Test and Measurement Forum

I'm a bit frustrated so please don't take any of this personal, but I haven't seen software as poorly written for installation and configuration as this in a long time. It reminds me of windows 3.11 crap I used to see. In fact, if I had a win 3.11 machine, it would probably run just fine.



On an IBM Thinkpad 600 with win2k...

After installation and upon trying to run picoscope, I get an error messagebox stating:

PicoScope could not open the the following product (ADC-212).

I have tried everything concerning comm issues within these pages and your help file is a joke. Obviously you folks have a hard time keeping up with driver updates and your best advice is to buy a USB adapter if it won't work. Do you really think I would buy a USB adapter from you with no garantee of it working?

My partner wants to use this thing, and I guess I'll do what I can, but it's ridiculous that you haven't fixed connection issues and offer no clear solution to the many complaints about the subject.

So what does this error indicate?

Hi

Thank you for your post.

I am sorry to hear that you have been having trouble with the ADC-212. Usually the problem here lies in the mode of the parallel port. It should be set to one of the following modes for optimal performance:

SPP, Normal, Unidirectional, Output Only.

As parallel ports are becoming rarer on PCs, all of our new scopes are USB2 interfaced. We have also produced the USB to Parallel adaptor to help customers who do not have parallel ports or are having compatibility issues. These issues are quite rare.

There is no reason why the USB adaptor should not work with the ADC-212. You might find that this adaptor is the easiest solution to these problems.

Hope this helps

Best Regards

Thank you for your kind answer. The parallel port is not going away soon, even though many devices are USB. IBM has a utility for changing the port settings. I will use this and post the procedure in this forum.

I know I was harsh in my last post, but I still would like to see a rewrite of this software as it has aged beyond many of the competing packages in at least the look and feel. To a software developer, the is a red flag as to the importance of the software in the entire system. Maybe your system is the only product on the market offering a high degree of functionality. An evaluation of which I really don't have the time to get into today, or any other day. Not having used the software yet, I couldn't say if the functionality needs updating. I hope a rewrite for software is on the schedule soon.

Sincerely

Curtis Fisher

Hi

Thank you for your post.

Obviously we seek to continually improve our products and software, and are keen to provide the best service to our customers. As I'm sure you will appreciate, I cannot discuss our future plans with regards to our products and software. We do however value your comments and feedback.

Let me know how you get on with the parallel port settings. The mode can be changed via the BIOS of the computer.

Best Regards

Anonymous wrote:
it's ridiculous that you haven't fixed connection issues and offer no clear solution to the many complaints about the subject.

I must agree, I have been thinking of the automotive kit, but when I read about all the problems involved with new owners trying to get up and running I keep putting the purchase off until something is done about these issues.

Graham

Hi Wally,

I have automotive kit users in our group on five continents. It is a rare issue that communication cannot be established through the parallel port. Most of those are caused by the PC hardware, or other resident software that uses the parallel port. Just having other resident drivers can cause issues. I suggest that the parallel port be dedicated to Pico only to avoid these issues. If it's a port hardware issue, like not having all the pins attached to the board, then the only solution is the USB adapter. This solves any parallel port connection issue.

None of this applies to the new four channel USB 2.0 automotive kit. They are pretty much plug and play. Had an issue yesterday with a new user establishing communication through a PCMCIA card USB adapter, on an older PC but got that one going without too much trouble. All the rest have been trouble free.

If you are in the US, feel free to call with any questions you might have. They don't call me the Picotologist for nothing

877-628-4899 toll free.

Hi

Thank you for your post.

As Tom says, the automotive kit is now available with a 4 channel, USB2 scope - the PS3423. This unit not only gives you two extra channels, but also is a USB2 connected unit and thus has a faster and easier interface.

Feel free to call us on 01480 396395 if you wish to discuss the kit or any of our products further.

Best Regards