GSE Scale Systems M660 CUSTOM TRANSMIT

Transcription

1 M660 CUSTOM TRANSMIT A custom transmit is a sequence of characters, control codes and parameter values to be transmitted out a communication port to a peripheral device such as a printer, remote display, computer or another weight indicator. As the name suggests, each custom transmit may be configured to send data in virtually any format. Communication Setup Before discussing the configuration of a custom transmit table it is important to have an understanding of the communication port setup parameters. These parameters are: PARAMETE NAME SELECTIONS R 200 Baud Rate 150, 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, Data Bits 7, Parity none, even, odd 203 Stop Bits 1, Flow (Handshake) none, xon/xoff, CTS, both These parameters collectively define each communication port s protocol. The most important thing to remember about protocol is that the protocol of any receiving device must match the protocol of the transmitting device to ensure proper communication. Custom Transmit Setup Parameters Up to 250 separate custom transmits may be defined, each containing up to 5000 characters. Setup parameters P989 P998 set the criteria for initiating each custom transmit. PARAMETE NAME SELECTIONS R 989 Custom Transmit Number Custom Transmit Name user specified 991 Send off, on request, prompt 992 Port Selection 1, 2, 3, Current Scale Motion ignored, delayed 994 Scale #1 Motion ignored, delayed 995 Scale #2 Motion ignored, delayed 996 Scale #3 Motion ignored, delayed 997 Scale #4 Motion ignored, delayed 998 Continuous Transmit enabled, disabled There are three ways to initiate a custom transmit: 1. Pressing the [PRINT] key will send a custom transmit out the port specified at P992 provided P991 is set for on request or prompt. Every custom transmit set for on request will begin transmission when [PRINT] is pressed. If any custom transmits are set for prompt, pressing [PRINT] will first display the prompt Which Tx#?. This gives you the opportunity to choose one of several transmits. For example, a vendor may supply components to ten different customers. The vendor can create ten custom transmits, each with a different name, address and phone number to be printed on the shipping 1

2 label. The operator can then print the appropriate label by pressing [PRINT] to display the Which Tx#? prompt and then key in the desired transmit number and press [ENTER] to print the label. Note that only one prompt transmit can be sent at a time. After a prompt transmit is sent, any transmits set for on request will also be sent. 2. Custom transmits can be sent automatically on a continual basis by setting P989 to continuous. The time between each continuous transmit is defined at P980 (transmit rate). Continuous transmits are used to send data to devices such as scoreboards, remote displays and computers. 3. A macro command can initiate a custom transmit. This is possible even if P991 is set to off. This allows custom transmits to be event driven such as having weight tickets printed automatically each time a new weight is applied. Defining a New Custom Transmit To define a new custom transmit: 1. Enter the setup mode and access P Key in the desired transmit number and press [ENTER]. 3. If the transmit does not exist, Make? NewTx is displayed. Press [ENTER] to confirm. 4. Select P990 and enter a name for the custom transmit if desired. The name is only used for documentation purposes. 5. Select P991 and select whether the transmit will be off, on request or prompt. 6. Select P992 and select which communication port the transmit should use. 7. Select P993 P997 and select whether the transmit should ignore the motion of each scale or be inhibited by it. 8. If a custom transmit is to be continuous, enable P Select P1000 to access the custom transmit table. Creating a Custom Transmit Table The custom transmit table begins at P1000. It contains the information to be transmitted. When a custom transmit is first defined, the transmit table is empty. Text, parameters and control codes must be entered in the proper sequence to achieve the desired output. For example, suppose we wish to print the following ticket: lb Gross 5.00 lb Tare lb Net This ticket begins with the text on the first line, followed by one blank line, followed by three consecutive lines of parameter information. The custom transmit will be configured in the same sequence. 2

3 Entering Text Starting at P1000, begin entering the text characters for. To enter text using the alpha keypad or serial port, simply key in the desired character(s) and press [ENTER]. To enter text using the scrolling method proceed as follows: 1. Press [ 5 ] to scroll through the character set. 2. Once the desired character is displayed, press [ 4 ] to shift right to the next character position. 3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until the entire name is displayed ending at step Press [ENTER] to accept insert the entered text into the transmit table. Note: Pressing [ 6 ] will scroll backwards through the character set. Pressing [ 3 ] will shift left, or backspace. Pressing [CLR] will delete an entry in process. Note that the text appears in the custom transmit table exactly as entered. Entering Control Codes Having entered the text for the first line of the ticket, we must next account for the blank line that follows and position the print cursor at the beginning of the third line (the cursor now resides at the end of Systems ). Positioning the cursor requires use of special non-printable characters call control codes. Our example requires the use of two common control codes carriage return <CR> and line feed <LF>. A carriage return <CR> positions the cursor to the left-most position of the current line. A line feed <LF> moves the cursor down one line without moving it left or right. Therefore, to move the cursor from the end of the first line to the beginning of the third line we must transmit a carriage return and two line feeds <CR><LF><LF>. Similarly, a <CR> and <LF> will be required after each subsequent line as illustrated below. Note the form feed <FF> at the end of the ticket. This is another control code which is used to advance the printer paper to the top of the next ticket. <CR><LF> <LF> lb Gross<CR><LF> 5.00 lb Tare<CR><LF> lb Net<CR><LF> <FF> A control code must be entered into the custom transmit table using it s three-digit ASCII value preceded by a decimal.. Reference an ASCII chart for these and other character values. For example, to enter the carriage return, key in.013 [ENTER] The control code appears in the transmit table as a single c c character. 3

4 Enter the two line feed characters next:.010 [ENTER].010 [ENTER] The transmit table now shows the three control codes c c c c c c. Note that four lines in our example use the <CR><LF> combination. Since this is a very common combination of control codes, a single entry unique to GSE indicators was created to make entering these characters more convenient. Keying in.256 [ENTER] will enter the <CR><LF> combination. Any other ASCII character, including printable characters, may be entered using this method. Referencing the ASCII chart, GSE could have been entered as:.071 [ENTER] G.083 [ENTER] S.069 [ENTER] E Entering Parameter Data Operating parameters may be entered in a custom transmit table. Parameters may be formatted to include the parameter s value, units (if applicable) and name. To enter a parameter into the transmit table: 1. Press [ENTER] 2. The display prompts Pick Parm:, Parm= Gross. 3. Select the desired parameter by: A. Pressing [ 5 ] or [ 6 ] to scroll through the parameter list, or B. Key in the parameter number and instance if applicable ( you will be prompted Pick Inst: by the indicator if an instance is required). 4. The display prompts Set Formt, Formt Key in the desired format and press [ENTER]. 6. The display confirms the entered format. 7. Press [ENTER] to accept the parameter configuration. 8. The formatted parameter is entered into the transmit table as a single P A character. For example, the third line of our ticket lb Gross contains the gross weight value (50.00), the weigh units (lb) and the parameter name (Gross). To enter this parameter into the transmit table: 1. Press [ENTER] 2. The display prompts Pick Parm:, Parm= Gross. 3. Key in the gross weight parameter for scale #1, 0.1, and press [ENTER]. 4. The display prompts Set Formt, Formt Press 0 [ENTER]. 6. The display confirms the entered format. 7. Press [ENTER] to accept the parameter configuration. 4

5 To complete our example, enter a <CR><LF> after the gross weight parameter and repeat steps 1 7 substituting the tare and net parameter numbers at step 3. Remember the <CR><LF> control codes after each parameter. Also include the <FF> character at the end. Parameter Format Codes A format code defines how a parameter value is to be transmitted. For example, a customer may prefer to have the parameter names Gross, Tare and Net appear to the left of the weight values instead of the to the right. Perhaps the weight values should be left-padded with zeros instead of spaces. A time value may be printed in 12 or 24 hour format, with or without the date. Do you want to include seconds? Include the name of the day? These and many more variations are possible using format codes. Refer to the tables on pages 8-21 through 8-26 of the M660 Technical Reference Manual for a list of available formats. Each type of parameter (floats, integers and strings) has it s own format code selections. Keep this in mind when selecting format codes for weight parameters, time & date parameters, variables, etc. Refer to the appropriate format table. Establishing the desired format code is a simple matter of addition. First decide how you want the data to appear, then add the various format codes that will generate the desired output. Suppose we want the gross weight to appear as follows: Gross lb The criteria would be parameter name first, weight padded with left zeros, print a plus sign, and print current units. Since the gross weight is a float-type parameter, we must reference table 8-12 for the appropriate format codes. Looking down the Add Value column, begin adding the numbers that will result in the desired format: ADD VALUE DESCRIPTION Print Name First 64 Plus Sign for Positive Data 16 Pad With Zeros FORMAT CODE Navigating a Custom Transmit Table If we could examine the entire transmit table from our example, it would appear as: c c c c c c P A c c c c P A c c c c P A c c c c c c Of course the standard VF display can only show five characters at once. Using the [ 3 ] and [ 4 ] keys we can scroll backward and forward through the transmit table. Text characters are easy to identify as they appear exactly as entered. However the c c and P A characters can make the custom transmit data appear rather cryptic. We know that c c represents a control code, but which one? Likewise, P A represents an unidentified parameter of unknown format. To determine what these characters represent, press [ 6 ] to access the expanded display mode. The display now shows the details of the rightmost display character.. Using the [ 3 ] and [ 4 ] keys we can now scroll backward and forward through the transmit table in the expanded mode, examining details of each character in sequence. Text characters and control codes are shown with their corresponding ASCII value. Parameter names are displayed with format codes. Press [ 6 ] again to return to the normal display mode. 5

6 The parameter number appearing in the large digits represents the position of the rightmost displayed character. This information is helpful when attempting to access the middle of a large transmit table. If you wish to access to 500 th element of a table, rather than scrolling to that position you can simply key in 1500 [SELECT]. To immediately access the end of a custom transmit table, key in 4999 [SELECT] (the maximum entry position). Editing a Custom Transmit Table Information may be deleted from or added to an existing custom transmit table. Press [CLR] will delete the rightmost displayed character. To delete the entire custom transmit, access the end of the table and press [CLR] [ENTER]. When adding elements, characters are inserted between the two rightmost characters. 6