends on the game.

I'll have a look at the random thing some time.

If the random special graphic looks like a viable option, then I think it would be great to have it cycle through the special graphics while in Attract mode - maybe showing "Welcome to GameEX" and then randomly selecting a special graphic to play? Maybe showing some GameEX stats on the display as well?

Thanks,

[headkaze]

If the random special graphic looks like a viable option, then I think it would be great to have it cycle through the special graphics while in Attract mode - maybe showing "Welcome to GameEX" and then randomly selecting a special graphic to play? Maybe showing some GameEX stats on the display as well?

Thanks,

In Version 2.6 I've just added a "Random Special Graphic" option and a Random LCD output. I've not had time to do a whole lot of testing so can you test this out for me?

First test to do is to click one in the list of strings then click the "Test" button. Then enable "Random Special Graphic" and try pressing the "Test" button again. Then run GameEx and hopefully those random strings will appear on your BetaBrite. Really just threw that together so I hope it works okay lol

http://www.gameex.info/forums/index.php?showtopic=4564

[headkaze]

dwight: Sorry to hear about your HDD crash mate. Is it possible for you test out the latest version of the plugin when you get a chance? I still have no idea if the latest changes are what you were looking for.

[dwight]

Thank goodness for backups!! Turns out it was faulty memory, fixed that and about to do a system restore to fix some strange "host process failed" errors in Vista.

Oh My!!! Plugin 2.62 is fantastic! Yes, it's everything I dreamed a Betabrite could be Time for new dreams.

I have tried adding a WAV file to the Random Sample section on the Options 2 tab, and when hitting the TEST button, the plugin configuration app immedaitely crashes with a "Windows is looking for a solution to this problem" error. I suspect the WAV file might be somehow different to a standard encoded WAV - it plays is media player no problem though. I have attached a 7-zip archive of the samples here if you are interested, but it's not high on my hit list - just some fun.

Thanks for 2.62, I can't stop watching it!!

Dwight

samples.7z

[headkaze]

Nice samples I've been meaning to collect some more for my cab!

Well it seems the sample playback routine the plugin uses is quite limited. I really should update that to allow more formats like mp3 too.

Anyway for now I just converted the samples that didn't play to 48000 Hz and that seemed to fix them. Here they are..

Also would love to see a video of it in action

Samples.zip

[dwight]

Wow thx!! I am going to upload a YouTube video - I am hoping some sideart and a marquee I have orded from Mame Marquees on Dec 16th is going to turn up in the next week - It was supposedly sent this Monday, and it would make the cab complete. Just a little longer and it will be up - your plugin makes it amazing.

BTW - I found if I keep the WAV files in a sub folder under samples, the plugin crashes, but if I keep them in the "Samples" folder (like the existing samples), it all works perfectly.

[dwight]

After further testing, I have found a few quirks.

When the Attact mode starts, the "Event" kicks in and the Betabrite picks a random special graphic and displays "Starting Attract mode...", which it then cycles between the two of these. After 300 seconds I thought it might pick a new random graphic and a random text message to display (like GameEX Rulz!) and display this instead of the "Starting attract Mode...". The same initial special grpahic and "Starting Attract Mode..." is displayed/cycled - which looks funny when its already running attract mode.

If I leave Attract mode running for a while and then hit a button, sometimes all the LEDWiz lights go out, and stop lighting up for the remainder of that session. If I close GameEx and open it again (without rebooting), all the LEDWiz buttons light up as usual again. This doesnt always happen though, so Im having trouble isolating whats different (maybe the plugin is getting upset and shutting down in the background?).

When cycling through menus and mame roms, a new random graphic is displayed, which is fantastic, it just doesnt seem to change after 300 seconds - the "Event" setting appears to override everything else. Random sample WAV files do play each 300seconds - no problem there.

Maybe I just have too much turned on - I'm trying to use everything.

Dwight.

[headkaze]

This is what I get for not testing Can you try the attached PluginLCD.dll. I've fixed the random LCD thing.

Now I'm going to be running some tests to see if I can find the bug causing LED's not to light after running attract mode for a while.

[dwight]

Hi,

When in the start screen, the graphic and text does change every 300 secs, but after going into attract mode, it won't change again - stays on "starting Attract Mode..." and whatever animation it chose for the LCD display.

Thanks,

Dwight.

[headkaze]

Hi,

When in the start screen, the graphic and text does change every 300 secs, but after going into attract mode, it won't change again - stays on "starting Attract Mode..." and whatever animation it chose for the LCD display.

Thanks,

Dwight.

I did test the LCD output during attract mode using PortMon and it worked okay for me. There is one thing I saw that might be causing it not to work during attract mode so can you try 2.64 and get back to me?

[dwight]

I have completed more testing using 2.64, it must be a Vista-64 issue. Other weird problems I am seeing are sometimes, rather than waiting 300 secs to play a sample, it just starts playing them one after the other with about a 3 second delay. XP SP2 compatibility mode also does little to help.

I have tried switching random graphics off, and disabled the starting attract mode event. This then picks a random text message when starting the attract mode, but never changes the message at the 300sec mark - and when returning from attract mode it no longer updates the display when moving between windows (the message also does not change when going back into attract mode - it's out for that session of GameEx). If I exit and go back into GameEx it will pick a new message, but same result with no further updates for that session after entering attract mode.

Next weekend I am planning to buy a new HDD and hopefully XP x64 - I'll rebuild in something that works Vista is just too limited (unsigned drivers) and is definitely just a pig with lipstick - soo much overhead for an OS.

Thanks for your patience.

[headkaze]

The 300 seconds is not to play something every 300 seconds, it's play within 300 seconds (random).

Random(300), so it can be between 0 to 300 seconds. Each time it plays a random event, the next one will be another random time between 0 and 300. Otherwise it would be annoying having everything play the exact time.

Is there any error in your log file? You know I did have the same problem with buttons not lighting coming out of attract mode sometimes but I thought I fixed that problem. I've had the attract mode running for a long time and it never seems to stop working anymore.

I'm happy to try and work with you to fix this problem. I'm not sure if it would be Vista causing the problem. I just find it strange it seems to be happening alot for you, and also the fact it doesn't show random LCD messages during attract mode is strange as well. Like I said I tested it with PortMon and it was working okay for me.