Just got a new laptop and installed SEQ V1.02 and it worked. I then put V1.15 on and problems.
When the app starts it enumerates the available comm ports into the picker wrong. None of my ports are there.
What surprises me is that V1.02 worked.
I’ve tested using VB.NET with code I built on XP and that does the same so the prob is definitely VISTA and not SEQ
Also, dont trust the bluetooth stack on VISTA. It is SOOOO bad it beggars belief. Most responses are to remove it (registry and file hacks) and install WIDCOMM. But not the latest version as they are now removing stuff to comply with MS’s requirements.
Seems for the moment VISTA users are grounded as far as COMMS are concerned.
can you tell me the “real” COM port # you are using ?
is it an USB to serial cable ? is the USB cable driver up to date ?
what is the SEQ V1.02 COM port list ?
what is the SEQ V1.15 COM port list ?
Its a VISTA Home Premium laptop with NO real com ports.
I’m using a bluetooth dongle that supports Serial Ports. Its the same one I’ve been using for ages on XP.
In 1.02 the ports show correct as COM17;COM18;COM19;COM20.
17/18 are mobile phones.
19/20 are the 2 ports allocated to the dongle
In 1.15 I get a strange list of COM1,COM1,COM1,COM1,COM1,COM2,COM2,COM3,COM3
I’ve done some searching on Microsoft and it loks like my .NET issues are to do with .NET3.0 being built into the OS which means all my projects will only accept .NET2.0 for the framework. You can’t install .NET3.0 without getting all sorts of errors. My only way forward there is to Buy VS2008 and use .NET3.5 which I can’t afford at the moment.
Still I doubt that helps you in any way…
At one point though it was reporting ports as COM19c which made no sense whatsoever.
Hope this helps… The bluetooth support on VISTA really is SOOOO BAADDDD I’ve been hunting out my XP Install disk…
I’ve spoken to Sparjfun and they have confirmed that the version of Bluesoleil they supply with their dongles won’t work and the Vista version is not licensed.
To this end I’ve bought a new one that is compatible and comes with Broacom (ex Widcomm) drivers. This installs correctly and shows as COM21 Outgoing and COM22 Incoming.
Under Version 1.02 it shows correctly as COM3,COM21,COM22, selecting COM21 works.
Under Version 1.15 it shows as COM2,COM2,COM3. If you select them it doesnt work but if you allow it to find the port on its own it does connect and comms work ok.
In the comms dropdown list it shows blank…
It appears it may just be a text misread when you are enumerating the ports.
On my .NET app, they enumerate as COM3,COM21c,COM22c. If I strip the ‘c’ off the end it connects fine.
Um, what do you mean by “if you allow it to find the port on its own”
SEQ lists COM ports from Windows API at startup, so i don’t understand what feature you are talking about…do you mean when you click “wait for The Robot => yes” if so it waits a SSC-32 on the port selected in the listbox, if it connects after a while it means Timeout value is too low, try :
Read interval = 0
Read Total Constant = 100
Read Total Multiplier = 10
Anyway i don’t understand how you can get another COM port list than the one built at startup…entering the “setup” menu updates the list but in the same way as startup does.
Sorry Laureatus, my fault. I omitted to mention when it starts up the dropdown that displays the Comports is blank. Even so it manages to find the port and connect if you wait.
The list actually has a blank entry as the first and then COM2,COM2,COM3.
I have done some further investigation and the comports were actually COM21, COM22 and COM3.
I have reordered my COMPORTS to be COM3, COM4 and COM5 and it then show COM,COM and COM3.
As I say, this is a Vista only issue and seems to apply only to Virtual Bluetooth Serial Ports. I have tried a USB serial convertor and it works OK. Everything works fine on XP.
I do not think this is particularly an error in your application rather a change in the way Vista returns the names for Bluetooth.
I have also tried the Widcomm (Broadcom) drivers under Vista but the changes are so substantial in Vista that you can’t actually stop using the MS BT Stack.
If you wish I can try and send some images of the screens as its a bit difficult to describe what is actualy happening…
As long as the bluetooth is correctly setup it seems to work even though it doesnt Identify properly so unless someone else reports it not working it may not be an issue yet.
I have posted a report on MS MSDN as we have several COM based applications for work that need to be ported to Vista. As soon as I get a response I will let you know. Most likely though it won’t appear until a service pack is released…
