UPS status shown on LCD Smartie

[Cloudy]

Hi,

A reader in a forum complained that LCD Smartie cannot read the serial output from a UPS. I have just developed a solution and, though specific for the Belkin UPS and Bulldog software, with few changes is likely to work for most other UPSs as well.

Those monitoring programs add every minute a line to a log file, with the most relevant paramenters. I have just written a VBScript which reads the last line from the log file, parses it, isolates 6 crucial parameters and records a new temporary file, in a format which can easily be directly read by the $file instruction in LCD Smartie.

The user just needs to copy my code, and to configure Smartie so that a LCD button runs the VBScript and activates the special screen.

System requirements:
- Pentium PC with Windows 98 or newer
- VBScript (is there by default but some users deactivate it for security reasons)
- LCD Smartie v. 5.3
- LCD Display (my configuration is for a 4x20 display, but a knowledgeable user can easily reconfigure it for any other format)
- Belkin UPS with Bulldog Plus 3.2 software installed
- My code and instructions

If the user has a non-Belkin UPS, is just a matter of finding the log file, examining it to understand its format, and rewriting the VBScript accordingly. It is not difficult (I haven't been into programming for years)and most importantly, it works.

I am not willing to email to everybody who wants it. I rather prefer to prepare a general-use version, to put it into a zip file and to send it to this forum so that it can be stored as a sort of plug-in, freeware of course.

Please advise.

Best,

Cloudy

[limbo]

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