SLAAER4 March 2025 AFE781H1 , AFE782H1 , AFE881H1 , AFE882H1 , DAC8740H , DAC8741H , DAC8742H
HART communication uses an FSK signal to create digital bits in the communication. The modem modulates two different frequencies for bits that become the 0 or 1 in the digital communications. This digital communication is similar to UART in byte structure using 8 data bits, odd parity, and 1 stop bit. Figure 1-3 shows a representation of the instantaneous current in the loop with a HART modulated signal. This HART signal is superimposed onto the 4-20mA current that represents the primary variable.
Transmitters often operate on the loop power. Because the loop’s zero scale is 4mA and currents below 3.6mA represent errors, the transmitter must operate with a maximum current budget of 3mA. The current budget is shown in the shaded section at the bottom of Figure 1-3.
Bits for HART transmissions are represented as two FSK signals. Different frequencies represent 1s and 0s. A 1200Hz signal is a digital 1 and a 2200Hz signal is a digital 0. The data is sent at 1200 baud so each bit is 833µs. The primary variable is sent as the current in the loop. This current operates at a low frequency below 20Hz. Figure 1-4 shows the frequency bands used for the primary variable and the HART FSK frequencies.
Because the primary variable and the HART signal share the same transmission, the signals must be filtered to be received. The frequency content of the primary variable and the HART signal are shown by the shaded area and the two arrows.
In the HART-enabled receiver, the primary variable is read using a low-pass filter to measure the voltage across a resistor. This signal, represented as the shaded area of the figure, is generally under 20Hz so the low-pass filter has a cutoff frequency of about 25Hz. The HART transmits at a higher frequency, with the FSK bits at 1200Hz and 2200Hz. This HART signal is received using a band-pass filter that typically operates from 500Hz to 10kHz.