Specifications

Appendix I Installing the Computer Interface 107
may be in conflict with address or interrupt assignments on ISA cards. It might be noted
that there are many programs, such as the MSD program supplied by Microsoft, that are
designed to read and report address and interrupt assignments, including those on ISA
cards. Many users have had mixed results at best using these programs.
Operation
There are no operating considerations that are unique to the PCI Serial card. The card
can easily accept data as fast as any Princeton Instruments System now available can
send it. The incoming data is temporarily stored in the card’s memory, and then
transferred to the main computer memory when the card gains access to the bus. The PCI
bus arbitration scheme assures that, as long as every PCI card conforms to the PCI
guidelines, the on-board memory will never overflow.
Unfortunately, there are some PCI peripheral cards that do not fully conform to the PCI
guidelines and that take control of the bus for longer periods than the PCI specification
allows. Certain video cards (particularly those that use the S3 video chip) are notorious
in this respect. Usually you will be able to recognize when memory overflow occurs
because the displayed video will assume a split-screen appearance and/or the message
Hardware Conflict will be displayed (WinView/32 or WinSpec/32). At the same time,
the LED on the upper edge of the PCI Serial card will light.
Users are thus advised not to take any actions that would worsen the possibility of
memory overflow occurring when taking data. In that regard, avoid multitasking while
taking data. Specific operations to avoid include multitasking (pressing ALT TAB or
ALT ESC to start another program), or running a screensaver program.
ISA Serial Card
ISA Serial boards were available before the PCI board, now standard, was developed.
ISA Serial Buffer boards are still supported through Version 2.5.X of the WinView/32
and WinSpec/32 application software. Version 2.6 and higher will not support ISA.
Note: An ISA serial interface card operated in an ISA slot can support data transfer rates
as high as 1 MHz (WinView or WinSpec software ver. 1.4.3 or later).
A screwdriver may be needed to remove screws from the computer (the type varies from
computer to computer). A small, flat-bladed screwdriver is needed to connect both ends
of the serial cable.
Checking the ISA Serial Board Jumpers
Before installing an ISA Interface Board, its address should be confirmed. The factory
default address is 0A00. This address can be confirmed or changed by comparing the 8
dip switches found on the board with Figure 57. The ISA Serial Buffer board is set to
interrupt level 10 and uses DMA channels 5 and 6. The interrupt level can be changed by
the user, as long as both hardware and software are set to the same interrupt. Figure 57
shows all possible configurations. If the default DMA channels present a problem,
contact the factory for more information.
Since interrupts and DMA channels cannot be shared, make sure no other boards in your
computer use this interrupt or these DMA channels.
CAUTION