RS232 or IP control of Martin Logan MDA-16 Zoned Amp

[John245]

Hi there! I'm a prolific Homeseer user but I've never got as deep as scripting or http commands etc. Having seen all the recent announcements with Sonos I've decided that I want to move away from propriatary systems and have a simple zoned amp distribution system with a single inexpensive 'brain' that can be changed as technology moves on. I've seen a Martin Logan MDA-16 amp that looks ideal for my needs :

!

That brain is not that inexpensive

---
John

[risquare]

No scripting necessary. Big 5 is made for non programmers.

[Michael McSharry]

Since scripting is going to be needed to facilitate the use case then what advantage does Big5 add? This seems like straightforward serial communication to me using the .NET serial library. If Big5 added the bidirectional communication between the amp and HS without events and without scripting then this would be a value added.

[risquare]

The answer is YES as far as Big5 is concerned. I'm using Big5 to control several legacy systems and it works reliably. I'm using both USB to serial cable/converter for the systems that are in the same room as HS3 and IP to Serial servers from "Helo Devices" f.k.a. Sena for the systems that are in a remote to HS3 location. Both technologies work great.

[Stevemeck]

Hi there! I'm a prolific Homeseer user but I've never got as deep as scripting or http commands etc. Having seen all the recent announcements with Sonos I've decided that I want to move away from propriatary systems and have a simple zoned amp distribution system with a single inexpensive 'brain' that can be changed as technology moves on. I've seen a Martin Logan MDA-16 amp that looks ideal for my needs :

https://www.martinlogan.com/uploads/...ual%20rev2.pdf

"The RS-232 connection allows connection to a compatible control system. The control system should be configured to use 115200/8-N-1, no flow control, protocol. The cable connection should be one to one."

It then goes on to provide a full table of serial commands, such as:

ZxPOWy

Set zone x power. x=zone: 0 (all), 1=zone 1 ../. 8=zone 8 to y: 0=off 1=on t=toggle. When unit is in 1/2W standby mode, it may be necessary to send the power-on command twice. Ex:"Z0POW1;Z0POW1;". The first instance is the wake-up from low-power state. Note that Zx=Z0 applies only to power command.

ZxPOW? returns ZxPOWy Z0POW? returns ZxPOWy for all zones (Z1POWy;Z2POWy;Z3PO…;Z8POWy

Before I purchase, can I confirm that I will definitely be able to control using HS3 + Big5?

Is it as simple as buying a usb to serial cable and scripting the commands I need to use?

Thanks in advance for your help!