IP to serial adapters

scott180

Has anyone tried using an IP to serial adapter with the new ethernet trigger table to send serial commands to a device? I'm basically looking for a way to expand the serial ports on the box. I have a single Blu-800 in the rack and want to control two serial devices. Neither device will accept control over IP directly.

Dan Lynch

None of the IP to serial adaptors that I've seen (Moxa, etc) will work on a BLU box because the RS232 functionality of the BLU box is a function of the DSP chip. There's no way to map a virtual port.

What you need is a serial switch like the 232BSS4 from B&B. That will allow you to route your serial strings from the Soundweb to multiple devices.

If your serial devices aren't all the same baud rate, you'll also need one or more baud rate converters like the 232BRC from B&B.

Dan

scott180

Thanks. It would be cool to expand it that way, but I get why it doesn't work.

I saw an IP to 2 port serial converter, but it would have required drivers to map to the ports as you mentioned.

Phil Brogan

Is it correct to conclude that the BLU-100 can receive commands over the serial port, since it can send messages? If so, where might one find a listing of the commands and syntax?

Thanks.

scott180

Go to the help menu and search for \"Third-party control protocol\". This has the information necessary to create serial strings in control systems to control your soundweb design.

I have to say that the help files in soundweb are some of the best help files I've seen. I always start there and most of the time find what I need. Since most product has terrible help files, I think we're conditioned to not even look there.

Phil Brogan

Thanks Scott - your advice was sound. There is indeed all kinds of information under that search subject relating to not only serial communications but TCP/IP as well.

snootypoo

Does any1 Know of an IP to Rs232 Device that can be programmed to output a Serial String when recieving a command over TCP.

I.e. You can login into this TCP to RS232 device and specify: \"When XX command recieved from IP Network, Transmit XX serial string.

This would make it really easy to control multiple basic RS232 devices like switching multiple Projectors and Tvs on and off in a venue from within LA.

\Dan Lynch\ wrote:

None of the IP to serial adaptors that I've seen (Moxa, etc) will work on a BLU box because the RS232 functionality of the BLU box is a function of the DSP chip. There's no way to map a virtual port.

What you need is a serial switch like the 232BSS4 from B&B. That will allow you to route your serial strings from the Soundweb to multiple devices.

If your serial devices aren't all the same baud rate, you'll also need one or more baud rate converters like the 232BRC from B&B.

Dan

J.Luszczek

This device is London Blu itself.
Use half as many logic sources as you need serial commands and using the DI tool look up their on/off control strings.
Then create a Serial Trigger object with as many inputs as logic sources and set it to Type:list . If you need more than 64 commands, just use a second Serial Trigger object and more Logic Sources.
Now you can enter the desired RS232 strings in the list and just turn on and off the logic sources from TCP commands.
It's very simplistic but it should work OK as long as your TCP sending device can be taught to send correct strings to your Blu device.

snootypoo

True, But I meant a small standalone device that i can put alongside a Projector that accepts RS232 and USE London to send a TCP command to it. As I am allready utilising the RS232 port to controll another device.

\J.Luszczek\ wrote:

This device is London Blu itself.
Use half as many logic sources as you need serial commands and using the DI tool look up their on/off control strings.
Then create a Serial Trigger object with as many inputs as logic sources and set it to Type:list . If you need more than 64 commands, just use a second Serial Trigger object and more Logic Sources.
Now you can enter the desired RS232 strings in the list and just turn on and off the logic sources from TCP commands.
It's very simplistic but it should work OK as long as your TCP sending device can be taught to send correct strings to your Blu device.

J.Luszczek

So just use a RS232 router like Kramer VP-14 or Xantech equivalent.
You can go out of London into it and out to 4 other devices.

Other than that tere is the Aurora Multimedia WACI Nugget Serial.
http://auroramultimedia.com/?section=products&id=108
it will take TCP and translate it to RS232 with your custom table.

snootypoo

Cheers, Just Realised I can do this with some Moxa IP - RS232 servers I've got luying around.. Awsome!, So Next question, Can anyone Reccomend and TCP to IR blasters?

\J.Luszczek\ wrote:

So just use a RS232 router like Kramer VP-14 or Xantech equivalent.
You can go out of London into it and out to 4 other devices.

Other than that tere is the Aurora Multimedia WACI Nugget Serial.
http://auroramultimedia.com/?section=products&id=108
it will take TCP and translate it to RS232 with your custom table.

JoshM

\snootypoo\ wrote:

Cheers, Just Realised I can do this with some Moxa IP - RS232 servers I've got luying around.. Awsome!, So Next question, Can anyone Reccomend and TCP to IR blasters?

Have a look at the Global Cache iTach IP2IR.

The Global Cache stuff is pretty cool all the way around, they make some very handy products.

malcolmg

Finally FINALLY I have figured out how to easily generate the required HEX codes, for the iTach IP-IR device.

Forget using the iLearn tool.

open the iTest tool, sent the 'Literal' command of get_IRL
then send the required IR command to the iTach box from your remote... the return window will show both the ASCII and the required HEX codes.

From here you can very easily enter the HEX codes into the Ethernet table in Architect. (When i tried to use ASCII commands in Architect they always appeared to get truncated)

Have tested quite a few codes and all work so far... Hope this helps. Was frustrating me for a while.

con.andrews

Malcolm, I'm trying to follow your suggestion but I'm not quite clear on what you mean by

\"then send the required IR command to the iTach box from your remote... the return window will show both the ASCII and the required HEX codes.\"

I sent the literal get_IRL and see the ascii and hex codes for this command, but how do I send the IR command to the iTach box from the remote - do I point it into the ir receiver on the iTach unit (as we're told to do with the iLearn instructions) or somewhere else.

Also, when I used the iLearn app and received the codes by pointing the remote at the iTach, and then tested the obtained codes, they all work. However, when I convert them to hex within ilearn, then copy them into the Ethernet trigger device within London, I don't get any response at all out of the ir emitter connected to the iTach.

I noticed that the hex code in the trigger table is also incomplete and it appears that the slot in the trigger table can only accept a certain number of hex numbers, after which it just drops the remaining ones. Have you experienced this? Do you have a work around? Or am I missing something?

hw51

I've the same problem as con.andrews. I understand what Malcolm is telling. Use the test tool to capture HEx code, by pointing the Remote control to the iTack unit. Testing the code in itest works fine.

But when you put the code in the Ethernet Trigger table, the code is too long.

Using the GC code it will fit, but it doesn't work. When i recieve the command thru the app \"Sockettest.exe\" it's the right code. I've tried to send the recieved code with \"Sockettest\" to the iTach and then it works.

A friend told me to put Carrier return and Line feed behind the GC code. Thried that without succes.

Is there somebody who knows how to fix this?

HARMAN_Jerome_King

There are no reported problems with the Ethernet Trigger. It sends out exactly what you enter into the edit page.

Is the Connected indicator On when you send the string?
If you want to add CR or EL, set the Ethernet Trigger's edit page to Hex. Then enter 0D for Carriage Return and 0A for Line feed.

FYI, the Ethernet Trigger can accept messages of up to 77 bytes in length.

hw51

I think it's possible that we're doing something wrong. I hope someone can tell me what.

The connected indicator is on.

If i do what you sugest, set the edit page to HEX, the command is too large to fit. So it's also not possible to put something behind the command.

This is the ASCII command: sendir,1:1,1,38000,1,1,341,171,21,22BBBBBBB22,64CCCCCCCBBCCCBCBCCBBBCBC21,1514,342,85,21,3800

When i put in HEX it's like this:
73,65,6E,64,69,72,2C,31,3A,31,2C,31,2C,33,38,30,30,30,2C,31,2C,31,2C,33,34,31,2C,31,37,31,2C,32,31,2C,32,32,42,42,42,42,42,42,42,32,32,2C,36,34,43,43,43,43,43,43,43,42,42,43,43,43,42,43,42,43,43,42,42,42,43,42,43,32,31,2C,31,35,31,34,2C,33,34,32,2C,38,35,2C,3

And i think that the HEX command is not complete.

HARMAN_Jerome_King

This command is too long for the Ethernet Trigger. It exceeds the 77 bytes.

Out of interest, what does this command do?

hw51

This command eject the CD out of the player.

But when i try to control an Optoma projector the lenght is also this kind of lenght.

con.andrews

hw51, I'm still trying to get this to work. It seems that London Architect truncates the string (whether in hex, ascii, or whatever). I, like you take the code learned via the itach and it works when i test it with the itach utility and even other third party software, however no amount of trying can make it work with London Architect.

Lets fast forward a bit now to Audio Architect - I've been brave (silly) enough to down load the beta version and of course, inspired by the above problems, tried to see what I could achieve with Audio Architect and the Global Cache IP2IR interface.

It turns out the AA accommodates longer strings (bonus!) Unfortunately, I still can't get AA to talk to the IP2IR device, even though when \"online\" the status of the ethernet trigger table I'm using to load the IR strings into shows that the device is connected. I assume then that my IP address and port address are correct. If I unplug the ethernet cable of the IP2IR I see the Ethernet trigger \"connect\" light go out - so the comms channel is definitely correct.

I then went on to use a packet sniffer (Wireshark) and I see the logic presses within AA (when on line) sending out commands to the BSS unit, and then I see a reply from the Blu stating that the \"Ethernet Frame Check Sequence is incorrect\". I have no idea what this means or how I get around this.

If anyone has ideas or suggestions, I'd love to hear from you.

stewives

I got this to work by splitting the code over two ethernet triggers and putting about 200 ms. delay between their triggers. Don't forget to add decimal 13 to the end of the string!

con.andrews

Stewives, you've just made a lot of people very happy

I tried a similar thing but was sending a carriage return after every string which didn't work of course.

One thing I've been trying since you solved this problem is how to \"release\" a logic source button which is acting as a volume button so that I don't need to press it twice to keep triggering a volume up or down command.

The perculiar thing is, I can get it to work in operate mode perfectly, but it doesn't when online :? .

Anyway, thanks again for your solution

Con