can you use an ir port for 1way 232 comm?

samos

I know that you can do this with cr****n. Is this possible with an AMX IR port.If so what commmand need to be sent to the IR port??? any help would be great??

PhreaK

You sure can. From AMX-PI...

"'SET MODE <mode>'"

Set the IR/Serial ports for IR or Serial-controlled devices connected to a

CardFrame or NetModule. Sets an IR port to either IR, Serial, or Data mode.



Note: IR DATA Mode works best when using both a lower baud rate and a

short cable length (< 10 feet).



Syntax:

SEND_COMMAND <DEV>,"'SET MODE <mode>'"



Variables:

mode = IR, SERIAL or DATA



Note: AMX does not recommend using a cable longer than 10 feet

for the IR Ports.



Example:

SEND_COMMAND IR_1,"'SET MODE IR'"

Sets the IR_1 port to IR mode for IR control.

If you have a look under the PI entrry for your master it should give you all the info you need to get it up and running.

jweather

Yes, but in my experience it does not work as well as Crestr?n's 1-way 232. Note the warnings in AMX-PI about short cable length and low baud rate. I generally try to avoid using 1-way 232 on AMX systems, whereas we use it all the time with no problems on Crestr?n.

Kenny

I've got this to work on most devices.
Recently though I could not get a Samsung tv to respond to the commands.
The real problem is the none standard signal levels coming out of the port. I think RS232 should have a 12volt level but the the IR port only outputs about 1volt.

feddx

1 way RS-232 for Cameras

I use it all the time with Sony cameras to save on serial ports. I've never had a problem even going as far as 35 feet or possibly longer on a feed either. Granted I'm only using them for a few devices but it's been pretty good for me.

In the module I wrote I have this:

data_event[dvCam]
{
    online:
    {	
	If (nIR) send_command data.device,"'SET MODE DATA'"  //enables the IR port to data
	send_command data.device,"'SET BAUD 9600,N,8,1 485 DISABLE'"
	send_command data.device,"'HSOFF'"
    }
}

I hope this helps.

derrick.thames

just a reminder

1 way RS232 only works on x100, 700, and 900 NIs. No go on x000 or IR cards

feddx

Huh?

derrick.thames wrote: »

1 way RS232 only works on x100, 700, and 900 NIs. No go on x000 or IR cards

I don't think this is correct.

I just did an install on an NI-3000 with 2 cameras both being controlled serially via the IR ports.

And from the AMX-PI and the PDF file on NXC cards I got this from the IRS4 page:

"'SET MODE <mode>'"

Set the IR/Serial ports for IR or Serial-controlled devices connected to a
CardFrame or NetModule. Sets an IR port to either IR or Serial mode.


Syntax:

SEND_COMMAND <DEV>,"'SET MODE <mode>'"


Variables:

mode = IR or SERIAL


Example:

SEND_COMMAND IR_1,"'SET MODE IR'"

Sets the IR_1 port to IR mode for IR control.

I use set mode DATA, but other than that I've done it before, and it works.

Jimweir192

There was a period of firmware revs when this option was unavailable. But that was some years ago now.

JohnG

Hi Guys,

I know this is an old post but did someone knows if the corresponding LED port is supposed to blink when sending a command?

THANKS

Avophile

JohnG wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I know this is an old post but did someone knows if the corresponding LED port is supposed to blink when sending a command?

THANKS

I know that was an old question but for future reference, yes John, the LED does blink.

This works on my NI-900, not on my old NI-3000.

Hedberg

IR ports will work as one-way serial ports on some masters, as mentioned. Voltage is actually below the voltage requirement for RS232 so sometimes it may be problematic. We almost never design for using the IR ports, but we do have a couple installations where Extron devices were added at installation and we've used the IR ports successfully. Cable lengths have always been short.

As for Cre$tron vs AMX and serial ports used for RS232, my feeling is that the superiority of Cre$tron in this application is Cre$tron marketing hype. That's just my feeling, having experienced the relative indifference with Cre$tron that AMX shows compared with the near pathological obsession that Cre$strom people have with denigrating AMX.

yuri

The only thing I noticed is that an IR-serial port is "slower" than a normal RS-232 port.
So, when sending multiple commands, you should incorporate waits between commands

champ

I've had no problems with it except for where I assumed 'SET_MODE SERIAL' was the correct command when it is actually 'SET MODE DATA' to turn an IR port into a serial port.

As long as you remember that the IR ports are lower voltage than standard RS-232 so you should only use them for local devices (ie very short cable runs) where you don't need feedback.

My theory is that they are "Get out of jail free" cards, never design a system using an IR port as serial but if you find yourself needing 1 more serial port after the design is complete then play the card.

PhreaK

champ wrote: »

My theory is that they are "Get out of jail free" cards, never design a system using an IR port as serial but if you find yourself needing 1 more serial port after the design is complete then play the card.

Or use one of these or these. Your programmer will hate you a whole lot less.

Auser

PhreaK wrote: »

Or use one of these or these. Your programmer will hate you a whole lot less.

Will they, or are you just espousing the virtues of spending extra money with your employer? Tongue firmly in cheek...

Personally I believe one way serial from IR ports is best left to use as a get out of jail free card when the engineering on a job hasn't quite been up to scratch. When I've used it in these cases I've not had a problem with it and it hasn't caused me any significant code writing overhead.

Edit: Reading back through the thread, I basically agree with every point Champ makes.