This webinar is an introduction to Modbus RTU communication for industrial data acquisition and automation systems. It explains how Modbus works using a master/slave architecture, how RS-485 networks are wired in daisy-chain topologies for long distances, and how common issues like electrical noise, termination, and baud-rate vs. distance limitations affect reliability. The training breaks down Modbus fundamentals such as register types (coils, discrete inputs, input registers, and holding registers), addressing formats, and function codes for reading and writing data. It also demonstrates practical troubleshooting workflows using ICP DAS USA utilities—connecting a PC to an RS-485 network with a USB-to-RS-485 converter, sending Modbus commands, verifying responses byte-by-byte, measuring response timing, and using slave simulators for pre-install testing. Finally, the webinar compares Modbus RTU to Modbus TCP and shows how tools like EZ Data Logger and SCADA software can be used to log, trend, and visualize Modbus data in real applications.
