First version
Rev 1.00
22 Sep 2016
Helios User Manual
23
Chapter 8 – RS232
General Information:
1.
All commands are initiated by PC; Helios responds to them ONLY AFTER RECEIVING THE FINAL [CR]
symbol
2.
All communications with PC are in ASCII symbols – not binary values
3.
All commands from PC begin with ‘$’ symbol
4.
All commands and replies END with Carriage Return symbol (#13, ‘[CR]’,’\r’ in "C" language)
5.
All commands are defined by two ASCII characters that can be lower or upper case
6.
All REPLIES begin with a ‘*’ symbol (for ‘OK’) or a ‘?’ (for an error)
7.
The FIRST parameter of any command CAN be placed next to the letters of the command (e.g. ‘WB0 …’)
OR there can be a space (#32) between the letters and the first parameter
8.
The parameters ALWAYS must be separated by at least one SPACE
Standard Error Messages:
If a command is not recognized or the parameters are incorrect, the following standard error messages are returned:
1.
?BAD PARAM[CR] – if incorrect parameters received, for example the wrong number or missing parameters,
when they are needed.
2.
?UC[CR] <the 2 first characters received which were not recognized>
3.
?BAD COMMAND 66,65 – if a single character instead of a double character command code is entered
Details of RS232 Commands:
Test communications ("Ping"):
$HP[CR] -> *[CR] [LF]
Send Version
:
$VE 1[CR] -> *UU1.04[CR][LF] {Returns software version. Note – exactly one space between 'E' and '1'}
$VE[CR] -> *404[CR] [LF] {Any other parameter, or no parameter: Returns s/w version code in different format}
Reset:
$RE[CR] -> *[CR][LF] {Resets the MCU software – begins code running from 0. Should RETURN the *[CR]
BEFORE doing the reset…}
Head Information:
$HI[CR] -> *<2 letter head code> <S/N of head> <name of head> <capability code>[CR][LF]
Returns information on the head, including its name and S/N.
Write Head Range:
$WN 0[CR] –> *[CR] {changes range: 0,1,2 parameter, 0=highest, or least sensitive, range. Power-up settings will be
defined using $HC command, see below. NOTE that after using the $WN command, the software should wait ~3s
before resuming power measurements with the $SP command.}
Read Head Range:
$RN[CR] –> *1[CR] {Reads head range, returns as parameter defined in $WN}
All Ranges:
$AR[CR] –> *0 10.0KJ 1.00KJ 100J[CR][LF] {Returns a list of all available energy ranges (scales) including an
index value showing which range is presently selected. In the Helios, top scale (index 0) is 10.0kJ, scale 1=1.00kJ, and
scale 2=100J. The "0" is the index and indicates that range 0 (10.0kJ) is currently selected. See also $RN and $WN
commands, the index value is the same as defined for those commands.}