User manual

PCL-COMMUNICATION User Manual 2
Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Description
The ISA cards of the PCL Series provide an independent processor
16C550, 16C554 or 16C654 UART with an on-chip 16-byte or 64-byte
FIFO buffer for reliable high-speed serial I/O. The UART buffers data
into 16-byte or 64-byte packets before putting it on the bus. This drasti-
cally reduces the CPU’s load and avoids data loss when the system is
busy and can’t process the interrupt quickly, which is especially useful
for high speed serial I/O under Windows.
The ISA cards utilize onboard optical isolators to protect your PC and
equipment against damage from ground loops, increasing system reliabil-
ity in harsh environments. In order to meet the demand for reliability, the
ISA cards also have surge protection technology. This surge protection
can prevent damage from abrupt high voltage sources such as lightning
power line strikes.
1.2 Features
• Speeds up to 921.6 kbps
• 16C550 with 16-byte FIFO
• 16C654 with 64-byte FIFO
• Wide IRQ selection
• OS supported: Windows 98/2000/XP, Linux
• Optional surge protection
• Optional isolation protection
• Complete RS-232 modem-control signal
• Space reserved for termination resistors
• LED indicator on each port indicates data flow
• RS-232, RS-422 or RS-485 modes jumper selectable
• Automatic RS-485 data flow control
• Support 2-wire or 4-wire operation
• ISA Configuration tools