Hello everyone,
I'm having some troubles with my Arduino setup.
Been trying to connect to a fluid control pump with my arduinos over serial to control the pump via simple text commands, and controlling the pump over windows COM works fine, but trying to connect over arduino results in nothing, not even an error code. Have been trying for the last couple days and did a lot of microchanges to get it to work, but haven't yet.
I tried it with an Arduino Uno + Seeed RS232 Shield as well as a Controllino + MAX3232 breakout board (RS Components) and no luck. According to the pump spec it should respond to valid commands like "RU" and "ST" with an "OK/" and to invalid commands with an "Err/", windows testing shows that it does not need any CRs and NLs to register a command. Its baud rate is 9600, it has 8 data, no parity and 1 stop bit, so that's not the problem, and trying the arduino gives no response whatsoever.
I hope that you people have some ideas for what I could try next.
Thanks in Advance,
Janis
Post the latest code you tried.
I've been trying to either pass messages directly:
#include <SPI.h>
#include <Controllino.h>
void setup(){
Serial2.begin(9600);
while(!Serial2){
;
}
Serial2.write("RU");
}
void loop(){}
or pass them between the prompt and the pump:
#include <SPI.h>
#include <Controllino.h>
void setup(){
Serial.begin(9600);
while(!Serial){
;
}
Serial2.begin(9600);
while(!Serial2){
;
}
}
void loop() {
if(Serial.available()){
Serial2.write(Serial.read())
}
if(Serial2.available()){
Serial.write(Serial2.read())
}
}
I have also tried sending Request to Send via a digital pin connected to the breakout board, but no luck.
Thanks in advance,
Janis
You say the PC serial connection to the pump works fine.
If this was my project, I would connect the Arduino + rs-232 adapter to the serial port on your PC and debug the Arduino problem that way. Then go to the pump connection.
Paul
FlowlessRhetoric:
Been trying to connect to a fluid control pump with my arduinos over serial to control the pump
Please post a link to the section(s) of the pump operator's manual that describe how to connect to it and how to communicate with it.
...R
How is it wired up?
Sadly the pump has no online documentation, I have already tried sniffing the serial connection over windows but except for some bit pattern inquiry from the windows driver there is no special protocol, just simple ASCII commands.
FlowlessRhetoric:
Sadly the pump has no online documentation,
If you have written documentation can you make a PDF of the relevant pages and post that?
...R
Thirty years ago, I spent some time making RS232 cables for my Dad's school computer lab so that the students could print.
Common mistakes I made were getting RX and TX the wrong way round and failing to provide the printer a line it could use to tell the computer to wait a bit.
I have forgotten which of DTR, DSR, CTS etc. were important (and it varied by device anyway), but it may be that you need to tie one of them high so that the pump knows it's allowed to transmit a response. Some investigation with a voltmeter when it's connected to your PC might be helpful.
wildbill:
Thirty years ago, I spent some time making RS232 cables for my Dad's school computer lab so that the students could print.
If only I could get back all the hours wasted at work trying to match the correct serial cables to the correct printers and the associated correct printer settings. Nothing worked until everything worked 
...R
I will post the documentation tomorrow, but I already tried tying the signals I have available to high.