6
Making a Measurement
There are four classes of measurement commands:
M commands (Measurement Commands - SDI-12 V1.0 and later),
C commands (Concurrent Measurement Commands – SDI-12 V1.2 and later),
MC commands (Measurement commands with CRC-16 – SDI-12 V1.3 and later) and
CC commands (Concurrent Measurement Commands with CRC-16 – SDI-12 V1.3 and later).
Selecting a measurement command class
Always supported
The first requirement is that the data recorder supports the command. All SDI-12 data recorders
support the non-concurrent measurement M command. With the M command the data recorder
collects data from the sensors one at a time.
Multiple long measurement time sensors
When collecting data from several SDI-12 sensors that have long measurement times, utilizing
concurrent commands can shorten the complete data collection cycle. The data recorder can initiate
the measurement on all the sensors and when each finishes, then collect the data from all of them.
Since the measurement times overlap, the complete data collection cycle is shorter. There is no
advantage to the concurrent measurement C command when there is only one sensor.
Improved data integrity checking
The measurement command classes with CRC-16 (MC and CC) offer additional data integrity
checking over the non CRC-16 commands (M and C). The non CRC-16 commands offer data
integrity checking in the form of parity and the SDI-12 command structure. The CRC-16 commands
offer some additional data integrity through the addition of a CRC-16. Since the CRC-16 commands
are brand new in SDI-12 version 1.3, not as many data recorders support them. In most applications,
lack of this support on the part of the data recorder will not be missed since non CRC-16 SDI-12
commands still offer significant data integrity checking. If the data recorder supports CRC-16
commands, then it is recommended to use them when collecting data from this sensor in order to
benefit from the increased noise immunity.
Example: (M command)
The format of the M command to the SDI-12 AnalogPlus module is:
aM!
a is the address character and
M is the command to make a measurement
Most data recorders will issue this command and automatically handle the reply to collect data. You
can also issue the command yourself. In reply, the SDI-12 AnalogPlus module will respond with
attt4
indicating that after ttt seconds are allowed for the
measurement, 4 values can be collected.
When the measurement is complete, the SDI-12 AnalogPlus module responds with a service request
a
where a is the address character