Serial Port (Core, I/O Frame, I/O-22)

The RS-232 Serial Port component allows you to make a connection to the RS-232 connector on a Core, I/O Frame, or the I/O-22 for Lua Scripting. When a connection is made, and an appropriate Lua script written, you can control and read from devices such as DVD players, recording hardware, video, lighting, and so on.

Inputs

RS-232 Serial Port - Serial port data to and from the RS-232 connector on the Core, I/O Frame or the I/O-22.

Outputs

Serial Port - Connects to the Control Script, Command Buttons, and Text Controller components.

The Properties listed below are specific to the RS-232 Serial Port component. The other Properties available when the RS-232 Serial Port is selected are related to the Core, I/O Frame, or the I/O-22 Status topics. See Status (Core), Status (I/O Frame), and Status (I/O-22).

Property

Function

Choices

Name

Text name identifying the RS-232 Serial Port component.

User defined

Serial Port

Identifies which serial port you are communicating through.

0 to 4

Control

Function

Default / Range

TX Bytes

Displays a running total of the number of bytes sent.

N / A

RX Bytes

Displays a running total of the number of bytes received.

N / A

Reset

Resets both TX Bytes and RX Bytes to zero.

N / A

The available Control Pins depend on settings in Properties.

Pin Name

Value

String

Position

Pins Available

Reset

Trigger

Input/Output

Receive Bytes

Text Box

Output

Transmit Bytes

Text Box

Output

Pinout

  • Pin 2 - RX (Receive)
  • Pin 3 - TX (Transmit)
  • Pin 5 - GND (Signal Ground)
  • All other pins on a Core are not supported
  • Pin 4 on an I/O-22 provides +5.5VDC @ 70mA (not on any other Q-SYS product, though)

This signal to DE-9 configuration is known as DTE. All 9-pin D-Shell RS-232 pinned as DTE have this configuration. All PC serial ports are DTE as is the Core, I/O-Frame and I/O-22. Usually peripherals are DCE, which reverses the receive and transmit pins, allowing a straight-thru cable to be used.

You must check the pinout of any equipment, including the cable, to be connected to a Q-SYS serial port for input or output. Many times in serial troubleshooting, problems may be solved by inserting a "null-modem" adapter or cable to swap the TX and RX pin positions. For custom terminated DE-9 connectors, pins 2 and 3 may need to be swapped on one end of the cable. In any case, a TX pin on one end MUST be connected to an RX pin on the other and vise-versa for data to flow properly.