Operating Manual V25/09.2019   
Ventus / Ventus-X / V200A
 
  Chapter 20 Appendix  43 
20.4  Communication in ASCII Protocol 
Note: UMB-ASCII protocol is not recommended for new projects. New features will not be 
implemented for this protocol for devices newer than device version 36. 
Text-based communication with devices is possible using ASCII protocol. 
To do this, in the device configuration, interface settings, the protocol mode must be set to 
ASCII (see page 25). 
ASCII protocol is network-compatible and serves exclusively for online data requests. The 
device will not respond to incomprehensible ASCII commands. 
Note: The use of binary protocol is recommended for lengthy transmission routes (e.g. network, 
GPRS/UMTS), as ASCII protocol is unable to detect transmission errors (not CRC-secured). 
Note: TLS channels are not available in ASCII protocol. 
20.4.1  Structure 
An ASCII command is introduced by the ‘&’ character and completed by the CR (0Dh) sign. 
There is a space character (20h) between the individual blocks in each case; this is represented 
by an underscore character ‘_’. Characters that represent an ASCII value are in ordinary 
inverted commas. 
20.4.2  Summary of ASCII Commands 
Switches to binary protocol 
Software reset with delay 
These operating instructions describe the online data request only. You can find the description 
of the other commands in the UMB protocol. 
20.4.3  Online Data Request (M) 
Description: By way of this command, a measurement value is requested from a specific 
channel. 
Request:  ‘&’_<ID>
5
_‘M’_<channel>
5
 CR 
Response:  ‘$’_<ID>
5
_‘M’_<channel>
5
_<value>
5
 CR 
<ID>
5
  Device address (5 decimal places with leading zeros) 
<channel>
5
  Indicates the channel number (5 decimal places with leading zeros) 
<value>
5
  Measurement value (5 decimal places with leading zeros); a measurement value 
standardized to 0 – 65520d. Various error codes are defined from 65521d – 65535d. 
Example: 
Request:  &_32769_M_00100 
By way of this request, channel 100 of the device with address 32769 (
Ventus
 with device ID 
001). 
Response:  $_32769_M_00100_34785 
This channel outputs a temperature from –40 to +60°C; this results in the following calculation: 
0d    corresponds to  -50°C 
65520d  corresponds to  +70°C 
36789d  corresponds to  [+70°C – (-50°C)] / 65520 * 34785 +(-50°C) = 13,7°C 
Note: TLS channels are not available in ASCII protocol.