Listen Technologies DCS 6000 User Manual

DCS 6000

Technical specifications

Digital Conference System

DCS 6000 External Microphone Control RS232 protocol

Please refer to ‘Revision History’ at page 4 for compatibility to releases prior to Release 5.1.

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1 List of Contents

1 List of Contents ............................................................................................................................ 2

1.1 Revision history................................................................................................................... 4

2 Introduction and document overview.......................................................................................... 5

2.1 Restrictions in DCS6000..................................................................................................... 5

2.2 Voting Concepts .................................................................................................................. 5

2.2.1 Voting session............................................................................................................... 5

2.2.2 Attendance check.......................................................................................................... 6

2.2.3 Late Attendance ............................................................................................................ 6

2.3 Notation................................................................................................................................ 7

3 Serial Protocol.............................................................................................................................. 8

3.1 Package format.................................................................................................................... 8

3.2 CRC Calculation.................................................................................................................9

3.3 Encoding .............................................................................................................................. 9

3.4 Message types .................................................................................................................... 10

3.4.1 CU reset (CU  external)........................................................................................... 10

3.4.2 Change binary Control Mode (external  CU).......................................................... 10

3.4.3 Send Control Message to CU (external  CU).......................................................... 10

3.4.4 Receive Control Message from CU (CU  external)................................................11

3.5 Building a control message – step by step....................................................................... 11

4 DCS 6000 Messages................................................................................................................... 12

4.1 Addresses in the DCS 6000 system.................................................................................. 12

4.2 Group addresses................................................................................................................ 12

4.3 Messages from the external unit to the CU..................................................................... 12

The following sections describe the messages from each message group.................................. 13

4.3.1 Messages in EXTERNAL_CONTROL_GRP............................................................ 13

4.3.2 Messages in MICROPHONE_CONTROL_GRP....................................................... 14

4.3.3 MICROPHONE_PRIORITY...................................................................................... 17

4.3.4 Messages in EXTERNAL_AUDIO_CONTROL_MU............................................... 18

4.3.5 Messages in Voting_CONTROL_GRP......................................................................21

4.4 Summary of control messages (External Unit  CU)................................................... 24

4.5 Messages from the CU to the external unit..................................................................... 26

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Messages in MAIN_GRP............................................................................................................ 27

4.5.1 Messages in EXTERNAL_CONTROL_GRP............................................................ 27

4.5.2 Messages in MICROPHONE_STATUS_GRP........................................................... 28

4.5.3 Messages in EXTERNAL_AUDIO_STATUS_MU .................................................. 33

4.5.4 Messages in VOTING_STATUS_GRP...................................................................... 35

4.5.5 Messages in UNIT_ATTENDANCE_STATUS_GRP............................................... 38

4.5.6 Messages in UNIT_VOTE_STATUS_GRP............................................................... 40

4.6 Summary of status control messages (CU  External control unit) ........................... 41

5 Controlling Microphones........................................................................................................... 44

5.1 CRC Calculation...............................................................................................................44

5.1.1 CU Reset message....................................................................................................... 44

5.1.2 Entering binary microphone control mode ................................................................. 44

5.2 Registering with the CU ................................................................................................... 44

5.2.1 Power up of the CU after connecting.......................................................................... 45

5.2.2 Power up of the CU before connecting....................................................................... 46

5.3 The Heart Beat process..................................................................................................... 47

5.4 Retrieving the microphone system status ....................................................................... 47

6 Additional detailed example....................................................................................................... 50

6.1 Example - Registration with the CU ............................................................................... 50

6.1.1 Step (1) – Entering Microphone Control Mode.......................................................... 50

6.1.2 Step(2) – Requesting registration in the CU............................................................... 52

6.1.3 Step(3) – Registration reply from the CU................................................................... 53

6.2 Example 2 – Turning on the microphone of a delegate................................................. 55

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1.1 Revision history

21-07-2003 A Initial version of the document. 25-02-2004 B Corrected a fault in section 3.4.4 Control Job Received (CU  external).

Format of the message corrected 17-06-2004 C Updates and additions to the descriptions. 03-07-2004 D A section with summary of the control messages and status of control messages

has been added. Examples of the code has been added in chapter 6 10-10-2004 E Commands in section 4.3.2, 4.3.3 and 4.5.3 have been changed as part of the

firmware release 5.1.

Applications made for previous releases have to be updated reflecting those

changes.

The actual sections are marked with a frame around the text. 14-02-2006 F Commands for voting control (license option). 08-05-2006 G Correction to registration, when using voting control. 18-05-2006 H Addition to voting control (secret voting + 5-button voting) 12-09-2006 I Addition of message for setting up microphone speak priority. Refer to ‘4.3.3

MICROPHONE_PRIORITY’

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2 Introduction and document overview

The DCS 6000 system offers the possibility of controlling the microphones from a PC, AMX or other external control unit via a serial connection. This text documents how this feature is used; how external control of the DCS 6000 system is executed.

The protocol used on the cable between the central unit (CU) of the DCS 6000 system and the external control unit is described in general in section 3.

Parts of this protocol encapsulate the protocol used on the DCS 6000 bus and thus enable the CU and the external control unit to communicate as if the latter was a unit on the bus. The parts of the DCS 6000 protocol, which are relevant for controlling the microphones are described in section 4.

Section 5 summarizes and exemplifies how to use the protocol described in sections 3 and 4 to control the microphone application.

Additional detailed examples are shown in section 6.

2.1 Restrictions in DCS6000

The RS232 protocol control described herein provides descriptions for an external control unit to do microphone control, audio settings and voting in the DCS6000 system. Basic functionality is hereby made available, however some restrictions need mentioning:

- The Voting control functionality is protected by a license feature within the CU.

- There is no support for Dual microphone units or units sharing a microphone.

- There is no support for Voting units without microphones.

For voting functionality to become available, the CU must be provided with a CU license key that enables voting and voting control through the RS232 connection.

2.2 Voting Concepts

2.2.1 Voting session

Voting sessions are controlled (setup/opened/closed) from an external control unit.

First, the following voting parameters must be setup from external control:

- Voting Type (3-Button Voting or 5-Button Voting)

- Secret Voting (Open Voting or Secret Voting)

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3-Button voting sessions provide the delegates with the option to make a selection among three alternatives: (typically Yes, Abstain and No), whereas 5-button voting sessions offer 5 alternatives (typically ++, +, 0, - and --).

During an Open voting session, the votes are captured by the voting units, and the voting units show to the delegate, which button was pressed. If a voting session is defined as Secret, the voting units still register, when the delegates vote, but they do not reveal, which button was pressed.

A voting session is opened and closed from an external control unit. Only during an open voting session, the delegates are able to cast their votes.

During an Open voting session, the CU informs about votes received from the delegates. And, furthermore, the CU continuously transmits interim results, both when running Open and Secret voting sessions. When the voting session is closed, the CU informs about the final voting result.

The voting result remains in the CU until the next voting session is started, or until the CU is reset. The result is available for an external control unit to read as long as it is valid.

2.2.2 Attendance check

Prior to a voting session, it is often desireable to sustain, how many delegates are actually present. In order to determine the number of delegates present, an Attendance Check is carried out. From an external control unit the CU is commanded to start an attendance check. A single button (the ‘Present’ button) starts flashing on the microphone units, and the delegates can acknowledge their presence by pressing this button.

During an attendance check, the CU informs the external control unit about units, where the delegate has pressed the ‘Present’ button. Furthermore, the CU continuously informs the latest number of present delegates (interim result). When the Attendance check is ended, the CU reports the final attendance check result.

The CU stores the final result until next time an attendance check is started, or until the CU is reset. This result can be read from the CU as long as it is valid.

2.2.3 Late Attendance

Late Attendance is defined as the ability to vote despite a delegate has not participated in a previous attendance check. The CU allows late attendance.

In order to keep a correct attendance check result, the CU actually updates the attendance check result if late attendance occurs during a voting session.

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After completion of a voting session, the attendance check result consists of delegates, who participated in the actual attendance check plus delegates participating only in the voting session (late attendance).

2.3 Notation

The RS232 protocol is defined byte for byte (1 byte = 8 bits). This document uses the following notation to describe these bytes:

Type of notation Syntax Example

ASCII representation ’value’ ‘m’ Decimal representation <value> <109> Hexadecimal representation [value] [6D]

The example shows, that the byte-value of the 8-bits ..01101001.. can be perceived as the ASCII character ‘m’, as the decimal value 109 or as the hexadecimal value 0x6D.

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3 Serial Protocol

All communication between the CU and the external control unit is done through a serial connection either via RS232 or RS422. The format of the serial data is 8 data bits, 1 stop bit and no parity. Possible bit rates are 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600 and 115200 bits/s. The default is 115200 bits/s. Hardware flow control is used on the serial port.

The CU provides a possibility to save the settings in a configuration. Whenever the CU powers up, the settings stored in the configuration are applied. The bit rate setting is part of the configuration, and is applied after power up.

3.1 Package format

Communication between the CU and an external control unit consists of binary packages (messages). Each binary message consists of bytes. The format of the packages sent between the CU and the external control unit is as follows:

START is the constant 0xFC that indicates the start of a message Message Type is a byte indicating the type of the message. The message types used is described in

section 3.4. ID is a byte identifying this message in a stream of messages. Each time a message is sent this number is incremented. When the maximum allowed value, 63, is reached the counter is wrapped. Separate counters are used for message from the CU and messages to the CU.

Data byte 0 – Data byte N is the actual message to be sent. CRC is an 8-bit CRC value for the message. The CRC is calculated over the bytes between the Start

and CRC. The calculation is described in section 3.2. STOP is the constant 0xFD that indicates the end of a message.

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3.2 CRC Calculation

An 8-bit CRC calculation with the polynomial x8+x2+x+1 is used for the serial communications. A C implementation of a function calculating the CRC value of a message is given below:

unsigned char CalcCRC(unsigned char *Message, unsigned char Length) { UCHAR Crc; UINT k;

Crc = 0; for (k=0; k < Length; k++) Crc = CrcTable[Crc ^ (*Message++)];

return Crc; }

The variable CrcTable used above refers to this array:

unsigned char CrcTable[]={ 0, 7, 14, 9, 28, 27, 18, 21, 56, 63, 54, 49, 36, 35, 42, 45, 112, 119, 126, 121, 108, 107, 98, 101, 72, 79, 70, 65, 84, 83, 90, 93, 224, 231, 238, 233, 252, 251, 242, 245, 216, 223, 214, 209, 196, 195, 202, 205, 144, 151, 158, 153, 140, 139, 130, 133, 168, 175, 166, 161, 180, 179, 186, 189, 199, 192, 201, 206, 219, 220, 213, 210, 255, 248, 241, 246, 227, 228, 237, 234, 183, 176, 185, 190, 171, 172, 165, 162, 143, 136, 129, 134, 147, 148, 157, 154, 39, 32, 41, 46, 59, 60, 53, 50, 31, 24, 17, 22, 3, 4, 13, 10, 87, 80, 89, 94, 75, 76, 69, 66, 111, 104, 97, 102, 115, 116, 125, 122, 137, 142, 135, 128, 149, 146, 155, 156, 177, 182, 191, 184, 173, 170, 163, 164, 249, 254, 247, 240, 229, 226, 235, 236, 193, 198, 207, 200, 221, 218, 211, 212, 105, 110, 103, 96, 117, 114, 123, 124, 81, 86, 95, 88, 77, 74, 67, 68, 25, 30, 23, 16, 5, 2, 11, 12, 33, 38, 47, 40, 61, 58, 51, 52, 78, 73, 64, 71, 82, 85, 92, 91, 118, 113, 120, 127, 106, 109, 100, 99, 62, 57, 48, 55, 34, 37, 44, 43, 6, 1, 8, 15, 26, 29, 20, 19, 174, 169, 160, 167, 178, 181, 188, 187, 150, 145, 152, 159, 138, 141, 132, 131, 222, 217, 208, 215, 194, 197, 204, 203, 230, 225, 232, 239, 250, 253, 244, 243};

The CRC calculation is done byte by byte, starting with the Message Type and ending with the last data byte, both included.

Examples on CRC calculations are found in section 5.1

3.3 Encoding

Since the values used for the start and stop delimiters occasionally have to be used inside the messages, the data in the packets are encoded to avoid using these values. In order to achieve this a third control value Escape, with the value 0xFE, is introduced. Whenever one of the values 0xFC, 0xFD and 0xFE are needed in a message, they are replaced with a two byte sequence as detailed here:

Value to be

sent

0xFC {Escape} 0 0xFD {Escape} 1 0xFE {Escape} 2

Encoding of the contents of the binary message is done after the CRC calculation.

Encoded as

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3.4 Message types

The following sections describe the types of messages that are sent between the CU and the external control unit. For each message type the format of the messages of this type is shown, this description excludes the start/stop delimiters and the CRC. The field <ID> in the following descriptions refers to the identifier byte introduced in section 3.1.

3.4.1 CU reset (CU  external)

When the CU powers up, it transmits a binary message on the serial interface, in order to inform external control units, that the DCS 6000 system (CU) has been turned on.

The format of the CU reset message is:

3.4.2 Change binary Control Mode (external  CU)

This message is sent from the external controller to the CU in order to change the binary control mode of the serial interface. The message format is either

which changes the mode to microphone control mode. Or

which leaves the microphone control mode.

3.4.3 Send Control Message to CU (external  CU)

This message is used to send a DCS 6000 message to the CU asking it to perform some operation or deliver some data. The messages available are discussed in section 4.3. The format of the message is:

Chain is the chain number the control job originates from. This field exists because the command can be used to simulate control jobs originating from messages on the DCS 6000 bus. Just set this value to

0. LSB addr and MSB addr are the least respectively the most significant bytes of the external control units address. See section 5.2 on how to obtain a unique address for an external control unit. Message Group defines the message group of the message to send. The message groups are defined in section 4.3.

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Data 1, Data 2 and Data 3 are the actual data bytes to send to the CU. Typically the function to be executed is defined by Message Group + Data 1 while Data 2 and Data 3 are the parameters top the function. In the case that not all of the data bytes are needed the rest are set to 0.

3.4.4 Receive Control Message from CU (CU  external)

This message encapsulates DCS 6000 commands sent from the CU to external control unit. The format of the message is

MSB addr and LSB addr are the least respectively the most significant bytes of the address of the receiver of the message. The external controller should only take note of the message if the address is its own or the group address for a group it is currently a member of. See section 4.2 for a list of relevant group addresses. Message Group is the message group of the message sent by the CU. The message groups are defined in section 4.5.

Len is the number of data send (N) Data 1 to Data N are the data bytes sent in the message.

3.5 Building a control message – step by step

When a message is to be transferred via the serial connection, the follow steps are done in the order shown below:

1. The Message Type and contents is decided.

2. ID is added.

3. CRC check sum is added.

4. Encoding of the message is done with respect to escape characters

5. Finally, START and STOP delimiters are added.

<START>

<ID>

<CRC>

<STOP>

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4 DCS 6000 Messages

The RS232 binary protocol is used to transfer DCS 6000 system commands between the CU and the external control unit. General definitions for the communication are described in sections 3.4.3 and

3.4.4. This section describes the details for the commands that can be sent via the RS232 protocol.

4.1 Addresses in the DCS 6000 system

Units, connected to the CU and provided with ability to initiate communication in the DCS 6000 system are assigned unique addresses. This goes for microphone units, interpreter sets and for external control units as well. The CU is responsible for assigning addresses to various units.

Addresses are assigned in a random order at the first power up of the CU.

In order to obtain an address, an external control unit must pass through a registration. See section 5.2.

External control units are assigned addresses in the range 3900-3999 or 4040-4049.

Unique addresses allow the CU to send control messages directly to a single unit. Furthermore, it is possible for the CU to distinguish the sender of a control message from all other unit by means of the unique address.

4.2 Group addresses

All messages sent from the CU is either directed at a single unit or at a group of units identified by a group address. The group addresses that the external controller is a member of is:

Group Address Comments All units 4000 The external unit is always a member of this group

Control Units 4013 The external unit is always a member of this group

An external control unit must react only upon a control message carrying either the unique controller unit address or one of the above group addresses.

4.3 Messages from the external unit to the CU

The messages that an external control unit can send to the CU when the binary interface is in the microphone control mode are divided into three groups:

• The EXTERNAL_CONTROL_GRP group consisting of messages to do with the registering and

monitoring of external control units. The value corresponding to EXTERNAL_CONTROL_GRP is 27.

• The EXTERNAL_AUDIO_CONTROL_MU group that contains messages for controlling the

volume controls of the CU. The value corresponding to EXTERNAL_AUDIO_CONTROL_MU is 28.

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• The MICROPHONE_CONTROL_GRP with messages regarding switching microphone on/off,

controlling the request queue etc. The value corresponding to MICROPHONE_CONTROL_GRP is 18.

• The VOTING_CONTROL_GRP with messages to start and stop attendance check and voting

sessions, and to request voting results. The value corresponding to VOTING_CONTROL_GRP is 52.

The following sections describe the messages from each message group.

4.3.1 Messages in EXTERNAL_CONTROL_GRP

The following subsections describe each of the messages in the group. The message format descriptions have the same meaning as in section 3.4.3.

EXTERNAL_NEW_UNIT Command item value: 1

Message format:

This message is used by an external control unit to register to the CU. The result of registration in the CU is an address assigned to external control unit for unique identification. This message should be sent with the group address for external controllers (4013) as sender address. When registering in the CU, the external control unit indicates, which functionality the external controller is capable of running. This is indicated by the parameter Capabilities:

Capabilities Value Description Only Microphone

Functionality Microphone and Voting Functionality

2 The external controller supports only microphone

functionality.

10 The external controller supports microphone

functionality and also voting functionality (Open/Close voting sessions).

The registering unit to identify it can use the External Identity. The CU includes the External Identity, when the assigned address is transmitted to the external control unit. The External Identity can be assigned any 8-bit value; also 0.

EXTERNAL_HEART_BEAT_RESPONSE Command item value: 4

Message format:

The external control unit should send this message as reply to EXTERNAL_HEART_BEAT_REQUEST messages from the CU in order to indicate that the external controller is still present.

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4.3.2 Messages in MICROPHONE_CONTROL_GRP

The following subsections describe each of the messages in the group. The message format descriptions have the same meaning as in section 3.4.3.

MICROPHONE_CONTROL_DELEGATE_OFF_ACTIVATE Command item value: 1

Message format:

When this command is issued to the CU all active delegate microphones are deactivated (chairman units are unaffected) and cannot be reactivated until the delegate off is deactivated.

MICROPHONE_CONTROL_DELEGATE_OFF_DEACTIVATE Command item value: 2

Message format:

This command is used to re-allow delegate microphones to be activated after MICROPHONE_CONTROL_DELEGATE_OFF_ACTIVATE has been used.

MICROPHONE_CONTROL_MUTE_ACTIVATE Command item value: 3

Message format:

This command mutes all delegate microphones (chairman units are unaffected).

MICROPHONE_CONTROL_MUTE_DEACTIVATE Command item value: 4

Message format:

This command is used to un-mute the delegate microphones after the above command has been used.

MICROPHONE_CONTROL_NEXT_ON Command item value: 7

Message format:

Disables the delegate microphone that has been active for the longest time, and activates the first delegate microphone in the request list.

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MICROPHONE_CONTROL_CLEAR_REQUEST_LIST Command item value: 8

Message format:

Clears the request list.

MICROPHONE_CONTROL_SET_MAXSPEAKERS Command item value: 12

Message format:

Set the maximum number of simultaneously active delegate microphones to Max Speakers. Chairman units are not included in this count. Regardless of the setting of this parameter the maximum number of active microphones (delegates + chairmen) is 8. The range of Max Speakers is 0-8.

MICROPHONE_CONTROL_SET_MAXREQUESTS Command item value: 13

Message format:

Sets the maximum number of delegates in the request queue to Max Requests the range is 0-255.

MICROPHONE_CONTROL_MICROPHONE_ON Command item value: 14

Message format:

Activates the microphone with the address 256*Microphone Address MSB + Microphone Address LSB. See section 5.2 for a description of how to find the microphone addresses.

MICROPHONE_CONTROL_MICROPHONE_OFF Command item value: 15

Message format:

Deactivates the microphone with the address 256*Microphone Address MSB + Microphone Address LSB.

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MICROPHONE_CONTROL_REQUEST_ON Command item value: 16

Message format:

Places the delegate microphone with the address 256*Microphone Address MSB + Microphone Address LSB at the back of the request queue.

MICROPHONE_CONTROL_REQUEST_OFF Command item value: 17

Message format:

Remove the delegate microphone with the address 256*Microphone Address MSB + Microphone Address LSB from the request queue.

MICROPHONE_CONTROL_SYSTEM_OPERATION_MODE Command item value: 18

Message format:

This command is used to change the operation mode of the microphone application. The mode is set according to the value of Operation Mode with the following relation between the value and the new mode:

Operation Mode Number Auto 0

Manual 1 FIFO 2

MICROPHONE_CONTROL_REQUEST_SYSTEM_STATUS Command item value: 20

Message format:

This command is used to prompt the CU for status messages describing the state of the microphone application. The messages that the CU sends as answer to this are described in section 4.5.2.

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4.3.3 MICROPHONE_PRIORITY

This message is used to setup the speak priority for microphone units (chairman units and delegate units).

Message format:

The message defines the microphone speak priority for the microphone unit, which has the address 256* Microphone Addr MSB + Microphone Addr LSB to the value of the Speak Priority.

The speak priority defines the rights of a microphone unit, according to the following table:

Speak Priority Description

0 No right to speak 1 Default delegate priority

2,3,4 High delegate priorities

5 Chairman priority

Default, delegate microphone units are assigned a speak priority of 1, and chairman units are assigned a speak priority of 5.

The speak priority 0 should only be assigned to units, where the user is not allowed to turn on the microphone.

In the operation modes Manual and FIFO, the request lists is ordered in accordance with microphone speak priorities. Microphone units with high speak priorities always preceedes units with default speak priority. Units with speak priority of 0 are not allowed into the request list. Furthermore, the request list does not apply to chairman units either. No matter the operation mode, a unit with chairman priority is always turned on, when pressing the Speak button.

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