User Manual

Table Of Contents
Serial (RS232/USB) Operation
180 Advanced Digital Motor Controller User Manual V2.1 December 3, 2020
RS485 Configuration
Consult your controller’s datasheet in order to know whether RS485 communication is
supported. There are controller models whose pins related to RS485 communication are
shared with other functionalities (check the controllers datasheet). For this reason for
these controllers only, the RS485 functionality is by default disabled. In order to enable it
the RS485 configuration command (RS485 enable) should be set to 1 (^RS485 1).
FIGURE 14-5. RS485 Enable configuration
USB Configuration
USB is available on all Roboteq controller models and provides a fast and reliable commu-
nication method between the controller and the PC. After plugging the USB cable to the
controller and the PC, the PC will detect the new hardware, and install the driver. Upon
successful installation, the controller will be ready to use.
The controller will appear like another Serial device to the PC. This method was selected
because of its simplicity, particularly when writing custom software: opening a COM port
and exchanging serial data is a well documented technique in any programming language.
Note that Windows will assign a COM port number that is more or less random. The Rob-
orun PC utility automatically scans all open COM ports and will detect the controller on its
own. When writing your own software, you will need to account for this uncertainty in the
COM port assignment.
Important Warning
Beware that because of its sophistication, the USB protocol is less likely to recover
than RS232 should an electrical disturbance occur. We recommend using USB for
configuration and monitoring, and use RS232 for field deployment. Deploy USB
based system only after performing extensive testing and verifying that it operates
reliably in your particular environment.
TCP Configuration
Controller models that support communication via an Ethernet cable are identified with
the letter E, for example, FBL2360E or FBL2360ES. By default, TCP communication is
disabled on controllers, so in order to use this feature configuration is needed. All configu-
ration parameters may be accessed under the Roborun+ Configuration tab. All TCP param-
eters are configurable from the TCP node under the Inputs/Outputs Column. Find more
details in section 19, “TCP Communication Commands”.