Tritex Communicator - Comms Format - V2.

215

A. Document Scope

This document is compatible with the following Tritex product versions :

1. Tritex Communicator : V2.215

PC host-software

2. Tritex Multigauge 3000 : V2.09e (& all earlier versions)

Underwater Gauge : RS422 only

3. Tritex Multigauge 4100 / 4400 : V2.09e

ROV-Gauge : RS422 or RS232 (switch-selectable option)

4. Tritex Multigauge 4100 / 4400 : V2.09c

ROV-Gauge : RS422 or RS232 (programmable option)

B. Serial Interface

Tritex Gauges are currently provided with the following Serial Interface options :

1. Tritex Multigauge 3000 : RS422

2. Tritex Multigauge 4100 / 4400 : RS422 or RS232 (switch-selectable option)

C. Data-byte Format

1. Baud Rate : 19200

2. Data Bits :8
3. Parity : None
4. Stop Bits :1
5. Hardware Handshake : None

D. Receive-Packet Format

Data is periodically sent from the Gauge in 7-byte packets - packet structure :

1. ascii SOH : hex 01

2. Header-byte : decode as Status or Measurement header
3. Data-byte : most significant
4. Data-byte : 2nd ms
5. Data-byte : 3rd ms
6. Data-byte : least significant
7. ascii ETB : hex 17

E. Transmit-Packet Format

Commands can be sent freely to the Gauge, in 7-byte packets - packet structure :

1. ascii SOH : hex 01

2. Header-byte : Command header
3. Data-byte : most significant
4. Data-byte : 2nd ms
5. Data-byte : 3rd ms
6. Data-byte : least significant
7. ascii ETB : hex 17

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F. Receive-Packet Repetition Rate

Packets are sent from the Gauge at a rate of one packet every half a second, constantly
alternating between a Measurement Packet and a Status Packet :

1. Measurement Packet
i. Each Packet received is the latest measurement obtained from the Gauge
ii. The Header-byte must be decoded to determine the numeric format of the measurement

2. Status Packet
i. Each Packet received is one of a sequence, which constantly monitors the Status of the
Gauge
ii. The Header-byte must be decoded to determine the contents of the current Packet

G. Receive-Packet decoding

1. Measurement Packet – Calibrated Gauge

Tritex Multigauge 3000 is always Calibrated case, so that the Topside System display will
be the same as the Gauge display
[Tritex Multigauge 4100/4400 can optionally be programmed to be Calibrated case, but would
normally be supplied Uncalibrated – see next table]

The 4 Data-bytes are sent as ASCII numbers ‘0’ to ‘9’ (hex 30 to hex 39)
These represent the 4 digits to be displayed
Leading zeroes are sent as blanks (ASCII space – hex 20)

Header Data-bytes
ASCII Hex Valid Reading Measurement Measurement 4-digits
code value Reading Resolution Units Range interpreted as :
‘0’ 0x30 no 0.1mm mm low No Reading ---.-
‘1’ 0x31 no 0.1mm mm high No Reading ---.-
‘2’ 0x32 no 0.005in. inch low No Reading -.---
‘3’ 0x33 no 0.005in. inch high No Reading --.--
‘4’ 0x34 no 0.05mm mm low No Reading --.--
‘5’ 0x35 no 0.05mm mm high No Reading ---.-
‘6’ 0x36 no 0.002in. inch low No Reading -.---
‘7’ 0x37 no 0.002in. inch high No Reading --.--
‘8’ 0x38 yes 0.1mm mm low Up to 99.9mm
‘9’ 0x39 yes 0.1mm mm high 100.0 and above
‘:’ 0x3A yes 0.005in. inch low Up to 9.995in.
‘;’ 0x3B yes 0.005in. inch high 10.00 and above
‘<’ 0x3C yes 0.05mm mm low Up to 99.95mm
‘=’ 0x3D yes 0.05mm mm high 100.0 and above
‘>’ 0x3E yes 0.002in. inch low Up to 9.998in.
‘?’ 0x3F yes 0.002in. inch high 10.00 and above

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 2. Measurement Packet – Uncalibrated Gauge

Tritex Multigauge 4100/4400 is normally Uncalibrated case – this means that the received
measurement data needs to be converted by calculation to show the desired display Value
(and also Units and Resolution) :

The 4 Data-bytes are sent as ASCII numbers ‘0’ to ‘9’ (hex 30 to hex 39)
These represent the 4 decimal digits [nnnn] of the uncalibrated measurement value
Leading zeroes are sent as blanks (ASCII space – hex 20)

Metric Measurement conversion :

Display Reading =
[Valid Reading, nnnn] * [Calibrated Velocity] * 0.05mm / [Scaling Factor, 6400]

Calibrated Velocity is the required Velocity of Sound value in m/s [eg : 5930 m/s]

Header-byte Hex Valid Data-bytes

ASCII code value Reading 4-digits interpreted as :
‘@’ 0x40 no No Reading ---.-
‘A’ 0x41 no No Reading ---.-
‘B’ 0x42 no No Reading -.---
‘C’ 0x43 no No Reading --.--
‘D’ 0x44 no No Reading --.--
‘E’ 0x45 no No Reading ---.-
‘F’ 0x46 no No Reading -.---
‘G’ 0x47 no No Reading --.--
‘H’ 0x48 yes Valid Reading = nnnn
‘I’ 0x49 yes Valid Reading = nnnn
‘J’ 0x4A yes Valid Reading = nnnn
‘K’ 0x4B yes Valid Reading = nnnn
‘L’ 0x4C yes Valid Reading = nnnn
‘M’ 0x4D yes Valid Reading = nnnn
‘N’ 0x4E yes Valid Reading = nnnn
‘O’ 0x4F yes Valid Reading = nnnn

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 3. Status Packet

Status Packets continuously cycle from ‘b’ through ‘I’ (alternating with Measurement Packets);
Status Packet ‘a’ only occurs as a one-off response to a Ping request from the Topside
system

It is not necessary to make use of the Status Packets when using the Gauge to measure –
they are provided for Diagnostic use only
4.

Packet Byte #2 Status Byte#

= Header Byte Contents in Bytes interpreted as
Packet
ASCII Hex
‘a’ 0x61 Ping Response: 3 [M3000 | M4100 | M4400] = ‘8’
Tritex 4 [M3000 = ‘5’] | [M4100 = ‘7’] | [M4400 = ‘8’]
Product-code 5 <reserved> = ‘0’
6 <reserved> = ‘0’
‘b’ 0x62 3 Days : single decimal value [0-79],
sent as ascii_0 offset <0x30>
Gauge 4 Hours : single decimal value [0-23],
Run-time sent as ascii_0 offset <0x30>
5 Minutes : single decimal value [0-59],
sent as ascii_0 offset <0x30>
6 <reserved> = ‘0’
‘c’ 0x63 Gauge 3 ms-digit <ascii>
Software 4 2nd ms <ascii>
version 5 3rd ms <ascii>
Vn.nnx 6 ls version letter <ascii>
‘d’ 0x64 3 [M3000 | M4100 | M4400] = ‘8’
Tritex 4 [M3000 = ‘5’] | [M4100 = ‘7’] | [M4400 = ‘8’]
Product-code 5 <reserved> = ‘0’
6 <reserved> = ‘0’
‘e’ 0x65 3 Bit-wise Byte : sent as ascii_0 offset <0x30>
Bit 3 : Coating-Plus [1 = on | 0 = off]
Gauge Bit 2 : Probe Polarity [1 = +ve | 0 = -ve]
Settings Bit 1 : Resolution [1 = 0.05mm | 0 = 0.1mm]
<Units & Res. Bit 0 : Measurement Units [1 = inch | 0 = mm]
only apply if 4 Bit-wise Byte : sent as ascii_0 offset <0x30>
Calibrated> Bit 1 : Measurement
[1 = Uncalibrated | 0 = Calibrated]
Bit 0 : Serial Link [1 = RS232 | 0 = RS422]
5 Supply Voltage : 8-bit value, to be scaled
M4100/M4400 M4x00 : [<8-bit value> * 0.142] = <n.nn> V
Supply-Voltage M3000 : [<8-bit value> * 0.044] = <n.nn> V
/ M3000 Battery ms-nybble <ascii_0 offset>
6 ls-nybble <ascii_0 offset>
‘f’ 0x66 Velocity of Sound : 16-bit value, to be scaled
Velocity of mm Units : [<16-bit value> * 5] = <nnnn> m/s
Sound setting
<used if Gauge 3 ms-nybble <ascii_0 offset>
= Calibrated> 4 2nd ms-nybble <ascii_0 offset>
5 3rd ms-nybble <ascii_0 offset>
6 ls-nybble <ascii_0 offset>

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Packet Byte #2 Status Byte#
= Header Byte Contents in Bytes interpreted as
Packet
ASCII Hex
‘g’ 0x67 Probe-Type : ascii char
‘A’ : 2.25MHz / 13mm / SoftFace
‘B’ : 2.25MHz / 19mm / SoftFace
‘C’ : 3.5MHz / 13mm / SoftFace
Probe-Type 3 ‘D’ : 5MHz / 13mm / SoftFace
‘E’ : 5MHz / 6mm / SoftFace
‘F’ : 1MHz / 13mm / HardFace
‘G’ : 2MHz / 13mm / HardFace
‘H’ : 5MHz / 13mm / HardFace
‘I’ : 5MHz / 6mm / HardFace

4 Probe Sensitivity : <ascii_0 offset, 0x30>

Range : 1 to 15
Probe 5 Probe Gate : <ascii_0 offset, 0x30>
Parameters Range : 1 to 30
6 Probe Head : <ascii number>
Range : ‘0’ to ‘9’
‘h’ 0x68 3 Probe Drive : <ascii_0 offset, 0x30>
Probe Range : 1 to 15
Parameters 4 Probe Envelope : <ascii_0 offset, 0x30>
Range : 1 to 15
Probe Serial# : <ascii alphanumeric>
Probe Serial# 5 ms-char
(ms2) 6 2nd ms-char
‘i’ 0x69 3 3rd ms-char
Probe Serial# 4 4th ms-char
(ls4) 5 5th ms-char
6 ls-char
‘j’ 0x6A Gauge Assembly# <nnnn>: <ascii number>
Gauge 3 ms-digit
Assembly# 4 2nd ms-digit
#30-nnnn 5 3rd ms-digit
6 ls-digit
‘k’ 0x6B Gauge Serial# <nnnn>: <ascii number>
Gauge Serial# 3 ms-digit
M30-nnnn 4 2nd ms-digit
M41-nnnn 5 3rd ms-digit
M44-nnnn 6 ls-digit
‘l’ 0x6C Gauge 3 ms-digit <ascii>
Firmware 4 ls-digit <ascii>
version 5 ‘0’ <reserved>
V5.nn 6 ‘0’ <reserved>

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H. Transmit-Packet : Commands to Gauge

1. Command-Packet structure

Commands can be sent freely to the Gauge, in 7-byte packets - packet structure :

1. ascii SOH : hex 01

2. Header-byte : Command header
3. Data-byte : most significant
4. Data-byte : 2nd ms
5. Data-byte : 3rd ms
6. Data-byte : least significant
7. ascii ETB : hex 17

2. Available Commands

Available Commands depend upon the Gauge-Type, and also current Gauge-settings

After a Command is issued : the Gauge will respond immediately with the appropriate Status-
packet showing the revised setting

Packet Byte #2 Byte#

= Header Byte Command in Bytes interpreted as
Packet
ASCII Hex
‘K’ 0x4b Assign 3 Calibration = Uncalibrated : ‘1’ <0x31>
Calibration Calibration = Calibrated : ‘0’ <0x30>
setting 4 ‘0’ <0x30>
<M4x00 only> 5 ‘0’ <0x30>
6 ‘0’ <0x30>
‘1’ 0x31 Assign 3 Units = inch : ‘1’ <0x31>
Measurement Units = mm : ‘0’ <0x30>
Units 4 ‘0’ <0x30>
<Calibrated 5 ‘0’ <0x30>
Gauge only> 6 ‘0’ <0x30>
‘2’ 0x32 3 Resolution = 0.05mm : ‘1’ <0x31>
Assign <else> Resolution = 0.002inch : ‘1’ <0x31>
Measurement Resolution = 0.1mm : ‘0’ <0x30>
Resolution <else> Resolution = 0.005inch : ‘0’ <0x30>
<Calibrated 4 ‘0’ <0x30>
Gauge only> 5 ‘0’ <0x30>
6 ‘0’ <0x30>
‘6’ 0x36 Velocity of Sound :
1. scale : decimal VoS = divide-by-5
<integer only>
Assign 2. then convert : 16-bit hex-value
Velocity of mm Units : [<nnnn m/s> / 5] = <0xhhhh>
Sound 3. then send as 4 ascii_0 offset bytes :
<Calibrated
Gauge only> 3 ms-nybble <add ascii_0 offset 0x30>
4 2nd ms-nybble <add ascii_0 offset 0x30>
5 3rd ms-nybble <add ascii_0 offset 0x30>
6 ls-nybble <add ascii_0 offset 0x30>

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I. Physical Connections

1. Tritex M3000 Underwater Gauge – Topside Repeater

This the pin layout of the MCBH-5-FS connector, which is mounted on the End-cap of the
Tritex 3000 Underwater Gauge :

The pins are connected as follows :

MCBH-5-FS pin Signal Name Signal Function

1 GND Ground Reference
2 RX+ RS422 Gauge Receive Positive
3 RX- RS422 Gauge Receive Negative
4 TX- RS422 Gauge Transmit Negative
5 TX+ RS422 Gauge Transmit Positive

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 2. Tritex M4100 / M4400 ROV-mounting Underwater Gauge

This the pin layout of the Teledyne Impulse / LPMBH-6-FS connector, which is mounted on
one end of the Tritex M4100 / M4400 Underwater Gauge :

<Mating connector : Teledyne Impulse / LPMIL-6-MP>

3 2 1

Face View

6 5 4

The pins are connected as follows :

LPMBH-6-FS pin Signal Name Signal Function

1 TX-
2 TX+
3 RX-
4 RX+
5 GND
6 VIN
RS422 Gauge Transmit Negative
RS422 Gauge Transmit Positive
RS422 Gauge Receive Negative
RS422 Gauge Receive Positive
Ground Reference
Power Supply Positive [+9V to +36V]

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