Installing CCS Tools on PC

We use Custom Computer Services (CCS) software development tools to compile and build embedded programs that control the custom printed circuit boards in the lab. The PIC and SX microcontrollers are the main programmable units used to drive the circuit boards. The necessary CCS development tools can be found in DRBIO's ftp site under the directory called CCS_Compilers

Here's the installation guide for the CCS programs.

Project Build error in Visual Studio 2005

I came across the error "SignTool Error:ISignedCode::Sign returned error: 0x80880253 The signer's certificate is not valid for signing." when trying to build/publish my VB code in Visual Studio 2005. I know a few people in the lab also use VS2005, so I'm posting how to get around this error in case you come across the same thing.

The first time you publish your solution, VS creates a certificate that expires in one year. If you try to update your solution or re-publish over a year later, you will probably get the error mentioned above. Microsoft explains this problem and gives a fix for it here... http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925521

I did not get the Microsoft fix to work for me, but I was able to work around it as follows.
Go to Project -> Properties -> Signing Tab.
Click "Create Test Certificate"
Enter a password
Click "OK"

This doesn't exactly fix the problem, but it extends your certificate for another year so that you can publish your project.

Code Profiler for Windows

Very Sleepy is a nifty little C/C++ profiler. It's been useful for me in code development. Plus, it's free!

Make sure to activate the proper compiler options (/Zi) in Visual Studio's property settings to produce the necessary debug information in Program Database format.

MPM Scan - Version 0.4

Latest version of the software also executes in simulation mode without being tied to the PCI DAQ card. This enables it to function as a standalone desktop app in order to test certain features, portability, etc ...

Modified the interface layout to accommodate image statistic graphic view, region-of-interest selection capability, image frame resize, and multi-channel and single-channel capture modes.

Read more ...

Download latest project source code.

Scanware - Version 0.2

Import and export feature for OME-XML data format has been added. Currently, only a portion of the XML schema is implemented for Scanware. The full implementation will be done a little later.

Integrated the Quinn-Curtis (QC) library. Charts, histograms and real-time graphics will be provided by the QC engine.

Read more ...

Download latest project source code.

Scanware - Version 0.1

The main change has been the addition of primary MFC Automation capability which enables Scanware to become a scriptable application. The simple sequence of opening the application and clicking the SCAN button can be automated using external VBScript client code.

Read more ...

Download latest project source code.

Scanware - Version 0.0

Initial prototype of the GUI application that will function as the control and data acquisition software for the next DRBIO MPM. The current version reads streaming data from an external PIC-microcontroller demo board and displays the data as RGB component images.

The latest software API documentation can be found here.

Download the latest MS VC++ project module.

-Paul