Z-box: Programmable Instrument Interface Preliminary documentation Rev 0.

2, 2006-01-23
David Zim Sherman Scienterra Ltd (NZ) +64 434 9761 zim.sherman@gmail.com

Z-box connector pinouts

XLR connectors: standard 7-pin PCP/PFP pinout. GPS port: Use Garmin model GPS35-HVS or equivalent. Connector to mate with Z-box is Switchcraft EN3C4F. Pinout, pins 1-4: 1: 24 volts 2: GND 3: TX (data from Z-box) 4: RX (data to Z-box) Auxiliary RS232 serial port: Almost the same as the GPS port. The auxiliary serial port is the connector near the center of the Z-boxs long axis, next to the blue-capped bulkhead connector. If you plug the GPS into the auxiliary serial port, it will not work. Pinout, pins 1-4: 1: 12 volts, 30mA 2: GND 3: TX (data from Z-box) 4: RX (data to Z-box) Temp / Humidity probe: Use Vaisala model HMP-50. Connector to mate with Z-box is Switchcraft EN3C6M. Pinout, pins 1-6: 1: 5v reference (not used no connection to Vaisala) 2: RH signal voltage 3: Signal ground 4: Temperature signal voltage 5: 12 volts 6: Power ground

Analog expansion port: This is the blue-capped bulkhead connector. The connector to mate with Z-box is Bulgin Series 400 Buccaneer, model PX0410/12P/xxxx. Pins must be purchased separately, part number SA3180. The suffix (xxxx) will be determined by the size of cable you will use. Consult datasheet for details, at http://www.bulgin.co.uk/PDFs/CatNo82/Buccaneer_400Series2005.pdf Pinout, pins 1-12: 1: 12 volts 2: Power ground 3: Analog output 1 4: Analog output 2 5: Analog output 3 (hardware exists, but firmware does not support.) 6: Signal ground 7: Analog input 1 8: Analog input 2 9: Analog input 3 10: Analog input 4 11: Analog input 5 12: Analog input 6

Z-box operation notes

Interface to the Z-box is through the XLR connector. The two XLR connectors are electrically identical, so either one may be used. The Z-box will listen to the RS-485 bus for 10 seconds if no activity is detected, the Z-box will default to RS-232 mode. Both RS-485 and RS-232 are 19200 baud, 8 bits, 1 stop, no parity. Protocol is standard PFP-Intranet: Question mark, three-letter address, comma, parameter name(s) or command. All text must be uppercase. Example: ?THP, TEMP, RH, PRES !thp, temp, rh, pres, 24.3212, 19.2545, 0831.6 Note that responses echo the name of each parameter, as well as its value. Z-box functions are generally addressed through the Temperature and Humidity Probe address, ?THP. GPS functions are addressed through ?GPS. THP parameters you can poll: TEMP temperature C RH humidity (%) PRES pressure (internal sensor, mbar) TPRES temperature of pressure transducer, C TPI additional internal temperature of Z-box (internal sensor, C)

A1 through A6 analog inputs 1-6, available range 0-1200 mV VER firmware version

GPS parameters you can poll: LAT Latitude (HHMM.dddd) LON Longitude (HHHMM.dddd) ALT Altitude (meters) PREC Dilution of precision (0-10) FIX Signal strength (1= no signal, 2= altitude unknown, 3= all known) TIME GPS time DATE GPS date If Temp/RH probe is not connected, TEMP will read near 40, and RH will read near 0. If GPS is not connected, all fields will return 999. The PFP polls Z-box data using an additional command, ALL. Each address has a predetermined parameter list that is returned by the ALL command. The names of the parameters returned by ALL can be examined by issuing a request for header information, HDR. Example: ?THP, ALL !thp, 24.3212, 19.2545, 0831.6 ?THP, HDR !thp, temp, rh, pres ?GPS, ALL !gps, 3951.2545, -10425.0944, 1725, 5, 2, 2007-01-22, 12:57:21 ?GPS, HDR !gps, lat, lon, alt, prec, fix, date, time

Advanced users only:

The Z-box has other functions that can be accessed by special commands. ?THP, DAC1, 2.43 ?THP, DAC2, 3.45 ?THP, FLINT, 60 ?THP, FLRST ?THP, FLASH sets the first analog output to 2.43 volts. sets the first analog output to 3.45 volts. sets the logger interval to 60 seconds. resets the logger memory dumps the logger memory to the XLR port

Note: If you are not using the logger function, FLINT should always be set to zero. Note that DAC3 is not implemented in this firmware revision.