@fkberthold Just to add to @oid's post...... you can find all the object definitions (and the necessary arguments) which can be used for dynamic patching here....... https://puredata.info/docs/developer/PdFileFormat

Note that you can send multiple messages comma separated from within one message as @oid has done in the [connect( message.

If the sub-patch is even only a little more complex it can be easier to dynamically create a whole abstraction that contains send and receive type objects, as a large quantity of [connect( or [disconnect( messages can spin your head off your neck.
The message would be [obj 10 10 my-abstraction $2 12 woof( for example, to put [my-abstraction $0-value 12 woof] into the sub-patch and preserve the sub-patch value of $0 within the abstraction as $1.
Yes, cascading $ values can be great fun in dynamic patching.... but nothing like as complex as [connect( messages... that will have to be adjusted if you add another object to the sub-patch in @oid's example.
Dynamically creating a large number of abstractions with different arguments is a very powerful tool.
The [clone] object is more restrictive as concerns arguments, and I find it a bit harder to use.

Also you can send messages directly to the sub-patch with a single message box like this..... ctlin_2.pd
By adding extra arguments to the [pack] and replacing e.g. "10 10" with "10 $4" within the message you can then easily use a counter...... 1-n .... to both increment arguments (like with [clone] $1)..... and to place the objects neatly into the sub-patch.
David.

@maddynakedymaddy That looks like a windows path and I would therefore expect Gem to be in the C:/Program Files (x86)/Pd/Pd/extra folder...... and not /externals
But check your startup flags in Preferences.... startup.
There needs to be -lib Gem in the startup box...... and it is possible that the flag is there but has been disabled (you will not see that the flags are disabled).
Sometimes the flags are disabled when Pd cannot set them properly as it starts. You would have had a message about that and the console would be empty at startup if that happened.

Simply clicking ok or apply will reapply the startup flags...... but you will get another message at the next start saying they are disabled if any of your startup flags cannot be applied.

Otherwise.... it is not likely that it is a virus.... but it could be a security permission problem from an OS update or an antivirus and you can usually set exceptions. Pd is not in any database that will automatically recognise it as a secure program so........
But I would expect that to stop Pd running at all..... so unlikely.
David.

@vobb "set" messages to [block~]........ block~-help.pd
From Pd-Extended doc.
Only power of 2 if you need audio in/out from the sub-patch.
Other values only If it doesn't communicate with the outside world.

This will probably be useful info....... Pd timing https://forum.pdpatchrepo.info/topic/7436/vline-metro-and-tabwrite-timing....... and problems with Fourier windowing @katjav ....... https://www.katjaas.nl/home/home.html
David.

@Johnny-Mauser What @jameslo says and.....
So the first message.....81 01 04 3F 02 01 FF..... recall preset 3 on camera 1..... does preset 3 exist....... Is the camera set as camera 1?
Does an error message come back from the camera?
Have you thought of doing it over IP..... ethernet?
Does the camera have the firmware upgrade (around year 2019) that enables HEX commands?

But I wonder if a text string would in fact work........ [print 81 01 04 3F 02 01 FF( ....into comport.
...... and.... hard to find..... but do you have noise from a bad ground or a bad power supply?
RS422 is balanced, but if there is a lot of noise coming from the device balancing will not help.
David

@Johnny-Mauser Yes, I thought so at first.
But it returns the ASCII decimal values for example of the characters D and E separately...... list D E
What is needed is the decimal value of the 8-byte HEX DE.
There is no decimal ascii value for a character DE as the character does not exist.

It would be possible using [list fromsymbol] and some maths but it is complicated because when the list is split using [list split 1] the second outlet continues to output the remembered 2nd value (E) when there is no new value....... i.e. for decimal 0 to 15 (HEX 00 to 0F).
David.

@alexandros Very good.....
So...... simple.....
David.
([f] converts from Pd 0.48 onwards.)

@Johnny-Mauser The reverse is possible easily in Pd....... and what you need will be.... with some work.
No time today so someone will beat me to it.
Here is the reverse.... and [expr] or a lot of operators will get decimal from 8 byte Hex.....
It could be easiest to do the maths on the binary values.

This will help with understanding 4 and 8 byte Hex...... https://www.zytrax.com/tech/protocols/hex.html
David.

@jameslo Yes..... let me know when you get covid again and I will suggest that you make yourself an "expert external compiler for windows 64-bit" in just 7 days.
That could be easier than what you achieved..... it really is a thing of beauty...
David.

@jameslo Have a good trip home tomorrow...... and a free drink for me...... !
David.

@oid How raw is [midiout].... ??
Did you establish that it cannot build a midi2 message...?
https://forum.pdpatchrepo.info/topic/13662/raw-midi-midiout

Just wondering because it can build NRPN... but does it have list constraints? RAW suggests "anything" in the message string that is just going to be converted to HEX.
It looks as though midi2 can carry both midi1 and midi2 messages, so maybe there is just one initial status byte to change.
David.