8
RS-232 CONTROL
The DDL12 has an RS-232 Serial Port, which allows it to be controlled by a computer (see Front & Rear Panel Features on pg. 2). In
addition to the PC Control Software, the DDL12 offers two other methods of computer control.
Control Button Emulation: This method allows the computer to imitate the operation of an infrared transmitter or wall-mount control
panel. Although the DDL12 does not accept infrared or wall-mount remote controls itself, it can still receive ASCII characters (via RS-232)
which emulate the buttons on these types of remote controls. From the factory, remote control buttons have equivalent ASCII characters
permanently assigned to them (see table below). Therefore, recall preset actions can be assigned to remote control buttons in the same
way they are assigned to Logic Inputs. Then, using this method, the computer can output ASCII characters which are equivalent to the
commands generated by those standard remote control buttons. Control Button Emulation allows the computer to utilize up to forty button
definitions (unlike standard remote controls, which have only twenty-eight buttons). When using up to four devices in a system, Control
Button Emulation also allows the computer to designate which device or devices should react to each control button command.
Advanced Computer Control: This method provides advanced commands, which allow the computer to retrieve or edit level & delay
settings, as well as other functions. The computer may also emulate control buttons. Using this method, the computer may designate up
to sixty-four devices, and may create unlimited presets. The computer may also provide ‘real-time’ display of level & delay settings.
This manual only describes the Control Button Emulation method of computer control. For complete details about using the DDL12 with a
computer, including Advanced Computer Control, contact Biamp Systems for the manual "Computer Control of ADVANTAGE
®
DDL12".
Each control button on an infrared transmitter or wall-mount control panel corresponds to one character in the standard ASCII character
set. The character equivalents are summarized in the following table. This table includes all forty possible buttons, their button numbers,
their ASCII code equivalents, and their factory default button definitions (no operation assigned).
button 01
B
no operation assigned
button 15
P
no operation assigned
button 29
^
no operation assigned
button 02
C
no operation assigned
button 16
Q
no operation assigned
button 30
_
no operation assigned
button 03
D
no operation assigned
button 17
R
no operation assigned
button 31
'
no operation assigned
button 04
E
no operation assigned
button 18
S
no operation assigned
button 32
b
no operation assigned
button 05
F
no operation assigned
button 19
T
no operation assigned
button 33
c
no operation assigned
button 06
G
no operation assigned
button 20
U
no operation assigned
button 34
d
no operation assigned
button 07
H
no operation assigned
button 21
V
no operation assigned
button 35
e
no operation assigned
button 08
I
no operation assigned
button 22
W
no operation assigned
button 36
f
no operation assigned
button 09
J
no operation assigned
button 23
X
no operation assigned
button 37
g
no operation assigned
button 10
K
no operation assigned
button 24
Y
no operation assigned
button 38
h
no operation assigned
button 11
L
no operation assigned
button 25
Z
no operation assigned
button 39
i
no operation assigned
button 12
M
no operation assigned
button 26
[
no operation assigned
button 40
j
no operation assigned
button 13
N
no operation assigned
button 27
\
no operation assigned
button 14
O
no operation assigned
button 28
]
no operation assigned
When a control button is first pressed, the DDL12 receives the character which corresponds to that button. If the control button is pressed
longer than 110 milliseconds, the DDL12 receives a "repeat code", indicating the control button is still being pressed. The DDL12
continues to receive the repeat code (approximately nine times per second) until the control button is released. The ASCII character which
corresponds to the repeat code is @ (the "commercial at" sign). However, the DDL12 recall preset actions do not utilize repeat codes.
The computer can initiate any functions or actions that a standard control can, by simply transmitting the equivalent control button ASCII
character. When interfacing the DDL12 to a computer, the computer must be aware that the DDL12 will ‘echo’ all characters it receives
(both from computer and Logic Inputs) via the Serial Port Transmit Data (TXD) output signal. However, from the factory, the DDL12 Logic
inputs are programmed with no ‘echo character’ assigned to them.
When using Control Button Emulation, up to four ADVANTAGE
®
products may be connected together and addressed individually. When
multiple units are used, each unit is assigned a unique "Device #" (see Front & Rear Panel Features on pg. 2). Normally, all units would
react to control button commands. However, a computer can send commands to specific units, by preceding each command with a
"device select prefix" character (see table below). Only those units whose Device #s are specified will respond to the command which
follows. If a command is not preceded by a device select prefix character, then all units in the system will react to that command.
Select Device 1
l
Select Devices 2 & 3
q
Select Devices 1 & 2 & 4
v
Select Device 2
m
Select Devices 1 & 2 & 3
r
Select Devices 3 & 4
w
Select Devices 1 & 2
n
Select Device 4
s
Select Devices 1 & 3 & 4
x
Select Device 3
o
Select Devices 1 & 4
t
Select Devices 2 & 3 & 4
y
Select Devices 1 & 3
p
Select Devices 2 & 4
u
Select Devices 1 & 2 & 3 & 4
z
