Communications Specification for Fitness Equipment (CSAFE) is a
fitness industry-wide communications specification developed in 1997 for
exercise equipment
Exercise equipment is any apparatus or device used during physical activity to enhance the strength or conditioning effects of that exercise by providing either fixed or adjustable amounts of resistance, or to otherwise enhance the experience or ...
. As this specification was originally developed by the company FitLinxx, sometimes it is also referred to as ''FitLinxx''.
Purpose
The CSAFE specification describes the physical wiring scheme as well as the format of the data frames. The CSAFE protocol is designed to work in a master/slave fashion. A special I/O jack on the exercise equipment accepts a normal
8P8C
A modular connector is a type of electrical connector for cords and cables of electronic devices and appliances, such as in computer networking, telecommunication equipment, and audio headsets.
Modular connectors were originally developed for ...
(RJ-45) plug (although the wiring scheme has no relation to ethernet) wired to a normal
RS-232
In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' (''data terminal equipment'') such as a compu ...
cable. The CSAFE port also has pins which should be wired to an input
audio jack
A phone connector is a family of Cylinder, cylindrically-shaped electrical connectors primarily for Analog signal, analog audio signals. Invented in the late 19th century for Telephone switchboard, tele''phone'' switchboards, the phone conne ...
.
Development
In October, 2000, a CSAFE group was formed within FISA
Fitness Industry Suppliers Association to help coordinate the continued evolution of CSAFE. This group is led by a steering committee with membership from a broad representation of the industry. The CSAFE protocol is licensed on a
royalty free
Royalty-free (RF) material subject to copyright or other intellectual property rights may be used without the need to pay royalties or license fees for each use, per each copy or volume sold or some time period of use or sales.
Computer standards ...
basis to any company, person, or organization wishing to use it.
Wiring Scheme
Most of the pins from the RJ-45 plug should be connected to a normal RS-232 interface configured for an
asynchronous communication
In telecommunications, asynchronous communication is transmission of data, generally without the use of an external clock signal, where data can be transmitted intermittently rather than in a steady stream. Any timing required to recover data fro ...
mode of 9600 baud with 8 data bits, 1 stop bits and no parity. Hardware handshaking for
flow control (CTS as an input to Slave) is not required to support this protocol but is recommended. The equipment jack pinout for this jack is as follows:
Pin positions are counted from 1 to 8 in a left to right direction looking into the RJ-45 socket with the locking tab facing down as shown in the following diagram:
Notes:
# Voltage source requirements are to supply 4.75 V to 10.0 V nominal DC with IMAX (current) to sink (master) at 85mA.
# This voltage source pin may also be used as an RS-232 DTR output signal to tell the Master or network adapter that the Slave unit is powered on and operational.
# This connector configuration differs slightly from the original CSAFE specification to allow backward compatibility with some existing RJ-11 based products.
# Any connection between Signal Ground and Shield is manufacturer-specific and should not be assumed.
Communications protocol
The
communications protocol
A communication protocol is a system of rules that allows two or more entities of a communications system to transmit information via any variation of a physical quantity. The protocol defines the rules, syntax, semantics (computer science), sem ...
works in two modes: standard and extended. The primary difference between the two modes is that the extended mode adds source and destination address fields to the frame. The standard frame mode would normally be used in the case where there is only one piece of exercise equipment attached to one computer. This mode is primarily useful in a home setting where there is only one piece of exercise equipment and one controlling computer.
The extended mode is intended for use where multiple pieces of exercise equipment are attached to one or more computers via a shared link. This mode is useful in a gym setting with multiple pieces of exercise equipment located far away from the controlling computer. All of the equipment could be connected to a single multiplexing box which in turn connects to the controlling computer over a long cable.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Protocol Specification
Data transmission
Exercise equipment