JUNE 2000 IC111C IC181C Four Port RS-232 Serial Interface CUSTOMER SUPPORT INFORMATION Order toll-free in the U.S. 24 hours, 7 A.M. Monday to midnight Friday: 877-877-BBOX FREE technical support, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: Call 724-746-5500 or fax 724-746-0746 Mail order: Black Box Corporation, 1000 Park Drive, Lawrence, PA 15055-1018 Web site: www.blackbox.com • E-mail: info@blackbox.
FOUR PORT RS-232 SERIAL INTERFACE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION AND INDUSTRY CANADA RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE STATEMENTS This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy a nd if not installed and used properly, that is, in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, may cause interference to radio communication.
FOUR PORT RS-232 SERIAL INTERFACE Contents Chapter Page 1. Specifications...................................................................................................1 2. Introduction ....................................................................................................2 2.1 Overview..................................................................................................2 2.2 What’s Included......................................................................................
CHAPTER 1: Specifications 1. Specifications Protocol — Asynchronous Number of Ports — 4 Speed — IC111C: Up to 115.2 Kbps; IC181C: 460.8 kbps and higher Operation — RS-232 Connectors — DB37M on card; (1) 3-ft. (0.9-m) DB37F-to-4x DB25M octopus cable, included Maximum Distance — 50 ft. (15.2 m) @ 19.2 Kbps with 2500 pF max. cable capacitance (lower capacitance will allow greater distances) Communications Chip — IC111C: 16550 UART; IC181C: 16850 UART MTBF — >150,000 hours MTTR — <0.
FOUR PORT RS-232 SERIAL INTERFACE 2. Introduction 2.1 Overview The Four Port RS-232 Serial Interface provides your PC system with four RS232 asynchronous ports. Connect to any device that uses the RS-232 protocol, such as modems, data-entry terminals, and plotters. The Serial Interface also includes a serial utility diskette with Seacom, a DOS interrupt and driver package. Seacom allows data to be buffered, eliminating data loss in high-speed data transfers. It also allows more than 4 ports (256 max.
CHAPTER 2: Introduction 2.3 Features Listed below are the special features your Serial Interface offers. • Each port is independently addressable. • Eleven interrupt options, including AT interrupts, for simple integration into existing systems. • IRQs can be shared or individually set for each port. • Supports Interrupt Sharing—only one interrupt line required for multiple ports. • Supports any character set defined by binary notation.
FOUR PORT RS-232 SERIAL INTERFACE 2.4 Technical Description The Four Port RS-232 Serial Interface provides four additional serial ports for terminals, modems, printers, etc. The Serial Interface can be configured as COM1: through COM4:, or as any other I/O address (up to 3FF Hex), providing total compatibility with most communications software and languages.
CHAPTER 3: Address Selection 3. Address Selection NOTE Be sure to set the address selections and jumper options before installation. Each serial port on the Four Port RS-232 Serial Interface occupies 8 consecutive I/O locations. DIP switch SW4 sets the base address for Port 1, SW3 for Port 2, SW2 for Port 3, and SW1 for Port 4. Be careful when selecting the base address as some selections conflict with existing PC ports. The following table shows several examples that usually do not cause a conflict.
FOUR PORT RS-232 SERIAL INTERFACE 4. Option Selection NOTE Be sure to set the address selections and jumper options before installation. The board contains several jumper straps for each port which must be set for proper operation. 4.1 Port Enable/Disable Each port on the Four Port RS-232 can be enabled or disabled with switch position 8 on the DIP switch. The port is enabled with the switch ON (or closed) and disabled when OFF (or open).
CHAPTER 4: Option Selection Any two or more ports can share a common IRQ by placing the jumpers on the same IRQ setting, and setting the appropriate selections at E1. Consult your particular software for IRQ selection. If no interrupt is desired, remove the jumper. NOTE IRQ 2 on AT class machines is not available. IRQ 9 is substituted in place of IRQ 2. To select IRQ 9, place jumper in the IRQ 2 position.
FOUR PORT RS-232 SERIAL INTERFACE 4.2 Interrupt-Mode Options Jumper E5 selects the interrupt mode for each port. Each port must be set in the correct mode to ensure proper installation. “N” indicates the normal, single interrupt per port mode (Figure 4-2). “S” indicates the shared interrupt mode, which allows more than one port to access a single IRQ (Figure 4-4). “M” indicates the inclusion of a 1K ohm pull-down resistor required on one port when sharing interrupts (Figure 4-3).
CHAPTER 4: Option Selection Set jumper to “S” if you are using more than one Four Port RS-232 Serial Interface in a bus or you wish to remove the pull-down resistor completely for hardware compatibility. NOTE Setting the board in this configuration when it is not accompanied by a pull-down resistor will prevent the ports from triggering an interrupt. The factory default for this board is COM1: and COM3: sharing IRQ4, and COM2: and COM4: sharing IRQ3. 1 2 M S N M S N 3 4 Figure 4- 4.
FOUR PORT RS-232 SERIAL INTERFACE 5. Installation IMPORTANT You MUST set up the operating system BEFORE you physically install the Card. 5.1 Software Installation If you are installing an ISA adapter in DOS, OS/2®, or QNX, please refer to the appropriate directory on one of the Serial Utilities Disks for instructions. 5.1.1 WINDOWS 3.
CHAPTER 5: Installation 5.2 Hardware Installation The ISA Card can be installed in any of the PC expansion slots. The Card contains several jumper straps for each port that you must set for proper operation. 1. Turn off PC power. Disconnect the power cord. 2. Remove the PC case cover. 3. Locate an available slot and remove the blank metal slot cover. 4. Gently insert the Card into the slot. Make sure that the Card is seated properly. 5. Replace the screw. 6. Replace the cover. 7. Connect the power cord.
FOUR PORT RS-232 SERIAL INTERFACE Appendix A: Circuit-Board Design 3.9" C2 U4 ON=0 U3 PORT 1 U2 PORT 2 PORT 3 PORT 4 C1 U1 A9 A3 E R1 SW1 R3 SW3 12 34 E5 E3 D3 C3 U6 C5 U5 C7 U9 U8 E4 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 15 PORT 1 C4 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 15 C6 PORT 2 PORT 3 PORT 4 R9 U7 SW4 D4 R7 R8 E2 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 15 R4 M S N M S N D2 E1 2 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 15 SW2 R2 R5 R6 D1 U10 P2 C9 C10 U13 U14 U12 PORT 1 PORT 2 PORT 3 PORT 4 C8 8.
APPENDIX B: Troubleshooting Appendix B. Troubleshooting By using the supplied serial utility diskette and following these simple steps, most common problems can be eliminated. 1) Identify all I/O adapters currently installed in your system. This includes your onboard serial ports, controller cards, and sound cards. The I/O address used by these adapters, as well as the IRQ (if any) should be identified. 2) Configure your serial interface so that there is no conflict with currently installed adapters.
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