On Monday 21 October 2024 07:47:39 am Darac Marjal wrote: > > On 20/10/2024 18:51, Roy J. Tellason, Sr. wrote: > > I have here an Ancel BA101 battery tester, discovered by way of a YT > > video, and it's proved to be a handy gadget to have. In the "user manual" > > for this device (available online) it talks about the ability to print the > > data. Which requires you to connect it to a computer by way of a USB cable > > plugged into the tester's USB port. The documentation further refers to > > inserting a CD into the computer (it didn't come with any CD), making sure > > a driver was installed, then "open the print software" and select the > > appropriate COM port. > > > > I'm pretty sure that I don't need to install a driver, since I can connect > > all sorts of USB stuff to this computer with no problems. I'm not sure > > what print software they refer to here -- the illustration seems to refer > > to "PrintCOM v1.50421" which appears to have print, clear, and COM port > > selection options but also appears to be some kind of windoze software. > > > > How would I address accessing this device under linux and getting its info > > out to my printer? > > COM ports are serial ports and are a very basic method of communication. > Linux supports COM ports (the ports themselves) really well.
Having had to configure modems and such back when, I understand this... > You can use, say, minicom or screen to communicate with a device on the COM > port. For some reason neither of those seems to be installed on this machine. > However, there are a number of challenges to overcome before > you'll be able to use the tester. > > Firstly, the parameters of the communication are rather complex (what > speed, do you need parity bits / stop bits, who controls the flow of > data). Been there, done that. > If you can find this information, you can tell the computer how > to communicate with the other device. As a start, though, you can try > "9600 8n1" (9600 bits per second, 8 bits per byte, NO parity, 1 stop > bit) as this is the most common setting. Yup. Or sometimes faster. > Next, you need to find out what data to send/receive over the port. If > you're lucky, the device will be really simple and will just print > battery results in plain text when you communicate. But if you're > unlucky, you'll need to send it commands to tell it to do things. This > communication protocol could be plain text, there could be a menu, it > could be binary.. there are even some protocols (APC UPSes, I'm looking > at you) which just consist of sending a single character to activate a > function - if you happen to send the wrong character, something untoward > might happen (in this case, turning off the UPS). Connecting the device with a USB cable I see it wake up, at which point there's a menu on its screen. One selection there is to print, so I'm guessing that it might be that simple. What I need is to somehow redirect what's coming from the device to where I can use it. > As another poster advised, only Ancel /really/ know the right way to use > their device. Contacting them involved setting up an account, a bit cumbersome. I haven't seen any reply yet. -- Member of the toughest, meanest, deadliest, most unrelenting -- and ablest -- form of life in this section of space, a critter that can be killed but can't be tamed. --Robert A. Heinlein, "The Puppet Masters" - Information is more dangerous than cannon to a society ruled by lies. --James M Dakin
