Industrial Solutions

Visit ipcas at the embedded world 2012 in Nuermberg

From 28.2. to 1.3.2012, booth 323 in hall 1

request a free ticket >>

Christmas Wishes

The eventful year is now drawing to a close. Christmas time gives us an opportunity to reflect on the past and draw strength for the future.
We thank you for the trust you have shown in us, for your loyalty as well as the pleasant cooperation.
We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and success and happiness for the forthcoming year.

This Android tutorial shows a color picker which we developed for our Android App City, Country, Caller ID. The source code can be downloaded as Eclipse project: Android Color Picker.

Here we have, in the first example, a predefined list with colors:

We use a GridView with six columns. Within the rows and columns there is an ImageView defined, which background color will be set using imageView.setBackgroundColor(colorList.get(position));.

The layout of the GridView is defined in res/layout/color_picker.xml.

Look for the colors in ColorPickerAdapter.java, which are placed in an array (for better reading).

// for convenience and better reading, we place the colors in a two dimension array
String colors[][] = { { "822111", "AC2B16", "CC3A21", "E66550", "EFA093", "F6C5BE" },
		{ "A46A21", "CF8933", "EAA041", "FFBC6B", "FFD6A2", "FFE6C7" },
		{ "AA8831", "D5AE49", "F2C960", "FCDA83", "FCE8B3", "FEF1D1" },
		{ "076239", "0B804B", "149E60", "44B984", "89D3B2", "B9E4D0" },
		{ "1A764D", "2A9C68", "3DC789", "68DFA9", "A0EAC9", "C6F3DE" },
		{ "1C4587", "285BAC", "3C78D8", "6D9EEB", "A4C2F4", "C9DAF8" },
		{ "41236D", "653E9B", "8E63CE", "B694E8", "D0BCF1", "E4D7F5" },
		{ "83334C", "B65775", "E07798", "F7A7C0", "FBC8D9", "FCDEE8" },
		{ "000000", "434343", "666666", "999999", "CCCCCC", "EFEFEF" } };
 
colorList = new ArrayList();
 
// add the color array to the list
for (int i = 0; i < colors.length; i++) {
	for (int j = 0; j < colors[i].length; j++) {
		colorList.add(Color.parseColor("#" + colors[i][j]));
	}
}

In the next step we will assign the Adapter to the GridView:

GridView gridViewColors = (GridView) findViewById(R.id.gridViewColors);
gridViewColors.setAdapter(new ColorPickerAdapter(getContext()));

The second example shows a Rainbow-Color-Picker where the number of colors is flexible:

Define the rainbow with the following steps::

// FF 00 00 --> FF FF 00
for (red = 255, green = 0, blue = 0; green <= 255; green += step)
    colorList.add(Color.rgb(red, green, blue));
 
// FF FF 00 --> 00 FF 00
for (red = 255, green = 255, blue = 0; red >= 0; red -= step)
    colorList.add(Color.rgb(red, green, blue));
 
// 00 FF 00 --> 00 FF FF
for (red = 0, green = 255, blue = 0; blue <= 255; blue += step)
    colorList.add(Color.rgb(red, green, blue));
 
// 00 FF FF -- > 00 00 FF
for (red = 0, green = 255, blue = 255; green >= 0; green -= step)
    colorList.add(Color.rgb(red, green, blue));
 
// 00 00 FF --> FF 00 FF
for (red = 0, green = 0, blue = 255; red <= 255; red += step)
    colorList.add(Color.rgb(red, green, blue));
 
// FF 00 FF -- > FF 00 00
for (red = 255, green = 0, blue = 255; blue >= 0; blue -= 256 / step)
    colorList.add(Color.rgb(red, green, blue));

Layout tipps

Right now the layout is only optimized for hdpi devices. Looking at a ldpi device (small screen) we get the following screen:

We have to adjust the GridView column width in order to have the desired layout on various screens. Creating the file res\values-small\strings.xml and setting the width with colorGridColumnWidth will solve the problem:

Download Eclipse Project Android Color Picker

We constantly maintain and improve our products.
For the ipcas TimeServer ipNTP there is a new firmware.
Now the firmware version 12.4 is available for download in the download area and on the product page.

Further information on ipNTP >>

With Global Time you always have the exact time at hand.

The time is determined via the GPS time signal from the satellites. GPS satellites have an atomic clock and always deliver the correct time. Unlike the time signal transmitter DCF77 reception is not limited to Central Europe; GPS is available worldwide.
No network connection required to determine the time. That makes Global Time the ideal travel companion and saves high mobile network costs abroad if you do not have an unlimited data plan.

With ipcas always the exact time, on the go with Global Time for Android and for your network with the GPS Time Server ipNTP.

With ipNTP you can synchronize your computer systems, and network attached devices with the time signal of the global satellite navigation system (GPS).

The Android application Global Time is now available on the Android Market (free of charge).

Global Time Screenshots

The ipcas Floppy Emulator V3 operates with file system-independent disk images.
Which file system is contained in the image is practically irrelevant.
The console application FEI-Tool allows the access to files on a ipcas Floppy-Emulator image. The tool is available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

Handling with console applications allows easy automation of workflows, eg using a batch or shell script.

In daily use, a console application under Windows is not always practical.

Now, there is a graphical user interface for the ipcas Floppy Emulator V3 FEI-Tool. With the program FEI-Tool GUI, the console application FEI-Tool can be used by mouse click.

The FEI-Tool GUI is included in the USB-Stick Software Pack and can be downloaded at product page or in the support area.

Guest Post from a satisfied customer of Southern Germany:
(Translated, original post in german language >>)

Floppy Disk Drive retrofitting: USB Floppy Emulator for KETRON SD 5 In older keyboards – e.g. in my KETRON SD 5, the input device is a floppy drive und the internal RAM memory is supplied with information by a floppy disk. I would never replace my KETRON SD 5 with a modern keyboard however; the reason is the good quality.

With the IPCAS USB floppy emulator for USB pen drives, the known disadvantages …

• Sensitive to mechanical wear and tear
• Problems with dust, oil and other adverse environmental conditions
• Malfunction due to permanent mechanical load
• Low memory capacity

… of conventional floppy disks, which anyway are hardly to buy, can be totally attributed to the past.

Most salient features:

• The old floppy disk drive is replaced 1:1. The connections are identical, so no further changes have to be made.
• The USB Stick at the USB Floppy Emulator replaces the old diskette entirely. USB memory components have long life spans and high capacities.
• The new USB floppy drives and USB memory components are practically immune to impacts from magnetic fields, dust or shock.
• The contents on 100 floppies can easily be placed on one single USB Stick. That saves a lot of time and costs!

To replace the equipment I’m proceeds as follows:

1. Opening the keyboard (screws located on the bottom)
2. Slide back the panel of the keyboard
3. Removal of the floppy disk drive (FDD)
4. Detach of the data cable from the floppy drive controller
5. Inserting a floppy controller computer cable to the floppy connector
6. Connect this cable and the power supply cable (4-pin.) to the emulator.

Now the keyboard will switch on and the floppy drive (with inserted USB flash drive) are energize and the keyboard reports: not formatted.
After that, the format command must be executed according to the display information.
Then the emulator should set to 01 (with the Up button). The UP switching and formatting and will resist until 99.

If the formatting performs, you play the songs on the respective place (00-99), then – start playing – as usual.
When the formatting is completed, copy the songs on the respective place (00-99). Afterwards, as usual, start the playback.

More information on the ipcas UBS Floppy Emulator solutions >>