HomeUX Driver Collection
Using PanasonicDriver

This page documents how to use PanasonicDriver (in PanasonicDriver.dll), the HomeUX-compatible driver that accesses the telephone log of a Panasonic D816 Digital Super Hybrid System telephone PBX connected via a serial port. PanasonicSimulator (in PanasonicSimulator.dll) is also documented here.

Page contents:

Hardware & Driver Overview

A Panasonic D816 Digital Super Hybrid System—abbreviated "Panasonic" in this documentation—is telephone PBX which can output a log of incoming and outgoing phone calls to a serial port.

PanasonicDriver allows a HomeUX installation to display incoming calls as alerts. The PBX cannot be controlled using its serial port—for example, you cannot place a call. Also, note that an incoming call is only logged to the serial port after the call completes, so this functionality does not provide "caller ID" as the phone rings.

PanasonicDriver lets you assign names to extensions, so a friendly name can be displayed in addition to an extension number in alerts regarding incoming and outgoing calls.

Configuring PanasonicDriver

PanasonicDriver is configured in the HomeUX configuration file. Here's the general structure (simplified):

XML
<configuration>
</HomeUXSettings>
</configuration>

"*" means "zero or more allowed". Children of <Device Driver="PanasonicDriver.dll"> can appear in any order.

Example:

XML
<configuration>
  ...
  <HomeUXSettings>
    ...
    <Device Name="Panasonic" Driver="PanasonicDriver.dll"
          sim:SerialPort="PanasonicSimulator.dll;;Test=0"
          real:SerialPort="COM17,9600,8,n,1,RtsEnable,DtrEnable">

      <Extension Id="101" Name="Kitchen" />
      <Extension Id="102" Name="Living Room" />
      <Extension Id="103" Name="Rick's Office" />
      <Extension Id="204" Name="Fax" />
      <Extension Id="105" Name="Master Bedroom" />
      <Extension Id="207" Name="Master Bath" />
      <Extension Id="109" Name="Gary's Office" />
      <Extension Id="210" Name="Laundry Room" />
      <Extension Id="112" Name="Game Room" />
      <Extension Id="113" Name="Guest Room" />
      <Extension Id="116" Name="Void Mail" />
    </Device>
  ...
  </HomeUXSettings>
</configuration>
	

The following subsections describe the PanasonicDriver configuration file XML elements.

<Device Driver="PanasonicDriver.dll">

(Required, used within <HomeUXSettings>.) Specifies an instance of PanasonicDriver, which is used to control one Panasonic PBX unit.

Syntax
XML
<Device
Name="..."
Driver="PanasonicDriver.dll"
SerialPort="...">
</Device>

"*" means "zero or more allowed".

Attributes

Name

(String, required.) The name you assign to the device.

Driver

(String, required.) Must be "PanasonicDriver.dll".

SerialPort

(String, required.) A standard HomeUX serial port specification. Identifies the serial port (real or virtual) that the hardware is connected to. When connected to a real serial port, the parameters should be "port-name,9600,8,n,1,RtsEnable,DtrEnable" in order to correctly operate a Panasonic unit.

<Extension>

(Zero or more, used within <Device Driver="PanasonicDriver.dll">.) Specifies one extension connected to the Panasonic PBX.

Syntax
XML
<Extension
Id="..."
Name="..."
/>
Attributes

Id

(Integer, required.) The extension number (e.g. 101).

Name

(String, required.) The friendly name you assign to the extension. This name appears in alerts regarding incoming and outgoing phone calls.

Using PanasonicDriver

PanasonicDriver cannot be controlled using this driver, and so it implements no SyncPath schema.

PanasonicSimulator

PanasonicSimulator is a HomeUX-compatible virtual serial port implementation that simulates a subset of the serial communication behavior of Panasonic hardware. PanasonicSimulator performs no real-world actions—the simulation is purely for the purposes of testing a HomeUX installation without having to connect to real hardware.

To use PanasonicSimulator in HomeUX, set the SerialPort attribute of the <Device Driver="PanasonicDriver.dll"> configuration element to a string with the following format:

PanasonicSimulator.dll;;Test=test-number

Parameters:

You can test PanasonicSimulator independently of HomeUX, using the VSerial console application:

VSerial.exe -crlf -dll PanasonicSimulator.dll;;Test=test-number

PanasonicSimulator implements a limited simulation—all it does is send the initialization sequence. Also, if you specify "Test=1" in the SerialPort attribute, a sample incoming telephone call will be sent 10 seconds after the device is enabled.