Sharp PC-E500 to PC link issues

[fy789]

Hi all,

I bought the RS232C-to-USB cable from tmfg.jp
to facilitate file transfer from PC to Sharp PC-E500.

I follow the instruction on their website to transfer
a file from PC to the E500:

1. First, I connect the cable to the PC and the E500
(Drivers on the PC side are preloaded)

2. Then I set up the E500 port by using
OPEN "9600,N,8,1,A,L,&H1A,N,S":CLOSE

3. Then I put the E500 into RECEIVE mode:
LOAD

However, after the "LOAD" command, the E500
always return "I/O error". Is this ok?
The E500 is supposed to sit there waiting for the
bitstream to come in.

I have read thru quite a few discussions here as well
as a few other places, and there are a lot of info.

(i) logic inversion of 4 flow control signals
(the FTDI chip manufacturer has a configure tool to do this,
but it has not been updated to run on Win10 or Win11).
Is this necessary?

(ii) I assume the FTDI chip will do the voltage level conversion.


BTW, I appreciate if anybody successfully doing this before
can post a cheatsheet to walk thru the steps and the tools
used (TeraTerm, HTerm, PC-E500-Notepad....etc) ?


Thanks!

[toml_12953]

(07-21-2024 02:25 PM)fy789 Wrote:  Hi all,

I bought the RS232C-to-USB cable from tmfg.jp
to facilitate file transfer from PC to Sharp PC-E500.

I follow the instruction on their website to transfer
a file from PC to the E500:

1. First, I connect the cable to the PC and the E500
(Drivers on the PC side are preloaded)

2. Then I set up the E500 port by using
OPEN "9600,N,8,1,A,L,&H1A,N,S":CLOSE

Is the CLOSE really necessary?

Have you tried it without the CLOSE?

[Helix]

I don’t have this cable, but a DIY interface made with a genuine FTDI chip, that works identically on Windows 7 and 11.

On the SHARP, the parameters I use are:
OPEN "9600, N, 8, 1, A, L, &1A, N, N": CLOSE
This has to be done only once, as the parameters are registered afterward.

I use Hterm, with the following settings:
Port: must be checked in the Windows Device Manager
Baud: 9600
Data: 8
Stop: 1
Parity: none
CTS flow control: ON
ASCII: ON
RTS: ON (below the "Recieved Data" window)

Then to load a program:
Sharp: LOAD "COM:"
Hterm: Connect - Send File… Start

To save a program:
Sharp: SAVE "COM:"
Hterm: Connect - Save Output

To exchange ASCII files, the command on the Sharp is:
COPY "COM:" TO "E:filename" or COPY "E:filename" TO "COM:"

This is MY cheat sheet.

[fy789]

Hi Jean-Charles,

Thanks for the cheatsheet!
I think there is a typo on the OPEN statement: "&1A" should be "&H1A" for
hexadecimal.

May I know if you used the VCP or D2xxx driver to enable the port?

BTW, I follow your instruction, but I still get the same "I/O error" after "LOAD COM:"
I tried it on another similar machine, PC-E650, and I got the same error.
The cable may be the issue.
Could you show me how to construct the cable?
Where did you purchase the 15-pin header connector ?


Any hint?
Was the I/O port toasted?


Thanks!

HTerm and Device Driver screen captures:
https://ibb.co/6R98gNn
https://ibb.co/D7Khh92

(07-21-2024 09:25 PM)Helix Wrote:  I don’t have this cable, but a DIY interface made with a genuine FTDI chip, that works identically on Windows 7 and 11.

On the SHARP, the parameters I use are:
OPEN "9600, N, 8, 1, A, L, &1A, N, N": CLOSE
This has to be done only once, as the parameters are registered afterward.

I use Hterm, with the following settings:
Port: must be checked in the Windows Device Manager
Baud: 9600
Data: 8
Stop: 1
Parity: none
CTS flow control: ON
ASCII: ON
RTS: ON (below the "Recieved Data" window)

Then to load a program:
Sharp: LOAD "COM:"
Hterm: Connect - Send File… Start

To save a program:
Sharp: SAVE "COM:"
Hterm: Connect - Save Output

To exchange ASCII files, the command on the Sharp is:
COPY "COM:" TO "E:filename" or COPY "E:filename" TO "COM:"

This is MY cheat sheet.

[fy789]

The LOAD command will automatically open the port when it is invoked;
this is documented in the PC-E500 operation manual.

(07-21-2024 08:52 PM)toml_12953 Wrote:  

(07-21-2024 02:25 PM)fy789 Wrote:  Hi all,

I bought the RS232C-to-USB cable from tmfg.jp
to facilitate file transfer from PC to Sharp PC-E500.

I follow the instruction on their website to transfer
a file from PC to the E500:

1. First, I connect the cable to the PC and the E500
(Drivers on the PC side are preloaded)

2. Then I set up the E500 port by using
OPEN "9600,N,8,1,A,L,&H1A,N,S":CLOSE

Is the CLOSE really necessary?

Have you tried it without the CLOSE?

[Helix]

(07-22-2024 02:46 AM)fy789 Wrote:  I think there is a typo on the OPEN statement: "&1A" should be "&H1A" for
hexadecimal.

Hexadecimal numbers are valid without the H letter. This is not mentioned in the manual.

Quote:May I know if you used the VCP or D2xxx driver to enable the port?

With Windows 11, I had nothing to install!
For Windows 7, I don’t remember the driver, but I’ve found in my archives two files named CP210xVCPInstaller_x86.exe and CP210xVCPInstaller_x86.exe, so I suppose it’s VCP.

Quote:BTW, I follow your instruction, but I still get the same "I/O error" after "LOAD COM:"
I tried it on another similar machine, PC-E650, and I got the same error.
The cable may be the issue.
Could you show me how to construct the cable?
Where did you purchase the 15-pin header connector ?

I don’t know this I/O error.
You will find a picture of my cable here, some explanations here, and a more complete PDF document.

The 1.27 mm pitch connectors are not easy to find, and certainly not easy to solder, so I managed to make my own connector with thin cables and some glue.
Another difficulty is to find a genuine FTDI chip, because there are many fake chips that work correctly, but whose signals can’t be inverted.

Quote:HTerm and Device Driver screen captures:
https://ibb.co/6R98gNn
https://ibb.co/D7Khh92

In your Hterm settings, try to enable the RTS box.
example

Also, the port is visible in the "Port (COM & LPT)" line, not the USB line.
example

[fy789]

I contacted the staff at the manufacturer, tmfg.jp, and after multiple rounds of correspondence, apparently they forgot to program the logic
inversion of the 4 flow-control signals. They send me the instructions to do the flash programming and it works afterwards.

Now, I can use "LOAD" without any issue afterwards for transferring a BASIC games into the E500S successfully. (ASCII file)

Thanks to all who tried to help!