Introduction

The EL6851 EtherCAT terminal is a DMX master terminal and enables connection of up to 32 devices without repeater. DMX is based on RS485 physics. An integrated termination resistor can be connected through two wire jumpers in the terminal. The DMX master terminal can send up to 512 bytes of data (this can be set via the terminal). At 250 kbit/s a maximum data rate of 44 Hz is therefore possible. The RS485 interface in the EL6851 is electrically isolated and guarantees high interference immunity.

In addition the RDM (Remote Device Management) protocol can be run via the EL6851. RDM is an extension of the DMX protocol and enables addressing and parameterization of devices. TwinCAT offers associated libraries.

The EL6851-0010 EtherCAT terminal is a DMX slave terminal that can receive up to 512 bytes of data. The start address and data length can be set via the CoE (CAN application protocol over EtherCAT) objects. The RS485 interface in the EL6851-0010 is electrically isolated and guarantees high interference immunity. The DMX slave receives data from a DMX master and makes it available to the application via EtherCAT. Hence non-DMX-capable devices such as DALI lamps or dimmer Bus Terminals can be addressed.

Further information about its use and about the DMX protocol are provided in an Application Note on the EL6851 DMX terminal.

Quick links

• EtherCAT basics
• Mounting and wiring
• Commissioning
• Application Note