Some screenshots of the Program that I am working on

[nwgatwcfan]

These are some screenshots of the project that I am working on in C# - for sending listings data through Serial. I am learning as I go with C#, so it's taken me a while to get to this point.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Steven

[Matthew Joseph]

OH ME, OH MY!!!!
Goodness. Now I don't need to have a hex editor or anything soon when your program will launched without bugs. I'm waiting to hear other good news, nwgatwcfan!!!

[AriX]

This looks really awesome! If it helps at all, here is my (really very poorly-written) proof-of-concept sender from a few years ago.

sender.c
sender.h

[X-Man]

what software is this for the prevue guide editor?

[AriX]

Also, if it's helpful to anyone, here is something I put together that will generate a custom ADF or ROM for you with a certain select code: http://prevueguide.com/server/download.php

[nwgatwcfan]

what software is this for the prevue guide editor?

This is a creation out of Visual Studio C# for Win 7. I have built the program from the ground up and it is still a work in progress. I am learning C# and its strange coding rules and also as an easier way to build listings without having to calculate checksums everytime.

Thanks,
Steven

[nwgatwcfan]

This looks really awesome! If it helps at all, here is my (really very poorly-written) proof-of-concept sender from a few years ago.

sender.c
sender.h

Arix,

I appreciate it. I was looking at the code and I noticed that you found the command to unlock the keyboard for the local ads. I have been working on the configuration settings today and it will probably go into next weekend to get it ready.

I have a template already setup with the locations of where I want the data to be displayed within the program I am building. The only thing about C# is the things you could do in C++ are usually off limits in C#. That is why I am having a heck of a time with the control data feed.

I have figured out that in order to get the nextday.dat setup, you have to send a second channel lineup with the next Julian date in order for it to start accepting channel listings for nextday.dat. This may be something that you already knew, but a nice reminder. In the program that I am building, you see you can send one, the other, or both at the same time.

This program build is also how I was able to find out about the Stereo Headphones logo and the length of program automatically changing so quickly.

I can't wait to get a program setup enough for you guys to test this with COM1 from a Windows machine to an actual Amiga. That's what I would love to see.

Again thanks for the additional files. I will try to use some of this information contained in this program.

Steven

[AriX]

Arix,

I appreciate it. I was looking at the code and I noticed that you found the command to unlock the keyboard for the local ads. I have been working on the configuration settings today and it will probably go into next weekend to get it ready.

I have a template already setup with the locations of where I want the data to be displayed within the program I am building. The only thing about C# is the things you could do in C++ are usually off limits in C#. That is why I am having a heck of a time with the control data feed.

I have figured out that in order to get the nextday.dat setup, you have to send a second channel lineup with the next Julian date in order for it to start accepting channel listings for nextday.dat. This may be something that you already knew, but a nice reminder. In the program that I am building, you see you can send one, the other, or both at the same time.

This program build is also how I was able to find out about the Stereo Headphones logo and the length of program automatically changing so quickly.

I can't wait to get a program setup enough for you guys to test this with COM1 from a Windows machine to an actual Amiga. That's what I would love to see.

Again thanks for the additional files. I will try to use some of this information contained in this program.

Steven

Sounds good! If you have a working version, I'd be happy to run it hooked up to my Amiga when I get back home. The logic for generating the settings blocks (mode F) is at the very bottom of sender.c. Sorry my code isn't well-written; if it were, it would be a lot easier to understand!

The CTRL stuff is really hard. Before trying to implement it, I'd definitely recommend taking some time to get to understand the low-level data transmission. Read through the Amiga disassembly thread - particularly the earlier part when I just figured out how to send CTRL data. If you compile and run the "readCTRL" code I posted, you can use the simulation I built of how the CTRL routines work. Every line it outputs simulates one interval of the routine being run, and every time it asks you for a bit simulates every time the routine actually checks the value of the CTS pin. Note that in order to get it to actually read data, you have to send it two 1s to start, and a 0 at the end, after all the real bits have been read. In the real hardware, this serves to "sync up" the CTRL receiving with the sending; a byte will only be received if the bit is 1 for a certain amount of time at the beginning and 0 for a certain amount of time at the end. After receiving a byte, my code will print it out the bytes that it has read so far. Feel free to ask if you have questions. Sorry I'm not that great at explaining it.

[X-Man]

is there a template for download?

[nwgatwcfan]

Arix,

I have finished a good rough draft of my sender program. I have had some health issues and crazy work days and working a few more bugs out of this work. So it took me longer to create it than I would have liked. But you will be able to customize your own lineup and also add as many manual listings that you want.

There are still some features that are not working and you may run into a bug or two. I will mention, any time in the program that you have a calendar, you must select a date. Also, the flags will be in decimal format (I tried hex, and it was a pain to convert). Generally when setting up a channel, you will want Flag 1 to be 18, Flag 2 to be 1, Flag 3, to be 17, Flag 4 to be 1, Flag 5 to be 20, and the timeslot masks set them to 255 on each one. This will setup a default. Flag 2 and 4 are the main ones that you can use to change the channel attributes per the Spreadsheets that I have uploaded in the Wiki. Just remember to convert it to decimal before entering.

Your settings will be in a folder that you can assign and as long as you use Notepad++, you can upload your own listings files (there is a pattern to these if you want more information). I did use some Non-printable control characters, so don't use Microsoft Notepad. You will need to use COM port 1 or use a virtual serial port and port either into the Amiga directly or use Win-UAE.

If you have any questions or concerns, let me know. I hope this is a help and makes it a little easier. I am still learning C#, so there may be some features that I will eventually learn going forward.

Enjoy!
Steven
nwgatwcfan