Hey all, I am having a bit of an issue. I have searched the forums and tried different things with no result.

I have a Contemporary Research 232-ATSC tuner I want to control via RS232. I have no Prontoscript knowledge (yet), and I cannot get a response.

I am using Comm1 on the RFX9600, baud rates are set correctly, cabling is correct.

If I send a command from a terminal window, it works. If I set the same command in PEP2, I see the correct port on the RFX flash, and I see the receive light on the tuner flash, but it does not execute the function.

As an example, the tuner uses > as a beginning of command, followed by an ASCII command (we'll use TU as the example), followed by a carriage return.

So, from a terminal window ( I use Crestron's Viewport), I send >TU0x0d and the tuner will change up one channel. If I set this in the ASCII window of PEP2, it recognizes it as a valid command ( I get the green checkmark) but the tuner does not respond.

I tried other carriage returns, such as \r, but no luck, and PEP2 does not recognize them as valid, as I get a yellow exclamation point.

Any thoughts?

If the following in HEX window does not work, I'd check to make sure the right port is enabled and that the component is configured properly and that the actual unit operates only with 3 pins of DB9 (RX, TX, Gnd) and does not require CTS or other DB9-based signals.

54 55 0D

Which is the ASCII equivalent of TU\r

Thanks for the response. I am relatively new to the RS232 world, I have done a decent amount in PEP1 for Yamaha and Panasonic, but this one is baffling me. I verified that the tuner only uses 2,3, and 5, they actually use other pins for a different signaling setup. If going RS232, they want ONLY 2,3 and 5 connected. It is the correct port setup, and the receive light on the tuner lights when a command is sent, so I am confident it is getting there. I tried your command, exactly as shown with no luck. The tuner wants the > as an attention character, I dont know how to enter that as hex. I assume your command was 54 for T and 55 for U with 0D as carriage return. How would I include the > symbol?

Thanks for the help...

run charmap.exe on windows box. It will report 'T' as \u0054 which is how I got the '54'. 'U' is \u0055. So, figure out what is > and then enter
XX 54 55 0D

Sorry about that. I missed the >

The ascii equivalent of ">" is 62 decimal which in hex is 3E if my math is still good so try

3E 54 55 0D

There is a free editor called textpad that is much better than notepad, For example it has optional line numbers and is much faster on long files.

It also can display all of the ascii codes in decimal.

Not a problem. I was unaware of charmap. I got 3E. However it still won't work. I tried >TU/r again in ASCII and I tried 3E 54 55 0D, if i connect the output of the RFX to Viewport on my computer I get >TU0X0D as what the RFX is outputting, regardless of which string I use, ASCII or hex. If I enter that exact same string from Viewport to the tuner, it works, but not through the RFX.

I really don't want to do IR.

Instead of crestron tool, use hyperterminal from Windows to see what you get. You will not see the 0X0D but rather the terminal should advance to next line.

Once you figure out if it works in Hyperterminal, then you might be in business.

Also try one other thing. Following the CR (0D) also include a linefeed LF (0A) in case the crestron tool is automatically sending a LF following CR.

Thank you guys for your help. I actually discovered my problem (hyperterminal was a big help though), and it was in PEP2. In the equipment and codes tab, when I edit component functions, apparently I can't edit the command string. It will let me re-type the command, but regardless of what it shows in the command list, it still sent whatever I typed the first time I entered the command. So I suppose edit component isn't really edit the command list. Hyperterminal returned something different than what was currently shown in the command list, it showed the original, incorrect command. I had to delete the command entirely, and then add a new command with the correct string.

Now I am preparing to struggle through some Prontoscript. I have ZERO javascript experience, in fact I haven't done anything related to coding since Basic on a TRS80. I don't count GUI driven programs such as the older ProntoEdits or the current setup programs for a lot of A/V gear as real programming, so wish me luck.

I have been a member for a long time here, but I try not to abuse the help people here offer, and I thank you again.

Don't worry. If we see an honest effort to learn followed by questions we all help.