RS232 Communications

I am attempting to get an RTI unit to correctly operate scenes programmed into a DLT.

So far I can operate individual groups no problem, thats reasonably well documented in the C-Bus Lighting Control via the C-Bus PCI (Public Release) document.

I have created trigger groups and associated them with the scenes and via toolkit I can activate these triggers and they work perfectly.

My system is currently running from my PC via putty to directly communicate with the PCI, basically to simulate the RTI unit, but more importantly to receive the MMI messages.

It works perfectly on the lighting application, both for transmit and MMI receive.

Also works just fine as far as MMI messages are concerned when the PCI is set to trigger application mode.

My problem is that the command structure appears to be different. I am certain the checksum routine is identical as there is no logical reason to change it. But I cannot get it to respond to a message.

I can see the MMI report back if I set the action selector in toolkit and thats it.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

Simon

 

RTI is a remote control system that works on RF, its controller then sends RS232 commands to whatever you want to control.

In this application its a cinema room, we have a DLT which is currently programmed for on and off, dimmed and wall scenes.

I can only operate the lights from the RTI unit by sending the RS232 control code per lighting group, with 9 groups in this one room, the effect is a noticable delay in switching of each group of lights.

Now as far as I can see, there is no way to access the scenes from the RS232 interface. My solution is to create a trigger group and appropriate action selectors, these are linked to the scenes as required.

This works perfectly in Toolkit, switching the scenes and all is well, just like pressing the scene key on the DLT, no delays at all.

It stands to reason that as I can control the lighting application, then I should also be able to control the trigger application, or for that matter the heating or irrigation or whatever other application I create.

Unfortunately, the public release document is

(a) really old, like 2003 old
(b) extremely light weight

So I cant seem to get the command structure to work.

I dont really want to have to prgram the PAC to do this work, it seems silly to have to create a bunch of code to do a job that there seems to be a perfectly adequate protocol in place for already.

Thanks

Simon

 

RTI / Pronto RS232

Hi Simon

I hate to use the old clich? but ?search is your friend?. There are many posts on this forum which talk about RTI / Pronto remote controls interfacing with C-Bus via RS232.

Bill

 

Ah, the internet forum equivalent of a clip round the ear. TBH I hadnt thought of searching on here re RTI, numb nut that I am.

Thanks

Simon

 

Hi, thanks for the response.

Only reason I think its a bit light is as a comms protocol/interface it should be capable of quite a lot, maybe it is and im missing the point but anywho, I got it sorted long before I read this

In short, I used the logging in CGate to give me the info that was being sent to the PCI. Once I had this it was easy to see what codes were in use.

Point is, its all sorted now, appreciate the help.

Thanks

Simon

 

Hey Ashleigh, Im not trying to pick holes in the system or anything. This is all relatively new to me, I come from an electrical and software engineering background and I am only just starting out with CBus.

Its good to know that theres a method of getting this information, if it needs to paid for then so be it, I dont mind that at all.

I did send an information request regarding the CBus enabled programme and the response I got was not encouraging, in fact it fell just short of telling me to bog off. I shall make enquiries here in the UK about this and see what my options are.

Please dont feel that I dont appreciate the help given.

Cheers

Simon