RS-485 is a multipoint communication which allows multiple devices to be connected to a single bus. The mikroPascal PRO for PIC provides a set of library routines for comfortable work with RS485 system using Master/Slave architecture. Master and Slave devices interchange packets of information. Each of these packets contains synchronization bytes, CRC byte, address byte and the data. Each Slave has unique address and receives only packets addressed to it. The Slave can never initiate communication.

It is the user’s responsibility to ensure that only one device transmits via 485 bus at a time.

The RS-485 routines require the UART module. Pins of UART need to be attached to RS-485 interface transceiver, such as LTC485 or similar (see schematic at the bottom of this page).

• START byte value = 150
• STOP byte value = 169
• Address 50 is the broadcast address for all Slaves (packets containing address 50 will be received by all Slaves except the Slaves with addresses 150 and 169).

  Important :

• The library uses the UART module for communication. The user must initialize the appropriate UART module before using the RS-485 Library.
• For MCUs with multiple UART modules it is possible to initialize them and then switch by using the UART_Set_Active routine.

Library Dependency Tree

External dependencies of RS-485 Library

Library Routines

• RS485Master_Init
• RS485Master_Receive
• RS485Master_Send
• RS485Slave_Init
• RS485Slave_Receive
• RS485Slave_Send

RS485Master_Init

// RS485 module pinout
var RS485_rxtx_pin : sbit  at RC2_bit;         
var RS485_rxtx_pin_direction : sbit  at TRISC2_bit;
// End of RS485 module pinout
...
UART1_Init(9600);                           // initialize UART1 module
RS485Master_Init();                         // intialize MCU as a Master for RS-485 communication

RS485Master_Receive

var msg : array[20] of byte;
...
RS485Master_Receive(msg);

RS485Master_Send

var msg : array[20] of byte;
...
// send 3 bytes of data to Slave with address 0x12
RS485Master_Send(msg, 3, 0x12);

RS485Slave_Init

// RS485 module pinout
var RS485_rxtx_pin : sbit  at RC2_bit;         
var RS485_rxtx_pin_direction : sbit  at TRISC2_bit;
// End of RS485 module pinout
...
UART1_Init(9600);                   // initialize UART1 module
RS485Slave_Init(160);                // intialize MCU as a Slave for RS-485 communication with address 160

RS485Slave_Receive

var msg : array[20] of byte;
...
RS485Slave_Read(msg);

RS485Slave_Send

var msg : array[8] of byte;
...
// send 2 bytes of data to the Master
RS485Slave_Send(msg, 2);

Library Example

This is a simple demonstration of RS485 Library routines usage.

Master sends message to Slave with address 160 and waits for a response. The Slave accepts data, increments it and sends it back to the Master. Master then does the same and sends incremented data back to Slave, etc.

Master displays received data on PORTB, while error on receive (0xAA) and number of consecutive unsuccessful retries are displayed on PORTD. Slave displays received data on PORTB, while error on receive (0xAA) is displayed on PORTD. Hardware configurations in this example are made for the EasyPIC6 board and 16F887.

RS485 Master code:

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program RS485_Master_Example;

var dat : array[10] of byte ;                        // buffer for receving/sending messages
    i, j : byte;
    cnt : longint;

var rs485_rxtx_pin  : sbit at RC2_bit;               // set transcieve pin
    rs485_rxtx_pin_direction : sbit at TRISC2_bit;   // set transcieve pin direction

// Interrupt routine
procedure interrupt();
  begin
    RS485Master_Receive(dat);
  end;

begin
  cnt := 0;
  ANSEL  := 0;                         // Configure AN pins as digital I/O
  ANSELH := 0;

  PORTB  := 0;
  PORTD  := 0;
  TRISB  := 0;
  TRISD  := 0;

  UART1_Init(9600);                    // initialize UART1 module
  Delay_ms(100);

  RS485Master_Init();                  // initialize MCU as Master
  dat[0] := 0xAA;
  dat[1] := 0xF0;
  dat[2] := 0x0F;
  dat[4] := 0;                         // ensure that message received flag is 0
  dat[5] := 0;                         // ensure that error flag is 0
  dat[6] := 0;

  RS485Master_Send(dat,1,160);

  RCIE_bit := 1;                       // enable interrupt on UART1 receive
  TXIE_bit := 0;                       // disable interrupt on UART1 transmit
  PEIE_bit := 1;                       // enable peripheral interrupts
  GIE_bit := 1;                        // enable all interrupts

  while (TRUE) do
    begin                              // upon completed valid message receiving
                                       //   data[4] is set to 255
      Inc(cnt);
      if (dat[5] <> 0) then            // if an error detected, signal it
        PORTD := 0xAA;                 //   by setting portd to 0xAA
      if (dat[4] <> 0) then            // if message received successfully
        begin
          cnt := 0;
          dat[4] := 0;                 // clear message received flag
          j := dat[3];
          for i := 1 to dat[3] do      // show data on PORTB
            PORTB := dat[i-1];
          dat[0] := dat[0]+1;          // send back to master
          Delay_ms(1);
          RS485Master_Send(dat,1,160);
        end;

      if (cnt > 100000) then                // if in 100000 poll-cycles the answer
        begin
          Inc(PORTD);                       //   was not detected, signal
          cnt := 0;                         //   failure of send-message
          RS485Master_Send(dat,1,160);
          if (PORTD > 10) then              // if sending failed 10 times
            begin
              RS485Master_Send(dat,1,50);   //   send message on broadcast address
            end;
        end;
    end;
end.

RS485 Slave code:

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program RS485_Slave_Example;

var dat : array[20] of byte;                           // buffer for receving/sending messages
    i, j : byte;

var rs485_rxtx_pin : sbit at RC2_bit;                  // set transcieve pin
    rs485_rxtx_pin_direction : sbit at TRISC2_bit;     // set transcieve pin direction

// Interrupt routine
procedure interrupt();
  begin
    RS485Slave_Receive(dat);
  end;

begin

  ANSEL  := 0;                        // Configure AN pins as digital I/O
  ANSELH := 0;
  C1ON_bit := 0;                      // Disable comparators
  C2ON_bit := 0;

  PORTB := 0;
  PORTD := 0;
  TRISB := 0;
  TRISD := 0;

  UART1_Init(9600);                   // initialize UART1 module
  Delay_ms(100);
  RS485Slave_Init(160);               // Intialize MCU as slave, address 160

  dat[4] := 0;                        // ensure that message received flag is 0
  dat[5] := 0;                        // ensure that message received flag is 0
  dat[6] := 0;                        // ensure that error flag is 0

  RCIE_bit := 1;                      // enable interrupt on UART1 receive
  TXIE_bit := 0;                      // disable interrupt on UART1 transmit
  PEIE_bit := 1;                      // enable peripheral interrupts
  GIE_bit := 1;                       // enable all interrupts

  while (TRUE) do
    begin
      if (dat[5] <> 0) then           // if an error detected, signal it by
        begin
          PORTD := 0xAA;              //   setting portd to 0xAA
          dat[5] := 0;
        end;
      if (dat[4] <> 0) then           // upon completed valid message receive
        begin
          dat[4] := 0;                //   data[4] is set to 0xFF
          j := dat[3];

          for i := 1 to dat[3] do     // show data on PORTB
            PORTB := dat[i-1];

          dat[0] := dat[0]+1;         // increment received dat[0]
          Delay_ms(1);
          RS485Slave_Send(dat,1);     //   and send it back to master
        end;
    end;
end.

HW Connection

Example of interfacing PIC16F887 MCU to PIC16F887 MCU MCU via RS485 bus with LTC485 as RS-485 transceiver

Message format and CRC calculations

Q: How is CRC checksum calculated on RS485 master side?

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START_BYTE := 0x96; // 10010110
STOP_BYTE  := 0xA9; // 10101001


PACKAGE:
-------- 
START_BYTE 0x96
ADDRESS
DATALEN
[DATA1]            // if exists
[DATA2]            // if exists
[DATA3]            // if exists
CRC
STOP_BYTE  0xA9


DATALEN bits
------------
bit7 := 1  MASTER SENDS
        0  SLAVE  SENDS
bit6 := 1  ADDRESS WAS XORed with 1, IT WAS EQUAL TO START_BYTE or STOP_BYTE
        0  ADDRESS UNCHANGED
bit5 := 0  FIXED
bit4 := 1  DATA3 (if exists) WAS XORed with 1, IT WAS EQUAL TO START_BYTE or STOP_BYTE
        0  DATA3 (if exists) UNCHANGED
bit3 := 1  DATA2 (if exists) WAS XORed with 1, IT WAS EQUAL TO START_BYTE or STOP_BYTE
        0  DATA2 (if exists) UNCHANGED
bit2 := 1  DATA1 (if exists) WAS XORed with 1, IT WAS EQUAL TO START_BYTE or STOP_BYTE
        0  DATA1 (if exists) UNCHANGED
bit1bit0 := 0 to 3 NUMBER OF DATA BYTES SEND


CRC generation :
----------------
crc_send := datalen xor address;
crc_send := crc_send xor data[0];    // if exists
crc_send := crc_send xor data[1];    // if exists
crc_send := crc_send xor data[2];    // if exists
crc_send := not crc_send;
if ((crc_send = START_BYTE) or (crc_send = STOP_BYTE)) then
   Inc(crc_send);
  
NOTE: DATALEN<4..0> can not take the START_BYTE<4..0> or STOP_BYTE<4..0> values.

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