This tool allows you to experiment with one (or more) RGBLED boards.
You can setup LEDs, define animation, configure the board, store the
current settings as power on defaults, etc. It graphically supports
everthing you can do with the RGBLED protocol.
This tool also provides an xPL
module for the xPL4Java
container
allowing your LEDs to be controlled as part of an automation
system. You can read about it here
The tool requires Java 1.5 or later (also known as Java5). It also requires an annoying additional package to be installed. This is because it uses the serial port and serial port access is not something supplied in the normal Java install. I apologize for this, but there was no other way to do this (using Java). The package is called Javacomm and you can learn more about it, where to download it and tips and notes on getting it working here
Once Java and the javacomm software is installed, download the RGBLED distribution here (including the source) (tgz format). Once downloaded and unzipped, you should be able to just double click on it to launch it. If you can't do that, you can launch it from the command like with a command like this (assuming you stored the jRGBLED.jar in your C:\temp directory):
javaw -jar C:\temp\jRGBLED.jar
For linux/solaris, replace the C:\temp with the path to where you stored the jar.
Then use the File->Properties dialog to select the Serial/COM port the RGBLED board(s) are attached to and the baud rate. You're ready to go!
Select the Board ID you wish to make changes to (by default, board 0).
Select an LED and alter the controls as you'd like. You can test the results of the control settings by pressing the "Upload LED Now" button which does just that for the LED you are working on. Note: You do not need to use this button for LED -- there is an option in the Board menu to upload all LEDs at once and an option in the LED menu to upload just this LED (same thing as the button)
To edit animations for an LED, check the Animations check box and the animation options panel will appear. You'll see a check box to enable the animation (you can download an animation and leave it disabled to allow turning it on/off via a command later), a control for how color changes are handled, the overall timing style and the number of seconds or tenths of seconds between color changes.
There is a list of 10 possible colors you can assign and enable. You MUST enable a color or it will not be uploaded to the LED. Select the color you want by click on the color swatch (often black first time around) or type the hex value of the color in, then check the "Enable" check box for that color. You can enable or disable any color in the animation. Only enabled colors are sent when you upload.
NOTE: You can have >10 steps for an LEDs animation, but the GUI only allows you 10. To use more requires sending the commands directly to the RGBLED board itself.
NOTE: If you find the fact that all color changes are the same time length annoying and you want a certain asymetry to the color changes, you can just use >1 "step" of the same color to double the length of time. So if you wanted the LED to flash RED for 1 second and then stay dark for 3 seconds, define & enable 4 colors -- 3 are black and 1 is red.
When you have made all the changes you want to a board and wish to send them all over to the board, use the "Board->Upload ALL LEDs to board" menu option to send them all at once. This will initialize/clear the board and then download each LED to it. You can also just initialize/reset the board if you'd like via the "Board->Clear Board" menu option which turns all LEDs off, clears all animation, etc.
The Board option to change a Boards ID (Board->Configuration is one that requires a little explanation. When you use it, it directly sends the command to the board, effectively and immediatly changing it ID. However, doing this has NO impact on the RGBLED software and any settings you have. If you had a bunch of LED settings for Board #0, then used this option to change the boards ID to 1, the board will now respond only to command targetted at board 1 (as expected), but the RGBLED software will still have all your LED setting associated with board #0. Trust me, this is often what you want, but may seem confusing sometimes. You can copy all settings from one board to another using the "Board->Copy From Board" menu item to transfer everything en masse.
After you've uploaded your board settings, you can tell the board to make them the power-up defaults. Just use the "Board->Save Board Settings as Power-up Defaults" menu option. Whatever settings are in effect at that time are stored to EEPROM and if the board loses power or is rebooted/reset, they'll immediatly be reinstalled. Not only is this useful for more static LED based projects, but it also allows you do to complex things (like setting up all the animation steps, but leaving the animation disabled) that allow you to simplify your hardware projects interface software (for example, just turn the LEDs animation on with a simple 6 byte command instead of having to send all the info over). You can test those defaults using the Board->Reboot Board menu option to caus ethe board to return to power-on defaults.
When you first start RGBLED, it'll try to load file called LEDRGB.xml. This is called a "BoardSet" file becuase it contains settings for all boards between board ID 0 and 254. When you exit, you'll be given the chance to save any changes you made to this file. When you next restart, all the settings will be there.
You can also choose to save the settings out to a different BoardSet file using the File->Save As option. You can load a different board set using File->Open and finally, you can create a new, empty BoardSet with the File->New.
If you only have one board or a few that are all on the same "wire", then the Open/Save As/New BoardSet options are really not going to be too useful. But if you need to manage multiple configurations, they can be pretty valuable.
Last Modified June 12, 2006