The EIBserver is a software module designed for WIN32 platforms (Win2000 and XP). EIBserver is a communication gateway, connected to the EIB using a serial RS-232 interface and providing a TCP/IP socket interface for your own applications. You can use EIBserver local (127.0.0.1) or as part of your home-server and have access from anywhere - even from any WLAN device. I'm not publishing an out-of-the-box solution - you still have to develop your own application to visualize and control your EIB devices, but EIBserver makes it easier because it encapsulates all the EIB protocol.
There is no need for you to develop a TCP/IP socket: the EIB2net-OCX, which is an Active-X control, has everything built-in. If you are developing with Delphi, Visual Basic or even Excel, you can use the EIB2net-OCX to connect your application to the EIBserver
Is is IMPORTANT to know and understand, how the EIBserver communicates with the EIB bus. Basically you can use any buscoupler and add some electronics to adopt the 5V-TTL-signals to RS232 of your PC - this is how my EIBmax works.
I prefer to have a BIM-113-2.1 OEM module (which is almost identically to any buscoupler) as part of my interfaces, and these are the EIBmax-BIM and, optically separated, the EIBmax-BIM-opto.
If you want to use your own programming interfaces, please make sure, that they support the PEI-10 mode with FT1.2 protocol.
Well, yes, I know that most vendors do not indicate the PEI-Type on their datasheets, so lets have a word on this. If you look on any buscoupler, you see this 10-pin socket - this is called PEI = peripheral external interface. One of these pins is called TYPE and a resistor is used to select different operating modes of this PEI. There are two serial protocols, PEI-16 (which was widely used with the ETS2 software) and PEI-16, which supports the FT1.2 protocol.
Currently, there is no EIBserver support for any USB interface. If you try to connect the EIBserver via USB and use one of these USB-to-serial converters - its up to you if it works or not. I made the experience that many of these USB-to-serial converters are too slow.
Thanks to a colleague from the netherlands we can show how to control EIB using Excel. You just need to have EIBserver and the OCX on your PC - for a quick test, or in case you don't line programming. You just need some simple VB code in the Excel macro, that's all. How it works is described in the Excel table.
[Download] EIB-Excel-Tester (ZIP)
Because of the reasons described above, this is a list of proven devices. If you can add some more, please let me know.
|
BCU-Hardware |
Interface |
Comments |
| Siemens Buscoupler 5WG1-114-2AB02 | requires an EIBmax or a similar RS232 signal converter with the PEI-Interface PEI-Type 10 is selected with a resistor RTYPE (47 kOhm). For using the FT1.2 protocol you need only three wires: RxD, TxD and GND. | in case of opto-isolation: use only high-speed couplers, such as HCPL2200 |
| BIM-113-2.1 | requires the use of RS232 signal converter (Maxim 232 or 202, or similar) PEI-Type 10 is selected with a resistor RTYPE (47 kOhm). For using the FT1.2 protocol you need only three wires: RxD, TxD and GND. | in case of opto-isolation: use only high-speed couplers, such as HCPL2200 |
| Gira Buscoupler UP 2.1, Nr 0645 00 | Gira Data interface FT 1.2, Nr 0504 .. | it is necessary to program the GIRA 2-button application with the ETS3 to make it works, cable connection to PC has 1:1 pinout. |
| Busch-Jäger 6133 | modification: Mode-selector-switch for PEI-10 (=FT12) and PEI-16 (=ETS2) | have a look in the "EIB ProSys-Forum" |
|
Merten BU-UP2.0 620299 |
Serial 681260 | sending $0020 datagrams is ok. With programmed application: no reception of datagrams with application, only 33 different group addresses |
For the following, thanks to Andre:
|
Merten BU-RTR 623299 |
Seriell 681260 | works ok |
|
Merten UP 4 x Binary-Input 639898 |
Seriell 681260 | works ok |
|
Merten BU-RTR 623299 |
serial, do-it-yourself | works, but all datagrams x4 |
|
Merten UP 4 x Binary-Input 639898 |
Serieller Eigenbau | works, but all datagrams x4 |
IMPORTANT: because I had to explain this so often: the EIBServer works only with an EIB buscoupler or BIM, that operates in PEI-10 mode and supports FT 1.2 protocol. It is possible to read the PEI-type of your EIB device using the ETS (but, of course, you need a second EIB interface then, and the device needs a physical address)
There is a suspect, that some programming interface can change the PEI mode, by switching the DTR signal - but this is not yet confirmed.
[Download] EIBserver (ZIP v02.12)
[Download] EIBserver (ZIP v02.11)
[Download] EIBserverTest (ZIP)
[Download] EIB2netOCX (ZIP v7.2)
[Download] EIB2netOCX (ZIP v6.2)
[Download] Visual-Basic Beispiel (ZIP)