ProtocolAnalyzer Manual


Settings

The settings dialog can be reached from the tool bar or via the menu view→Settings…. The settings are groupt in three tabs: General Settings, Audio Settings and CUL Settings.

General Settings



General Settings

FieldExplanation
Signal SourceSelect which source of data signal to use
AudioUse audio input as signal source
CULUse a CUL-device as signal source
Pronto SettingsPronto is a format for describing raw pulse signals. These settings affect how this format is generated
FrequencyPronto encoding contains the IR modulation frequency. We have no decoders that actually detect this frequency, so here we specify which to use when Pronto messages are decoded. Default is 40000 Hz
Lead Out TimeThe Pronto decoder needs to know how long silence should be counted as the end of a signal. If the protocol has very long pulse spaces within a message this may have to be extended from the default 9000 micro seconds.





Audio Settings

When Audio input is used, the ProtocolAnalyzer constantly samples the analog input signal, trying to recreate any digital pulses found in the signal. The so called flank detector uses a quite simple algorithm to find the flanks of the pulses:

Find sequences where the sampled value changed significanlty (Flank Swing) over a short period of time (Flank Length)

To avoid the same flank being counted twice if it is large, we wait a while (Flank Holdoff) after finding a flank until we accept a new flank. This picture shows the meaning of the settings on a real sampled signal. The red line is the analog value (where the sample points are marked with black dots). The blue line is the flank detectors interpretation of the signal:

In the example Flank Swing was set at 50 and Flank Length set to 3, so when the signal changed more than 50 over 3 samples, the flank was detected (see the blue line). Note that the signal changed more than 50 in the following samples as well, but since this was within Flank Holdoff, this was not counted.

The parameters of the flank detector are configured in the Audio Settings Dialog. The NetHomeServer uses the same flank detector, so the settings you find good here can be used in the the NetHomeServer as well.

Audio Settings

FieldExplanation
Audio SourceIn this group you specify which audio source to take the input signal from
SourceHere you select which sound card and input device to use
MonoOnly one channel used. This is usually the best setting when using the microphone input, since most sound cards only have one microphone channel
Left ChannelUse the Left audio channel
Right ChannelUse the Right audio channel
Flank DetectionSettings for the flank detector (see text above)
Apply … FilterIf the input signal contains a lot of noise, a digital low pass filter can be applied to the signal before flank detection. This Smooths out the signal. You may have to increase Flank Length when this is used
Flank SwingThe hight of a change needed to count as a flank. Use about half the actual height observed in the raw view
Flank LengthHow many samples needed to perform the flank
Flank HoldoffHow many samples after a detected flank we should wait until trying to find a new one. Can usually be set to 1
Burst Length comp.Many receivers of RF and IR signals are a bit “slow” in detecting the start of a mark pulse (burst). The result is that mark pulses are detected as a bit shorter then they are and space pulses a bit longer. This setting can compensate for this behavior


CUL Settings

The CUL device is a programmable RF-transceiver on a USB stick. See www.busware.de for details on the device.

CUL Settings

FieldExplanation
USB Serial PortThe CUL Device is presented to the OS as a serial port
CUL Serial PortSelect the CUL Serial Port
Radio SettingsHere some of the parameters of the programmable receiver can be modified
Center FrequencyThis is the reception radio frequency. 433.92 is the center of the radio band used by most remote lamp switches. This is also the frequency that the antenna is tuned for
BandwithThis is the bandwidth of the reception filter
AGCThe settings for the Automatic Gain Control. Refer to the CUL device for details on this












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