Phase 3 PR 45 -- DL205 string byte-order quirk (low-byte-first ASCII packing). Adds ModbusStringByteOrder enum {HighByteFirst, LowByteFirst} + StringByteOrder field on ModbusTagDefinition (default HighByteFirst, the standard Modbus convention). DecodeRegister + EncodeRegister String branches now respect per-tag byte order. Under LowByteFirst each register packs the first char in the low byte instead of the high byte -- the AutomationDirect DirectLOGIC DL205/DL260/DL350 family's headline string quirk. Without the flag the driver decodes 'eHllo' garbage from HR[1040..1042] even though wire bytes are identical. Unit tests: String_LowByteFirst_decodes_DL205_packed_Hello (5 chars across 3 regs with nul pad), String_LowByteFirst_decode_truncates_at_first_nul, String_LowByteFirst_encode_round_trips_with_decode (asserts exact DL205-documented byte sequence {0x65,0x48,0x6C,0x6C,0x00,0x6F} + symmetric encode->decode), String_HighByteFirst_and_LowByteFirst_differ_on_same_wire (control: same wire, different flag => different decode). 56/56 Modbus.Tests pass. Integration test: DL205StringQuirkTests.DL205_string_low_byte_first_decodes_Hello_from_HR1040 against the dl205.json pymodbus profile; reads HR[1040..1042] with both flags on the same tag map and asserts LowByteFirst='Hello' + HighByteFirst!='Hello'. Gated on MODBUS_SIM_PROFILE=dl205 since the standard profile doesn't seed HR[1040..1042]. Verified 2/2 integration tests pass against running pymodbus dl205 simulator. Baseline for PR 46 (BCD decoder), PR 47 (V-memory octal helper), PR 48 (CDAB float order), PR 49 (FC03/FC16 per-device caps) -- each lands its own DL205_<behavior> test class in tests/.../DL205/.

src/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Modbus/ModbusDriver.cs

@@ -472,13 +472,21 @@ public sealed class ModbusDriver(ModbusDriverOptions options, string driverInsta
             }
             case ModbusDataType.String:
             {
-                // ASCII, 2 chars per register, packed high byte = first char.
-                // Respect the caller's StringLength (truncate nul-padded regions).
+                // ASCII, 2 chars per register. HighByteFirst (standard) packs the first char in
+                // the high byte of each register; LowByteFirst (DL205/DL260) packs the first char
+                // in the low byte. Respect StringLength (truncate nul-padded regions).
                 var chars = new char[tag.StringLength];
                 for (var i = 0; i < tag.StringLength; i++)
                 {
-                    var b = data[i];
-                    if (b == 0) { return new string(chars, 0, i); }
+                    var regIdx = i / 2;
+                    var highByte = data[regIdx * 2];
+                    var lowByte  = data[regIdx * 2 + 1];
+                    byte b;
+                    if (tag.StringByteOrder == ModbusStringByteOrder.HighByteFirst)
+                        b = (i % 2 == 0) ? highByte : lowByte;
+                    else
+                        b = (i % 2 == 0) ? lowByte : highByte;
+                    if (b == 0) return new string(chars, 0, i);
                     chars[i] = (char)b;
                 }
                 return new string(chars);
@@ -543,7 +551,14 @@ public sealed class ModbusDriver(ModbusDriverOptions options, string driverInsta
                 var s = Convert.ToString(value) ?? string.Empty;
                 var regs = (tag.StringLength + 1) / 2;
                 var b = new byte[regs * 2];
-                for (var i = 0; i < tag.StringLength && i < s.Length; i++) b[i] = (byte)s[i];
+                for (var i = 0; i < tag.StringLength && i < s.Length; i++)
+                {
+                    var regIdx = i / 2;
+                    var destIdx = tag.StringByteOrder == ModbusStringByteOrder.HighByteFirst
+                        ? (i % 2 == 0 ? regIdx * 2 : regIdx * 2 + 1)
+                        : (i % 2 == 0 ? regIdx * 2 + 1 : regIdx * 2);
+                    b[destIdx] = (byte)s[i];
+                }
                 // remaining bytes stay 0 — nul-padded per PLC convention
                 return b;
             }

src/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Modbus/ModbusDriverOptions.cs

@@ -55,6 +55,12 @@ public sealed class ModbusProbeOptions
 /// <param name="ByteOrder">Word ordering for multi-register types. Ignored for Bool / Int16 / UInt16 / BitInRegister / String.</param>
 /// <param name="BitIndex">For <c>DataType = BitInRegister</c>: which bit of the holding register (0-15, LSB-first).</param>
 /// <param name="StringLength">For <c>DataType = String</c>: number of ASCII characters (2 per register, rounded up).</param>
+/// <param name="StringByteOrder">
+///     Per-register byte order for <c>DataType = String</c>. Standard Modbus packs the first
+///     character in the high byte (<see cref="ModbusStringByteOrder.HighByteFirst"/>).
+///     AutomationDirect DirectLOGIC (DL205/DL260) and a few legacy families pack the first
+///     character in the low byte instead — see <c>docs/v2/dl205.md</c> §strings.
+/// </param>
 public sealed record ModbusTagDefinition(
     string Name,
     ModbusRegion Region,
@@ -63,7 +69,8 @@ public sealed record ModbusTagDefinition(
     bool Writable = true,
     ModbusByteOrder ByteOrder = ModbusByteOrder.BigEndian,
     byte BitIndex = 0,
-    ushort StringLength = 0);
+    ushort StringLength = 0,
+    ModbusStringByteOrder StringByteOrder = ModbusStringByteOrder.HighByteFirst);
 
 public enum ModbusRegion { Coils, DiscreteInputs, InputRegisters, HoldingRegisters }
 
@@ -95,3 +102,17 @@ public enum ModbusByteOrder
     BigEndian,
     WordSwap,
 }
+
+/// <summary>
+///     Per-register byte order for ASCII strings packed 2 chars per register. Standard Modbus
+///     convention is <see cref="HighByteFirst"/> — the first character of each pair occupies
+///     the high byte of the register. AutomationDirect DirectLOGIC (DL205, DL260, DL350) and a
+///     handful of legacy controllers pack <see cref="LowByteFirst"/>, which inverts that within
+///     each register. Word ordering across multiple registers is always ascending address for
+///     strings — only the byte order inside each register flips.
+/// </summary>
+public enum ModbusStringByteOrder
+{
+    HighByteFirst,
+    LowByteFirst,
+}

tests/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Modbus.IntegrationTests/DL205/DL205StringQuirkTests.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+using Shouldly;
+using Xunit;
+
+namespace ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Modbus.IntegrationTests.DL205;
+
+/// <summary>
+///     Verifies the DL205/DL260 low-byte-first ASCII string packing quirk against the
+///     <c>dl205.json</c> pymodbus profile. Standard Modbus packs the first char of each pair
+///     in the high byte of the register; DirectLOGIC packs it in the low byte instead. Without
+///     <see cref="ModbusStringByteOrder.LowByteFirst"/> the driver decodes "eHllo" garbage
+///     even though the bytes on the wire are identical.
+/// </summary>
+/// <remarks>
+///     <para>
+///         Requires the dl205 profile (<c>Pymodbus\serve.ps1 -Profile dl205</c>). The standard
+///         profile does not seed HR[1040..1042] with string bytes, so running this against the
+///         standard profile returns <c>"\0\0\0\0\0"</c> and the test fails. Skip when the env
+///         var <c>MODBUS_SIM_PROFILE</c> is not set to <c>dl205</c>.
+///     </para>
+/// </remarks>
+[Collection(ModbusSimulatorCollection.Name)]
+[Trait("Category", "Integration")]
+[Trait("Device", "DL205")]
+public sealed class DL205StringQuirkTests(ModbusSimulatorFixture sim)
+{
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task DL205_string_low_byte_first_decodes_Hello_from_HR1040()
+    {
+        if (sim.SkipReason is not null) Assert.Skip(sim.SkipReason);
+        if (!string.Equals(Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("MODBUS_SIM_PROFILE"), "dl205",
+                StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+        {
+            Assert.Skip("MODBUS_SIM_PROFILE != dl205 — skipping (standard profile does not seed HR[1040..1042]).");
+        }
+
+        var options = new ModbusDriverOptions
+        {
+            Host = sim.Host,
+            Port = sim.Port,
+            UnitId = 1,
+            Timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2),
+            Tags =
+            [
+                new ModbusTagDefinition(
+                    Name: "DL205_Hello_Low",
+                    Region: ModbusRegion.HoldingRegisters,
+                    Address: 1040,
+                    DataType: ModbusDataType.String,
+                    Writable: false,
+                    StringLength: 5,
+                    StringByteOrder: ModbusStringByteOrder.LowByteFirst),
+                // Control: same address, HighByteFirst, to prove the driver would have decoded
+                // garbage without the quirk flag.
+                new ModbusTagDefinition(
+                    Name: "DL205_Hello_High",
+                    Region: ModbusRegion.HoldingRegisters,
+                    Address: 1040,
+                    DataType: ModbusDataType.String,
+                    Writable: false,
+                    StringLength: 5,
+                    StringByteOrder: ModbusStringByteOrder.HighByteFirst),
+            ],
+            Probe = new ModbusProbeOptions { Enabled = false },
+        };
+        await using var driver = new ModbusDriver(options, driverInstanceId: "dl205-string");
+        await driver.InitializeAsync(driverConfigJson: "{}", TestContext.Current.CancellationToken);
+
+        var results = await driver.ReadAsync(["DL205_Hello_Low", "DL205_Hello_High"],
+            TestContext.Current.CancellationToken);
+
+        results.Count.ShouldBe(2);
+        results[0].StatusCode.ShouldBe(0u);
+        results[0].Value.ShouldBe("Hello", "DL205 low-byte-first ordering must produce 'Hello' from HR[1040..1042]");
+
+        // The high-byte-first read of the same wire bytes should differ — not asserting the
+        // exact garbage string (that would couple the test to the ASCII byte math) but the two
+        // decodes MUST disagree, otherwise the quirk flag is a no-op.
+        results[1].StatusCode.ShouldBe(0u);
+        results[1].Value.ShouldNotBe("Hello");
+    }
+}

tests/ZB.MOM.WW.OtOpcUa.Driver.Modbus.Tests/ModbusDataTypeTests.cs

@@ -172,4 +172,51 @@ public sealed class ModbusDataTypeTests
         wire[1].ShouldBe((byte)'i');
         for (var i = 2; i < 8; i++) wire[i].ShouldBe((byte)0);
     }
+
+    // --- DL205 low-byte-first strings (AutomationDirect DirectLOGIC quirk) ---
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void String_LowByteFirst_decodes_DL205_packed_Hello()
+    {
+        // HR[1040] = 0x6548 (wire BE bytes [0x65, 0x48]) decodes first char from low byte = 'H',
+        // second from high byte = 'e'. HR[1041] = 0x6C6C → 'l','l'. HR[1042] = 0x006F → 'o', nul.
+        var tag = new ModbusTagDefinition("T", ModbusRegion.HoldingRegisters, 0, ModbusDataType.String,
+            StringLength: 5, StringByteOrder: ModbusStringByteOrder.LowByteFirst);
+        var wire = new byte[] { 0x65, 0x48, 0x6C, 0x6C, 0x00, 0x6F };
+        ModbusDriver.DecodeRegister(wire, tag).ShouldBe("Hello");
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void String_LowByteFirst_decode_truncates_at_first_nul()
+    {
+        // Low-byte-first with only 2 real chars in register 0 (lo='H', hi='i') and the rest nul.
+        var tag = new ModbusTagDefinition("T", ModbusRegion.HoldingRegisters, 0, ModbusDataType.String,
+            StringLength: 6, StringByteOrder: ModbusStringByteOrder.LowByteFirst);
+        var wire = new byte[] { 0x69, 0x48, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00 };
+        ModbusDriver.DecodeRegister(wire, tag).ShouldBe("Hi");
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void String_LowByteFirst_encode_round_trips_with_decode()
+    {
+        var tag = new ModbusTagDefinition("T", ModbusRegion.HoldingRegisters, 0, ModbusDataType.String,
+            StringLength: 5, StringByteOrder: ModbusStringByteOrder.LowByteFirst);
+        var wire = ModbusDriver.EncodeRegister("Hello", tag);
+        // Expect exactly the DL205-documented byte sequence.
+        wire.ShouldBe(new byte[] { 0x65, 0x48, 0x6C, 0x6C, 0x00, 0x6F });
+        ModbusDriver.DecodeRegister(wire, tag).ShouldBe("Hello");
+    }
+
+    [Fact]
+    public void String_HighByteFirst_and_LowByteFirst_differ_on_same_wire()
+    {
+        // Same wire buffer, different byte order → first char switches 'H' vs 'e'.
+        var wire = new byte[] { 0x48, 0x65 };
+        var hi = new ModbusTagDefinition("T", ModbusRegion.HoldingRegisters, 0, ModbusDataType.String,
+            StringLength: 2, StringByteOrder: ModbusStringByteOrder.HighByteFirst);
+        var lo = new ModbusTagDefinition("T", ModbusRegion.HoldingRegisters, 0, ModbusDataType.String,
+            StringLength: 2, StringByteOrder: ModbusStringByteOrder.LowByteFirst);
+        ModbusDriver.DecodeRegister(wire, hi).ShouldBe("He");
+        ModbusDriver.DecodeRegister(wire, lo).ShouldBe("eH");
+    }
 }