Panther PN-6730-UXP, User Manual

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5.2 Sending RS232 Commands
RS232 commands must have the specific form described here. The baud rate of the computer must
match the rate of the display.
Every command must start and end with special
characters.
• Start character: hex 02, which sometimes it prints
as the
☺
character.
• End character: hex 03, which sometimes prints as
the
"
character.
! For the purposes of this document a dollar sign ($) will
indicate that the following value is hex.
Between the start and end of an RS232 command,
there are two parts:
• Address: 2 bytes, 00 through FF, hex numbers,
which equal 0 to 255 decimal.
• Command: 3 bytes, text and binary numbers,
listed in “RS232 Command List” on page 96.
Four types of addresses
The address of the display is set in the Address
Select menu. If you have more than one Panther in a
system they each must have a different address.
Normally, if there are several Panthers in a system
they will be looped together for RS232 control. In
such an arrangement, displays can be addressed sin-
gly, in small groups, or they can all be addressed
together.
When the command uses a global address, all the
displays obey the command, regardless of their
addresses. In the command $02**PON$03, all dis-
plays in both video groups turn on their lamps. A ‘*’
is a wildcard and means ‘any.’ (PON is the command
to turn on the lamps.)
In unit address, all displays with the same last digit
obey the command. The first digit is a wildcard. In
the command $02*4PON$03, all displays with an
address ending in 4 turn on their lamps.
In group address, all displays with the same first digit
obey the command. In the command$020*PON$03,
all the displays with an address starting in 0 turn on
their lamps.
In single address, only one display responds to the
command. If the command is $0203PON$03 then
only display 03 will turn on its lamps.
In single address, and only in single address, the dis-
play responds to the computer, acknowledging the
command.
Acknowledging commands
A display acknowledges a command only if the
command is addressed to it individually—no ‘*’ in
the address. The acknowledgment can take several
forms:
• ACK means ‘I heard the command and I will
attempt to execute it.’ It will try to turn on the
lamps, for instance, but it may not be successful.
Maybe there are no lamps in the display to turn
on.
• NAK means ‘I heard the command, but I can’t do
it.’ The display can’t turn on the lamps during the
Lockout Period.
• UNK means ‘This command is unknown to me.’
POJ doesn’t mean anything to the display.
• ERR means ‘This command has an error in it.’
This often means the binary number in the com-
mand is out of range.
• If the command asks for a value, such as BR$,
meaning ‘What is your White Color Balance
adjustment level for Red?’ the display will also
respond with a value, either a binary number or an
ascii character, as appropriate.
How to send commands
Each serial communications system has its own
way of sending hex values. In AnyComm, a Share-
ware program available on Clarity’s website, the dol-
lar sign indicates that a hex value follows. So,
$02$30$34$$57$58$03$03
which means:
• $02 – the start character
• $30$34 – the display with address 04
• $57$58$03 – the hex values for the characters WX
and the hex value of 3 to set this display’s group
width to 3 displays wide. (All RS232 commands
use upper case letters, never lower case.)
• $03 – the end character
Other communications systems use different ways
to indicate hex values.
• \x (backslash x)
• 0x (zero x)