Polycom Vortex EF2201 Installation and operating instructions

Installed Voice Business Group
Application Note:
Using Crestron Viewport with Vortex and
Echofree Devices
Copyright © 2003 Polycom, Inc.
Polycom  and the Polycom logo are registered trademarks of Polycom, Inc.
ASPI, Vortex, VS4000, Viewstation, and iPower are
registered trademarks of Polycom, Inc.
All other brand names, product names, and trademarks are the
sole property of their respective owners

Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................3
RS-232 HARDWARE........................................................................................................3
STARTING VIEWPORT .................................................................................................3
COMMAND SYNTAX......................................................................................................4
SENDING AND RECEIVING COMMANDS ................................................................5
TECHNICAL SUPPORT..................................................................................................7
Polycom IVB Contact Information ......................................................................................................7

Introduction
In addition to the Console window of Conference Composer, Crestron Viewport is
a great way to verify that the Crestron control system is sending the proper
commands to the EF Device as well as receiving the proper acknowledgments.
Here are some tips in setting up the Viewport window to communicate with an
EF Device.
RS-232 Hardware
The communication between the EF Device and a host controller is conducted via
the RS-232 port on the back panel of the EF Device. The RS-232 port operates at
the following settings:
•Bit Rate (bps): 9600 (default), 19200, or 38400
•Data Format: 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit (8N1)
•Flow Control: none (default) or hardware (RTS, CTS)
Baud rates higher than 9600 are only supported on EF2280 or
EF2241 units that have Software Version 2.00 or higher.
Note that although the flow control setting is user selectable to none or
hardware , hardware flow control must be used when updating the firmware of
the EF Device. This means that while a 3-wire RS-232 cable (RX, TX, GND) is
acceptable for control of the EF Device, the minimum cable for updating
firmware should contain 5 wires (RX, TX, RTS, CTS, GND).
Starting Viewport
Open up Viewport by going to START,PROGRAMS,CRESTRON SIMPL WINDOWS and
clicking VIEWPORT.Alternately, you can open SIMPL Windows and click on the
Viewport Icon .

Once Viewport is open, click on DIAGNOSTICS, and ESTABLISH COMMUNICATIONS (FIND
RACK). You should see a window open up that verifies that the PC has been able
to communicate with the control system:
Command Syntax
You can use the PASSTHRU command to send and receive data from an EF
Device. The syntax is as follows:
PASSTHRU COM x com mode baud rate data bits parity
stop bits flow control
where:
xis the Com Port
com mode is 232, 422, or 485 mode (default is 232)
baud rate is any data rate from 300-115200 bps (default is 9600)
data bits is the word length (default is 8)
parity is a way to detect transmission errors (default is N)
stop bits is the number of bits to signal the end of transmission (default is 1)
flow control is either hardware or software handshaking (default is NONE).
You can send a PASSTHRU ? command if you need more help on
the syntax.
•For an EF200 and EF1210, we recommend the following PASSTHRU
command:
PASSTHRU COM x 9600
where xis the com port of the Crestron control system.

•For an EF2280 and EF2241, we recommend the following PASSTHRU
command:
PASSTHRU COM x baud rate
where xis the com port of the Crestron control system and baud rate is
any data rate of 9600, 19200, or 38400 bps.
You don't have to type these settings in Viewport. You can click on
FUNCTIONS,ENTER PASSTHROUGH MODE (CNX/2 SERIES) and set every
value that was described above. However, in our testing with a
CP2, we received an Invalid Parameters response from the CP2
when we tried to execute that feature.
Sending and Receiving
Commands
Once you've sent the proper PASSTHRU command, click Setup and make sure
that LOCAL ECHO is checked and DISPLAY IN HEX MODE is unchecked. CR TO CR/LF
(OUTGOING) is optional.

Now, you should be able to send any valid EF Device command to the unit.
Here, a ***PING command has been sent to a EF2280 at a baud rate of 38400.
Note that by checking the LOCAL ECHO option, that feature caused the PASSTHRU
command to display double characters.
Without LOCAL ECHO checked, here is the same window as displayed in Viewport.
You do not have to use the LOCAL ECHO option when sending commands;
however, it makes sending commands easier since you can see what you've
typed locally.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT
For Polycom products (EF2280, EF2241, EF1210, EF400, EF200):
•Call 404-892-3200 between 9 am to 6 pm and Press 3
•Send an email to [email protected]
For other Polycom products (VS4000, Viewstation FX, iPower, etc.):
•Call 408-474-2048
•Send an email to: pa[email protected]
POLYCOM IVB CONTACT INFORMATION
Our address is:
1720 Peachtree Street, NW
Suite 220
Atlanta, GA 30309
404-892-3200 Phone
404-892-2512 Fax