Frequently Asked Questions -
WinWedge and WinWedge Pro:
What Does WinWedge Do?
What Instruments Are Supported By WinWedge Pro?
How Does It Collect Data from Any Instrument into Any PC
Application?
How do I Know I Can Rely 100% on WinWedge?
Does WinWedge support 2-way I/O? Can it control my instruments?
What is the difference between the versions?
What are the Special Benefits of the Pro version?
What extra do I get with WinWedge Pro?
Is It Easy To Use?
What Does WinWedge Do?
WinWedge is essentially a user configurable serial device driver. It
allows you to input data from a device connected to a serial port on your
PC directly into any other Windows program. You can think of it as "wedging"
instrument data into your application programs! WinWedge (the SoftwareWedge
for Windows) easily adds RS232 serial data acquisition capabilities to
EXCEL ACCESS statistical programs... MMIs... LIMS... etc. With WinWedge
Pro sophisticated instrument interfaces are created in minutes.
WinWedge eliminates the need for custom programming or hardware "add-ons".
And, because it is a software-only solution, you can easily use it on
lap-top or portable computers. Collect real-time data from multiple devices
on many serial ports simultaneously. At no extra cost!
What Instruments Are Supported By WinWedge Pro?
ANY instrument
that you can plug into the serial port (RS232, RS422 or RS485) of your
PC - Typical devices include gages, scales, sensors, meters, bar code
readers, micrometers, densitometers, pH meters, CMMs, PLCs, communication
systems, laboratory instruments, etc...
You will never need a specialized serial "device driver" again... WinWedge
Pro is a universal serial device driver! If you have questions about your
specific application please call 800-722-6004 or email: sales@taltech.com.
Our technical sales staff will be happy to assist you.
"We find the SoftwareWedge very useful for our many laboratory instruments.
It is versatile and supports data collection into any application."
- John Manwaring Eco Physiology Lab., Utah State University
How Does It Collect Data from Any Instrument into Any
PC Application?
WinWedge transfers data received through a serial port to other applications
by either converting the data to Keystrokes or by passing the data using
DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange). The keystroke method is extremely simple.
Serial data just "pops" into your application as if it were being typed
in! This method is the most popular as it is so easy to use. The DDE method
enables you to create extremely sophisticated data acquisition and device
control interfaces.
WinWedge even lets you add additional keystrokes or DDE commands to your
incoming data so that the data plots automatically into spreadsheets,
databases, MMIs, LIMS, statistical and control software. You can even
automate real-time data charting and analysis.
Install the Wedge and watch data "pop" into your applications today!
Easily eliminate slow, error-prone, manual data entry forever.
"Excellent package, easy-to-use, a great time-saver" - John Ambrose,
Inco Ltd., J.Roy Gordon Research Lab.
How do I Know I Can Rely 100% on WinWedge?
WinWedge fully buffers
all input so your data will never be "lost" or inaccurate. It is in use
in thousands of mission critical applications worldwide. In the 9 years
since the first SoftwareWedge (for DOS) was released, it has proven itself
completely reliable.
Does WinWedge support 2-way I/O? Can it control my instruments?
As
well as collecting incoming data, WinWedge can also send commands or data
strings to your serial devices. Hence you can automatically re-set your
device or prompt it to take more readings. WinWedge Pro has many advanced
features to let you easily create sophisticated 2-way serial I/O interfaces.
With complete support for bi-directional serial I/O, you can even transmit
prompts or commands out the serial port to control your instruments directly
from within any PC application. Or you can define button-activated, hot
key activated or timer-activated output strings to control your instruments
directly from WinWedge.
What is the difference between the versions?
Two levels of the
SoftwareWedge are available for both DOS and Windows. The "Standard Editions"
of the Wedge are designed to work with most simple instruments including
electronic balances, bar code readers, gages or other devices that generate
very simple text data (i.e. data that only needs minimal parsing and filtering,
such as single field data).
The "Professional Editions" of the Wedge are more advanced software products
with many additional benefits including the ability to parse and filter
more complex data structures, such as reports of data. They are designed
to interface a wider range of instruments including PLCs, pH meters, titrators,
CMMs, telephone systems, and other instruments that generate more complex
data. They support Binary, Hex and Octal data as well as ASCII. The Pro
versions also provide numerous advanced benefits to help simplify data
collection.
What are the Special Benefits of the Pro version?
The Pro
version has many powerful benefits, including:
- Advanced parsing, filtering and formatting capabilities...
- Advanced instrument control and output options...
- Extended DDE support for powerful data collection and device control
interfaces...
- An optional Disk File Logging Mode...
- Support for multiple serial ports...
- Support for up to 56,000 baud...
- 30 powerful Math Functions etc
What extra do I get with WinWedge Pro?
WinWedge Pro includes
TCPWedge FREE. TCPWedge is similar to WinWedge
except that it is designed to communicate with any TCP/IP network port
address from within any Windows application. It has all the features of
WinWedge Pro except it communicates over TCP/IP networks, such as Ethernet
and the Internet, instead of over RS232 serial ports.
WinWedge Pro is our most popular product!
Is It Easy To Use?
Absolutely! It is extremely easy to use! The
configuration process is fully menu driven and has complete, context sensitive,
on-line help. You can easily customize all input to your exact specifications.
Once you see how easy it is to use WinWedge, you will never again take
data readings by hand!
"Loved it! Easy setup." - Bob Neves, Microtek Labs
"If you canít figure it out, they will help you... and they donít charge!
Iíve been pleased as punch!" - Philip Cox, Engineer, Memphis Light,
Gas and Water.
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