User guide

52
4.4 Controlling Bengal with RS232/RS485
Connect the RS232 In to the computer. Loop thru with RS485.
Remote control with serial commands is a good way
to control a Bengal while it is operating. It’s also an
easy way to control Bengals during initial setup using
a control program.
Display IDs
When the displays are connected in a series loop,
each display should have a unique ID. The ID is set
in the Serial Settings menu.
The G
ROUP ID and the UNIT ID go together to make
the display’s ID. Each of the two parts has a range for
characters from 0 to 9 and from A to Z (not case sen-
sitive).
Addressing the displays
When you send a command, it will have an
address. There are five forms of the address.
• To address all the displays in this serial loop, use
** for the address.
• To address a single display, use the specific ID of
that display, such as A6 or 00 or 1B.
• To address all the displays with a certain Group
ID, use an address like 3* which will address all
the displays in group 3.
• To address all the displays with a certain Unit ID,
use an address like *0 or *3.
• When you don’t know the ID of any display, you
can address the first one in the serial loop with ID
--. This will cause only the first display in the
series to perform the command.
Baud rate
Each display’s baud rate must be set to the com-
puter or controller’s baud rate. The baud rate is not
automatically established, as it is in modems.
Terminating the series
The last dispplay in a group should not usually
need termination, however, if you are experiencing
problems try terminating the last display by going to
MAIN MENU>ADVANCED OPTIONS>SERIAL PORT SETTINGS and
checking the
TERMINATE RS485 box at the bottom of the
menu.