Whirlwind RS-232 Use and maintenance manual

WHIRLWIND
99 LING RD., ROCHESTER, NY 14612
www.whirlwindusa.com
1-800-733-9473
RS-232 And Telnet
Control Manual

Table of Contents
1
Overview
RS-232 Control
Telnet Control
ETP String Components:
Command
Device Number
Attribute
Instance ID Numbers
Index
Value
Responses
Control Dialog
Overview
Levels
Presets
Meters
HyperTerminal
IP Address Commands
Pgs 2 ~ 3
Pg 4
Pg 5
Pgs 6 & 7
Pg 8
Pgs 9 ~ 25
Pg 26
Pg 27
Pg 28
Pg 29
Pg 30
Pg 31
Pg 32
Pg 33
Pg 34
Pg 35

Overview
2
E Desk can be controlled via the control dialogs in the E Desk software, or via
third-party controllers using RS-232 or Telnet.
For control of E Desk, Whirlwind created ETP (E Desk Text Protocol). This
simply means that E Desk will accept strings of ASCII characters to control and
read settings of gain, mute, logic state, frequency, audio levels, and other
parameters of DSP Blocks in E Desk products.
ETP strings can be sent via third-party controllers using RS-232 (see page 4) or
Telnet via TCP/IP (see page 5). A line feed needs to be sent after each
command string sent.
The ETP string is structured in the following order: Command DeviceNumber
Attribute InstanceIDNumber Index1 Index2 Value <LF>
ETP strings require a space between each parameter; the last character in the
string needs to be a line feed <LF>.
For each control string a few components will need to be derived from the E
Desk software: Device Number, InstanceIDNumber, and Index. Command and
Attribute are derived from this document. In a SET command, Value is used to
specify what the DSP block attribute is to be set to. In an increment or
decrement (INC or DEC) commandValue is used to specify how much the DSP
block attribute is to be changed by.
**Note** E Desk software will assign an Instance ID to each DSP block on the
initial compile of the system. Subsequent compiles will not change the Instance
IDs unless the “Reassign Instance IDs” check box is selected in the ‘Compile’ tab
of the ‘Options’ screen (located on the Tools pull-down menu) in the E Desk
software.
Example: A string to control a fader might look like this:
SET 1 FDRLVL 2 1 9 <LF>. The individual components for this string are:
Command Device
Number Attribute Instance
ID
Number
Index1 Index2 Value Line
feed
SET 1FDRLVL 219<LF>
Notice that Index2 is not used since there is nothing entered in this parameter.

Overview
3
Example: A string to mute a standard mixer output might look like this:
SET 3 SMMUTEOUT 5 5 1 <LF> The individual components for this string are:
Command Device
Number Attribute Instance
ID
Number Index1 Index2 Value Line
feed
SET 3SMMUTEOUT 551<LF>
Notice that Index1 is not used since there is nothing entered in this parameter.
Example: A string to turn up a cross point on a matrix mixer might look like this:
INC 2 MMLVLXP 4 3 2 1 <LF> The individual components for this string are:
Command Device
Number Attribute Instance
ID
Number Index1 Index2 Value Line
feed
INC 2MMLVLXP 4321<LF>
In this example Index1 and Index2 are both used, together they specify which
cross point is to be changed.

RS-232 Control
4
The RS-232 port on the back of an E Desk unit is set to a default baud rate of
38400, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, and no flow control. (38400:8:None:1). If
multiple E Desks are connected together in a system then only one RS-232 port
needs to be connected to a third-party control system; communication data is
shared via Ethernet through a switch.
When controlling multiple E Desk units that are not part of the same DAP file,
each E Desk unit will need to be addressed via its own RS-232 port from a
control system or PC. E Desk units cannot be linked together via RS-232, like
some other WHIRLWIND Advantage products can.
(The RS-232 baud rate can be set to 9600, 19200, or 38400–default is 38400)
A straight through PC Serial Cable is used to communicate from an RS-232 port
on a third-party controller (or PC*) to the RS-232 port located on the back of an E
Desk unit.
(* A PC can be used with a terminal emulator program, such as HyperTerminal
etc, to send/receive ETP Strings…E Desk software must be connected via
Ethernet in order to communicate.)

Telnet Control
5
E Desk can be controlled using Telnet via TCP/IP. The same command strings
that are used for RS-232 Control are used for Telnet.
When controlling multiple E Desks that are not a part of the same DAP file, each
E Desk device will need to be addressed via its own Telnet session from a
control system or PC.

ETP String Component: Command
6
SET –Tells E Desk that a DSP attribute is to be set to a specific value–may
contain negative numbers and/or decimal points
GET -Tells E Desk that a DSP attribute is to be read–Response may contain a
decimal point and/or a negative number.
INC -Tells E Desk that a DSP attribute is to be incremented by a specific amount
DEC-Tells E Desk that a DSP attribute is to be decremented by a specific
amount
RECALL –Tells E Desk that a preset is to be recalled.
SETL and GETL can be used if negative numbers and/or decimals are not
supported by a control system.
SETL –Tells E Desk that a DSP attribute is to be set to a specific value, no
decimal places or negative numbers –To convert a dB number: add 100 to the
desired level and then multiply by 10.
Example: To set a level to –60.5dB, add 100 (-60.5 +100 = 39.5). Then
multiply by 10 (39.5 X 10 = 395). Instead of Value being–60.5, Value
after this SETL command will equal 395.
GETL -Tells E Desk that a DSP attribute is to be read without negative numbers
or decimals. To convert this number to dB: divide the number by 10, then
subtract 100.
Example: With a returned GETL response of 405, divide by 10 (405 / 10 =
40.5), and then subtract 100 (40.5 –100 = -59.5dB)
For your reference, the SETL/GETL Table on the following page shows .5dB
increments converted into the SETL/GETL format.
Some Attributes do not support all commands. TheAttribute section defines
which commands support SET/SETL, GET/GETL, INC, or DEC functions.
RECALL is only used on preset commands.
*When GET or GETL is used, aValue will not need to be specified since
GET/GETL is a request command. A Value must be specified in order for strings
with SET/SETL, INC, DEC, and RECALL to work.

ETP String Component: Command
7
Level Value Level Value Level Value Level Value Level Value
12 1120 -10.5 895 -33 670 -55.5 445 -78 220
11.5 1115 -11 890 -33.5 665 -56 440 -79.5 215
11 1110 -11.5 885 -34 660 -56.5 435 -79 210
10.5 1105 -12 880 -34.5 655 -57 430 -79.5 205
10 1100 -12.5 875 -35 650 -57.5 425 -80 200
9.5 1095 -13 870 -35.5 645 -58 420 -80.5 195
91090 -13.5 865 -36 640 -58.5 415 -81 190
8.5 1085 -14 860 -36.5 635 -59 410 -81.5 185
81080 -14.5 855 -37 630 -59.5 405 -82.5 175
7.5 1075 -15 850 -37.5 625 -60 400 -83 170
71070 -15.5 845 -38 620 -60.5 395 -83.5 165
6.5 1065 -16 840 -38.5 615 -61 390 -84 160
61060 -16.5 835 -39 610 -61.5 385 -84.5 155
5.5 1055 -17 830 -39.5 605 -62 380 -85 150
51050 -17.5 825 -40 600 -62.5 375 -85.5 145
4.5 1045 -18 820 -40.5 595 -63 370 -86 140
41040 -18.5 815 -41 590 -63.5 365 -86.5 135
3.5 1035 -19 810 -41.5 585 -64 360 -87 130
31030 -19.5 805 -42 580 -64.5 355 -87.5 125
2.5 1025 -20 800 -42.5 575 -65 350 -88 120
21020 -20.5 795 -43 570 -65.5 345 -88.5 115
1.5 1015 -21 790 -43.5 565 -66 340 -89 110
11010 -21.5 785 -44 560 -66.5 335 -89.5 105
.5 1005 -22 780 -44.5 555 -67 330 -90 100
01000 -22.5 775 -45 550 -67.5 325 -90.5 95
-.5 995 -23 770 -45.5 545 -68 320 -91 90
-1990 -23.5 765 -46 540 -68.5 315 -91.5 85
-1.5 985 -24 760 -46.5 535 -69 310 -92 80
-2980 -24.5 755 -47 530 -69.5 305 -92.5 75
-2.5 975 -25 750 -47.5 425 -70 300 -93 70
-3970 -25.5 745 -48 520 -70.5 295 -93.5 65
-3.5 965 -26 740 -48.5 515 -71 290 -94 60
-4960 -26.5 735 -49 510 -71.5 285 -94.5 55
-4.5 955 -27 730 -49.5 505 -72 280 -95 50
-5950 -27.5 725 -50 500 -72.5 275 -95.5 45
-5.5 945 -28 720 -50.5 495 -73 270 -96 40
-6940 -28.5 715 -51 490 -73.5 265 -96.5 35
-6.5 935 -29 710 -51.5 485 -74 260 -97 30
-7930 -2.5 705 -52 480 -74.5 255 -97.5 25
-7.5 925 -30 700 -52.5 475 -75 250 -98 20
-8920 -30.5 695 -53 470 -75.5 245 -98.5 15
-8.5 915 -31 690 -53.5 465 -76 240 -99 10
-9910 -31.5 685 -54 460 -76.5 235 -99.5 5
-9.5 905 -32 680 -54.5 455 -77 230 -100 0
-10 900 -32.5 675 -55 450 -77.5 225
Table of SETL and GETL levels converted from integers.

ETP String Component: Device Number
8
An E Desk Device Number represents the physical E Desk box’s defined
address. The E Desk software automatically sets this number when a system is
Compiled and loaded.
The Device number that a DSP block has been assigned to can be determined in
3 ways:
First Way:
1) Right click on the DSP block and select ‘Properties’.
2) Click on DSP 1 attributes tab and scroll down. The device that the block is assigned to
will be displayed in the ‘Allocated To Unit’ field.
*Note: Each DSP block can be assigned to a device by changing ‘Fixed In to Unit” to ‘Yes’
(this is defaulted to no).
Second Way:
1) In the Display tab of the Options screen select “Display Device Assignment in
DSP Block info field”.
2) This will display the device that each DSP block is assigned to on the main
screen.
Third Way:
1) While connected an E Desk’s RS-232 port, type the string; GET 0 DEVID E
Desk will return the Device Number of the unit you are connected to.
DSP block
without Device
number
DSP block with
Device number