Frequently Asked Questions

See also : "Troubleshooting" by the end user.

Q1: I can type text into the "display line" table, but nothing appears on the LCD screen.

A: You must insert a new display line before you can type text into that line. Use the INSERT button on the bottom of the dialog window.

Q2: While editing the "display line" table, the tool suddenly switches to another display page.

A: Stop the execution of the user program by clicking "STOP !" in the main menu of the programming tool. The Status Line should read "STOPPED". Maybe your user program contains some timer-event-controlled switches to other display pages.

Q3: There is no page visible in the "All-Page" overview.

A: Click the "Update Preview"-Button. If no page appears, all pages have been erased. Create a new display page by clicking the NEW PAGE button. Then click into the new created page to switch to the page definition window, where you can fill your new page with display lines.

Q4: I hate this windows stuff. Is there a simple way to program pages with a text editor ?

A: We have got something in common ;-) ...Yes, there is. Just load the UPT-program (like "default.upt") with your favorite text editor. You will see a plain ASCII file. All data structures in that file are commented (automatically when saving a file with the UPT programming tool). Duplicate a page definition via "block copy" and rename the page. Then save the program from the editor, load it into the programming tool, and check the result.

Q5: The UPT firmware seems to crash after I had a program update. What can be wrong ?

A: Maybe the new UPT firmware has a new internal storage format for the user program. Try to bypass loading the "old" user program by holding F2+F3 on the UPT’s keyboard pressed while turning the power on. The UPT will enter the system menu. Exit from the system menu by pressing ENTER with the EXIT-item highlighted. The UPT firmware will now display "no display page loaded" or something like that, because it has not loaded the (incompatible) user program. Connect the UPT and the programming tool and load a new program into the terminal. Everything should be ok, because the terminal now has a user program in the "new" internal storage format.

Q6: The UPT shows "Loading XYZ.... error" when initializing after power-on. What does that mean ?

A: The UPT tries to load some tables from its internal EEPROM or FLASH into RAM during the initialization. It also checks the structure of some tables. If it detects an error during these steps, it will show an error message to inform you that there may be something wrong.
Possible causes are:
- There has been an accidental loss of the EEPROM / FLASH-contents, maybe due to ESD problems
- The UPT firmware cannot handle the user program, because the firmware has been changed.
As a solution, try the steps from A5.

Q7: I sometimes get the message "help file not found", sometimes everything is ok....

A: Annother myth of windows programming. The author also had this problem on a WinNT platform, but he does not have a cure for that... see Q4. Maybe this problem will be solved in future windows versions. You may tell Windows that the help file UPTHLP1.HLP is in the same directory as the executable file... sometimes it’s a bit crazy. Or try to obtain a printed manual from MKT Systemtechnik ;-)

Q8: I try to receive PDO data with the UPT programming tool, but no effect...

A: The UPT simulator inside the UPT programming tool does not have PDO functionality, because the PC’s CAN-interface ("CAN-dongle" for example) does not have a full-CAN-Controller like the "real" hardware.Upload your UPT program from the programming tool into a "real" UPT-device and test it there, if you want to receive PDO frames.

Q9: Is there an EDS-file for the UPT ?

A: Yes, but it will only be of little use because the UPT is not a CANopen-Node. It is neither a "Programmable CANopen Device" in the meaning of DSP302 nor is it a "Human Machine Interface" in the meaning of DSP403. But this won’t hurt, because the current available DSP302 and DSP403 both are "not recommended for implementation" – at least not in May 2001.

The only benefit from an EDS file (up to now) is that a CANopen configuration tool can detect the presence of a UPT in the net. But it will not be able to change anything in the UPT.

Q10: Can I use my IEC 1131 programming utility for the UPT ?

A: Sorry, absolutely not. The UPT uses a very proprietary program structure which has been optimized for a slow 8-bit CPU. Making this IEC 1131-compatible would be overkill...