Thursday 19 May 2016

Updated PC software for the DIY Chrono (and Combro)

Just a quick update for anyone that has tried the PC software application for my DIY Chrono before, I've re-worked it a bit and changed the layout and moved the settings to a separate screen.

Also now I've fixed the Combro option not working so it should now report the correct values, if not please let me know as I don't own a Combro ..... the whole point in making my own.

Some Screen shots ...

Main screen interface
The main screen shows all the shot details in FPS and M/S along with a min FPS, max FPS and a Delta FPS.
On the right there is a list that adds each shot's data to a row so you can see the history.
At the bottom is a chart section that, if the checkbox is checked, shows the data graphically, there is a tab for FPS and one for energy.
You can also select the option to store the shot data to a file on the PC, the path is set automatically but you can type in your own.  The data is stored as a CSV file and can be opened by excel and used to create a graph.

Settings screen
The settings screen is self explanatory, I hope, change the settings and they are stored for next time, the pellet data etc. is stored in the CSV file as well.  If you have a Combro then tick the checkbox and the software should work for you as well
Here you can set the PC to make a noise
You can set the PC to give you an audible warning every 'n' shots, this is good for knowing when you fired your last shot and you're not looking at the screen, the other check box resets the shot count after the beep.

You can download the file from here unpack the rar file and run the setup to install.

Comments and feedback always welcome and if you like buy me a pint with the donate button.

8 comments:

Jose said...

Couldn't make it works, I made a chrono with a 7 segment display and is working fine, but the pc app doesn't work for me. I've changed the distance between sensors a few times but didn't make any change, I'm using another chronograph to compare results and I'm always having like 15 fps more on my DIY chrono than the commercial one and I'm not able to adjust the difference, I don't know why.

Gadjet said...

Jose,
Does the PC app not work at all or is it that it works but it always 15fps different?

Jose said...

The App is working fine now adjusting the sensors at 57mm I’ve got mostly the same fps than the commercial chrono, but even if I upload a new blank sketch and then your code(with the distance sensor changed for 57mm) it still giving me wrong fps, but the pc app works fine. Thanks for your answer!

Gadjet said...

I'm glad you've got the PC App working.
It's always a bit worrying to compare two chrono's with each other as there will be differences shot to shot with the air rifle/pistol and there will be a % error/Tolerance in my Chrono and their Chrono and if they are each at opposite ends of the tolerance range then this could make the difference.

Don't forget that each device is measuring in microseconds!

Jose said...

Yes! But what I feel is weird is that when I change the value to 187007 for 57mm it still showing me the old value( I mean the value for 60mm). I'm not a code guy, but I work with Unreal Engine that has some "visual programming" called blueprints so I know how code works and I guess I'm doing something wrong. I have to say thank you again for your work and sharing this to everyone, I had so much fun building this project. I run out of filament for my printer but when I get more I'm gonna try to design a proper enclosure for the chrono, right now I've got it mounted on a tupperware hehe. It's a bit difficult shooting straight allowing the bb to pass over both lights(I'm using it for airsoft), Would it be possible to wire more sensors on paralel?
Thanks!

Gadjet said...

Jose,
I'm really glad of the feedback, I like to know when someone uses the information posted and it works.
The PC app may have a bug in it :-( try halving the value and seeing if it affects the FPS by 50%?
I would look at the code but I have a new PC and I just cannot get visual studio to run on it yet!!!
I think for the way you are using it you should look at having three or four emitters and three or four normal IR Photodiodes in series (or Parallel, I forget) and use an analogue input to monitor the voltage and detect a rapid change in voltage across the array when a shadow is cast by the passing pellet.
My solution works best in a confined tube fixed on the end of a barrel so the pellet always passes over the beams.
How about putting some photos on flikr or something and posting a link?

Jose said...

After reading my post I realized how bad I explained everything hahaha, The app works fine, adjusting the baud rate at 57600, and the settings works just fine, the problem I'm having is with the 7 segment display always showing the same wrong fps even if I change the code. For example, I'm having 270 fps on the display while on the pc app I have 260 even if the code is setted like the pc app( I mean the distance, 57mm on both) I've got different values. But I guess I must be doing something wrong, I changed the code using Arduino IDE, compiled and uploaded to the board, but it still giving me 270 instead of 260. If I can't change it, it doesn't matter, I just have to rest 10fps, but I like when things works properly hehe. I will make a picture but it isn't finished, the tupper looks really unprofessional, like some kind of post apocalyptic diy machine!

Gadjet said...

I'm really going to have to revisit my code to understand what I did :-)
The way I think it works is ...
- The sketch works out how long it takes to break the second beam after the first and then, based on the distance calculation, works out the fps and sends the value to the LED display.

- The PC app expects a value sent over the serial port that equates to the micro seconds between the first and second beams being broken, it then calculates the fps using the distance calculation from within the app.

The app should report the same as the sketch unless there are some rounding differences in the software.

I need to have a look at the code.

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