Email Metering AIP-200/USB Optical Probe
 

1. Installation

The recommended procedure to install the AIP-200/USB Optical
Probe and driver software is as follows :

1. Close all active applications.
2. Plug the AIP-200/USB probe into a spare USB port.
3. Insert this software driver disk.
4. Follow the "Add New Hardware Wizard" instructions,
   directing this to the appropriate disk drive.
   (This is a two step process which may, on some
    machines, take several minutes to complete.)
5. On some machines, it may be necessary to reboot
   to complete the installation.

Notes :

• This driver software requires at least MS W98 or W2000 (NT5).
It will not install on NT4 or W95B/C (even if the latter has
its USB Supplement installed). 
• For installation on MS W2000 (NT5) or later, administrator
privileges are required.
• For installation on MS Vista (NT6) or MS W7 (NT7), please
refer to the following applications note : AN-119 (FTDI)
• This software driver disk may also include drivers for other
Email Metering USB products. If so, these may be installed in
a comparable manner.

To uninstall this driver software, please select the appropriate
entry/entries in the Control Panel's "Add/Remove Programs" menu
and follow any instructions given. It is recommended that you
then reboot before installing/reinstalling any new USB hardware.

To upgrade this driver software, please uninstall the existing
driver first (as above).

2. Configuration

Once you have successfully installed the drivers, you should
see entries in the Device Manager, similar to the following :
(W98: Start / Settings / Control Panel / System / Device Manager)
(W2k: Start/Settings/Control Panel/System/Hardware/Device Manager)
(WXP: Start / Control Panel / System / Hardware / Device Manager)

To change the default communications settings for the Optical
Probe, double-click the corresponding entry in "Ports (COM & LPT)".
Note, the recommended setting for "Flow control" is "None" ...

To change the "Virtual COM Port" number for the Optical Probe,
click the "Advanced" button in the Properties window (see above),
which should open a window similar to the following :

3. Operation

Once you have completed installation and configuration, you should
(in most cases) be able to use the AIP-200/USB probe with the same
communications software as you do for RS-232 probes. If you find
this isn't the case, you may try experimenting with some of the
other configuration settings shown above, such as FIFO buffering.
If this doesn't help, check with the supplier of your communications
software, they may have a newer version that you can use. Of course,
you should also check that this software is working correctly with
an RS-232 probe, since if it can't do that, it is unlikely to work
via USB ...

"It rattles!" ...

Now, you should be aware that the AIP-200/USB probe operates in two
distinct modes, ANSI and IEC. It uses two tilt switches to determine
its orientation and hence its operating mode. The implication of this is
that the AIP-200/USB probe is designed to communicate with meters that
are in a vertical orientation, as per a normal installation. However,
it is possible to use the AIP-200/USB probe on a meter that is horizontal,
for instance, on a work bench. To do this, first orient the probe with
the corresponding ANSI or IEC label facing upward (normal orientation),
then tilt it down towards the meter. The probe will remember its last
"valid orientation" and remain in the corresponding mode whilst facing
downward.

Note that for some meters, such as Email's A11 series and Q series,
either ANSI or IEC mode can be used (so it is merely necessary to
correctly align the probe with the meter's optical port). Correct
operating mode is also dependent on the communications software used,
so you should refer to your software supplier if probe orientation
does not appear to work as expected (in which case you will also find
that such software will only work with some models of RS-232 probe).

4. Programming considerations (ANSI mode)

The most important difference between ANSI and IEC modes, is that the
former provides optional inversion of the transmit signal, controlled
by the DTR bit of the Virtual COM Port. Most ANSI applications do not
utilize this inversion feature, so will need to de-assert DTR, as per
the following Delphi code snippet :

procedure CommsSetParameters (Baud: word; Pty: TParity; Data: byte; Stop: TStop);
  var
    DeviceCB: TDCB;
  begin
    if CommsHandle >= 0 then
      begin
        GetCommState (CommsHandle, DeviceCB);
        with DeviceCB do
          begin
            BaudRate := Baud;
            ByteSize := Data;
            Parity   := ord (Pty);
            StopBits := ord (Stop);
            Flags := Flags and (not $3030) or $1000; {Assert RTS, de-assert DTR}
          end;
        SetCommState (CommsHandle, DeviceCB);
      end;
  end;

That's it folks!