Clarity SN-4035-WX Bobcat, User Manual, Page: 30 / 120

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2.6 Connecting RS232 Communication
RS232 control is not necessary for operation, but it is a convenient way to control Bay Cats from a dis-
tance.
RS232 communication allows a computer to control
one or more Bay Cat displays using the computer’s
serial port. Almost everything you can do with the
remote, you can do with RS232 commands. Plus, you
can send inquiries to the Bay Cats and find out the
current settings and values.
To connect a computer to the first Bay Cat, use an
adapter on the computer’s serial port connector to
convert this to an RJ45 connector.
1. Obtain an adapter that has a female 9-pin con-
necter. It not be wired.
2. Wire it as shown in the illustration and table on
the opposite page. Only three wires are required.
Clip off the other wires, or tuck them into the
connector body.
Connecting for RS232 control
Use Cat-5 cable to connect from the computer
(with the adapter in place) to the first Bay Cat’s
RS232 In connector.
From the first Bay Cat, connect RS232 Out to the
next Bay Cat’s RS232 In. Continue in this way until
all Bay Cats are in the loop.
The order of Bay Cat is the loop does not matter.
RS232 IDs
Each Bay Cat in the loop must have a unique
RS232 ID. Open the Serial Port Settings menu for
each Bay Cat.
Set the Group ID and the Unit ID so that the com-
bined ID is unique for each Bay Cat in this RS232
loop.
Addressing Bay Cats
Part of the RS232 command will be an address.
This address may take several forms.
As an example, suppose we have 10 Bay Cats in
one area divided into two groups. We might set the
ID s of the Bay Cats like this:
With this scheme, we have four ways to address
these Bay Cats:
A complete list of all commands is given in
“RS232 Control for Bay Cat”, document 070-0120,
available from Clarity’s website:
www.clarityvisual.com
Click on
LOGIN
in the top banner.
Group ID Unit ID
1 1
1 2
1 3
1 4
1 5
2 1
2 2
2 3
2 4
2 5
Type of
Addresses
Affect on Bay Cats
13
24
etc.
Only the specific Bay Cat addressed
will obey the command. Also, the
Bay Cat will respond to the host
computer.
**
All
Bay Cat
s in this RS232 loop will
obey the command
*5s
Both the
Bay Cat
s whose IDs end in
“5” will obey this command
2*
All five
Bay Cat
s in Group 2 will
obey the command