Serial Communication with Watson-Marlow pump 505Di

[Christoffer]

Hi!

I need to communicate with a Watson-Marlow pump model 505Di via RS232, http://www.watson-marlow.com/pdfs-global/505di-gb-03.pdf

However, I can't get it to work. I have tried with the example "Basic Serial and Write" in LabView. I use Baud rate: 9600, Data bits: 8 Stop bits: 2, Parity: none; flow control: None and RTS/CTR (This is taken from page 5 in the manual, see link). The pump is in "Network" mode.

I terminate the commands with \r.

I got no response from the pump and I don't understand why.

Do anyone have any idea why it's not working?

Regards

Christoffer

[WM Service]

Hello,

I have confirmed that all the settings you have quoted are correct for standard RS232 communication. I would suggest you try the following:

1) Swap TX/RX wires on one end of the cable (This is pins 2 & 3)

2) Remove the RTS/CTR wires

3) If none of the above work you could do a self test on the pump, as below:

Link pins 2 & 3 together on the pump D connector

Press and hold "Stop" & "Down" and turn the pump on

Scroll through the options menu using the "step" key until you see "Net"

Press "enter"

If the test result is ok then you have a cable or LabView issue, if the tes result says "fail" then the pump will need to be repaired at one of our Approved Service Centres. Please feel free to email us on aftersales@watson-marlow.co.uk if you need anymore assisatance

Thanks

Andrew Jones

UK AfterSales Manager

[smercurio_fc]

I would supplement this by suggesting that before you try to do this in LabVIEW you should try your communication with something like HyperTerminal. The reason is that with LabVIEW you often have to configure things that you normally don't need to do with HyperTerminal since it's essentially a dumb terminal. This will allow you to troubleshoot hardware issues like cables. If you can communicate with the device via HyperTerminal then you can move to the next step which is to try it in LabVIEW.

[betauser]

I am  having a similar problem with a 620Du pump.  I have tried communicating with it by hyperterminal and putty and am getting no response.  

I tried holding stop and down arrow key on this pump but it didn't work possibly because it is a different model.

[AnalogKid2DigitalMan]

Do your serial port setting match between the pump and PC?

Correct cabling between the two?

Is the pump in Network mode?

Alll of this is shown in the manual:

http://www.watson-marlow.nl/pdfs-global/m-620du-gb-04.pdf

-AK2DM

[betauser]

I've been following the manual that you linked. 

I've matched the settings with the pump (9600 baud rate, 2 stop bits, No flow control) and I'm using an RS232 connector with the 2-3 pins switched (I've also tried one that is straight through).  The pump is in network mode.  

I tried using the pumpnet software that the manufacturer recommends to test it.  I had to run it in MS-DOS mode and I was not able to see the pump on my PC.  The screen on the pump read ""pumpnet: pump 1" after the program opened but I was not able to control it.

[AnalogKid2DigitalMan]

Is the address of your pump in the setup of it set to pump 1?

-AK2DM

[betauser]

yes

[AnalogKid2DigitalMan]

What OS did you have to run their DOS program under? I am wondering if the abstraction layer is blocking access to the physical COM port.

Other than that, I wonder if their software is using flow control which would require the handshaking lines in the RS232 cable be wired up.

If you have no success using their software, I can't think of anything else that could be the culprit. You may want to contact the manufacturer for further assistance.

If you are successful, at least you would have a starting point to attempt in Hyperterminal first.

-AK2DM

[betauser]

Thanks for the help.  I was able to control the pump in Realterm by adding a carriage return to the end of the string.  I had tried this earlier but I think that the buffer was full and I had to reset the pump to clear it.