Supported Platforms and Hardware
This section details the hardware and software that Typica has been tested with and what is known to work. Other arrangements may work but have not been tested.
Operating Systems
Precompiled builds of Typica are provided for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The Microsoft Windows build has been tested as working on both Windows 7 and Windows 10. It might work on Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 8 but this has not been tested.
The Mac OS X build has been tested on Mac OS X 10.6 through 10.11. The build is also only for Macs with Intel processors. Note that at the time of this writing National Instruments hardware is known to not work starting with OS X 10.10 or later. If National Instruments starts advertising that a newer version of NI DAQmx Base works with current operating system releases and supported hardware, Typica will probably work with that, but there's nothing that anybody else can do about that other than choosing different hardware.
Source code is provided which may be used to build Typica on Linux, PowerPC based Macs, and possibly other platforms, however instructions on doing this are beyond the scope of this document.
Data Acquisition Hardware
On Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X, the National Instruments NI 9211 module is supported in either the NI USB-9161 or NI USB-9162 USB carrier using NI DAQmx Base supporting software which is available for download from National Instruments. Note that the different USB carriers require different versions of this software. Using the 9161 carrier you will need NI-DAQmx Base 2.1 on Mac OS X or NI-DAQmx Base 2.2 on Microsoft Windows. Using the 9162 carrier, you will need NI DAQmx Base 3.6 on Mac OS X or NI DAQmx Base 3.6 on Microsoft Windows. Please check documentation available from National Instruments regarding Linux support if you intend to build Typica on Linux.
On Microsoft Windows only the National Instruments NI 9211 module can be used with the NI USB-9162 USB carrier or the NI cDAQ-9171. The NI USB-TC01 is also an option on this platform. This has been tested with NI-DAQmx 9.6.1. A newer hardware revision has been released which no longer works with NI-DAQmx 9.6.1. If you encounter an error related to firmware being too new, try the latest version of NI-DAQmx. Note that NI-DAQmx should not be installed at the same time as NI-DAQmx Base 3.6 however it is fine to have it installed at the same time as NI-DAQmx Base 2.2.
On all platforms, devices which communicate using the Modbus RTU protocol can be used. Currently only one such device is supported per bus and measurements must be delivered in scaled integer representation. You will need the communications manual for whichever device you choose in order to set up Typica. This has been tested with the Fuji PXR4 PID controller, but most similar devices with Modbus RTU support should also work. Typica does not require any supporting software for this hardware, however most of these devices use RS-485 for the physical connection and you may need an RS-485 to USB adapter and you may need to install driver software before this adapter will work correctly. Consult the manuals for your hardware for more details.
If you're not sure what hardware will work best for you, there is a video that covers all of the options and what's good or bad about each of those.
Hardware Compatability Table
The table below is a quick reference on what operating systems different hardware supported by Typica can work with. Please click on the device name and read the compatability notes before purchasing hardware with the intention of using it with Typica.
| Windows | Mac OS X | Linux | |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Instruments NI USB-9211 | yes | only 10.9 or earlier | maybe |
| National Instruments NI USB-9211A | yes | only 10.9 or earlier | maybe |
| National Instruments NI 9211 paired with NI cDAQ-9171 | yes | no | no |
| National Instruments NI USB-TC01 | yes | no | no |
| DATAQ DI-145 | yes | no | no |
| Modbus RTU Devices | yes | yes | yes |
| Phidgets 1048 | yes | yes | yes |
Connecting Hardware
If you are using the Phidgets 1048 or National Instruments devices and your coffee roaster already has a thermocouple installed, you might find the following video helpful in connecting your existing thermocouples to your data acquisition hardware. The video uses a Diedrich SR-1 and a National Instruments NI USB-9211, but the same procedure works with a wide range of commercial roasting equipment and other data acquisition devices.