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Introduction
This guide describes the BEKA Mode Protocol for the BA488C, BA484D, BA688C and BA684D Serial Text Displays.
This information is only required when programming a host to communicate with these displays; it is not required by
the end user. The target audience for this guide are software programmers with some experience in communicating with
ASCII devices. As the Modbus protocol is now natively supported (RTU slave only), connection to standard PLCs and
industrial computers is greatly simplified.
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For hardware installation information, please refer to the separate instruction manuals available for each
model.
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For an overview of how to use these displays on a Modbus system, please refer to the “Serial Text Display -
Modbus Interface Guide”.
The BEKA protocol is very straightforward, being loosely based on the principals of HTML. Simple text messages can
be displayed by using only a handful of commands. However, with a bit more perseverance, some quite advanced
displays can be created.
What’s in this Programming Guide
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A description of the instrument display
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An overview of the protocol
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Specific information on more advanced features
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A command summary, where the commands are grouped together by function and presented in a series of
tables
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A command reference, where each command is listed in alphabetical order and covered in detail. The
information is presented in a consistent layout and examples given to demonstrate the use of the command in
context.
What’s in the Instruction Manuals
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An overview of the instrument
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Intrinsic Safety Certification information
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System Design and Installation
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Configuration
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Programming Overview
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Maintenance
What’s in the Modbus Interface Guide
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An overview of the instrument
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A description of the memory map for the Modbus protocol
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A description of the various data types that are used
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Instructions on how to use the instrument in its standard non-programmed modes
Other sources of information
Our website at
has several files available to download:
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All of the examples in this guide
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Demonstration programs showing the capabilities of the display
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A ‘Virtual Instrument’ – a PC based simulator that behaves exactly like the real thing. This can be used during
program development or to demonstrate the application to end users
