The Ekdahl FAR - Configuration utility - Overview
Overview of the Configuration Utility
The configuration utility is divided into a main window with a few global controls and a tabbed view with different controls showing all of the most common settings. There are two external windows that can be shown by clicking the Show console- and Show reference-buttons.
All messages sent to and from the Ekdahl FAR can be viewed in the Console window. The information here is quite technical but the language used has been developed using a "plain text"-approach to make it less daunting, hence it is the hope that even those who are not technically inclined may be able to discern at least some information from all this nonsense. In general this window is mainly used for debugging, when doing advanced controller mapping etc.
The Reference window contains a list of all current FAR commands. These commands are derived directly from the instrument itself thus this window will be empty until the software has connected to the device. If the firmware of the Ekdahl FAR is updated, the fact that the command reference derives all its information from the instrument itself means that the configuration utility does not need to be updated to show all the latest commands and updates.
Global controls
The drop-down on the top left shows all usb-serial devices that are connected to the computer, when the Ekdahl FAR is connected it will be added to this list. After choosing the device and pressing the connect button, the software will attempt to communicate with the Ekdahl FAR.
The Save settings-button will save all settings into the Ekdahl FAR, this means that the next time the instrument is turned on it will retain that information whether the computer is connected or not. Any information sent to the Ekdahl FAR will be lost unless the Save settings-button is clicked, it is imperative that this button is clicked after any changes have been done that you want the instrument to remember.
The Live update-checkbox will continuously check the connected Ekdahl FARs parameters and status and will enable the built-in FFT used for analyzing string tuning information gathered from the pickup. Without this enabled, the 'Pickup analysis' fields information will not be current unless the Analyze-button is pressed. The reason for being able to turn on and off the live updates is partially because the Console window will be flooded with information while it is on, rendering it virtually useless for debugging purposes. The other reason is because the FFT functions utilized to calculate the data from the pickup are performing some very heavy math and there is a possibility of the Ekdahl FAR being less responsive / the routines introducing some latency, thus it is recommended to turn this feature off while performing or recording.