[RESOLVED] VELLEMAN VM110 usb interface board

[camoore]

I wish to interface a PC with external digital and analogue hardware. A search of UK catalogues found the VELLEMAN VM110 "experiment interface board" as a possible solution. It was advertised as being compatible with VB.

Since ordering and receiving this board, I have been unable to find a suitable .dll (which did not appear to be contained on the supplied CD) nor was there any specimen VB6 program. The only references were to VBNet and VC++.

Could I please ask if any member has used this device and knows of a specimen program with which to run it from VB6?

If this is not regarded as an appropriate post to the coding sector of the forum, it is requested that the moderator(s) transfer the post to a more relevant sector.


camoore

Wales, UK

[akhileshbc]

Did you asked the manufacturers about this...???

[westconn1]

i found this

K8067: Universal temperature sensor.

VB6 Demo software and source code for use with K8055/VM110 interface card. Read temperatures and use them in your applications.

* k8067_demo.zip

from http://www.vellemanusa.com/us/enu/download/files/

even if it is different model, should get you started

these functions are declared in the form

Private Declare Function OpenDevice Lib "k8055d.dll" (ByVal CardAddress As Long) As Long
Private Declare Sub CloseDevice Lib "k8055d.dll" ()
Private Declare Function ReadAnalogChannel Lib "k8055d.dll" (ByVal Channel As Long) As Long
Private Declare Sub ReadAllAnalog Lib "k8055d.dll" (data1 As Long, data2 As Long)
Private Declare Sub OutputAnalogChannel Lib "k8055d.dll" (ByVal Channel As Long, ByVal Data A
s Long)
Private Declare Sub OutputAllAnalog Lib "k8055d.dll" (ByVal data1 As Long, ByVal data2 As Lon
g)
Private Declare Sub ClearAnalogChannel Lib "k8055d.dll" (ByVal Channel As Long)
Private Declare Sub SetAllAnalog Lib "k8055d.dll" ()
Private Declare Sub ClearAllAnalog Lib "k8055d.dll" ()
Private Declare Sub SetAnalogChannel Lib "k8055d.dll" (ByVal Channel As Long)
Private Declare Sub WriteAllDigital Lib "k8055d.dll" (ByVal Data As Long)
Private Declare Sub ClearDigitalChannel Lib "k8055d.dll" (ByVal Channel As Long)
Private Declare Sub ClearAllDigital Lib "k8055d.dll" ()
Private Declare Sub SetDigitalChannel Lib "k8055d.dll" (ByVal Channel As Long)
Private Declare Sub SetAllDigital Lib "k8055d.dll" ()
Private Declare Function ReadDigitalChannel Lib "k8055d.dll" (ByVal Channel As Long) As Boole
an
Private Declare Function ReadAllDigital Lib "k8055d.dll" () As Long
Private Declare Function ReadCounter Lib "k8055d.dll" (ByVal CounterNr As Long) As Long
Private Declare Sub ResetCounter Lib "k8055d.dll" (ByVal CounterNr As Long)
Private Declare Sub SetCounterDebounceTime Lib "k8055d.dll" (ByVal CounterNr As Long, ByVal D
ebounceTime As Long)

also

k8055_source_code.zip
Source code files for Borland C++ builder, Visual Basic 6.0 and Delphi 6.x

probably a better choice for you

[camoore]

Akhileshbc : Thanks for reply. Yes, I did try to find the answer through the manufacturer's website, but such info. as there was seemed sparse and poorly documented. The website appears to be in Belgium. It was because of not finding much of use at that site I made the Forum post, in the hope that someone had already trodden this path.

Westconn1 : That info. looks VERY useful. I will read and attempt to use. I am not sure to what extent VB6 code to operate this interface module (which looks to be quite a handy piece of kit and not expensive at around $35US) would be of general interest to this Forum. I will leave the thread open for now, and if I manage to write some good code will post it to this thread.

Thanks as always for your rapid and helpful replies.

camoore

Wales, UK

[CDRIVE]

Camoore, judging from your past posts you like to interface with external devices. Have you considered the PICAXE series of microcontrollers? They're very inexpensive, easy to program. The Editor/Compiler is free and it's packaged with full documentation and example code. It also easily interfaces to your PC through RS232/VB6/MSComm. They even sell two models of USB/Serial converters made specifically for them for programing the chips. Their converters also recognize the Break command and and after the chip is programmed you can use it to interface VB6 to the chip.

The nice thing about programming your own micro's is that since you wrote the code it makes writing VB code to interface the chip..easy!

[camoore]

CDrive : Thank you for the tip about Picaxe controllers. I will investigate via their website. And yes, you are very correct when you remark that I like to interface computers with external systems and hardware.

The Velleman VM110 was not of my choosing, but that said it seems a useful board incorporating digital outputs, digital inputs, analogue outputs, analogue inputs plus two PWM output channels. Up to 4 boards can be hooked to the USB simultaneously and individually controlled from VB6.

My problem was getting started with it, since its included CD did not contain dll / VB6 code info. Now thanks to Westconn1 I am well on the track. Inter alia I have now found a comprehensive manual (that supplied with the product was very sparse). For info. I will attach this Velleman manual as .zip. The manual is, if you can find it, freely available on the web. This includes VB code similar to that which Westconn1 kindly found.

camoore

Wales, UK

[CDRIVE]

Yes, westconn1 is always helpful and seems to gravitate to these types of topics. I suspect that westconn1 is an electron head too!

Here's a publication that has long been a favorite among the Electron Head community. Over the years they've morphed from mostly RS232 interface to quite a bit of information and projects with USB interface.

Nuts & Volts Magazine

[westconn1]

despite the fact that mscomm is easy to work with it is about time manufactures started providing usb interfaces, as velleman appear to do

unfortunately i am not really an electronics wizz, though have made some basic boards, nothing to interface to computer, totally out of my league, i guess, repairing dry joints is about my usual limit

maybe i am just good at googling

[camoore]

CDRIVE, Westconn1 :

This goes to show the value of a great forum such as this. It brings together souls of different experiences and specialisations. My own specialisation throughout my work phase was analogue and digital hardware circuit design, plus systems engineering. But I never had time (except for 1 year in 1976) to get in any way involved with software. It is only since I retired in 2004 that I started to teach myself programming - which in work days my "softies" were always doing but which I never fully understood. Now I understand a little bit more. I would go so far as to say that I could now do a few things better than did they, but they did not have as much time to spare as the peace of retirement now allows me!

Now working on the VM110 code. Thanks chaps,


camoore


Wales, UK

[CDRIVE]

despite the fact that mscomm is easy to work with it is about time manufactures started providing usb interfaces, as velleman appear to do

As long as the programmer has the dll's and syntax to communicate with them, USB is great. So I totally agree.

[camoore]

This post is to close the thread as resolved, thanks to forum contributions.

At attachment is a VB6 demmo program (courtesy of Velleman) which exercises every function of the vm110 / K8055 interface board. By studying the code, it becomes an easy matter to write one's own progams to control / read the board and interface with the "outside world".

This program relies on a dll : K8055.dll which must be present in the C:\Windows\System folder (98SE) or System32 folder (2000, XP etc.). This dll is contained in the attached package.

Also critical to its satisfactory function are 3 drivers - Hidclass.sys, Hidparse.sys and Hidusb.sys. These should be present in the windows drivers folder. I found that it is ESSENTIAL that the correct version of these drivers be used for the OS. in use on one's machine, and that there have apparently been several versions of these drivers over the years.

Within the attached project folder will be found the drivers which work with Win98Se (V23/04/99) and also much later versions which work with XP.

The CD which comes with the vm110 does not contain these drivers (at least mine did not) and it proved tricky to find them - especially at the correct version - on the web.

I found an excellent Velleman.be support forum at :

http://forum.velleman.eu/viewforum.php?f=3

at which I received good, fast and most helpful information.

As above stated in this thread, I think the vm110 is a very useful interface card, readily integrated into a VB6 application. It provides 5 digital inputs, 8 digital outputs, 2 analogue inputs, 2 analogue outputs and associated with these last two a pair of PWM outputs. Up to 4 vm110 boards may be connected to a single PC, each having a 2-bit address selected by a pair of jumpers.

camoore

Wales, UK

[CDRIVE]

Camoore, thanks for posting this info. If I ever mess with a Velleman PIC it will be very handy.