NOVA technical note 12 - Remote control of external devices
Contents
1. Current range Three current ranges are available on the Kikusui electronic load The active current range can be set by sending the following commands through the Externa device send command e Low current range 330 mA CURR RANG LOW e Medium current range 3 3 A CURR RANG MED e High current range 33 A CURR RANG HIGH For example setting up the Externa device send command as shown in Figure 11 activates the high current range on the electronic load Gl External device initialize Fikusul Electronic Load RS232 Device name Kikusul Electronic Load Device tyoe Rozdz c settings i entries m E External device send Fikusui Electronic Load CUR E R Device name Kikusul Electronic Load Commend CURR RANG HIGH External device close Fikusul Electronic Load Device name Kikusul Electronic Load 3 Figure 11 Setting the load to High current range 5 3 Voltage range Two voltage ranges are available on the Kikusui electronic load The active voltage range can be set by sending the following commands through the External device send command e Low voltage range 15 V VOLT RANG LOW e High voltage range 150 V VOLT RANG HIGH For example setting up the Externa device send command as shown in Figure 12 activates the high voltage range on the electronic load 8 Page L Metrohm NOVA Technical Note 12 Autolab s v External device initialize Fukusul Electronic Load R232 Device name Kikusul Electroni2. Electronic Load R5232 kikusul Electronic Load Reese z r entries ma Kikusui Electronic Load DN kikusuli Electronic Load D Kkikusui Electronic Load 0H kikusul Electronic Load Ut Kikusul load ID R aU Mo aa Fikusul Electronic Load Kikusul Electronic Load Figure 15 Displaying the answer to the query in a message box When this procedure is executed the instrument identification number will be displayed in the message box see Figure 16 10 Page L Metrohm NOVA Technical Note 12 Kikusui load ID UERIKUSULPL21 64A LL004093 1 20 EEN Figure 16 The Instrument ID obtained from the instrument through the Externa device receive command is displayed in the message box A number of query instructions can be sent to the electronic load through the External device receive command For a complete overview of these commands please refer to the electronic load user manualError Bookmark not defined In this technical note a few examples will be used 6 1 Mode of operation It is possible to verify the mode of operation of the electronic load by using the following query in the External device send command e FUNC The reply from the instrument can be obtained from the External device receive command see Figure 17 The response will be e CV when the instrument is in Constant Voltage mode e CC when the instrument is in Constant Current mode 11 NOVA Technical note 12
3. power supplies water bath thermostats etc The RS232 communication protocol is straightforward to setup and provides a convenient way to set specific instrument parameters during a Nova measurement Do not forget that it is possible to save new commands in the My Commands group 15 Page
4. E External device initialize Device name Device type settings fl External device send Command i External device receive Device name Command 10 E Messaqe box Tithe of box Messaqe Time limit s lse time limit cl External device clase Device name lt gt Device name LL Metrohm Autolab s v Kikusui Electronic Load R5232 kikusul Electronic Load RSZJZ Eas r entries Fikusul Electronic Load FUNC kikusul Electronic Load FUNC ae Fuikusul Electronic Load 0H Kikusul Electronic Load 10 Mode of operation aU Meo Kikusui Electronic Load Eikusul Electronic Load Figure 17 Using the FUNC query i Note The Message box command can be used to display the operation mode of the load 6 2 Current range It is possible to identify the active current range of the electronic load by using the following query in the External device send command e CURR RANG The reply from the instrument can be obtained from the External device receive command see Figure 18 The response will be e HIGH when the high current range is active 33 A e MED when the medium current range is active 3 3 A e LOW when the low current range Is active 330 mA 12 Page 2 Metrohm Autolab s v E External device initialize Device name Device type settings fl External device send Device name Command i External device receive Device name Command 10 E Messaq
5. L Metrohm NOVA Technical Note 12 RS232 control of external devices Case study how to use RS232 communication to control external devices 1 RS232 control The RS232 standard describes a communication method where information is sent bit by bit on a physical channel Although the protocol itself is quite old it is still present on scientific instrumentation Since NOVA supports the RS232 communication it is possible to use this protocol to integrate the control of external devices in the NOVA procedure Four dedicated commands are available in the Measurement External devices group of the command browser see Figure 1 Commands Procedures lt n Favorte commands a Control Metrohrn devices extemal devices Avantes initialize z Avantes clase External device initialize i External device send External device receive n External device clase H Measurement qeneral j Measurement cyclic and linear sweep voltammetry Measurement voltammetric analysis Measurement chrono methods Measurement impedance l Data handling Analysis general Analysis baseline correction Analysis corrosion Analysis impedance Flots general Plots impedance aa My commands Figure 1 The four commands used in RS232 communication in NOVA are located in the External devices group of commands This technical note illustrates how to set up the RS232 control o
6. c Load Device type Pree oe c settings entries TI G External device send Kikusul Electronic Load VOLT RA Device name Kikusul Electronic Load Command VOLT RANG HIGH External device close Fikusul Electronic Load Device name Kikusul Electronic Load gt Figure 12 Setting the load to High voltage range 5 4 Load switch The electronic load can be switched on or off remotely by sending the following commands through the Externa device send command e Load On INP ON e Load Off INP OFF For example setting up the Externa device send command as shown in Figure 13 switches the electronic load ON External device initialize Fikusul Electronic Load R232 Device name Kikusul Electronic Load Device type Rori ma settings entries TI Sl External device send Fukusul Electronic Load INP ON Device name Kikusul Electronic Load Command INFON ae External device close Fikusul Electronic Load Device name Kikusul Electronic Load 3 Figure 13 Switching the electronic load ON 6 Receiving instructions from the electronic load The External device receive command can be used to receive an instruction back from the external electronic load The reply from the load is triggered by a query sent by the External device send command For this reason the External device receive command must be located after an Externa device send command in the procedure editor as shown in Figure 14 In th
7. command is used at the end of the procedure before starting the procedure Each initialized connection must be closed using the corresponding Externa device close command see Figure 8 Sl External device initialize Fikusul Electronic Load Rozdz Device name Kikusui Electronic Load Device type Prete abe settings i entries E External device close Fikusul Electronic Load Device name Kikusul Electronic Load Figure 8 Always close the connection to the external device at the end of the procedure using the External device close command 5 Sending instructions to the electronic load The External device send command can be used to send an instruction to the external electronic load To use this command it must be added to the procedure editor see Figure 9 4 The actual port name depends on the host computer configuration Check the port number in the device manager of the computer Control panel System Device Manager 6 Page fe Metrohm NOVA Technical Note 12 Autolab s v Gl External device initialize Fukusul Electronic Load R232 Device name Kikusul Electronic Load Device tyoe Fee ge c settings i entries ca e External device send Kikus i Electronic Load Device name Kikusui Electronic Load Command External device close Fikusul Electronic Load Device name Eikusul Electronic Load lt 3 Figure 9 Adding the External device send command to the procedure Ma
8. e box Tithe of box Messaqe Time limit s lse time limit cl External device clase Device name lt gt NOVA Technical Note 12 Kikusui Electronic Load Ro2s2 Kikusul Electronic Load RSZJZ as r entries Kikusui Electronic Load CURR kikusul Electronic Load CJRRE RANG Kikusui Electronic Load 0H kikusul Electronic Load 10 Current range aU Meo Kikusui Electronic Load Eikusul Electronic Load Figure 18 Using the CURR RANG query i Note The Message box command can be used to display the active current range of the load 13 Page NOVA Technical note 12 L Metrohm Autolab s v 6 3 Voltage range It is possible to identify the active voltage range of the electronic load by using the following query in the External device send command e VOLT RANG The reply from the instrument can be obtained from the External device receive command see Figure 19 The response will be e HIGH when the high voltage range is active 150 V e LOW when the low voltage range is active 15 V Sl External device initialize Fikusul Electronic Load RS232 Device name Kikusul Electronic Load Device type Roddie settings entries m E External device send Kikusui Electronic Load vOLT RA Device name Kikusul Electronic Load VOLT RANG Command B External device receive Fukusul Electronic Load 04 Device name Kikusul Electronic Load Command Ut Uy E Messaqe box Ti
9. evices group of commands and add it to the procedure editor see Figure 5 External device initialize L RS232 Device name Device type PEIE E settings i entries c gt Figure 5 Adding the External device initialize to the procedure editor Set the Device name parameter to Kikusu electronic load for example and click the button next to the Settings parameter in the procedure editor to open the configuration table for this command see Figure 6 E External device initialize Fikusul Electronic Load Roda Device name Kikusul Electronic Load Device type enero c Settings f entries S Figure 6 Opening the settings table for the External device initialize command A new window will be displayed see Figure 7 In this interface the settings of the RS232 communication for the external device can be defined Quick watch EF BaudRate Data Bits Handshake NewLine Fart Forthlane Cancel ai Figure 7 The settings of the connection can be defined in the dedicated window 5 Page NOVA Technical note 12 L Metrohm Autolab s v In this example set the parameters to the following values the parameters should match the settings defined on the load in the previous section e BaudRate 19200 e DataBits 8 e Handshake None e NewLine n e Parity None e PortName COM14 e StopBits Two Click the OK button to validate the settings Make sure that the External device close
10. f the Kikusui PLZ164 or PLZ164WA electronic load in order to use this device in combination with the Autolab PGSTAT for energy storage devices characterization The information provided in this technical note can however be used for other electronic loads or other devices using the correct communication protocol 1 NOVA Technical note 12 L Metrohm 2 Requirements The following items are required for this technical note e A Kikusui electronic load the examples shown in this technical note apply to the following models PLZ164 and PLZ164WA e Serial port the host computer must have a serial port COM port available e Null modem cable a so called nu modem cable is required for the control of the Kikusui electronic load A Warning This technical note assumes that the reader is familiar with the Kikusui PLZ164 or PLZ164WA electronic load If this is not the case the reader is invited to consult the user manual of the Kikusui electronic load Other devices can be controlled through a similar protocol Refer to the user manual of the external device for specific information on the communication setup and the commands involved in the control of the device The PLZ164 and the PLZ164WA have the following specifications in terms of current and voltage ranges e Current ranges 330 mA LOW 3 3 A MED and 33 A HIGH e Voltage ranges 15 V LOW and 150 V HIGH 1 Other devices can be controlled through a similar pro
11. is example the External device send command sends the instruction IDN to the electronic load This instruction is used to request the load to send back the instrument identification The response of the load is received by Nova through the External device receive command and the string returned by the load is stored in the parameter 0 9 Page NOVA Technical note 12 E External device initialize Device name Device type settings E External device send Device name Command 2 Metrohm Autolab s v Kikusui Electronic Load R5232 kikusul Electronic Load Rodd za r entries Fikusul Electronic Load ADM kikusul Electronic Load D e External device receive Device name Command 0 E External device clase Device name lt gt Kikusui Electronic Load 0 Eikusul Electronic Load 10 Kikusui Electronic Load kikusui Electronic Load Figure 14 Example of a External device receive command following a query sent to the load using the External device send command In order to display the response of the electronic load to the user it is possible to add a Message box command in the procedure as shown in Figure 15 E External device ntialze Device name Device type settings Sl External device send Device name Command E External device receive Device name Commang E Message box Title of box Message Time limit s Use time limit E External device clase Device name gt Kikusui
12. ke sure that the Device name in the External device send command is the same as in the External device initialize command The Device name parameter can be linked as shown in Figure 9 A number of control instructions can be sent to the electronic load For a complete overview of these commands please refer to the electronic load user man ualError Bookmark not defined In this technical note a few examples will be used 5 1 Mode of operation Two modes of operation are commonly used in combination with the Autolab PGSTAT Constant Voltage CV and Constant Current CC The mode of operation of the electronic load can be set by sending the following commands through the External device send command e Constant Voltage mode FUNC CV e Constant Current mode FUNC CC i Note Command syntax is case sensitive For example setting up the Externa device send command as shown in Figure 10 will force the electronic load to switch to constant current mode 7 Page NOVA Technical note 12 L Metrohm Autolab s v External device initialize Fukusul Electronic Load R232 Device name Kikusul Electronic Load Device type Pree oe c settings entries ca B External device send Fukusul Electronic Load FUNC Cl Device name Kikusul Electronic Load Command FUNC CC External device close Fikusul Electronic Load Device name Kikusul Electronic Load gt Figure 10 Setting the load to Constant Current CC mode 5 2
13. ss the SHIFT key and the MENU key on the front panel of the load to open the configuration menu 3 Page NOVA Technical note 12 L Metrohm Using the Arrow keys on the front panel of the load navigate to the Configuration sub menu Press the ENTER key on the front panel to open the sub menu In the configuration sub menu open the Interface menu see Figure 4 OM 1 Setup 1 Master Slave _ EREE 2 Power On 3 Calibration 3 HOEN 4 Model Info 4 External PREV PREV Figure 4 Open the Configuration Interface menu by using the Arrow and the ENTER keys on the front panel of the load In the interface menu rotate the rotary knob on the front panel of the load to set the Control parameter to RS232C Set the other parameters to the following values e Baudrate 19200bps Data Stop 8 2 only the number of stop bits can be defined the data format is fixed to 8 bits e Parity NONE this parameter is fixed e Ack OFF Press the SHIFT and the MENU keys on the front panel to close the Menu A Warning Switch off the load and switch it on again in order to validate the new settings 4 L Metrohm NOVA Technical Note 12 Autolab s v 4 NOVA setup In the procedure setup the commands required to control the electronic load can now be added to the procedure Before the instrument can be controlled the communication must be initialized Locate the External device initialize command in the External d
14. the of box Load status Messaqe Time limit s cil Ise time lirit No m E External device close Fikusul Electronic Load Device name Kikusul Electronic Load gt Figure 19 Using the VOLT RANG query The Message box command can be used to display the active voltage range of the load 14 Page L Metrohm NOVA Technical Note 12 Autolab s v 6 4 Load switch It is possible to identify the status of the load switch of the electronic load by using the following query in the Externa device send command e INP The reply from the instrument can be obtained from the External device receive command see Figure 20 The response will be e 1 when the load is ON e 0 when the load is OFF External device send Fikusul Electronic Load INF Device name Kikusul Electronic Load Command _ INP Sl External device recere Fikusul Electronic Load 104 Device name Kikusul Electronic Load Command Ut UT El Message box Title of box Load status Message Time limit s aU se time limit No ma External device close Fikusul Electronic Load Device name Kikusul Electronic Load gt Figure 20 Using the INP Query The Message box command can be used to display the load switch status of the electronic load 7 Conclusion Using the commands located in the External devices group it is possible to setup remote control of commonly used external devices like electronic loads programmable
15. tocol Refer to the user manual of the external device for specific information on the communication setup and the commands involved in the control of the device A USB to serial adapter can also be used 3 This cable can be purchased in a computer store or online www farnell com 2 L Metrohm NOVA Technical Note 12 Autolab s v 3 Hardware setup Connect the cable to the serial port of the host computer and to the matching RS232C connector located on the back plane of the Kikusui electronic load see Figure 2 10 EXT CONT 4 Remote sensing terminal a babs 1 DC INPUT EXT CONT a oe Mi Rn HIT CI i wwe www we te PT SS ee A WARNING TO AVOID ELECTRIC SHOCK THE POWER CORD na PROTECTIVE GROUNDING CONDUCTOR MUST 5 BE CONNECTED TO GROUND 5 DO NOT REMOVE COVERS REFER SEAVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL t AES T MBHRHLOC AJRA KOGNDBE TO MRICMALT OMB lt eAL 3 ERROM BRMICMOALTRUIZEHA 2 5 gt AC INPUT CI 100 240V 47 63Hz BOVA MAX E 3 AC INPUT 8 USB 2 Air outlet 6 GPIB 7 RS 232C Figure 2 Connect the null modem cable to the RS232C connector on the back plane of the Kikusui electronic load Switch the electronic load ON and open the Menu by pressing the SHIFT and the MENU key at the same time on the front panel of the load see Figure 3 LOAD ENTER MENU SHIFT O Figure 3 Pre
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