4.0 RS232 connection
Many PCs today do not come with an RS232 as standard. To add an RS232
port to your PC, Voltech recommend the use of one of the following USB to
RS232 converters:
1. USB Gear (www.usbgrear.com) part number USBG-RS232-F12.
2. Cables to Go (www.cablestogo.com) part number 26886.
Both of these cables have been verified with the DC1000 software.
Pinning
The pinning of the 2 RS232 ports is as follows:
RS232 IN
TX = PIN 3
RX = PIN 2
CTS = PIN 8
RTS = PIN 7
0V = PIN 5
RS232 OUT
TX = PIN 2
RX = PIN 3
CTS = PIN 7
RTS = PIN 8
0V = PIN 5
������RS232 IN (Female) ����������������������RS232 OUT (Male)
Commands
For your convenience, listed below are the RS232 commands you can use to
control the DC1000 remotely. The baud rate that you should use to
communicate with the DC1000 is 9600, with 8 data bits, parity is none, 1
stop bit, and there is hardware flow control.
Please note that depending on the software that you are using to send
these commands to the DC1000, the manner in which carriage returns and
line feeds are sent differs. In the below commands <cr> and
<lf> are used to indicate the need for a carriage return, or a line
feed respectively. A line feed can be sent via a terminal emulator by
pressing <ctrl> and j simultaneously.
TURN THE OUTPUT ON OR OFF
Command
“D_POWER,x <lf>”
This command will act in the same way as pressing the on/off switch on
the front panel to turn the unit off.
If x = 0, then the power is turned off.
If x = 1, then the power is turned on.
Messages returned
The following messages will be returned:
Within 100ms, an attached unit will respond with:
“D_COUNT,xx <cr> <lf>”
where xx is the number of units in the chain.
Within 2 seconds, the unit will respond with:
“D_STAT,0,result <cr> <lf>”” where result is a single integer
indicating the status of the unit and any other unit attached.
If everything is OK, 0 or 1 will be returned. If not, then a status
number will be returned.
SET DC1000 OUTPUT CURRENT
Command
“D_SET,level <lf>”, where level is the demand in milli-Amps and can
range from 100 to 25000. If multiple units are connected together, then
the same current will be sent to each unit.
Messages returned
The following messages will be returned:
Within 100ms, an attached unit will respond with:
“D_COUNT,xx <cr> <lf>”
where xx is the number of units in the chain.
Within 2 seconds, the unit will respond with:
“D_STAT,0,status <cr> <lf>” where status is a single integer
indicating the status of the unit and any other unit attached.
If everything is OK, 0 or 1 will be returned. If not, then a status
number will be returned.
GET THE STATUS OF THE UNIT
Command
“D_STAT? <lf>”
This command will return the status of the attached DC Bias unit
Messages returned
The following messages will be returned:
The unit will respond with:
“D_STAT,0,status <cr> <lf>” where status is a single integer
indicating the status of the unit and any other unit attached.
If everything is OK, 0 or 1 will be returned. If not, then a status
number will be returned.
READ THE SERIAL NUMBER
Command
“D_SER? <lf> ”
Messages returned
The following will be returned
Serialnumber <cr> <lf> where serialnumber is the serial
number of the DC1000 (Serial number returned will always be 12 digits, if
the queried unit's serial number has less characters, then spaces will
fill it out to 12.
GET THE NUMBER OF UNITS ATTACHED
Command
“D_COUNT? <lf>”
Messages returned
The following will be returned within 5 seconds
“D_COUNT,xx <cr> <lf>” where xx is the number of DC1000s in
the chain.
STATUS NUMBERS
The DC1000 will return status numbers, either on the front panel display
if there is an error, or via RS232 if it is requested. If the status is an
error that is indicated in fig. 14 as needing to turn off the output, then
in order to clear the error, and try again, the output must first be
turned off. If multiple errors occur, either on the same unit, or on other
units in the chain, then a combination of the status numbers will be
returned.
| Status |
Meaning |
Turn Off Output |
| 0 |
Off |
- |
| 1 |
On and all OK |
- |
| 2 |
Compliance circuit error |
- |
| 4 |
Trim error |
Yes |
| 8 |
Safety interlock error |
Yes |
| 16 |
Temperature error |
Yes |
| 32 |
Ramp Up |
Yes |
| 64 |
Ramp Down |
Yes |
| 128 |
Current ADC Over range |
Yes |
| 256 |
Compliance circuit error open circuit |
Yes |
Fig. 14