Couplers & Filter Tables

When an ETS project designer installs senders and receivers in different lines, this "distributed" functionality will be stored in the ETS project. To safeguard the behavior as described in requirement "B", ETS will calculate in the background all Group Addresses that need to be stored in the filter table of the corresponding Line Couplers.
Ultimately, the ETS project consists of a distribution of functionalities created by the project designer. In accordance with requirement "B", ETS must calculate all group addresses which must be stored in the filter table of the line coupler before downloading. This calculation must take three factors* into account to determine whether a Group Address needs to be stored in a filter table:

1. the (distributed) functionality factor
2. the option "Route" for a Group Address
3. a manually added Group Address

*The operating mode of the coupler is, of course, a basic prerequisite.

Filter Table, Manual Group Address Entries

Manual Group Address entries are always necessary when a special Group Address is to be taken into account by the coupler, i.e. routed, even though in the associated line, this Group Address is not even used by a device or a Group Object and the coupler could calculate this automatically. The normal means of filtering directly by the Group Address is therefore not possible (which is why it must be set manually).

You can manually add a Group Address by clicking on a line/area/area line in the Topology. Then select the "Information" tab in the Sidebar. Here you can manage the Group Addresses added manually. All Group Addresses added here are only taken into consideration by the line coupler assigned to the line (and only by this one) as well as by the higher-level area coupler. They must be downloaded into the line or area coupler before they can be used in the installation.

1. An area coupler automatically inherits all manual Group Address entries of the line couplers subordinate to it (X.0.0 = X.1.0 .. X.15.0). These inherited entries are not visible in the list on the "Information" tab of the area coupler and consequently cannot be edited (deleted) there.
2. An area coupler can also define its own manual entries independently of the inheritance from point 1); these then apply only for this coupler.
3. A list of the entries that are ultimately valid for a coupler can be obtained via the preview (see below).

A. From .. To ..

Adds a group address range or a single group address to the line coupler filter table.

Group Addresses can be entered in the two input fields using the following formats:

There are two options for adding Group Addresses :

Enter a Group Address range with From and To:

1/1/3 1/1/5 : Group Address 1/1/3; 1/1/4; 1/1/5 are added (this also works across middle and main groups as well, e.g. from 1/1/1 to 3/3/3).

1/1 1 1 5 : Group Address 1/1/0; 1/1/1; 1/1/2; 1/1/3; 1/1/4; 1/1/5 are added

Enter a single Group Address using only the From input field:

1/1/3 : Group Address 1/1/3 is added

B. Add

Adds the Group Addresses defined under Point A.

C. Remove

Deletes all selected Group Addresses from the line coupler filter table (also when the DEL key is pressed).
You can select table items in the following manner:

Filter Table, Automatic Group Address Entries for Interfaces

In order to be able to add the Group Addresses used by interfaces to the filter table automatically as well, as of ETS5, there is an option for not including these Group Addresses manually (see above), but instead directly in the ETS calculation of the filter tables (for details, see here).

Filter Table, Preview

To see the current configuration of a filter table, use the ETS preview function using a right mouse click on the line/area coupler device (e.g. in the Topology window). This shows which group addresses* will be stored in the coupler filter table once it is downloaded to the device.

* Regardless of whether this happens via normal filtering, routing or as a manual entry. Manual entries are entered/ edited directly on the line/area (see above).