Qz Command; Controller Response To Commands; Unsolicited Messages Generated By Controller - Galil Motion Control DMC-14 5 Series Manual

QZ Command

The QZ command can be very useful when using the QR command, since it provides information
about the controller and the data record. The QZ command returns the following 4 bytes of
information.
BYTE # INFORMATION
0 Number of axes present
1 number of bytes in general block of data record
2 number of bytes in coordinate plane block of data record
3 Number of Bytes in each axis block of data record

Controller Response to Commands

Most DMC-14x5 instructions are represented by two characters followed by the appropriate
parameters. Each instruction must be terminated by a carriage return or semicolon.
Instructions are sent in ASCII, and the DMC-14x5 decodes each ASCII character (one byte) one at a
time. It takes approximately 0.5 msec for the controller to decode each command.
After the instruction is decoded, the DMC-14x5 returns a response to the port from which the
command was generated. If the instruction was valid, the controller returns a colon (:) or a question
mark (?) if the instruction was not valid. For example, the controller will respond to commands which
are sent via the main RS-232 port back through the RS-232 port, and to commands which are sent via
the Ethernet port back through the Ethernet port.
For instructions that return data, such as Tell Position (TP), the DMC-14x5 will return the data
followed by a carriage return, line feed and : .
It is good practice to check for : after each command is sent to prevent errors. An echo function is
provided to enable associating the DMC-2x00 response with the data sent. The echo is enabled by
sending the command EO 1 to the controller.

Unsolicited Messages Generated by Controller

When the controller is executing a program, it may generate responses which will be sent via the main
RS-232 port or Ethernet port. This response could be generated as a result of messages using the MG
or IN command OR as a result of a command error. These responses are known as unsolicited
messages since they are not generated as the direct response to a command.
Messages can be directed to a specific port using the specific Port arguments - see MG and IN
commands described in the Command Reference. If the port is not explicitly given, unsolicited
messages will be sent to the default port. The default port is determined by the state of the
USB/Ethernet dip switch when the system is reset.
The controller has a special command, CW, which can affect the format of unsolicited messages. This
command is used by Galil Software to differentiate response from the command line and unsolicited
messages. The command, CW1 causes the controller to set the high bit of ASCII characters to 1 of all
unsolicited characters. This may cause characters to appear garbled to some terminals. This function
can be disabled by issuing the command, CW2. For more information, see the CW command in the
Command Reference.
DMC-14x5/6
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