Auto-Export data from Agera to an external data collection system Follow

Method #1: For Direct Connection between Agera and Computer with Ethernet Cable (No Network required)

Method #2: For Direct Connection between Agera and Computer with RS-232 Ethernet Adapter (No Network required)

Method #3: Through Network (Ethernet cable)

Method #1: For Direct Connection between Agera and Computer with Ethernet Cable (No network required)

1) Materials Needed

•  Hardware needed: Ethernet cable, and USB Ethernet adapter if you want to have multiple Ethernet cables connecting to the computer.  

 

 Ethernet Cable

 

USB Ethernet Adapter

2) Connect Agera to Computer:

• Plug Ethernet cable (Figure 1) into RJ-45 Ethernet connection at rear of Agera. Plug other end of cable into the computer directly or through USB Ethernet Adapter. 

 

3) Configure IP address of the Agera: 

• Check IP address in PC: Open Command Prompt in the PC. Type in "ipconfig" and check the "autoconfiguration IPv4 Address" as well as the "Subnet Mask". 

Computer IP address

•  Configure IP address in Agera: Open Agera Essentials, go to Preferences/Configure Network Settings. Uncheck "Use DHCP for Ethernet Config". Type in IP address and Subnet Mask manually, then apply. The IP address here should be similar to the "autoconfiguration IPv4 Address" in the PC, just change the last two digits. Restart Agera to get network setting applied.

Assign IP address to Agera

• Press Apply on the Ethernet Configuration
• Check “Automatic Network Data Export” and click to configure. For a direct connection between Agera and computer with Ethernet cable, set up the Agera as server. Port Number is 10001.        

 4) Configure the Computer Using HyperTerminal Software

• Go to the computer and open HyperTerminal.
• Make a new connection:
  1. Enter a name for the connection
  2. Connect using TCP/IP(Winsock)
  3. Set computer as client                                                                                                                        Enter the IP address of Agera which is recorded                                                                            Put the port number as “10001". 

5) Send Data from the Agera:

• Configure the Agera for the Color Data Screen:
  1. Select Color Scales, Indices & Illuminant/Obs (Workspace>Color Scales)
  2. Standardize the instrument. (Workspace>Standardize)

• Read sample and view the data on the computer.

     

Data from Agera through Ethernet Connection

 

The data string is shown as follows:

<STX><PACKET SIZE>$T<SCALE-LABEL>$T<ill/Obs>$T<LABEL NAME1><$T><VALUE1>$T<LABEL NAME2><$T><VALUE2><$T><LABEL NAME3>$T<VALUE3>$T ..... <LABEL NAME N><$T>

<VALUE N>$T<CHKSUM><ETX>

Where,

<STX> is the Start of Text (value =0x02)

<ETX> is the End of Text (value =0x03)

$T is the default delimiter.

<SCALE-LABEL> is the Scale Label (e.g. CIELAB)

<ill/Obs> is the ill/Obs name (e.g. D65/10)

<PACKET SIZE> is the Total size (HEX String) of the Packet excluding the <STX> and <ETX>

<LABEL NAME> is the label name (e.g. L*, a*, b*, dE* etc..)

<VALUE> is the value for the preceding Label Name

<CHKSUM> is the Checksum (HEX String) - the sum of all the ASCII values in the total packet play load starting from <PACKET-SIZE> and till <CHKSUM>

Method #2 - For Direct Connection between Agera and Computer with RS-232 Ethernet Adapter

1) Materials Needed

•  Hardware needed: Ethernet cable, Crossover adapter, Ethernet to RS-232 Connector, RS-232 to USB (optional)

Ethernet Cable

 

Crossover Adapter

 

Ethernet to RS-232 converter for Connection via Serial port

RS-232 to USB converter for connection via USB port

2) Configure Ethernet to RS-232

• Set up Ethernet to the RS-232 adaptor with static IP address and Port Number.
• In this example, the adapter was configured with IP address of 192.168.0.100 and port 10001.

3) Connect Agera to Computer:

• Plug Ethernet cable into RJ-45 Ethernet connection at rear of Agera. Plug other end of cable into Crossover Adapter.
• Plug Crossover Adapter into Ethernet port of Ethernet to RS-232 adapter.
• Plug Ethernet to RS-232 adapter into serial port of computer (if D-9 serial port is present) or into RS-232 to USB converter for connection to USB port. Plug power into Ethernet to RS-232 adapter.

Cable Configuration for Direct Computer Connection

 

4 ) Configure the Agera: 

• Configure the Ethernet port of Agera. Select Jobs Menu> Preferences and Select ‘Configure Network Settings’.  Uncheck “Use DHCP for Ethernet Config” and enter a valid IP address for the Ethernet port. In this example, the following parameters are selected.

 

Configuration Parameters for Ethernet

 

• Press Apply on the Ethernet Configuration and then Apply on the Preferences Page to complete.
• Go to Jobs Menu> Preferences, check “Automatic Network Data Export” and click to configure.

 

Preferences>Automatic Network Data Export

 

• For a direct connection between Agera and data collection computer, set up the Agera as a Client.
• Set the IP Address to match the settings of the Ethernet to RS-232 converter, in this case 192.168.0.100 and the Port as 10001.
• Press Apply and then press Apply on the Preferences screen to continue.

 

5) Configure the Computer:

• Connection configurations differ depending on data collection software. In this example, Hyperterminal is used to demonstrate connectivity. 
• The data collection computer will be set up as a Server.
• Connect as follows:
  1. Select the Com port that represents the USB or Serial port connection.
  2. Define the Connection:
  3. Bits per second: 9600
  4. Data Bits: 8
  5. Parity: None
  6. Stop Bits: 1
  7. Flow Control: None

 

6) Send Data from the Agera:

• Configure the Color Data Table with the color scale and parameters to be transmitted.
  1. Standardize the Instrument
  2. Select Color Scales, Indices & Illuminant/Obs (Workspace>Color Scales)
  3. Hit Read Button, data will be transferred to the computer.

 Data Output

 The data string is shown as follows:

<STX><PACKET SIZE>$T<SCALE-LABEL>$T<ill/Obs>$T<LABEL NAME1><$T><VALUE1>$T<LABEL NAME2><$T><VALUE2><$T><LABEL NAME3>$T<VALUE3>$T ..... <LABEL NAME N><$T>

<VALUE N>$T<CHKSUM><ETX>

 Where,

<STX> is the Start of Text (value =0x02)

<ETX> is the End of Text (value =0x03)

$T is the default delimiter.

<SCALE-LABEL> is the Scale Label (e.g. CIELAB)

<ill/Obs> is the ill/Obs name (e.g. D65/10)

<PACKET SIZE> is the Total size (HEX String) of the Packet excluding the <STX> and <ETX>

<LABEL NAME> is the label name (e.g. L*, a*, b*, dE* etc..)

<VALUE> is the value for the preceding Label Name

<CHKSUM> is the Checksum (HEX String) - the sum of all the ASCII values in the total packet play load starting from <PACKET-SIZE> and till <CHKSUM>

 

Method #3 – To export data through network 

Connect Agera to a Network. You can connect Agera to a network hub using the Ethernet cable. The computer must be connected to the same network as the Agera.

1. To connect Agera to network, go to Workspaces> Preferences and Select ‘Config Network Settings’. Select Ethernet configuration and check “Use DHCP for Ethernet Config”. Please write down the IP address showing in the Ethernet Setting dialog. You can also check the IP address of Agera in Jobs/About/Info.
2. Go back to Workspaces/Preferences and select Auto Network Data Export Measurement using a check and select “Config” button. Choose Agera as Server and Port number as 10001. You can also choose a delimiter to mark your data.
3. Configure the terminal program such as Hyperterminal in the computer with the following settings:

• Set computer as client
• Enter the IP address of Agera which is recorded above.
• Put the port number as “10001". 

After all the setting, you should be ready to get the data exported from Agera to the computer.

You can use the attached sockserverorclient tool to test this auto-export data feature. 

Attached, please check the instruction on Auto Export Client using ‘PuTTY’ or ‘Tera Term’.