Questions & Answers
Listed below are questions that we hear most often.
If you are having problems, please visit Bug Fixes or contact Amulet Support for assistance.
GUI Design
How do I change the polarity of the display?
Reprogramming a displays pixel polarity is very easy with the Amulet HTML Compiler. A tip on this subject has been added to the Amulet Tips archive in Support Center. Click Here for a step by step guide.
How do I create and display my own GUI on the Amulet Module?
Amulet recommends that you first go through the hello world example in order to familiarize yourself with the Amulet Module and HTML Compiler. To view the hello world example Click Here.
What kind of widgets come standard with the Amulet Module?
For a complete listing of the Amulet Widgets, Click Here.
How do I write java applets to the Amulet Module?
The Amulet HTML Compiler does not support any java applets you create. However, the HTML Compiler does support Amulet Widgets. Amulet Widgets are entered using the java applet tag, so that HTML editors can accept the source.
Which html tags/attributes are supported by the Amulet HTML Compiler?
For a complete listing of supported tags/attributes of the latest Amulet HTML Compiler, Click Here.
Is sample html code available?
Yes. Amulet has created various examples utilizing the different widgets. To view the examples Click Here.
Where can I go to find monochrome clip art?
You can find numerous web sites on clip art by using a search engine. For one great site for monochrome clip Click Here. Once there you can narrow down your search by the file type, size, and coloration of the type of clip art that you are looking for.
Are there any drag-n-drop html tools Amulet Recommends?
Yes. To visit Amulet's list of recommended HTML Authoring Tools, under Third Party Resources, Click Here.
What fonts are supported?
The Amulet Font Converter allows users to convert any Windows True Type or bitmap font into an Amulet font file that can be used in any HTML page. To learn more about the Amulet Font Converter, Click Here.
What type of images do you support?
The Amulet HTML Compiler currently supports JPEG and GIF image file types.
Can I draw over an area where a widget exists? For example, can I draw a background image in the same area where a parameter is being graphed by a line plot widget?
No, however, you can have background images on any table cell. You can use absolute positioning to place two objects in the same location, but only one object should be made visible at any one time.
How do I display a negative number in a numeric field widget?
Use a negative number for the "minFld" value parameter. Note that the range of maxFld-minFld has to be equal to or less than the range of the data structure (256 for a byte, 65536 for a word) Example: minFld = -128 maxFld = 127, a byte in this numeric field with value of 0 will display -128, and a value of 255 will display 127.
Software/Communication
My touchpanel stopped working, how do I know if I need to replace my touchpanel or if I just need to recalibrate it?
Since the calibration data is stored in the Atmel DataFlash, it is possible to potentially corrupt it by accidentally overwriting it by programming a µHTML™ file which is too big to be stored in the DataFlash. There are a couple of steps you can take in order to try and get the touchpanel working again.
Step 1:
Try recalibrating the touchpanel if you haven't already done so. For instructions on calibrating the touchpanel, Click Here. If the touchpanel still doesn't seem to respond correctly upon recalibrating it, proceed to the next step.
Step 2:
Try reinstalling the Amulet OS since the calibration data might have been accidentally corrupted. For instructions on restoring the Amulet OS, Click Here. Upon reloading the Amulet OS, you will be sent directly to the touchpanel calibration page. If the touchpanel still does not seem to work, please contact Support@AmuletTechnologies.com.
What is the protocol used for the Amulet 3.8" module?
Amulet implemented a simple ASCII communication protocol in order to interface the Amulet Module to your embedded device capable of RS-232 serial communications. To view the protocol documentation, Click Here.
What is the protocol used for the Amulet 5.7" module?
The 5.7" module has a header in which you can directly connect to UART pins, or you can use an RS-232 chip like our PIB-1 board to communicate over RS-232. For more information on our PIB-1 please Click Here.
Does the Amulet currently support RS-485?
The Amulet Module does not ship with any RS-485, but then again you can always add a RS-232 to RS-485 converter to the Module. Visit www.bb-elec.com to find information on RS-232 to RS-485 converters.
I'm trying to send a character over UART in the 0x80 to 0xff range of my font to an InternalRAM String, but it is not displaying correctly, what do I do?
First, consult the documentation on the Amulet Communication Protocol and verify that you are using the correct number of DLE's (0x10) to send your upper range characters over UART. If you still see the wrong character you may have the precision set too low. This example demonstrates displaying a single value in the font's range 0xe0 to 0xff: You have to use two DLE's, but you will also have to increase the precision to 3 because each character in that range effectively takes up one character in the precision. 0x10 0x10 0x20 are three characters in the string variable, even though only one character is displayed. Therefore, if you would like to display two characters in this range, you will increase the precision to 6.
For the Amulet Communications Protocol, Click Here.
For the Precision, part of the string field widget print parameter, Click Here.
What do I do if my Amulet screen is blank and looks dead?
Follow the steps below:
1. Disconnect power and flip dip 1 on the RS232/PIB-1 board down to the OFF position.
2. Reconnect power and serial cable, screen should be blank.
3. Open your HTML Compiler and go to File -> Restore Amulet OS.
4. Flip dip 1 back up into the ON position, press reset on the RS232 board (or on the 3.8" controller board if using the MK-GT380).
5. You should now see the touch screen calibration, and after hitting the 3 targets you should be able to program your project.
I have a button with multiple functions but when I press it, it doesn't work properly. What is going on?
When you want to have multiple commands in one Button widget (setting more than one byte variable, for example) there are two ways of separating the commands. A comma will make the commands fire off at the same time, while a semicolon will have each successive press of the button do the next command. You can also mix in both to fire off several sequences of multiple commands with the same button. This is true for any widget with an HREF parameter, as well as the META tag's URL parameter.
My serial port has timed out, how do I troubleshoot?
Make sure the correct COM port is selected, and the FLASH Rate and uP Comm Rate is 115200 in the RS232 settings in the HTML Compiler. To put the chip in program mode, pull DIP 1 down and restart the module. From here try to restore the Amulet OS (File --> Restore Amulet OS). Once this finishes you can try to reflash your project. If you get the same timeout error you can then check to see if the chip is working correctly by doing the following steps:
- Start up Hyper Terminal (Accessories--> Communications--> Hyper Terminal) and connect using the COM port you are using. Select 115200 bits per second, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, and no flow control.
- In program mode the chip sends out a "C" character every second over the UART, which we can see in Hyper Terminal.
Once the connection is set up and the module is plugged in and powered up in program mode you should be able to see "C" characters coming out. If you see them, the chip is functioning and the physical connection is set up properly. You may want to review the physical connection if you aren't using our Program Interface Board. Usually it's just some flipped wires. If you are using our PIB and you cannot see C's then there is more to troubleshoot. Contact Support@AmuletTechnologies.com for further troubleshooting.
How do I program my DataFlash?
To find out how to program the DataFlash, Click Here.
Hardware
How much data can I store in the DataFlash?
The 3.8" Amulet Starter Kit ships with a 4-Megabit or 512-Kbytes of DataFlash. Of the 512-Kbytes, 64-Kbytes is reserved for Amulet firmware. The other 448-Kbytes is for storage of µHTML™ pages. The 5.7" Amulet Starter Kit has twice the amount of DataFlash as the 3.8" (totaling 8-Megabits or 1-Megabyte). You can literally program hundreds of µHTML™ objects into the DataFlash.
What are the system requirements?
The Amulet software will run under Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP, and Vista (version 3.3.5 or higher required).
Sales
CanI buy the Amulet Browser Chip separately?
Yes. Please ask our Sales dept. for price and leadtime.
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