This guide walks you through connecting a Nexmosphere controller to a Windows OnSign Player and configuring the serial port and interactivity rules.
Connecting the Controller
- Have your Nexmosphere devices ready and connected to the Nexmosphere controller (e.g., XN-185).
- Connect the Nexmosphere controller via USB to the Windows Player hardware.
- Open Windows Device Manager. Under Ports (COM & LPT), confirm the controller is listed as Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port with a COM port assigned (e.g., COM3).
Setup the Player Serial Port
- Open the Player Manager and select the player to configure.
- Click Settings.
- Scroll down to Serial Port Settings (RS-232).
- Click + Add Port.
- Set Port type to Nexmosphere.
- Select the Port from the dropdown and choose the COM port identified in Device Manager (e.g.,
COM3). - Enter an Alias — the port name used to reference it in Apps and other OnSign settings. The default value is Nexmosphere.
- Click Save.
Configure Interactions
Once the serial port is configured, OnSign parses all incoming serial data through the Local API. You can create interactivity rules to trigger content based on sensor events.
For example, in a lift-and-learn scenario with RFID tags, the controller sends:
-
XR[PU001]— when tag 1 is lifted -
XR[PB001]— when tag 1 is placed back
Your device's event strings are listed in its user manual. Use the appropriate event string when configuring triggers in OnSign.
To configure an interactivity rule:
- Go to Campaign Interactivity or Player Interactivity.
- Click + Add Interaction and give it a name.
- Set What to Local API.
- In the Which one field, enter the string pattern that should trigger the interaction.
Important: The pattern is matched as a regular expression. Special characters must be escaped with a backslash (\). Characters that require escaping include: [ ] ( ) { } * + ? | ^ $ . \
Troubleshooting
- Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port not listed in Device Manager — The Prolific PL2303 driver may not be installed. Download and install it from the Prolific website, then reconnect the controller USB.
- The device is not detected: Disconnect the cables, reconnect the device by repeating the setup process, and refresh the page before trying again.
- COM port not listed in the OnSign serial port dropdown — Navigate away from Settings and return, or restart the Player app so it rescans available ports.
- Serial connection drops unexpectedly — Windows may be suspending the USB device to save power. Disable USB selective suspend in the Windows Power Options for that device.
-
Interactivity not triggering — Two common causes: (1) the alias configured in your Player Settings must match exactly what is set in the App — check for typos or extra spaces; (2) the pattern in the Which one field uses regular expressions, so special characters must be escaped with a backslash (
\). Characters that require escaping include:[ ] ( ) { } * + ? | ^ $ . \