Gonzalo38

I finally decided to stop trying to make the software work. I contacted Linda of Dreamworks since she sold the cable to me and she kindly offered to contact the new Jetcat representative in the US. It turned out that another customer was having the same problem and the response (we were copied on the email) was that we were going to be contacted directly by the Jetcat guy (according to his own words on the email.....).

Several weeks passed by and I never received any emails from Jetcat so I decided to ask for a credit in the store. Once again, Linda was very diligent and she immediately made this happen.

Had a similar experience with Jetcat Germany. After several a emails with somebody from the support side, I was almost told be thankful that he was responding (after several emails send....) and almost told me not to bother any more. Never get the response I was looking for.

Jetcat turbines could be a great product..... but their support sucks. For sure I'm sticking with Jetcentral that has never been able to respond to me..... even or the weekends.

Shame on Jetcat.

Moonlight24

Guys,

I had the same issue some days ago while trying to connect to a new PHT-2 ECU. I have been able to connect to all my turbines in the past so I started Investigation and found this.

I actually used an USB to Serial converter with a PROFILIC chip. The Driver has been installed correctly under Windows 7 and seems to be ok in device Manager. No Connection to the ECU has been possible no matter which port / option I tried.
After fiddeling around for some hours I gave up at the end. Then I realised that in my field box I had another USB to Serial converter which I used in the past. So I tried that one and guess what - It's working on the 1st attempt. This converter is using a FTDI chip and I found a lot of comments and complaints in the Internet about the PROFILIC converters.

I also checked both converters on another Laptop running XP with the same result. FTDI is working fine - PROFILIC doesn't with the JetCat Software. It's only working on a simple RS232 device.

btw - you can check in device Manager which chip set you are using.

Maybe that's the solution.

Chheers,

Gonzalo38

Moonlight:

Thanks for the tip. Do you know were in the device manager I can see the type of chip ? When I'm looking at the info it only says Jetcat USB 2.0

Moonlight24

sorry, I forgot that you are using the JetCat USB cable. I'm still using the old style RS232 Adapter together with the USB to Serial converter.

But anyway, the JetCat cable indeed is using an FTDI chip. The only Problem might be the original Driver from their Homepage. That one is very old (2009) already.

You should got to http://www.ftdichip.com/FTDrivers.htm and download and install the actual Driver for your Windows System. But 1st uninstall the old Driver.


Cheers,

Gonzalo38

Great... thanks. Just last question. VCP or D2XX ?

Moonlight24

use VCP which means virtual com port


Cheers

Gonzalo38

Tried to install the drivers but it's giving me an error.

I think the easiest thing to do is to try to look for an alternative cable.

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

Well I got the cable from JetCat USA after asking them about reported problems I've seen here. They said I needed the current driver for the USB and to use COM port 5. Well I downloaded the software and what looked like the USB driver (the webpage is in German) and fired up the software with COM 5 specified. No go, so I let it do an automatic port detection and it settled on COM 3 with a 9600 Baud rate and connected to the ECU.

It was late last night before I started playing with this and so I didn't tinker with it much, but it appears that everything is working as it should.

This is with a Sony VAIO Ultrabook computer running Windows 8.1.

Jeffy Westside

Hi, I'm having a similar problem in that when I plug my GSU into my computer via the USB connector, the Jettronic software is unable to find my ECU regardless of how many times I run the AutoDetect function. From where did you download the current driver for the USB?

Moonlight24

Guys,

just a short update. I used Windows 7 64bit with the JetCat Interface without any issues until a few weeks ago. Suddenly the interface wasn't working anymore no matter what I tried.
At the same time a CSM SL720 gyro interface, HeliCommand interface and also an Align 3GX interface didn't work anymore. All these interface are different types and are using different drivers.
I really do have a lot of experience in computing but I had no chance to get these tools working again correctly. I also tried a different laptop with Windows 7 without success. Think there musst have been an update which prevents from using the USB ports correctly. But I removed also all actual updates from the system without solving the issue. I ended up using an older netbook running on XP without any issues. So it seems not to be the interfaces at all but something in the nice operating system.

Btw a friend of mine faced the same issues some days ago. He also did spent lots of hours without success.

Thanks again to Microsoft even making our hobby a nightmare.

Cheers,

Ralf

Gonzalo38

Ralf:

Thanks for the update. The problem is that very few people is still running XP and manufactures should be thinking about upgrading their softwares in order for them to be able to run with the latest operating systems.

Jeffy Westside

Gonzalo and Ralf:

Thank you guys for the updates. That is unfortunate to hear. It seems as if I will have to track down and locate a dinosaur computer (one running XP). I've gotten in touch with one of the founders of the American branch of Jetcat, and I will speak with him tomorrow about how to address this issue. I've never used these engines for my hobby, but from what I've gathered through these forums, it would appear that I am by no means the only person struggling to run his engine right now. Any other tips of which you can think that would allow my computer to recognize the ECU?

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

Jeff; I downloaded the driver from the German JetCat website and I had to kind of look around as it is in German. I guess you could translate it with Google or something if you wanted to try that. Also, I never used the GSU when accessing the ECU with the computer. Just plug the USB interface cable into the I/O port and it hooked up to the ECU.

Ralf; the fact that you have other interfaces that stopped working a couple of weeks ago leads to a suspicion that Microsoft is the culprit. They issued a bunch of updates a few weeks ago and among other things, I cannot get my Internect connection up on a WinXP install that I'm running with VMware on this computer. I can open a command window and verify that I'm connected to the Internect but I cannot get Internet Explorer to work. My JetCat stuff is on a laptop running Win 8.1 but I can't go test it on the JetCat ECU as I have my KingCat torn apart replacing all the electrical system and fuel lines. If you come up with a fix, posting it here would be great.

Jeffy Westside

hmm, okay so I tried plugging the USB interface cable directly into the I/O port, but jet-tronic still could not find the ECU. I am using an SPT5 for university-sponsored research, so I need to be able to gather a lot of data from the ECU and be able to control it. I managed to track down a computer running windows XP, so I'm trying to run jet-tronic off of that. I installed the USB drivers, and my computer tells me that it's registering the USB serial port in COM5, but when I run jet-tronic, it still can't find the ECU in COM5 even after I use AutoDetect. Any tips? I feel like I should be able to get this to work. All and all, this whole experience has been very frustrating, but I really do appreciate your taking the time to help me.

Also, I get an error within Jet-tronic that says "RS232 Error: Echo from ECU corrupt" followed by "RS232 Error: Timeout"

So did windows or Jetcat release a software update a few weeks ago that crashed EVERYBODY'S stuff? It seems improbable that they would do something like that. Then again, after encountering complication after complication when dealing with Jetcat products, I suppose nothing is outside the realm of possibility.

Jeffy Westside

I just got off of the phone with Jetcat in California. Unfortunately, the person with whom I spoke (who seems to be the only one there who knows how to run the engines) said that he has no idea how to fix my software problem. He says it worked just fine for him when he had my ECU less than 2 weeks ago. He also said that Universities tend to encounter this problem a lot, but that it always works fine for Boeing, Lockheed, and NASA. I asked who at Jetcat could help me with this software issue, and he directed me to the german customer service team, so I sent them the following message.

"To whomever it may concern,

My name is Jeffrey Ellenoff, and I am doing jet engine research at the University of Colorado on a Jetcat SPT5 engine. For the past 2 weeks, I have been having extreme difficulty running the engine. 1 week ago, I received my GSU and ECU back from Jetcat in California (they repaired the processing board on my ECU). All of my equipment is set up correctly, but when I open the jet-tronic software, it cannot find the ECU.


I have been searching for an answer all over the internet, and I have tried everything I can think of, but it still won't work. I have reinstalled the current version of Jet-tronic (from both the german jetcat website and the english website), and I have reinstalled all of the drivers. I've even tried Jet-tronic versions 1.0.59, 1.0.57, and 1.0.100, but nothing has worked. My ECU is attached to the LED I/O hub. My GSU is attached to the I/O hub, and my USB serial converter is also attached to my GSU.


I have reinstalled all of the USB serial converter drivers, and when I open up device manager, under ports, I can see that it is registered under COM5, but Jet-tronic still can't find the ECU even after I run AutoDetect. I have tried to make this work using 3 separate computers (one running windows XP, one running windows 7, and one running windows 8) but nothing is working. Apparently, there was a software update 3.5-4 weeks ago that has caused a lot of problems for a lot of people who are running Jet-tronic.


When I turn everything on, I can press the "spool" button on my GSU and the compressor starts to spin, so I believe that the only thing that is preventing me from testing this engine is the fact that my Jet-tronic software can't find the ECU.


I've called the jetcat office in California MANY times, but they do not understand how the instructions work. They told me that you guys would be able to help me.


This is for a time-sensitive, university-funded research project, so time is of the utmost importance. Thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate it.


-Jeffrey "

Gonzalo38

Jeffrey:

Good luck with with the German guys..... I was in contact with them for a while but they were never able to help and basically told me to stop bothering since they were very busy. Also tried to contact Markus Zipperer directly but he never answered.

Try with Udo Toepfer at [email protected] He is aware of the problem and maybe this time he can help.

By the way, I can run the Jetcentral program without a problem in Windows 8.

Gonzalo38

By the way, there seems to be a new exe file for the Jettronic software that was posted after I quit trying to make the software run. I don't know if this would help or not.

http://www.jetcat.de/software-downloads/download.htm

" NEW exe file (jettr4win_1.0.100 [2,632 KB]) to Jettronic Windows software 1.0.59 Please copy the new exe file in the installation directory Jettronic and thus replace the old exe file, alternatively you can rename the old exe file before copying.
After successful copying, you can open the Jettronic Windows software as usual.
The new version is now 1.0.100 "

Moonlight24

You guys really should stop nagging about JetCat. I'm not related to JetCat but I own several of their engines but also some other brands like WREN etc.. The USB dongle story is more or less the same issue everywhere.

The problem is probably the OS and/or the USB driver. Neither JetCat nor any other turbine producer has it's own custom interface chip. So everybody has to wait for working drivers for your OS from the real interface manufacturers like FTDI or Profilic.

Btw - neither Windows 7 nor Windows 8 has been designed to run real hardware related stuff at all. And of course it's even more worse if you try to run some tools on a 64bit system. I'm working on real gas turbines for the biggest manufacturer in the US. Even we are using Windows NT or XP most of the times for any kind of controls. Sometimes you may be lucky to get a USB dongle working correctly on the newer OS - but that's simply luck and most of the times not reproducable on a different PC and/or hardware.

I already showed you a way to avoid these issues by using XP on a 2nd hand netbook or laptop. I bought one for 75€ in a top condition which is that small that I even can take it in my transmitter box to the field. If you really want to setup your gas turbine on the PC in the living room you could also install an extra harddrive with XP installed and boot from that one.

Sorry, but I don't have any other solution at the moment.

Cheers,
Ralf

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

Jeff;

Ralf is correct about bugging the Germans at JetCat DE for assistance. You'll be lucky if you see any response to your e-mail and if you do it probably will not be a good one. As Ralf indicated, these manufacturers don't do any of the software work on these interfaces, cannot trouble shoot a computer problem and most of all, you won't get anywhere trying to push the Germans to do anything. They do things when they want to, if at all and trying to push them only seems to irritate them. One other issue with JetCat right now is that from what I've been told, they are selling so many engines to the German government for drones that they can hardly keep up with the demand and they make a bunch more money doing that than selling engines to the general public.

That may be inaccurate information, but it would seem to support the lack of support and engine availability from JetCat the last while.

As for other things you might try; I'd try manually selecting the 1 thru 4 com ports and see if you can get a connection.

Moonlight24

Btw - I'm German as well but I try to help if possible -



at least sometimes


Cheers,
Ralf

Jeffy Westside

Everyone,

Well that is just too bad to hear. I've already attempted manually selecting the COM ports, but nothing seems to work - even after installing the new 1.0.100 update on a machine that's running windows XP. Though none of you know me, if there is one thing that I am it is tenacious. I'm 20 years old, and have been doing Jet Engine research for the past 7 weeks, and I have yet to be able to make this thing run at all. I would have figured that I would have gotten lucky after trying to run the software on 4 different computers with different operating systems. I've even read the entire SPT5 manual cover to cover multiple times, but the problem that I'm encountering doesn't seem to be addressed.

In addition, it seems that the batteries to the radio controller that I'm using had their polarities reversed. I'm new to the whole RC community, so I as wondering if anybody else has experienced these problems and knows of anything that I could do to solve them. Again, I really appreciate your guys help. I tried to work from about 1:00am - 3:00am so that I could call Jetcat during their normal operational hours in germany, but I was put on German hold...I think. Either way, it didn't go particularly well. I just wish that they could help me accomplish my goal of being "german efficient."

I've been racking my brain trying to think of what might be inhibiting the computer from communicating with or even registering the ECU, but I haven't come up with anything yet. I feel as if I'm close to making it work, but there is something, some little, crucial piece that still eludes me.

Ralf: I tried to repeat what you had did. I went out and got a computer with windows XP and did what you said to do, but it didn't work. But I appreciate your guidance. I'm just jealous that you were able to get it to work.

Moonlight24

Jeffy,

If you really had reversed polarity from the battery on the ECU it's definitely damaged and you will never be able to connect to a PC.
I had to figure out this some time ago - expensive experience it was.

Does the GSU work correctly with the ECU ? I mean do you get correct readings on the GSU and all the menus are working still ?

Ralf

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

Ralf;
No offense intended....

It's just that I've found out over the years that I've done some business with various German companies, they are never in a hurry and resent being asked to provide "preferential" service to an idividual customer. I thought I had it down until I bought an IQ Hammer engine and a Tomahawk Design Viper jet last year. I had a few hiccups with Turbo on the engine but I was really unhappy with Thomas at Tomahawk design, ergo the note to Jeff....

I was told pretty much the same thing by my vendor who I bought a SebArt Avanit S and a Behotec 180 engine from late last year. The engine got backordered and we couldn't even get an estimate of when it might be shipped out of Germany. I did finally get it and it's really nicely put together, typical of German engineering but boy was it a frustrating wait, almost 4 months for that puppy which was supposed to be immediately available when I bought the stuff.

Any way, again, no offense intended and I've found you posts to be helpful and informative.

Gaspar

Hello Ralf,

I'm sorry to correct you, but our USB adapter (Xicoy) have a custom interface chip (Wren, Kingtech, JetsMunt, JetCentral), no issues with 64 bit computers or newer operating systems at all. Before 2010 we used same chip as JetCat is using now, but we found very hard to keep the drivers updated to be compatible with the newer operating systems, plus several other incompatibility issues we found in different combinations of hardware and installed applications. Since we use our own chip, with a USB ID number registered exclusively for Xicoy, zero driver issues. Of course, a solution using a custom chip needs a much higher investment in R+D than taking an "of the shelf" solution, but so far, it had returned our investment in full, in sales and in happy customers.

BTW, to keep on topic, if you need to have your PC connection working with a JC ecu, the solution is to use the old RS232 lead, if you can find a PC with a RS232 port or a internal RS232 card, zero issues. If you need to use USB, then look for a USB/RS232 converter that have the appropriate drivers for for your OS. These things are really cheap, best is to purchase different brands with different chips and try the best one.

BRG,

Gaspar
Xicoy Electronica

Moonlight24

Gaspar,


you're right. I didn't check all the dongles I have. Don't misunderstand, there are of course some dongles working correctly - but for most of them it's a 50/50 chance.


Ralf