The first step in the getting my treadmill back into operation is to determine whether control via the RS232 serial port is viable. Although I have a TM400/S, the TM400AC Manual appears to be close enough and it included a RS232 Test Plug procedure. I was thrilled to see that the treadmill is equipped with a RS232 Test Plug that cycles the treadmill through a variety of tests to verify treadmill operation. Basically, you insert the test plug into the RS232 port and press a button on the plug to initiate each test. I was pleased to see that my treadmill (including RS232 port) appears to be fully operational.
I should have gotten the Trackmaster TM400 RS232 Serial Protocol as soon as I got the treadmill but, since I didn't, I'll have to make do with the TMX425 RS232 Serial Protocol, which appears to be Section 9 of the Trackmaster FVX-TMX Series Field Service Manual. With luck, the Trackmaster serial protocol is enough of an industry standard that it has remained the same over the years.
Some basic TrackmasterRS232 requirements
- DB9 Connector 9 pin PC/AT Style
- Pin 2 - Transmit Data
- Pin 3 - Receive Data
- Pin 5 - Signal Ground - RS232 (+/- 10V)
- 4800 Baud
- No Parity
- 8 Data Bits
- 1 Stop Bit
- Full Duplex
Now that I have the Trackmaster series protocol, I need to figure out the correct syntax to send and receive serial port data with Python. More to follow later.