LED SeaLite
®
Operator’s Manual
15
Appendix E
SeaSense
™
Information
The DSPL SeaSense serial protocol is used to control enabled products in real-time over standard EIA-485
(RS-485) and EIA-232 (RS-232) industrial serial communications interfaces.
While the physical topology of these serial interfaces can differ significantly, this protocol is designed to
operate equally well in each environment. The SeaSense protocol uses ASCII character commands, making
them human readable. Strict command string formatting and an optional check-sum field offer robust, error-
tolerant communications in harsh environments and mixed-protocol network installations. DeepSea strongly
recommends host-side electrical isolation to the physical serial interfaces wherever serial interfaces are used
in subsea environments to limit risks to the host platform as dangerous voltages may be present in the LED
SeaLite.
The SeaSense protocol allows for an unparalleled flexibility in the use and operation of the LED SeaLite. Using
the protocol, operators and system integrators can:
• Control the light output level and remap the dimming curve to fit application requirements.
• Monitor system parameters and diagnostic information such as total run time, internal temperature, and
number of power cycles.
• Configure the serial interface by setting baud rates, device addresses, switching between EIA-232 or EIA-
485 serial interfaces, and enabling a termination resistor for EIA-485 operation.
• Control power usage by putting the device into a low power standby mode or limiting the maximum light
output level.
• Quickly switch between sixteen user preset states for light output and standby mode and configure the
power-on state to one of these user presets.
• Operate multiple units over a single serial interface and use group addresses (up to 32 per device) or send
global address to efficiently control more than one device with a single command.
PRELIMIN
AR
Y
