11
RS-232 Communication
The TG-1000 utilizes an RS-232 serial link to connect with any computer with an RS-232 serial port in
order to utilize all of the controller’s abilities. The current setup for the TG-1000 serial link is:
115200
baud
, no parity, eight data bits, one stop bit, and no flow control
(115200: 8 : N : 1 : None)
. This serial
control feature can be accessed through terminal programs such as TeraTerm, and HyperTerminal.
Software such as LabView can be used to send serial commands. Finally, high-level microscope control
software (e.g. Micro-manager, Molecular Devices’ Metamorph, Nikon Elements) uses serial commands
to communicate with the controller.
Command
The controller’s instruction set is implemented using the following format:
COMMAND X=?????? Y=?????? Z=?????? <Carriage Return>
The
COMMAND
is a string of ASCII characters such as
MOVE
or
HOME
, which must be followed by a
space. All commands are case-insensitive. Many commands have abbreviated versions that help cut
down on typing time and serial bus traffic.
Next are the axis parameters. (Bracketed “[ ]” parameters are optional.) The axis name is given,
followed immediately by an equal sign and the axis parameter value. Each axis must be separated from
the one before by one blank space. One or more axes may be specified on a single command line. An
axis symbol typed without an “=“ assignment is often assumed to mean “=0”, but that behavior isn’t
guaranteed in general (it does, however, work for the commonly-used MOVE and MOVREL commands).
Sometimes the command format may not require a parameter value (e.g.,
INFO X
). Commands will
accept integer or decimal numbers; internal truncation or rounding will occur if fractional decimals are
of no meaning to the command.
axis
or
[axis]
is the placeholder for the axis name, which is a single character. All 26 alphabet
characters A-Z can be used as axis names, and the special character * means “all axes” (not including
filterwheels). For example, X and Y are typically used for a sample translation stage, Z and F are
commonly used for focus axes, and A-D are the default letters for scanner axes. Filterwheels are
designated by numbers, TG-1000 can accommodate up to 10 wheels numbered 0-9.
When
[Addr#]
appears in the format, then the intended card address must be prepended to the
serial command, as the command is Card-Addressed.
“
…
” indicates more arguments can be sent with the same command.
All commands are completed with a Carriage Return (ASCII hex code: 0D). The controllers receive ASCII
characters one at a time and place them into their memory buffer. With the exception of single hex
Summary of Contents for Tiger TG-1000
Page 12: ...11 Change log 53...
