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dhoward Admin Group
Joined: June 29 2001 Location: United States
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Posted: July 22 2014 at 21:16 | IP Logged
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Pete,
It may be possible but I think it would be unlikely. The 2.1.4 drivers were in a different directory under the drivers node and that should be gone if he has the VSP AX 7.0 directory. Registering the vsport.dll file in that directory would have removed any reference to the 6.0 drivers.
Whats interesting is that he has the same problem as you in reverse. It worked fine on 2.1.4 but 2.1.5a is a problem. I'll wait to hear back but Im wondering if the port pops up or not.
I never got a chance to ask but Im assuming from your post that the new PH VSP plugin is now working for you without issue?
Dave.
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smarty Super User
Joined: May 21 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: July 22 2014 at 21:20 | IP Logged
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Dave,
In my setup plugins area, I have 3 plugins that are similar. They are:
PHVSP, ActiveX, PH VSP.phvsp,50 2101 192.168.0.104
CG-100Port1, ActiveX, PH_VSP.phvsp, 8 4999 192.168.0.189
CG-100Port2, ActiveX, PH_VSP.phvsp, 6 5000 192.168.0.189
Upon starting PH (with a clean boot) and watching the device manager, I can see that serial port 50 is created and stays available as PH starts. The other two ports (8 and 6) don't appear to ever be made (they don't show and disappear...they just never show up at all).
From the Help/About/Plugins Screen:
PowerHome Virtual Serial Port Plugin
COM: 50
Remote Host: 192.168.0.104
Remote Port: 2101
PowerHome Plugin ID: PH-VSP
Plugin Version: 1.4
SDK Version: 1.2
Current Status: Disabled.
***PLUGIN INVALID***
PowerHome Plugin ID: GC-100-PORT1
Plugin failed during initialization.
***PLUGIN INVALID***
PowerHome Plugin ID: CG-100-PORT2
Plugin failed during initialization.
From the above, you can see that the first VSP seems to kind of work (I don't know why it says its disabled)...it should be enabled.
FYI...
I am running Win7, Home Premium, 32bit, fully updated.
__________________ Elk - Insteon - BlueIris - DMC1 - PowerHome - XLobby - HA_Bridge w/Dots - Brultech
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dhoward Admin Group
Joined: June 29 2001 Location: United States
Online Status: Offline Posts: 4447
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Posted: July 22 2014 at 21:32 | IP Logged
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Smarty,
Well thats interesting. So it works for the first instance but fails for the next two. Its normal for the first instance to be disabled if the IP/port combination is not available when PowerHome creates the port. Not saying this is your problem but it would be something to verify. If that is not the problem, then the other instances failing may be a result of the first instance not fully starting.
One thing I'd like you to try is to change the load order of your plugins so that one of the global cache plugins is loaded first. You can do this by just adjusting the load order column for the GC VSP to be 1 and then right-clicking and pressing Resequence. Once you've changed the load order, re-run the previous test and see if the Device manager shows the GC VSP being loaded and the other two failing or if it behaves the same way.
Ive been wracking my brain trying to think of all the reasons why it may be failing now and one thing that I can think of is Windows firewall (or some other firewall you may have installed) is blocking the control. Since this is a completely new version of the VSP control (plus its an activex exe vs and activex ocx) its possible that Windows has blocked it opening IP/ports.
Let me know,
Dave.
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smarty Super User
Joined: May 21 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: July 22 2014 at 21:49 | IP Logged
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Ok, changed the plugin load order...
from the Help/about/plugins:
PowerHome Virtual Serial Port Plugin
COM: 8
Remote Host: 192.168.0.189
Remote Port: 4999
PowerHome Plugin ID: GC-100-PORT1
Plugin Version: 1.4
SDK Version: 1.2
Current Status: Disabled.
***PLUGIN INVALID***
PowerHome Plugin ID: PH-VSP
Plugin failed during initialization.
***PLUGIN INVALID***
PowerHome Plugin ID: CG-100-PORT2
Plugin failed during initialization.
IP device 189 (my Global Cache) is online, and the VSP #8 should not have been disabled.
In my device manager, I seen port 8 created, but then nothing else. So, this is the same result as last time.
It seems to load the first vsp (although no connection), and then the next two never load.
Next test...Turn Windows Firewall completely off...stay tuned.
Edit - Turning off Firewall (completely) had no effect. No signs MacAfee antivirus flagged/stopped any action either. :(
Edited by smarty - July 22 2014 at 21:54
__________________ Elk - Insteon - BlueIris - DMC1 - PowerHome - XLobby - HA_Bridge w/Dots - Brultech
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BeachBum Super User
Joined: April 11 2007 Location: United States
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Posted: July 22 2014 at 21:57 | IP Logged
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You've got it. I was able to recreate the same failure. The generation of additional ports causes the failure. Sounds like a code problem.
__________________ Pete - X10 Oldie
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smarty Super User
Joined: May 21 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: July 22 2014 at 21:57 | IP Logged
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FYI... When PH exits, the single VSP that is created stays persistent, it doesn't go away when PH exits.....odd.
__________________ Elk - Insteon - BlueIris - DMC1 - PowerHome - XLobby - HA_Bridge w/Dots - Brultech
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dhoward Admin Group
Joined: June 29 2001 Location: United States
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Posted: July 23 2014 at 09:48 | IP Logged
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Pete,
Thanks for verifying that for me.
Smarty,
So it definitely doesnt seem to be related to a specific instance of the VSP. The first one loads, subsequent ones fail as verified by Pete. In your instance, the first one won't enable.
When I get home tonight, I'll rework the plugin so that it is an activex ocx instead of an activex exe but using the latest version of the VSP driver. We'll see where that gets us.
Dave.
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smarty Super User
Joined: May 21 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: July 28 2014 at 18:53 | IP Logged
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Any luck with the alternate solution?
__________________ Elk - Insteon - BlueIris - DMC1 - PowerHome - XLobby - HA_Bridge w/Dots - Brultech
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dhoward Admin Group
Joined: June 29 2001 Location: United States
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Posted: July 28 2014 at 23:23 | IP Logged
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Smarty,
Sorry to take so long but Im currently out of town on travel. However, I did bring my development machine and found some time to work on the file.
Try this: http://www.power-home.com/download/ph_vsp121.zip. Download and unzip into your plugins directory. This is based upon the previous version and is an activex control (vs an activex exe) with the latest version 7 of the VSP driver and latest version 8 of the winsock control.
After unzipping, you'll have to run the regsvr32 on the ph_vsp.ocx file.
Test it out and let me know how it goes.
Dave.
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smarty Super User
Joined: May 21 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: July 29 2014 at 10:09 | IP Logged
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Ok.. some interesting results.
First off, now all three virtual serial ports load (2 ports are from my Global Cache, the other one is for my elk plugin that resides within Xlobby).
My results are only for the two ports from the GC (the 3rd VSP seemed to work, but I haven't tested fully yet as I am doing this remotely).
It appears plugin LOAD ORDER independent, my second port on my GC seems to work fine, but the first port does not seem to send/receive anything (I see no errors nor do I see any receive feedback/confirmation that something was sent - something my Onkyo will do).
I did move plugin load order around - no effect.
Edited by smarty - July 29 2014 at 10:10
__________________ Elk - Insteon - BlueIris - DMC1 - PowerHome - XLobby - HA_Bridge w/Dots - Brultech
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smarty Super User
Joined: May 21 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: July 29 2014 at 18:56 | IP Logged
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A bit more info...after playing around.
The first port can SOMETIMES send a successful "Off" command, but there is no consistency and no feedback command is transmitted back to PH. It is like the port settings are wrong/scrambled???
This works on the 5000 port: (as it always has)
ph_comsendstring({COM NUM LIVING TV},"\x02**POF\x03")
This DOESN`T work on the 4999 port:(as it always used to)
ph_comsendstring({COM NUM AVR LIVRM},"!1PWR01\013")
Any chance the port behaves differently based upon whether it is Hex or not? I would think that would only be device dependent....
Edited by smarty - July 29 2014 at 19:09
__________________ Elk - Insteon - BlueIris - DMC1 - PowerHome - XLobby - HA_Bridge w/Dots - Brultech
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smarty Super User
Joined: May 21 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: July 29 2014 at 19:11 | IP Logged
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My listed plugins from the Help:About area:
PowerHome Virtual Serial Port Plugin
COM: 8
Remote Host: 192.168.0.189
Remote Port: 4999
PowerHome Plugin ID: GC-100-PORT1
Plugin Version: 1.21
SDK Version: 1.2
Current Status: Enabled.
PowerHome Virtual Serial Port Plugin
COM: 6
Remote Host: 192.168.0.189
Remote Port: 5000
PowerHome Plugin ID: CG-100-PORT2
Plugin Version: 1.21
SDK Version: 1.2
Current Status: Enabled.
PowerHome Raw COMM Plugin
PowerHome Plugin ID: INDAY COM NUM CTRL
Plugin Version: 1.7
SDK Version: 1.2
Current Status: Enabled.
PowerHome Raw COMM Plugin
PowerHome Plugin ID: BAYTECH COM NUM CTRL
Plugin Version: 1.7
SDK Version: 1.2
Current Status: Enabled.
PowerHome Virtual Serial Port Plugin
COM: 50
Remote Host: 192.168.0.104
Remote Port: 2101
PowerHome Plugin ID: PH-VSP
Plugin Version: 1.21
SDK Version: 1.2
Current Status: Enabled.
PowerHome File Monitor Plugin
PowerHome Plugin ID: I-PHONE MONITOR
Plugin Version: 1.1
SDK Version: 1.2
Current Status: Enabled.
__________________ Elk - Insteon - BlueIris - DMC1 - PowerHome - XLobby - HA_Bridge w/Dots - Brultech
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smarty Super User
Joined: May 21 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: August 01 2014 at 08:06 | IP Logged
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Anyone else seeing this issue with the two serial ports of the GC-100?
__________________ Elk - Insteon - BlueIris - DMC1 - PowerHome - XLobby - HA_Bridge w/Dots - Brultech
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smarty Super User
Joined: May 21 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: August 02 2014 at 15:55 | IP Logged
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Still not seeing normal behavior from my VSP/Global Cache.
Here is the Help : About for my Global Cache-100: (shows as connected)
Global Cache Controller.
IP Address: 192.168.0.189
Firmware Version: 3.2-12
Module: 1 - 1 SERIAL
Module: 2 - 1 SERIAL
Module: 3 - 3 RELAY
Module: 4 - 3 IR
Module: 5 - 3 IR
I also have an Global Cache iTach (WF2IR):(shows as connected)
Global Cache Controller.
IP Address: 192.168.0.56
Firmware Version: 710-1001-05
Module: 0 - 0 WIFI
Module: 1 - 3 IR
Another thought....Since I am using the first two modules as serial (PH sees them as virtual) serial ports, is there any chance I have my two GC controllers set up incorrectly?
From the controller section:(Line, ID, ControllerType, Active, settings)
70 GLOBALCACHE-LIV Global Cache, Checked, 192.168.0.189, 3, GLOBALCACHE-LIV
80 ITACH-PATIO, Global Cache, Checked, 192.168.0.56, 3, ITACH-PATIO
__________________ Elk - Insteon - BlueIris - DMC1 - PowerHome - XLobby - HA_Bridge w/Dots - Brultech
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smarty Super User
Joined: May 21 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: August 02 2014 at 16:05 | IP Logged
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Hmm...still no incoming rs-232 feedback(command confirmation) from that one virtual serial port.
__________________ Elk - Insteon - BlueIris - DMC1 - PowerHome - XLobby - HA_Bridge w/Dots - Brultech
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dhoward Admin Group
Joined: June 29 2001 Location: United States
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Posted: August 04 2014 at 18:15 | IP Logged
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Smarty,
Im finally back from travel. Ive been trying to catch up on where we're at and it appears that the 1.21 version of the Virtual Serial Port is working (mostly). If I read everything correct, the problem you're currently having is that the first serial port on GC port 4999 is not sending data but receiving is working.
Do I have this right?
If so, Im wondering if you can open a terminal program and manually send the problem commands and see what the response is. If you can post that response, I can try to determine if theres something within the data that is choking PowerHome.
Thanks,
Dave.
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smarty Super User
Joined: May 21 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: August 04 2014 at 20:35 | IP Logged
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EDIT - HOLD for a bit. Checked my physical connections again...better results....more testing...
Edit#2 - working for about 5 minutes, then no sending or receiving...no PH errors, plugins still show as enabled.
Dave,
Doing my best to troubleshoot, but the issues seem to be complex and almost ever changing. Reboot is needed for any different permutations....
As it stands, PH loads up with no errors, all VSP are created (and connected to - as per my startup macro).
In order to test the VSP/com port, I have to first do a "ph_comclose()". I then use Docklight Scripting to connect to the port in question (I can successfully connect). With my devices IR remote, I change the volume, and can see the RX commands coming from the Onkyo device to Docklight. The incoming confirmation commands look MOSTLY ok, but the ending characters look odd to me.
ASCII feed back is: !1MVL37<SUB>rightarrow
note: "rightarrow" is a graphic
Hex of the same would be: 21 31 4D 56 4C 33 37 1A
So far, with DockLight I am unable to SEND and see any response (I don't know if the send is happening or not)...
Edited by smarty - August 04 2014 at 20:49
__________________ Elk - Insteon - BlueIris - DMC1 - PowerHome - XLobby - HA_Bridge w/Dots - Brultech
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dhoward Admin Group
Joined: June 29 2001 Location: United States
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Posted: August 04 2014 at 21:03 | IP Logged
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Smarty,
Not sure what would be going on. I first try to isolate the virtual serial port plugin by disabling the VSP plugin within PowerHome and trying a third party VSP from either http://www.eterlogic.com/Products.VSPE.html or http://www.hw-group.com/products/hw_vsp/index_en.html .
I would then rerun your tests and see where that gets us.
Dave.
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smarty Super User
Joined: May 21 2006 Location: United States
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Posted: August 06 2014 at 10:02 | IP Logged
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Dave,
Following your guidance, I have downloaded and in installed the HW-Group VSP software (I have used this same VSP software in the past).
For that last 36 hours, I have had three HW-VSP's that PH has successfully connected to and are working properly (this confirms that my hardware and connections are NOT at issue).
As a troubleshooting step, I did a regsvr32.exe /u :\powerhome\plugins\ph_vsp.ocx followed by a re-registering of the same file (should be the file from the 121 version of the plugin).
Upon starting PH, I see this system error "An error occurred while loading Plugin: GC-100-PORT1. The return code is: -3."
And of course all three VSP plugins failed during startup, from the Help About menu:
***PLUGIN INVALID***
PowerHome Plugin ID: GC-100-PORT1
Plugin failed during initialization.
Any ideas? It seemed to me in the past that this was sometimes associated with registering certain DLL or other types of files???
__________________ Elk - Insteon - BlueIris - DMC1 - PowerHome - XLobby - HA_Bridge w/Dots - Brultech
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dhoward Admin Group
Joined: June 29 2001 Location: United States
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Posted: August 08 2014 at 18:29 | IP Logged
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Smarty,
Sorry to take so long getting back to you.
Appreciate the testing you've done, it helps alot. It confirms primarily that the issue is probably with the PH_VSP control and not your connections or the ph_comm commands (what I was primarily concerned about).
I'll need to try and work on the virtual serial port plugin this weekend.
Your current error where the ph_vsp plugin won't even initialize may be due to the HW VSP software. If Im not mistaken, they use the same Eltima VSP control that Im using (could be a different version) and installing this software has removed the entries necessary for the ph_vsp plugin to work. You'll probably need to register the vsport.dll in the c:\powerhome\drivers\VSP... directory so that the ph_vsp plugin can again talk to the Eltima VSP.
I'll post back once I get another version going.
Dave.
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