Protocol Reference

Serial interface settings

To connect to the serial interface via a PC, first plug the adapter into the computer using a USB type A to mini-B cable. The settings for the virtual serial port are 9600/8-N-1:

• 9600 bits per second
• 8 data bits per byte
• No parity
• 1 stop bit

You will need to know the port to use for communication. On Windows, check the Device Manager. On OS X and Linux, open Terminal and type or paste ls /dev/tty* to find the USB device.

Command bytes

Command	Name	Description	Following Data
0x00	Heartbeat	Polls the Arduino, which responds with 0x00.	None
0x01	Enable restricted mode	Polls the Arduino, which responds with 0x01, and enables restricted commands.	None
0x10, 0x11	Set single channel	Sets a single channel. Last bit of command denotes upper bit of channel number.	Next byte is LSB of channel number. Third byte is new channel value.
0x12, 0x13	Increment single channel	Increments a single channel by 1. Last bit of command denotes upper bit of channel number.	Next byte is LSB of channel number.
0x14, 0x15	Decrement single channel	Decrements a single channel by 1. Last bit of command denotes upper bit of channel number.	Next byte is LSB of channel number.
0x16, 0x17	Increment single channel by value	Increments a single channel by the specified amount. Last bit of command denotes upper bit of channel number.	Next byte is amount to increment.
0x18, 0x19	Decrement single channel by value	Decrements a single channel by the specified amount. Last bit of command denotes upper bit of channel number.	Next byte is amount to decrement.
0x20, 0x21	Set 256 channels	Sets 256 channels at once. Last bit of command denotes upper bit of channel block.	Next 256 bytes are channel values. Sets channels 0-255 if command was 0x20 or 256-511 if command was 0x21.
0x22, 0x23	Set block of channels	Sets a block of channels at once. Last bit of command denotes upper bit of start channel.	Next byte is LSB of start channel number. Third byte is number of channels to set (X). Next X bytes are new channel values.
0x24	Increment all channels by value	Increments all channel by a value.	Next byte is amount to increment.
0x25	Decrement all channels by value	Decrements all channel by a value.	Next byte is amount to increment.
0x26	Set all channels to value	Sets all channel to the same value.	Next byte is new value.
0x27	Set 512 channels	Sets 512 channels at once.	Next 512 bytes are channel values.
0x30, 0x31	Copy 256 channels	Copies 256 channels between 0-255 and 256-511. Last bit of command denotes direction: 0x30 copies 256-511 to 0-255, and 0x31 copies the other direction.	None
0x32	Exchange 256 channels	Exchanges 256 channels between 0-255 and 256-511.	None
0x40, 0x41	Get single channel value	Gets the value of a single channel. Last bit of command denotes upper bit of channel number.	Next byte is LSB of channel number.
0x42	Get all channel values	Gets the value of all channels.	None
0xDB	Debug	Sets the LED to blink in the debug pattern.	None
0xE0	Stop DMX	Stops transmitting DMX.	None
0xE1	Start DMX	Starts transmitting DMX. Note that DMX is set to transmit upon power up.	None
0xE2, 0xE3	Set max channels	Sets the maximum number of channels to transmit. Last bit of command denotes upper bit of channel number. Note that a value of 0 sets the max channels to 512.	Next byte is LSB of number of channels.
0xE4	Start digital blackout	Transmits 0 for all channels, keeping the old values in memory.	None
0xE5	Stop digital blackout	Transmits channels as they were before the digital blackout.	None
0xF0	Shut down	Shuts down the Arduino, which echoes and then sends an EOT packet. Only works in restricted mode.	None
0xF1	Reset	Soft-resets the Arduino, which echoes and then sends an EOT packet. Only works in restricted mode.	None
0xF8	Status request	Responds with the current status flags.	None
0xF9	Error request	Responds with the current error flags and then resets them.	None
0xFA	Version request	Responds with the 3-byte protocol and firmware versions, little-Endian style.	None
0xFB	Protocol version request	Responds with the 3-byte protocol version, little-Endian style.	None
0xFC	Firmware version request	Responds with the 3-byte firmware version, little-Endian style.	None
0xFD	Temperature request	Responds with the approximate 4-byte core temperature in millidegrees Celsius, little-Endian style.	None
0xFE	Uptime request	Responds with the 4-byte uptime in milliseconds, little-Endian style.	None

Status Codes

Bit	Name	Meaning
0	DMX Enabled	DMX is enabled
1	Digital Blackout Enabled	Digital Blackout is enabled
2	Restricted Mode	Restricted commands may be executed
3	Debug Mode	The LED is blinking in the Debug flash pattern
4	Received Handshake	The Ready Check packet has been received
5	Sent Shutdown Warning	The auto shutdown warning has been sent
6	Serial Diagnostics	The command being processed was received over serial, not TI Link.
7	Error Status	Errors have occurred since last error request

In normal operating mode, the status flag byte should equal 0x11.

Error Codes

Bit	Name	Description
0	DMX Disabled Error	Received DMX command when DMX was disabled
1	Digital Blackout Error	Received DMX command when digital blackout was enabled
2	Restricted Mode Error	Received restricted command when not in restricted mode
3	Invalid Value	A command contained an invalid parameter value
4	Timeout	Communication timed out
5	Bad Packet	A packet was malformed or had an invalid checksum
6	Unknown Command	An unknown command was received
7	Unknown Error	An error occurred, but the exact cause cannot be determined

In normal operating mode, the error flag byte should equal 0x00.