SERIAL FORMAT FOR THE THOUGHTSTREAM
Baud rate 4800 : No parity : 8 data bits : 1 stop bit

The computer interface is optically isolated so power is supplied via the DTR and RTS I/O lines from the computers serial port, though other means can be used).

Using Visual Basic the following code will set the port up for communication with the Thought Stream unit...

MSComm1.CommPort = PortNum 'Use ports (1,2,3 or 4)

MSComm1.Settings = "4800,N,8,1"

MSComm1.InputLen = 1

MSComm1.RThreshold = 1

MSComm1.InputMode = comInputModeText

MSComm1.PortOpen = True

MSComm1.DTREnable = False

MSComm1.RTSEnable = True

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A SERIAL BLOCK OF DATA IS SENT EVERY 0.5 SECONDS.

THE SERIAL BLOCK IS NINE BYTES LONG.

BYTE 1) ... 1st HEADER VALUE = $AA = 170 decimal

BYTE 2) ... 2nd HEADER VALUE = $AA = 170 decimal

BYTE 3) ... DEVICE CODE VALUE = 1

BYTE 4) ... RELAXATION VALUE

255 = ALL RED. IF = 0 THEN DISPLAY WILL BE ALL GREEN.

BYTE 5 & 6) CURRENT 12 BIT ADC VALUE RECORDED BY THE THOUGHT STREAM

BYTE 6) BITS 7-4 SHOULD BE ALL 0's. BITS 3-0 CONTAIN THE FOUR MOST

SIGNIFICANT BITS OF THE 12 BIT VALUE.

BYTE 5) CONTAINS THE EIGHT LSBs.

BYTE 7) STATUS OF THE THOUGHT STREAM

BIT ALLOCATIONS...

BIT 0) PROBE ERROR... SET IF RESISTANCE OF THE HAND PROBE IS OPEN

OR SHORTED. (If not correct in 10 seconds then TS unit will shut off)

BIT 1) LOW BATTERY... SET IF LOW BATTERY HAS BEEN DETECTED

(If Start/Stop button is not pushed within 10 seconds the unit will shut off)

BIT 2) NEW DATA. SET IF DATA IN CURRENT BLOCK HAS BEEN UPDATED SINCE THE LAST.

BIT 3) RECALCULATION HAS OCCURRED. SET IF THIS HAS HAPPENED...

(If the current probe resistance happens to go lower than the initial starting resistance the TS would generate garbage values. To get around this the TS recalculates everything and starts anew, assuming that the 'new' lower resistance to be the beginning resistance. This wont effect byte 5 & 6 in anyway but bytes 4,8 and 9 will take on new significance.

BIT 4) Not Used

BIT 5,6 & 7) 3 BIT CODE REPRESENTING WHICH SENSITIVITY IS BEING USED

BIT 5 = LSbit : BIT 7 = MSb

BYTE 8 & 9) 12 BIT ADC VALUE OF THE STARTING PROBE RESISTANCE. THIS WILL BE SET AT THE BEGINNING OF A SESSION OR IF THE THOUGHT STREAM UNIT RE-CALIBRATES DURING A SESSION. BYTE 8) BITS 7-4 SHOULD BE ALL 0's. BITS 3-0 CONTAIN THE FOUR MOST SIGNIFICANT BITS OF THE 12 BIT VALUE.

BYTE 9) CONTAINS THE EIGHT LSBs.