66  266CRH / 266CRT, 266CSH / 266CST MULTIVARIABLE PRESSURE TRANSMITTER  |  OI/266CXX/MODBUS-EN REV. A   
 
 
… 8  Operation 
Interface description 
 
 
Communication parameters 
For communication to work properly, the transmission mode 
(and serial port parameters) must be the same for all devices on 
a Modbus serial line. 
 
The default communications parameters are set to: 
•  Baud Rate: 9600 baud 
•  Data Bits: 8 (fixed) 
• Parity: None 
•  Stop Bits: 2 (fixed) 
 
Modbus RTU mode requires each data byte to be 11 bits (refer to 
Figure 1). 
Bits per Byte: 
•  1 start bit 
•  8 data bits, least significant bit sent first 
•  1 bit for parity completion 
•  1 stop bit 
 
RTU mode (with parity checking) 
M11192
Start
Parity
Stop
1
2
3
4
5
678
Start
Stop*
Stop
1
2
3
4
5
678
 
RTU mode (with no parity) 
Figure 1:  Modbus RTU bit sequence 
*  When no parity is selected (default for the 266) the parity completion bit is 
replaced by another stop bit. 
 
The parity bit can be set from NONE to EVEN or ODD parity. The 
transmitter automatically adjusts the number of stop bits. 
Figure 2 depicts a typical Modbus message format. 
 
 
 
M11193
Start
End
≥ 3.5 char
≥
3.5 char
Address
8bits
CRC
16 bits
Data
Nx8bits
Function
8bits
Modbus message
At least 3.5 char
Frame1 Frame2
Frame 3
3.5 char
4.5 char
At least 3.5 char
 
Figure 2:  Sample Modbus message frame 
 
Message part  Description 
Start  Indicates the quiet time before a data transfer 
Address  In the request frame, this is the device being 
addressed. 
In the response frame, this is the device answering the 
request. 
Function  In the request frame, this is the command byte. It 
presents the device with a read or write sequence.  
In the response frame, this could be echoed or could 
be returned as an error code. 
Data  In the request frame, the data is held in the beginning 
register and read along with the number of 
consecutive registers. 
In the response frame, this is the data being read. 
CRC  Indicates a data validity test of the data being sent. 
End  Indicates the end characters