ASCII Communication
January 2023
•
Rev. 0
• Standard Devices User Manual
29
Serial ASCII Communication
Connecting your device to a computer allows you to log the data that it generates. The device communicates digitally through
its communications connector and a cable using a real or virtual COM port on your computer. This section of the manual shows
you how to operate the device using ASCII commands.
Establishing Communication
After connecting your device using a communications cable, you will need to establish serial communications through a real or
virtual COM port on your computer or programmable logic computer (PLC).
•
If you have connected your device to a serial port, note its COM port number,
which can be found in the Windows® Device Manager program.
•
If you have used a USB cable to connect your device to your computer, then in most cases it will
recognize your USB as a virtual COM port. If it does not, download the appropriate USB device driver
at
and note the COM port number as found in Windows® Device Manager.
The controller has the following default settings:
• Baud:
19200 (by default; others can be used if the computer, software, and the controller are all set to the same rate)
• Data bits:
8
• Parity:
none
• Stop bits:
1
• Flow control:
none
Flowvision 2.0™
Flowvision 2.0™ is a graphics based interface for use with all Alicat devices. Within its features is a terminal that allows for direct serial
communication with connected devices. Flowvision 2.0™ can be downloaded along with its user manual from
Alicat’s Serial Terminal Application
Alicat’s Serial Terminal is a preconfigured program for serial communications. It functions much like the older Windows®
HyperTerminal with plain text in a command-line format.
Download Serial Terminal for free at
. Once downloaded, simply run SerialTerminal.exe. Enter the COM port
number to which your device is connected and the baud rate of the device. The default baud rate is 19200, but this is adjustable
in the
RS-232 Serial
menu
on your device (
).
✓
Note:
In the following,
indicates an ASCII carriage return (decimal 13, hexadecimal D). For many
devices, this is the same as hitting the Enter key. Serial commands are not case-sensitive.
Communication Modes
Polling Mode
Your device was shipped in polling mode with a unit ID of
A
, unless requested otherwise. Polling the device returns a single line
of data each time you request it. To poll your device, enter its unit ID.
Poll the device:
unit_id
Example:
A
(polls unit A)
You can change the unit ID of a polling device by typing:
Change the unit ID:
current_unit_id
@
desired_unit_id
Example:
A@ B
(changes unit A to unit B)
This can also be achieved via the device’s front panel menu (
). Valid unit IDs are letters A–Z, and up to 26 devices
may be connected at any one time to a single COM port, as long as each unit ID is unique.
