> Date sent: Sat, 5 Oct 2024 14:18:30 +0100 > > It's a Elcon generic touch screen. >
I've read what the others have posted. Is it that same Elcon we're talking about? If yes, the same Elcon: Is this a current product, or something historical that's not on that website anymore? If the Elcon screen is indeed some ARM-based "HMI", in what relation is the DOS instance that you're asking about? Running on that box? In an emulation? Or is the panel computer in fact x86-based, i.e. none of the ARM-based models currently at the Elcon.gr website? If it is ARM-based, I should tell you that it won't run DOS, and cannot work as an external monitor to an x86 DOS PC.The HMI panel has got no VGA/DVI/HDMI/DP/TTL/LVDS external input, so there probably isn't much need in trying to get your hands on its touchscreen sensor, is that correct? Note that this category of "ARM-based HMI" allows two approaches: A) use the firmware that the HMI vendor has included in the package, which has some visual programming language or a SCADA-style development kit or whatnot. The visual front end is a part of that. To the "process technology", it can speak Modbus, or a number of other "industrial" fieldbus protocols. B) with some ARM-based HMI vendors, you can buy the bare hardware, and you are free to install and develop your own firmware, typically starting from some proprietary Linux distro provided by the vendor, or feel free to start from scratch on bare metal, if you are so inclined and capable :-) >From a broader perspective, i.e. in case you actually have a choice of what monitor or panel PC to pick (with a TS sensor+controller integrated), or you have an x86 panel PC running DOS just fine, let me tell you what the market of TouchScreens for x86 PC's looks like: There are a number of TouchScreen vendors, some of them possibly historical. What you see from the PC side is a TS *controller* = the chip talking to you over some machine-readable bus. The controller chip and board then connect to the analog sensor, doing some magic that's not all that interesting to you, the application engineer. The typical outside interface of a TS controller runs on top of RS232 serial, or USB, or historically PS/2. Or, relatively recently, I2C. On RS232, the TS controller speaks a proprietary protocol, which is often documented, and typically comes with a driver for various operating systems - traditionally including DOS, hooking the Int 0x33 software interrupt that's traditionally served by mouse drivers. On PS/2, the TS controller likely appears as a mouse, and probably needs a proprietary driver too. Forget I ever mentioned I2C HCI. No go in DOS. USB is probably the least favourable option for you in DOS. If you are lucky, the controller presents (or can be configured to present) an opaque HID mouse interface - in which case, you might get it to work, if you tackle the DOS support for USB mouse. Never tried myselfs. You will find some rare old drivers that likely don't support current HCI hardware. This might actually work: https://github.com/crazii/USBDDOS/releases/tag/1.0fix2 ...except that if the mouse is emulated by a TS controller, in DOS you may face the problem that the coordinates will not be calibrated. Meaning: at the output of INT 0x33 in text mode, the scale may be off by several decimal orders. The modern Projected Capacitive touchscreens (with a USB HID interface) typically come factory-calibrated for the native resolution of the display they come integrated with. No need for manual calibration, an no public way of doing it. So if you ran DOS in an SVGA graphical mode matching the display's native resolution, you would actually have an emulated mouse with calibrated pixel coordinates - if you can achieve the opaque mouse emulation, and work with a USB mouse in DOS on your x86 platform. Note that the preferred mode of USB TS controllers is not opaque mouse emulation (the USB HID mouse class as defined in the USB standard), but their own "USB HID touch panel" device. Apparently not a USB standard, although it does have a generic driver in MS Windows. I recall a trouble case involving Windows, where the customer needed a modern USB touchscreen to deliver classic mouse clicks - whereas the TS support in Windows ends up delivering "touch events" that are different from a classic mouse click. At that time, the TS vendor was polite enough to provide alternative firmware for the TS controller, which resulted in the TS appearing as a mouse, and Windows then delivered mouse clicks as desired by the application integrator. The TS vendor in this trouble case was SiS/USBest. Not providing a driver for DOS. The morale is: if you have a choice, for DOS on bare metal, prefer touchscreen products with RS232 output interface (and don't confuse them with HMI panels). As for TS controller brands that I recall having a DOS driver for their RS232/PS2 models, in descending order by quality of support: - ELO (perhaps my all time favourite) - PenMount/Salt - EETI/eGalaxTouch/Hantouch/TouchKit/D-WAV etc. - GroovyTouch - 3M Microtouch If you have no clue what touch screen controller is inside, in a PC at hand, you still have the option of trying different drivers one by one :-) i.e. throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks. Curiously, this has often been the case, in the age of RS232 TS controllers, even if you purchased the PC from a particular vendor. I still have an archive of unpacked TS drivers for DOS. Ask me if you need this. Note: if you need to run DOS on modern-day x86 hardware, you may face systems that are UEFI-only anyway. So you won't be able to run on bare metal. Consider running your DOS app in an emulator / virtual machine. In that case, you will have an emulated mouse, possibly aligned just fine to your screen. The HW-specific drivers will remain to be "someone else's problem" (the hypervisor's). If you need to run DOS on bare metal, in a panel PC, try asking ICOP what they have in that vein. Historically, they've been the last bastion of various retro x86 operating systems support - though nowadays they also sell modern ATOM/UEFI-based machines with Projected Capacitive touch screens and no DOS support. Some of their older models might serve your needs. Note that ICOP work with "industrial" product lifecycles, long availability. Frank _______________________________________________ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
