Overview

Accordion Pilot - User Guide

Accordion Pilot is a comprehensive Windows desktop application for interacting with, controlling, and testing Accordion hardware systems. It provides a graphical user interface for all hardware operations including channel management, bus transactions, power supply control, audio/video testing, firmware updates, and system configuration.

What is Accordion?

Accordion is a flexible hardware test and control system developed by E-Sharp AB. It provides a unified interface for controlling various hardware components through a channel-based architecture. The system supports:

Digital I/O: GPIO pins, LEDs, switches, relays
Analog I/O: ADC/DAC channels, voltage/current measurement
Power Management: Programmable power supplies, PMBus devices
Communication Buses: I2C, SPI, UART, USB, Ethernet
Audio/Video: Audio playback/capture, video output, image display
Specialized Hardware: Environment sensors, test equipment, custom modules

Architecture

The Accordion system consists of three main layers:

Hardware Layer: Physical Accordion device with connected test equipment and devices under test (DUT)
Protocol Server: Network service running on the Accordion device that manages hardware access
Client Applications:
- Accordion Pilot (GUI) - This application
- AccordionShell (CLI) - Command-line interface
- Custom Applications - Via .NET or Python APIs

Key Features

✅ Channel Management

Browse and search all available hardware channels
Real-time value monitoring with configurable polling
Read and write channel values
Channel filtering, grouping, and organization
Alias configuration for user-friendly names

✅ Bus Transaction Monitoring

View I2C, SPI, UART, Socket transactions in real-time
Transaction history with filtering
Detailed transaction analysis
Send custom bus commands

✅ Power Supply Control

Control programmable power supplies
Voltage and current monitoring
Over-current protection configuration
PMBus device programming
Power sequencing

✅ Module Management

Load/unload hardware modules dynamically
Module configuration and cloning
Custom module parameters (InitialData)

✅ Firmware Management

View current firmware version
Update device firmware
Service start/stop control

✅ System Configuration

Network discovery of Accordion devices
Connection management
Event monitoring (notifications, telemetry)
Workspace management
Alias file upload/download/activation

Quick Start

1. Launch Application

Run AccordionPilot.exe. The application will display a splash screen with a random quote while initializing.

2. Connect to Accordion Device

Click the Attach button in the toolbar (or press the connection toggle)
Select or enter your Accordion device hostname/IP address
Wait for connection confirmation (status bar shows connection state)

3. View Channels

Navigate to Channels page (default view) to see all available hardware channels. The channel list shows:

NetName: Technical channel identifier
Alias: User-friendly name (if alias file loaded)
Channel Type: Type of channel (GPIO, ADC, I2C, etc.)
Capability: What operations are supported
Value: Current value (if readable)

4. Basic Operations

Read a channel:

Double-click a channel in the list
Or right-click → "Get Value"

Write to a channel:

Right-click channel → "Set Value"
Enter the new value
Click OK

Monitor channels:

Enable polling (checkbox in toolbar)
Set polling interval (default 500ms)
Values update automatically

5. Access Features

Use the Navigation Panel on the left to access different features:

Channels: Channel list and management
Settings: System configuration
Chart: Numerical chart for data visualization
Transactions: Bus transaction history
Log: Application and hardware logs
PSUs: Power supply control
Cal Table: Calibration table viewer

Application Layout

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Ribbon Toolbar (Connection, Files, Tools, View)   │
├────────┬────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│        │                                           │
│ Navi-  │                                           │
│ gation │          Main Content Area                │
│ Panel  │       (Channels, Settings, Log, etc.)     │
│        │                                           │
│        │                                           │
├────────┴────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Status Bar (Connection Status, Version Info)      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Home Tab:
- Connection: Attach/detach, host selection
- Alias: Load, upload, download, save alias files
- Tools: Reset, shell, modules
- Chart: Lookback points, clear history
- View: Workspace management
Appearance Tab:
- Polling: Enable/disable, set interval
- Skins: Change application theme
- Workspace: Save/load layouts

Accordion-style navigation with expandable sections:

Channels: Main channel list view
Settings: Accordion system settings
Chart: Data visualization
Transactions: Bus transaction log
Log: System log messages
PSUs: Power supply control
Cal Table: Calibration data

Tips and Best Practices

Performance

Polling Interval: Lower values (100-200ms) provide faster updates but increase network traffic. Use 500-1000ms for normal operation.
Channel Filtering: Filter channel list to show only relevant channels for better performance with large systems.
Disable Unused Features: Disable transaction monitoring if not needed to reduce overhead.

Organization

Use Alias Files: Create alias files with meaningful names for channels to improve usability.
Group Channels: Use channel groups to organize related channels together.
Save Workspaces: Save different workspace layouts for different test scenarios.

Reliability

Monitor Connection: Watch the connection status indicator in the status bar.
Check Logs: Review logs regularly for warnings or errors.
Save Work: Save alias configurations and workspace layouts before making major changes.

Efficiency

Keyboard Shortcuts: Learn toolbar shortcuts for common operations.
Context Menus: Right-click channels for quick access to operations.
Use Shell for Batch: Use AccordionShell for scripted/automated operations.

System Requirements

Operating System: Windows 10 or later (64-bit)
Framework: .NET 8 Runtime
Display: 1280x720 minimum resolution recommended
Network: TCP/IP connection to Accordion device
Memory: 2 GB RAM minimum, 4 GB recommended

Getting Help

Documentation

This User Guide: Comprehensive feature documentation
AccordionShell Docs: Command-line interface reference
API Documentation: For developers building custom applications

Support

E-Sharp Support: Contact your E-Sharp representative
Issue Reporting: Report bugs and feature requests through your organization

Version Information

Check Help → About for:

Current application version
Deployment information
Copyright and licensing