Lutron Homeworks 232 Problem
fongslb
Posts: 30
Hello all,
I am trying to send serial commands to a Lutron homeworks series 4 master. I send a command like:
SEND_STRING LIGHTS,"'KBP,[01:06:004],1',13"
the Lutron switches scene and replies/transmits data continuously, and the serial port hangs. The Rx on the Axcent3 is on as well. No other commands are possible to the Lutron, and it has to be reset.
Has anyone encountered this problem before and come up with a fix?
Regards,
Brian
I am trying to send serial commands to a Lutron homeworks series 4 master. I send a command like:
SEND_STRING LIGHTS,"'KBP,[01:06:004],1',13"
the Lutron switches scene and replies/transmits data continuously, and the serial port hangs. The Rx on the Axcent3 is on as well. No other commands are possible to the Lutron, and it has to be reset.
Has anyone encountered this problem before and come up with a fix?
Regards,
Brian
0
Comments
What is the baud rate of the port?
Also, which keyads are you requesting feedback from? A scene probably has several loads in it and when you call it up, there will be a storm of feedback from each load and keypad effected by the change. With an Axcent 3 I can see the RS-232 port buffer getting overrun quite easily if the Lutron comms are hitting it too fast.
As a general rule, I do not put Lutron on AxLink RS-232 ports. I typically put them on Netlinx ports and consequently can run the baud rate at 115K with no problems.
I also built a queue for incoming Lutron messages. It basically makes the communication from the Lutorn port and the program asyncronous. That way incoming messages don't horse up the program. They just get shown to the end of the line and have to wait their turn to be processed by the AMX program.
hi,
Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately I have to work on axlink on this one. :-(
baud is 9600
I am not doing any feedback on the TP so I am ignoring all replies from the lutron. Its just sending simple commands to select the respective pre-programmed lutron scenes.
The Lutron guy is somewhat miffed as well. Any ideas? What kind of cable pinouts do you guys use for Lutron Homeworks?
Regards,
Brian
Pinouts: Just the good ole' 2,3 and 5-ground like always. 9600 is pretty slow. You might try bumping it up to 38400 and see what happens.
Tried baud at 38400 still the same. The moment the first command is sent to the Lutron, thereafter it becomes non-stop Tx. Not sure if its how the Lutron guy setup the master. He tested it with a direct connect to his laptop and it was okay. Any Lutron experts out there?
I'll test it with a null modem cable and also with a 3 wire cable directly connected to my laptop using hyperterminal next to see if its the same deal.
:-(
Not an expert, but got my hads dirty with it a few times. And never with such problems...
Since you mention the "other guy", can I assume you don't have access to Lutron configuration? I am suspecting a baudrate mismatch and the way I would proceed wold be:
1. Retrieve the baudrate setings from Lutron (or set them to the desired ones), either with the HW software (shot), telnet or HT, and match them in your programming
2. If the problem is still showing after this, I would have to rule out (or in) the HW prcessor by sending the commands and observing the replys in HW software or HT, (make sure you turn monitoring ON first)
3. If that's fine (I bet it will), I would look at the Axcent Rx (and see if it's the same, using the device diagnostic on the incoming strings)
4. If anyting is different, (doubt it), I would point my finger at the actual serial interface in your Axcent.
5. Having that said, I would try and use it with some other feedback intensive device and see if it keeps jamming.
I hope it follows a logic and it will take you somewhere.
When you look at the incoming string, does it look like normal english or is it gobble-dee-gook? the stuff coming from the Lutron master should be normal looking english text. If it's not, then you've got a baud rate problem.
The 'lutron guy' also set the HWI to baud 9600, and insisted that only 3 wires needed - 2,3,5. However I noted while he was testing on his laptop he was using a proper sealed Null modem cable. So maybe his hardware handshaking was set to on.
Netlinx RS232 are ports on NCX cards? What are the RS232 ports on NI-700 or NI-900? Thanks!
They are essentially the same.
What was the result of using Hyperterm?
Try This....
SEND_STRING LIGHTS,"'KBP,[01:06:04],1',$0D, $0A"