🔷 GSV86CAN Viewer – Tree View Measurement Monitor & Logger

Overview

GSV86CAN Viewer is a lightweight Windows desktop application (Python / PyQt5) for monitoring and logging measurement data from GSV-6 / GSV-8 CAN-based measurement amplifiers.

The application:

• Communicates with one or more GSV devices over CAN bus using the vendor DLL
• Displays live measurement values in a tree view grouped by Device → Channel
• Supports zeroing (tare) of all devices
• Logs measurement data to CSV or Excel (XLSX) files
• Uses a YAML configuration file for CAN IDs and device options

The software is designed to be:

• Robust against missing or misconfigured devices
• Easily extensible (new devices, sensors, layouts)
• Clear and deterministic for experimental and test‑bench use

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✨ Application Features

🌳 Live Tree View (Device → Channel → Value)

The main view shows a tree list:

• one top-level entry per device (from config.yaml)
• one child entry per device channel (channel count detected at runtime) Each channel row displays:
• Channel number (1-based)
• Current measurement value (e.g. kN) The device rows show:
• Device number
• CAN Answer ID
• Serial number (if readable) Channel count is determined dynamically via chan = gsv.activate(...). You do not need to configure a channel mapping.

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🎨 Device Color Coding

• Devices with configuration or communication errors are highlighted in red.

This makes it easy to visually identify:

• Which devices failed to initialize correctly

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⚖️ Zero / Tare Function

• A "Zero" button is available below the tree.
• When pressed, a confirmation dialog is shown.
• If confirmed, all active devices are zeroed via the DLL.

Technical notes:

• Zeroing is executed safely inside the acquisition thread
• The UI immediately updates values to zero for visual feedback

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⏺️ Recording / Logging

If logging is enabled in the YAML file:

• A REC button is shown
• Recording can be started/stopped at runtime

Supported formats:

• .csv (streaming write)
• .xlsx (written when recording stops)

Features:

• Automatic filename increment (data.xlsx → data_001.xlsx → data_002.xlsx)
• User confirmation if a file already exists
• Configurable logging rate (e.g. 1 sample per second)

Notes:

• Logging rate is independent of the device measurement frequency.
• Logging writes complete rows using last-known values.
• On startup, some channels may need a short time until they deliver their first value (depending on device streaming / CAN traffic).

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📡 Status & Device Information

At the bottom of the window:

• Status line shows initialization messages, warnings, and errors
• Devices line shows live update rates per CAN ID (Hz)

This helps diagnose:

• CAN communication issues
• Incorrect baud rates or IDs
• Devices that stopped sending data

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🧩 YAML Configuration File

All application behavior is controlled by config.yaml. The configuration file controls:

• CAN baud rate and DLL buffer size
• Device CAN IDs (cmd/answer)
• Optional settings (frequency, scaling, sensor mapping)
• Logging

⚙️ 1. dll

dll:
  mybuffersize: 300
  canbaud: 250000

Key	Description
mybuffersize	Internal DLL read buffer size
canbaud	CAN bus baud rate (must match hardware)

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💾 2. logging

logging:
  file: "messdaten.xlsx"
  rate_hz: 1.0

Key	Description
file	Log file path (.csv or .xlsx). Empty = no logging
rate_hz	Logging rate in samples per second

Notes:

• Logging is independent of device frequency
• Values are sampled from the latest available data

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🔌 5. devices

devices:
  frequency: 10
  load_default_settings: false
  auto_sensitivity_adjustment: false
  config:
    - dev_no: 1
      cmd_id: "0x0C8"
      answer_id: "0x0C9"

Key	Description
frequency	Global measurement frequency (Hz, ≤ 100 recommended)
load_default_settings	Loads factory defaults via DLL before reading ranges/scales.
auto_sensitivity_adjustment	Automatically increases sensitivity of the devices
dev_no	Logical device number
cmd_id	CAN command ID
answer_id	CAN answer ID

Per‑device frequency overrides are supported by setting frequency inside a device entry.

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🧪 6. sensors

Defines physical sensor properties.

sensors:
  - sensor_no: 1
    nominal_load: "250 kN"
    char_value: "3.15 mV/V"

Used to:

• Compute scaling factors
• Automatically adjust input ranges

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7. sensor_mapping

Maps sensors to device channels.

sensor_mapping:
  - sensor_no: 1
    channel: [1, 0]

Meaning:

• Sensor 1 is connected to device 1, channel 0

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🚀 Getting Started

📦 Requirements

• Windows (DLL‑based)
• Python 3.10+ 32 bit (recommended)
• Installed CAN hardware (PCAN)
• GSV CAN DLL (GSV86CAN.dll)

Python Dependencies

Install required packages:

pip install PyQt5 pyyaml openpyxl

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Project Structure

project_root/
│
├─ config.yaml
├─ GSV86CAN.dll
├─ src/
│  └─ gsv86canviewer/
│     ├─ main.py
│     ├─ main_window.py
│     ├─ reader_thread.py
│     ├─ recorder.py
│     ├─ gsv86can.py
│     ├─ utils.py
│     └─ config.py

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▶️ Running the Application

Start the application by running

python run.py

On startup:

1. Devices are activated (CAN IDs from config)
2. Channel count is detected automatically per device (activate() result)
3. Streaming starts and the tree view updates as values arrive

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🧱 Building a Single-File Windows Executable (Onefile)

The application can be packaged into a single standalone .exe using PyInstaller.

Characteristics

• The resulting executable is one single file
• The vendor DLL (GSV86CAN.dll) is embedded inside the executable
• At runtime, PyInstaller extracts the DLL to a temporary directory and loads it automatically
• The configuration file config.yaml remains external and must be located next to the .exe

Build Command

Run the following command from the project root directory:

python -m PyInstaller --noconfirm --clean --windowed --onefile  --paths "src"  --add-binary "GSV86CAN.dll;."  run.py

Resulting Files

After a successful build, the dist/ directory will contain:

dist/
└─ run.exe

To run the application, place config.yaml next to the executable:

run.exe
config.yaml

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Design Notes

• All DLL calls are isolated in gsv86can.py
• All hardware access runs in a QThread (no UI blocking)
• UI logic is strictly separated from acquisition logic
• YAML config is loaded once and treated as read‑only
• Channel structure is not configured manually:
  • devices from YAML
  • channels from activate()

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License / Usage

This application is intended for engineering, laboratory, and test‑bench use.

Ensure that:

• CAN IDs do not conflict with other devices
• Frequencies stay within device limits
• Zeroing is performed only under safe conditions