I am having one hell of a time trying to controll Pioneer's new plasmas. Ir is not an option any more because when you send an on command to it when it's already in an on state it flashes static up on the screen and requires a 3.5 sec delay untill you send it an input command. So I am attempting to use rs232 but I just can't make the commands work. 02,**,PON,03 should turn the plasma on 02,**,POF,03 should turn it off but it's not working. I'm in a crunch to get this working by 7/4 any help would be apprecieted.


I'm using a Crestron MC2 controll system
The Pioneer PDP 5040HD plasma
and a straight through serial female to female cable.
yes I replaced the cable.
Thanks again.

Make sure auto-input mode on the set is disabled, and your baud rate in SMW is 4800.

Your strings are correct, just don't forget the \x before the hex bytes.

The following protocol document is for the PDP-502MX, but the strings appear to be the same. According to this, the 3-second delay is normal (6 seconds between ON & OFF):

[Link: pioneerelectronics.com]

Also, Crestron has a module available that should work:

[Link: crestron.com]


Doug @ HomeWorks


This message was edited by deb1919 on 07/02/04 06:44.

The new plasmas come from the factory in SR mode on the serial ports. You have to switch it to RS-232 mode for it to talk normal strings.

With the set off, press the Menu key, then power within 3 seconds. The set should come up with "UART Select <-->" on the screen at the bottom. Use the left right arrows to select your baud rate, then hit menu and power down the set.

Once you've done this, you should be able to talk to the unit via RS-232.

Hope this helps.

Brad