Instructions
UM-0085-B09  DT80 Range User Manual  Page 355 
RG 
For example, if the control string is 1SERIAL("%d"): 
Input data 
Result 
"abc" 
Scan Error (return NotYetSet; abc left in receive buffer) 
"123" 
Receive Timeout (return 
NotYetSet
, nothing left in receive buffer) 
"123 " 
return 123 (" " left in receive buffer) 
"123abc" 
return 123 (
abc
 left in receive buffer) 
Control String – Example 
The control string in the Serial Channel command 
1SERIAL("\e{WN\013}%d[1CV],%f[2CV]{C\013}\w[2000]") 
specifies the following output and input actions for supervising electronic weighing scales connected to the serial sensor 
port of a DT80: 
Input/Output action 
Description 
\e 
An input action. 
\e
 erases any extraneous characters that may have been sent by the scales at some earlier time. 
{WN\013} 
An output action. 
Sends the "Weigh Now" command (WN) to the scales. The WN command is terminated by a 
carriage return (
\013
). (See your serial device’s manual for details of its command set.) 
%d[1CV],%f[2CV] 
Three input actions. 
These scales return two comma-separated values: a batch number as an integer, and the weight 
as a floating-point value, followed by a carriage return. 
  %d[1CV] will interpret the first returned value as an integer batch number, and assign 
this to 1CV. 
  Skip the comma in the returned data string (,). 
  %f[2CV] will interpret the second returned value as a floating-point weight in kilograms, 
and assign this to 2CV. 
{C\013} 
An output action. 
These scales also have a Clear command (C), which instructs the scales to clear ready for the next 
weighing operation.. This output action sends the Clear command to the scales. The Clear 
command is terminated by a carriage return (
\013
). 
\w[2000] 
An input action. 
These scales do not respond to commands for 2s after a Clear operation. The \w[2000] action 
ensures that at least this time elapses following a Clear. 
Important: The DeTransfer program, which is often used to supervise the DT80, has a number of special commands that begin with a \ 
(backslash) character. These are interpreted by DeTransfer and not sent to the DT80. In order to send a \ character from DeTransfer, 
you need to enter a double backslash (\\). For example, the above example would be entered into DeTransfer as follows: 
  1SERIAL("\\e{WN\\013}%d[1CV],%f[2CV]{C\\013}\\w[2000]") 
This rule applies to DeTransfer only; it does not apply to the Command window in dEX. 
Schedules 
Executing Serial Channel Commands in Schedules 
Like any other channel type, Serial Channel commands can be placed into scan schedules. For example 
  BEGIN 
   PS=RS485,9600 
   RA1M 1SERIAL("\e{01READ^M}%6f") 
   RB2-E 1SERIAL("\e{02READ^M}%12s[1$]",W) 1$ 
   LOGON 
  END 
This example will, once a minute, request then read a floating point value from device #1 on the multi-drop RS485 link 
connected to the serial channel. Also, every time digital input 2D goes low, the serial channel will request then read a 
string value from device #2. 
Notice: in the first schedule the scanned floating point value is the return value of the SERIAL channel, which will then be logged and 
returned. In the second schedule, the scanned string is assigned to string variable 1$. The 
SERIAL channel will then return a status 
code – which in this example we are not concerned about so the
 W channel option is used to make the channel a working channel (not 
logged or returned). 
Serial commands can also be used in the "immediate" schedule, i.e. executed immediately after they are entered. For 
example, sending 
2SERIAL("{hello^M^J}") 
will immediately transmit the indicated string on the host port (assuming it has been configured for serial channel 
operation). 










