Console to PC Communication: The Serial Port

The N-Digital console sends its data to the OUT port in a format designed to be received by the serial port of a personal computer. Most older Windows-based PC’s have a serial port, usually identified in the list of hardware devices as COM1. This is also known as a standard port. When MAARDS starts up for the first time it looks for this port and, if available, will automatically connect to it. As long as COM1 exists, is functioning correctly and no other application is connected to it, communication is usually established and maintained without the need for user intervention. MAARDS will always “remember” the last serial port that it successfully connected to.

However, many newer Windows PC’s and all modern Macintosh computers do not have a serial port. When this is the case, a serial-to USB adapter must be used. The serial-to-USB adapter converts the data and signals sent by the N-Digital console to a format that can be received by the computer’s USB port. Most serial-to-USB adapters consist of a hardware and software component. The hardware is a cable that connects between the DB9 (computer) end of the MAARDS cable and the USB port of the computer. The software (sometimes referred to as drivers) usually accompanies the cable on a CD and is installed on the computer.

Once a serial-to-USB adapter has been installed on a computer, it can be identified by its name. On Windows the name can be found in the list of hardware displayed by the Device Manager. In the example below the name of the serial port that MAARDS should connect to is COM4. On Macintosh the list of available devices is displayed in the Terminal application by typing: “ls /dev”. Available ports will always have a name that begins with “tty.” In the example below the serial port that MAARDS should connect to is named tty.USA19H41P1.1.

Windows Device Manager

List of Macintosh devices in Terminal

The serial port created by a serial-to-USB adapter is not a standard port, therefore, MAARDS cannot know initially what the name of the port is. MAARDS will attempt to connect to an available serial port but it may not be the correct one. So the user must tell MAARDS which port to use. This is done in the Serial Communications panel at the bottom of the Preferences window. The drop down menu labeled Current port contains a list of all of the computer’s available serial ports. The name of the USB serial port that was displayed in the Device Manager (Windows) or device directory list (Macintosh) will appear in the drop down menu. Selecting the USB serial port name will cause MAARDS to connect to that port.

MAARDS Preferences window

Windows Macintosh

MAARDS has been tested on both the Windows and Macintosh platforms and found to be fully compatible withe the Keyspan USA 19H-1 serial-to-USB adapter. Other serial-to-USB adapters should also work, however, because of the wide range of computer hardware and operating system configurations that exist it is impossible to guaranty compatibility with all systems.

Text-to-Speech

MAARDS uses the built-in text-to-speech capabilities of the Windows and Macintosh operating systems to play audible race announcements. At least one text-to-speech (TTS) voice engine must be installed and configured on the host computer for race announcements to function properly.

Configuring the computer for text-to-speech operation is very easy on either platform:

First, if a TTS voice engine for the language to be used is not available, it must be obtained and installed. Installing a TTS voice engine is like installing any other software on the computer. Just launch the installer and follow the on-screen instructions. Once properly installed, open the Speech control panel/preference and select the voice that you would like MAARDS to use for race announcements. Close the control panel/preference and you are done.

Starting with MAARDS 2.1 race announcements are capable of playing in five languages: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. In order to take advantage of this capability a TTS engine for the desired language must be installed and selected as previously described. It is the responsibility of the user to obtain a licensed copy of a TTS engine for the appropriate language.

Windows Speech Control Panel

Macintosh Speech Preferences

Trademarks mentioned in this document not belonging to Ideas to Print, Inc. are the property of their respective owners; use of these trademarks is not intended to imply endorsement. "Ninco" and "N-Digital" are registered trademarks of Ninco Desarrollos SL, Spain.

This section is devoted to advice that will help you to correctly set up and operate the MAARDS application. Identifying and troubleshooting the most commonly encountered problems is also covered. Most users should be able to plug in the serial communication cable, start the MAARDS application and never have to do anything else. However, there is a wide range of computers and operating system versions and configurations out there so it is inevitable that some problems may arise. If this happens then this is a good place to look for help.