Accurate Technology ProScale User manual

Firmware version 1.0 and greater
User Manual
ProScale
RF Receiver

ProScale RF Receiver User Manual Page 2 of 20
This document is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of
America. No part of this document may be reproduced by any means,
electronic or otherwise, without the expressed written permission of
Accurate Technology, Inc.
Firmware Version 1.000
P/N 800-1340-001, Revision A, Copyright © 2004-2005,
Accurate Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.
ATTENTION
The ProScale RF Receiver is only compatible
with ProScale General Purpose Displays that
are equipped with an integral RF transmitter
AND firmware version 2.1x or above.

Accurate Technology Inc. Page 3 of 20
FCC NOTICE
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class
B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a
residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio
frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the
instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and
on, the user is encouraged to correct the interference by one or more of the
following measures:
•Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
•Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver.
•Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to
which the receiver is connected.
•Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/television technician for
help.
Operation with non-approved equipment is likely to result in interference to
radio and TV reception. The user is cautioned that changes and modifications
made to the equipment without the approval of the manufacturer could void the
user’s authority to operate this equipment.

ProScale RF Receiver User Manual Page 4 of 20
Table of Contents
SECTION 1 GENERAL INFORMATION ...............................................5
INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................5
WHAT THIS MANUAL CONTAINS .........................................................................6
TERMINOLOGY ..................................................................................................6
SECTION 2 INSTALLATION.................................................................7
SECTION 3 CONFIGURATION.............................................................8
COMMAND FORMAT ...........................................................................................9
OUTPUT MODES..............................................................................................10
Output mode 0 ..........................................................................................10
Output mode 1 ..........................................................................................10
Output mode 2 ..........................................................................................10
Output mode 3 ..........................................................................................11
Output mode 4 ..........................................................................................11
Output mode 5 ..........................................................................................12
DELETING A PREVIOUS MEASUREMENT RECORD ................................................13
SECTION 4 OPERATION...................................................................14
COMMAND FORMAT EXAMPLES ........................................................................14
System ID .................................................................................................14
Output Mode .............................................................................................14
Delimiter Character...................................................................................14
Echo Mode................................................................................................15
Record Start Marker .................................................................................15
Terminator Type .......................................................................................15
Baud Rate.................................................................................................16
Firmware Version ID.................................................................................16
Invalid Command......................................................................................16
DEFAULTING THE RECEIVER TO FACTORY VALUES ............................................17
SETTING RECEIVER FOR MASTER MODE ON THE SERIAL PORT..........................17
PRODUCT REGISTRATION ............................................................................19

Accurate Technology Inc. Page 5 of 20
SECTION 1 GENERAL INFORMATION
Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the ProScale receiver system. This radio receiver
unit is designed to be used in conjunction with Accurate Technology, Inc.
ProScale™ linear measuring systems that are equipped with integral RF
transmitters (digital display firmware version 2.1 or above).
The purpose of this system is to provide a one-way wireless data
communication channel between a ProScale measuring system and a
computer or other computing device. Depending on the receiver model that
you have purchased, the unit has the ability to receive signals from either a
single ProScale display or several displays.
The receiver provides RS-232 serial data in standard ASCII text format and
may be configured for various output formats. In addition, the receiver will
support standard baud rates from 2400 to 115200 bits per second.
The following is a list of features for the ProScale RF receiver:
•Six output formats to support various data collection requirements.
•Programmable data field delimiter character.
•Programmable line terminator.
•Record start sentinel character enable/disable.
•Character echo enable/disable.
•Baud rate selection.
•System ID selection. Prevents interference from multiple Pro-RF
systems.
•Typical signal range: 50’ to 100’ depending on the environment.
•Serial output transmit/receive reversal via jumper selection (null
modem). Allows unit to switch from slave mode (PC use) to master
mode (for use with other devices).
•Receiver configuration is stored in non-volatile memory. Configuration
is completed using a standard terminal program such as
HyperTerminal™.

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What This Manual Contains
This Manual covers only the ProScale-RF Digital Display Receiver
It is intended to supplement the ProScale manual part number
800-1097-001, covering the operation of the Wireless Digital Display.
Terminology
This section provides a brief description of terms used within this manual.
ASCII Text – Standard English text that is used in conjunction with computers.
This can include upper and lower case letters, numbers and punctuation.
Field – A field is an individual data element such as position, units or other
information.
Delimiter – A character that is used to separate individual fields from one
another, such as a space or tab.
Entry Record – A group of fields separated by delimiter characters that together
form an entry in a computer file.
Terminator – A special character(s) that is used to terminate an entry record.
Record Start Marker – A special character that is used to indicate the start of a
record being received. In this case, the marker is an asterisk (*).

Accurate Technology Inc. Page 7 of 20
SECTION 2 INSTALLATION
The ProScale RF receiver is simple to install and connect to a PC.
1. Connect the low voltage DC power supply (provided) to the rear of
the receiver. Plug the power supply into an AC outlet. The top
green LED on the front of the receiver will illuminate.
2. Connect the male (pin) end of the DB-9 serial cable (provided) to
the rear of the receiver. Connect the female (socket) end to the PC
serial port. Note: If using a newer laptop computer, there may be
no RS-232 port installed on your PC. In this case, it is
recommended that you purchase a USB/Serial adapter from your
local office supply store.
3. Set the receiver in a location that is centrally located to receive
signals from your ProScale display(s). Do not place the receiver
next to large metal objects such as a filing cabinet as this may
significantly reduce the receiving range.
Serial Connection
Power
Connection
Power
Indicator
Valid Data
Received

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SECTION 3 CONFIGURATION
Depending on the receiver model you have purchased, the unit has
the ability to receive signals from either a Single ProScale RF
display or from Multiple ProScale RF displays.
After the receiver is connected to the computer and power applied, the unit can
be configured for operation.
Start a terminal emulation program such as HyperTerminal™. Configure the
terminal program for the serial port being used to communicate with the
receiver.
The following are the default port settings of the receiver:
•9600 baud
•8 data bits
•No parity
•1 stop bit.
•Flow Control: None
Although the receiver can be configured for different baud rates, the other
communications parameters are fixed and cannot be altered.
When the serial port has been configured and opened, the user can test the
communications by requesting the receiver’s firmware version. This is
accomplished by typing the command letter v or V followed by the ENTER key.
The receiver will respond with: “ProScale Receiver V1.000” or similar
message.

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Command Format
The receiver uses a standard format for all configuration commands.
1. A single command letter. Lower case letters allow the current
parameter state to be viewed without modification. Upper case letters
allow the user to change the parameter configuration.
2. One or more characters are used when modifying configuration
parameters. They have no effect when parameters are viewed (lower
case command letters).
The following is a list of command letters and their meanings:
V– Firmware version ID. No parameters.
S– System ID. Used to configure the receiver to only accept signals
from ProScale-RF displays that have the same system ID. This
prevents signals from other ProScale-RF displays with different
system ID’s within radio range from being received. The default is
0.
O– Output mode. Formats the record text for the desired data
content. See Output Modes on page 9 for more information. The
default is mode 3; position, units and display ID.
D– Configures the delimiting character that is used to separate fields
within a record. The default is a space.
E– Enables or disables the character echo when typing in data from
the terminal program. The default is ON.
M– Record Start Marker. Enables or disables the use of the new
record start (sentinel) character, which is an *. When enabled,
each new record received starts with an asterisk (*). The default is
OFF.
T– Record Terminator. Each record can be terminated with either a
carriage return or carriage return and line feed. The default is
carriage return and line feed (CR/LF)
B– Baud Rate. Sets the baud rate used to communicate with the
receiver. The default is 9600 bits per second.
See a list of command examples beginning on page 14.

ProScale RF Receiver User Manual Page 10 of 20
Output Modes
There are six output modes available on the ProScale RF receiver. The first
five are ASCII text formats and the sixth mode is a binary data mode that
provides partial message emulation for Accurate Technology’s ProRF™ two-
way radio system. This provides backward compatibility for applications that
were designed using the ProRF system.
Mode Description
0 Position only
1 Position with units type (MM or IN)
2 Position with display (transmitter) ID
3 Position with units and display ID
4 Full Message Display
5 Binary Mode ProRF emulation
(Use this mode when interfacing with TigerStop™)
In the case of output mode 0, an ASCII position is provided followed by the
programmed terminator; carriage return or carriage return and line feed (CR or
CR/LF). In the other text modes, each field is separated by the programmed
delimiting character (<space> by default). The entire line or record is then
followed by the programmed terminating character.
The following are examples of output modes 0 through 3:
Output mode 0
Position<terminator>
Example:
inches: 5.637
millimeters 28.35
Output mode 1
Position<delimiter>Units<terminator>
Example:
inches with <space> delimiter: 5.637 IN
millimeters with <space> delimiter: 28.35 MM
Output mode 2
Position<delimiter>ID<terminator>
Example:
inches with <space> delimiter, unit ID 3: 5.637 3
millimeters with <space> delimiter, unit ID 2: 28.35 2