under what conditions we should use TO and PULSE

f0ghua

I am a newbie of netlinx programming, and confused with TO and PULSE command. It seems in most cases, ON and OFF are enough, why need TO and PULSE? Is there anyone can kindly tell me under wht conditions they must to be used? some examples are appreciated.

ericmedley

In both commands an "On" and "Off" are implied. The big difference is that the Pulse is a forced time based upon the system's pulse time. (default is .5 seconds) a TO is based upon the Push and Release of the button.

Typically one uses Pulse for things where the release timing is not critical. For example, you might use Pulse on a Power Toggle for IR commands since the release is not critical to the operation.

However on things where you might mash the button down on the remote - like scrolling up and down a menu of channels or volume ramping up or down, a TO is a good choice since the user will determine when to stop doing whatever it is they're doing.

John Nagy

Note though that with high CPU operations, the NetLinx can miss a RELEASE... making operations that wait to see a RELEASE not know to stop until a new PRESS then RELEASE happens. This can give delightful volume ramps to 100% that can't seem to be stopped... so be careful. This was especially awful on the R4 older firmware, where if you pressed a button on a page that also caused a page flip, the PRESS would be seen but there could never be a release... because the page went away before you removed your finger. Nice.

We put in a safety counter on ramp operations that imply a RELEASE if one doesn't come along by itself.

TUTech

I use "TO" for things like volume and pan & tilt. I use pulse for ON / OFF and other functions. Fast Forward, Rewind and Search might be different. Sometimes you have to continue to hold down the button to continue searching.