Comms Troubleshooting

Comms problems with can be caused by many things:

• Wiring problems (80% of  problems are down to the wiring!)
• Address / Baud Rate problems
• Converter problems

These need to be checked thoroughly, see the sections below on how to start this.

To check things out from the SpecView side, make yourself a diagnostics screen in your configuration and put on it the following 4 items from the SpecView variables list: (Click here to see how to do this)

• GoodComms
• BadComms
• CommsErrorCode
• CommsErrorItem

The Comms error item can be very long - leave enough space for it!

When you next go into Runtime, the comms error code will show the last received error code and the corresponding item that caused it:

1460 is a timeout - no answer from the instrument at all
18006 is a Parity Error - usually indicating a wiring fault
Other error codes are listed in SpecView’s help.

Sometimes the comms error item will show that it is just one instrument with the problem, in which case that instrument needs to be checked.

Click on the following topics for help in checking those sections:

• Wiring problems (80% of  problems are down to the wiring!)
• Address / Baud Rate problems
• Converter problems

(C) 2025  SpecView Inc & SpecView Ltd.  Page Updated: 07 January 2025