FAQs
Contents
1. Summary
This FAQ explains different nodes inside Node-RED, which are used in creating an example for using a BB-400, with an ED-549. The end example is a flow which will be able to read the inputs of a Brainboxes ED-549.
2. Introduction
Nodes used in this FAQ
| Image | Description |
|---|---|
 |
Debug, for debugging the returned data from the nodes it’s attached to. |
 |
Modbus TCP/Serial read node. Connects to a Modbus TCP or serial to read registers/coils values with a given polling rate. |
 |
Function, a JavaScript block to run against the messages being received and output as a msg object. |
 |
Adds a gauge type widget to the user interface. |
 |
Adds a chart to the user interface. |
Requirements
| Software/Equipment | Details |
|---|---|
| Brainboxes BB-400 |  |
| BB-Node-RED installed | On the BB-400, you must have the software package bb-node-red installedYou can check if it’s installed using bb status.version or install it with sudo apt-get install bb-node-red |
| Brainboxes ED-549 |  |
3. ED-549 Setup
A Brainboxes ED-549 comes in a default configuration using the ASCII protocol. The unit needs to be configured to use the Modbus TCP protocol instead. To do that, simply go to the ED-549 Web UI configuration, and change the protocol settings from ASCII to Modbus TCP:
For the examples used in this FAQ, we will be using the:
- Analog input even numbers as voltage lines (using ±10V)
- Analog input odd numbers as milliamp lines (using 4-20mA)
Please note that for the ED-549, you must also change the jumper configuration, which is located inside the case on the physical hardware for each of the inputs:
4. Guide
The Modbus TCP/Serial nodes come from a 3rd party NPM package known as “node-red-contrib-modbus”. It comes with many useful tools that can be used with the BB-400 to talk with, and between, other Brainboxes ED devices, but for this FAQ, the only one we need is the Modbus TCP read node:
|
 |
|---|
For the newmodbus-client, you need to configure your ED-549 as the new device. For example:
 |
|---|
Now to add a function node. The Modbus TCP Read Node passes all the values for all the lines, and the function node will be used to split all of the values into 8 separate lanes, 1 for each input on the ED-549. Note that the ‘Outputs’ setting at the bottom has been set to 8. This expands the function node to give it 8 outputs. Each of these outputs will be for each of the input:
|
 |
|---|
return msg.payload.map(function(p) {
return {payload: p};
});
The Modbus Read Node will be connecting to the left side of the function node.
Each of the inputs from the ED-549 will go into the split inputs, and out of the corresponding output, which is where we can display each of the inputs differently and separately:
You can immediately test that you are getting a connection to the ED-549 at this point and that data is being displayed and returned correctly. Simply add a debug node to one of the function outputs (for AIn0, we will use the top most output) to see what value it returns:
After the flow has been deployed, 
the user should immediately notice the active connection on the Modbus Read Node. When looking at the Debug tab 
on the right, it will show the line value coming in on AIn0:
| Modbus TCP Read Node | Value from Node-RED debug | Value from ED-549 Web UI |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
In an ED-549 factory default configuration, with this Node-RED setup, 9.499 is equal to 9.499V on the AIn0 input.
Now add some UI nodes for each of the inputs, and configure them how you desire. These UI nodes will appear on your Node-RED dashboard for each of the Analog Inputs.
The examples have the Full Scale Range on the inputs configured to ±10V. That means that the UI nodes will also need to be configured to match this, and from the debug information above, it shows that the range should be between -10000 and 10000, for -10V to 10V:
| Node | Configuration |
|
 |
|
 |
Another good example would be the configuration used for one of the milliamp gauge and charts:
| Node | Configuration |
|
 |
|
 |
All of these configuration settings can be changed to how you see fit. The colours can change depending on what range it is, or make the chart/gauge record across an hourly or daily basis. The choice is yours!:
After you have completed everything and tied everything together, it and test it out:
When you have copied it across and created UI for each of your Analog Inputs, you’ll be able to see everything that is going on:
5. Full Flow
Show full flow example
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"title": "AIn4",
"label": "V",
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"name": "Brainboxes ED-560 4x Analogue Outputs",
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"serialDatabits": "8",
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"tcpPort": "502",
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6. Modbus Registers & Value Encoding
ED-549 Registers
| Modbus access type | Modbus function codes | Logical address | 984 style address | IEC 61131 address | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analogue inputs (as integer) | Holding register | 3 | 0x0000 – 7 | 40001 – 8 | %MW0 – 7 |
| Analogue inputs (as integer) | Input register | 4 | 0x0000 – 7 | 30001 – 8 | N/A |
| Analogue inputs (as float) | Holding register | 3 | 0x0020 – 7 | 40033 – 40 | %MF32 – 39 |
| Analogue inputs (as float) | Input register | 4 | 0x0020 – 7 | 30033 – 40 | N/A |
| Input error flags | Discrete input | 2 | 0x0400 – 7 | 11025 – 1032 | N/A |
| Input error flags | Input register | 4 | 0x0400 | 31025 | N/A |
| Input error flags | Holding register | 3 | 0x0400 | 41025 | %MW1024 |
| Input channel enable | Holding register | 3, 6, 16 | 0x0040 | 40065 | %MW64 |
| Input channel enable | Coil | 1, 5, 15 | 0x0040 – 7 | 00065 – 72 | %M64 – 71 |
| Input type/range | Holding register | 3, 6, 16 | 0x0060 – 7 | 40097 – 104 | %MW96 – 103 |
| Integer format | Holding register | 3, 6, 16 | 0x0080 | 40129 | %MW128 |
| Integer format | Coil | 1, 5, 15 | 0x0080 | 129 | %M128 |
Brainboxes Value Encoding
Integer values are encoded in one of two formats, depending on the integer format setting.
- “Hexadecimal” (integer format register = 0, integer format coil OFF): the input range is scaled to fill the range of a 16-bit integer value, either as a 2’s complement number for ranges which extend to negative values, or as an unsigned number for ranges which do not go below zero.
- “Engineering units” (integer format register = 1, integer format coil ON): the measurement, in mA, mV or V, is scaled up to as high a power of 10 as possible while allowing the full range of values to fit in a 16-bit integer. For example, the ±2.5V range is expressed as the reading in Volts multiplied by 10000: if it were multiplied by 100000 then some values would be too large to fit in a 16-bit register.
Floating-point values are encoded according to the IEEE 754 standard for 32-bit floating-point numbers. Each value takes two sequential 16-bit Modbus registers, with the least-significant bits of the 32-bit value being held in the lower register address (“little-endian” format). Both Modbus registers must be read in the same Modbus request. The units of the float values are Volts or milliAmps.
Under-range inputs result in a reading equal to the –Full Scale value, and over-range inputs result in a reading equal to the +Full Scale value. The type/range codes which can be set using Modbus, and the data ranges they result in, are tabulated below. The codes are the same as for the ASCII protocol.
| Type Code | Input Type | Data Format | + Full Scale | – Full Scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05 | ±2.5V | Float engineering unit | +2.5 | -2.5 |
| Integer hexadecimal | 0x7FFF = 32767 | 0x8000 = -32768 | ||
| Integer engineering unit | 25000 | -25000 | ||
| 06 or 0D | ±20mA | Float engineering unit | +20.0 | -20.0 |
| Integer hexadecimal | 0x7FFF = 32767 | 0x8000 = -32768 | ||
| Integer engineering unit | -20000 | 20000 | ||
| 07 | +4 to +20mA | Float engineering unit | +20.0 | +4.0 |
| Integer hexadecimal | 0xFFFF = 65536 | 0x0000 = 0 | ||
| Integer engineering unit | 4000 | 20000 | ||
| 08 | ±10V | Float engineering unit | +10.0 | -10.0 |
| Integer hexadecimal | 0x7FFF = 32767 | 0x8000 = -32768 | ||
| Integer engineering unit | 10000 | -10000 | ||
| 09 | ±5V | Float engineering unit | +5.0 | -5.0 |
| Integer hexadecimal | 0x7FFF = 32767 | 0x8000 = -32768 | ||
| Integer engineering unit | 5000 | -5000 | ||
| 04 or 0A | ±1V | Float engineering unit | +1.0 | -1.0 |
| Integer hexadecimal | 0x7FFF = 32767 | 0x8000 = -32768 | ||
| Integer engineering unit | 10000 | -10000 | ||
| 03 or 0B | ±500mV | Float engineering unit | +500.0 | -500.0 |
| Integer hexadecimal | 0x7FFF = 32767 | 0x8000 = -32768 | ||
| Integer engineering unit | 5000 | -5000 | ||
| 0C | ±150mV | Float engineering unit | +150.0 | -150.0 |
| Integer hexadecimal | 0x7FFF = 32767 | 0x8000 = -32768 | ||
| Integer engineering unit | 15000 | -15000 | ||
| 1A | 0 to +20mA | Float engineering unit | +20.0 | +0.0 |
| Integer hexadecimal | 0xFFFF = 65536 | 0x0000 = 0 | ||
| Integer engineering unit | 20000 | 0 | ||
| 3A | ±75mV | Float engineering unit | +75.0 | -75.0 |
| Integer hexadecimal | 0x7FFF = 32767 | 0x8000 = -32768 | ||
| Integer engineering unit | 7500 | -7500 | ||
| 3B | ±250mV | Float engineering unit | +250.0 | -250.0 |
| Integer hexadecimal | 0x7FFF = 32767 | 0x8000 = -32768 | ||
| Integer engineering unit | 25000 | -25000 |
Related FAQs
- BB-400 Networking Page
- How can I wire my ED-549 Analogue Input device?
- How do I configure the BB-400’s Serial Port Jumpers?
- How do I use Node-RED on the BB-400?
- How do I use the BB-400’s Serial Port in Node-RED?
- How do I use WebSockets in Node-RED to control IO on a BB-400?
- Setting up NodeRED on a BB-400
- Using the BB-400 Serial Port in Node-RED
- What digital I/O lines does the BB-400 have?
- What IO Protocols are available on the BB-400
- What networking options are available on the BB-400?
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