B&B Electronics SSP-100 User Manual

i

SSP-100

Single Channel RS-232 PCMCIA

Asynchronous Adapter

for PCMCIA Card Standard compatible

User's

INTERFACE CARDS FOR IBM PC/AT AND PS/2

Manual

machines

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Warranty Information

Quatech Inc. warrants the SSP-100 to be free of defects for one (5) year from the date of purchase.
Quatech Inc. will repair or replace any adapter that fails to perform under normal operating conditions
and in accordance with the procedures outlined in this document during the warranty period. Any
damage that results from improper installation, operation, or general misuse voids all warranty rights.

The authors have taken due care in the preparation of this document and any associated software
program(s). In no event will Quatech Inc. be liable for damages of any kind, incidental or consequential,
in regard to or arising out of the performance or form of the materials presented herein and in the
program(s) accompanying this document. No representation is made regarding the suitability of this
product for any particular purpose.

Quatech Inc. reserves the right to edit or append to this document or the product(s) to which it refers at
any time and without notice.

Please complete the following information and retain for your records. Have this information available
when requesting warranty service.

Date of purchase:

Model Number: SSP-100

Product Description: Single Channel Asynchronous RS-232

Communications PCMCIA Adapter

Serial Number:

SSP-100 (Rev. G and later) User's Manual

ii

Declaration of Conformity

Manufacturer's Name: B&B Electronics

Manufacturer's Address: 707 Dayton Road
P.O. Box 1040

Ottawa, IL 61350

Application of Council Directive:

Standards to which

Conformity is Declared: * EN50081-1

Type of Equipment: Information Technology Equipment

Equipment Class: Commercial, Residential, & Light

Product Name: PCMCIA Card

Model Number : SSP-100

89/336/EEC

(EN55022)

* EN50082-1

(IEC 801-2, IEC 801-3, & IEC 801-4)

Industrial

iii

Table of Contents

Introduction
DOS/Windows 3.x

SSP-100 Client Driver for DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Client Driver Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Command Line Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Common Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SSP-100 Enabler for DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Command Line Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Common Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Windows 95/98/Millennium (ME) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Installing a SSP-100 Under Windows
SSP-100 Resource Settings in Windows

Viewing Resource Settings with Device Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Changing Resource Settings with Device Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Windows 2000/XP

Installing a SSP-100 Under Windows 2000/XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SSP-100 Resource Settings in Windows 2000/XP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Viewing Resource Settings with Device Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Changing Resource Settings with Device Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Windows NT

Installing SSP-100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

External Connections
Specifications

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

95/98/ME

95/98/ME

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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2-2

2-3
2-3
2-4
2-6
2-7
2-8

3-1
3-1
3-1
3-2
3-2
3-4

4-1
4-1
4-4
4-5
4-6

5-1
5-1

6-1
7-2

SSP-100(Rev. G and later) User's Manual

1-1

1. Introduction

The SSP-100 is a single channel RS-232 asynchronous serial adapter for systems
equipped with PCMCIA Type II and/or Type III expansion sockets. The SSP-100 is a
PCMCIA Type II (5 mm) card and is PCMCIA PC Card Standard Specification 2.1

compliant.

The SSP-100's serial port is implemented using a 16C750 Universal Asynchronous
Receiver/Transmitter (UART), which is the recommended communications interface
for multitasking environments and with applications involving high data transfer rates.

PCMCIA Card Cable Assembly

Standard D-9 Male

Figure 1. SSP-100 Card and Cable Assembly

SSP-100(Rev. G and later) User's Manual

2-1

This page intentionally left blank.

DOS/Windows 3.x

2-2

2. DOS/Windows 3.x

Client Driver (recommended)

Enabler

File type: DOS device driver

File type: DOS executable

Interfaces to PCMCIA Card
and Socket Services software
(PCMCIA host adapter

independent)

Interfaces directly to Intel
82365SL and other PCIC
compatible PCMCIA host
adapters

Allows automatic configuration
of SSP-100 adapters upon

insertion (Hot Swapping)

Does not support automatic
configuration of adapters upon

insertion (Hot Swapping)

Requires PCMCIA Card and
Socket Services software

Does not require PCMCIA
Card and Socket Services

software

Note: PCMCIA DOS support is dependent upon type of

machine

and card

and socket services software support. DOS support is

not guaranteed.

Two configuration software programs are provided with the SSP-100: a Client Driver,
and a card Enabler. Both of these programs are executed from DOS (before entering
Windows) and allow operation of the SSP-100 in both the DOS and Windows 3.x
environments. For optimal operation, however, the Client Driver is the preferred
method of installation and configuration. The table below highlights the differences
between these programs.

Figure 2. Client Driver versus Enabler for DOS/Windows 3.x.

Card and Socket Services software is commercially available from several vendors for
most desktop and laptop PCs. If you are unsure whether Card and Socket Services
software is currently installed on your system, install the SSP-100 Client Driver as
discussed in following section. When loaded, the Client Driver will display an error
message if Card and Socket Services software is not detected.

2-3 SSP-100 (Rev. G and later) User's Manual

2.1 SSP-100 Client Driver for DOS

In order to use the SSP-100 Client Driver, the system must be configured with Card and
Socket Services software. Card and Socket Services software is not provided with the
SSP-100 but is available.

IMPORTANT:

Some versions of Card and Socket Services dated before
1993 do not support general purpose I/O cards. If after
careful installation of the Client Driver the adapter does
not configure or operate properly, an updated version of
Card and Socket Services may be required.

2.1.1 Client Driver Installation

The following procedure is used to install the SSP-100 Client Driver:

1. Copy the Client Driver from the SSP-100 distribution diskette onto the
system's hard drive.

2. Using an ASCII text editor, open the system's CONFIG.SYS file located in the
root directory of the boot drive.

3. Locate the line(s) in the CONFIG.SYS file where the Card and Socket Services
software is installed.

4. AFTER the line(s) installing the Card and Socket Services software, add the
following line to the CONFIG.SYS file: DEVICE = drive:\path\
SSP130CL.SYS options where options are the SSP-100 Client Driver
command line options discussed on the following pages.

5. Save the CONFIG.SYS file and exit the text editor.

6. Insert the SSP-100 into one of the system's PCMCIA slots.

NOTE: Since the SSP-100 Client Driver supports "Hot Swapping", it is not
necessary to have the SSP-100 installed when booting the system. By inserting
the card before booting, however, the Client Driver will report the adapter
configuration during the boot process thereby verifying the changes made to the
CONFIG.SYS.

DOS/Windows 3.x

2-4

7. Reboot the system and note the message displayed when the SSP-100 Client
Driver is loaded. If the Client Driver reports an "invalid command line
option", correct the entry in the CONFIG.SYS file and reboot the system
again. If the Client Driver reports "Card and Socket Services not found", a
version of Card and Socket Services must be installed on the system or the
SSP-100 Enabler program must be used to configure the adapter. If the Client
Driver reports the desired adapter configuration, the installation process is
complete and the SSP-100 may be removed and/ or inserted from the system
as desired. On each insertion into the PCMCIA socket, the SSP-100 will be
automatically reconfigured according to the command line options.

2.1.2 Command Line Options

The SSP-100 Client Driver accepts up to eight command line arguments from the user
to determine the configuration of theSSP-100. If any arguments are provided, the
Client Driver will attempt to configure any SSP-100s with the options specified in the
order they are entered on the command line. Each argument must be enclosed in
parenthesis and must be separated from other arguments by a space on the command
line. Within each argument, any or all of the following parameters may be specified
using a comma (no spaces) to separate each parameter:

Baddress specifies a the base I/O address of the SSP-100 in hexadecimal. This address

must reside on an even 8-byte boundary. If this option is omitted, a base
address will be assigned by Card and Socket Services.

Iirq specifies the interrupt level (IRQ) of the SSP-100 in decimal. irq must be one

of the following values: 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, or 0 if no IRQ is
desired. If this option is omitted, an interrupt level will be assigned by Card
and Socket Services.

Ssocket specifies which PCMCIA socket the SSP-100 must be inserted into for this

configuration argument to be used. socket must be in the range 0 - 15. If this
option is omitted, the configuration argument will apply to SSP-100s
inserted into any socket.

Cclock specifies the multiple of the standard frequency for the UART clock. Valid

values for clock are 1 or 8. A value of 1 yields a clock frequency of 1.8432
MHz; a value of 8 yields 14.7456 MHz. If this option is omitted, the
standard clock frequency will be used.

2.1.2.1 Example 1
DEVICE = C:\SSP-100\ SSP130CL.SYS

2-5 SSP-100 (Rev. G and later) User's Manual

In example 1, no command line arguments are specified. The Client Driver will
configure a SSP-100 inserted into any socket with a base address and IRQ assigned by
Card and Socket Services.

DOS/Windows 3.x

2-6

2.1.2.2 Example 2
DEVICE = C:\SSP-100\SSP130CL.SYS (b290,i11)

In example 2, a single command line argument is provided. The Client Driver will
attempt to configure a SSP-100 inserted into any socket with a base address of 290H
and IRQ 11. If address 290H or IRQ 11 is unavailable, the SSP-100 will not be
configured.

2.1.2.3 Example 3
DEVICE = C:\SSP-100\SSP130CL.SYS(s0,b300,i5,o2)

In example 3, a single command line argument is provided. The Client Driver will
attempt to configure a SSP-100 inserted into socket 0 with a base address of 300H and
IRQ 5. If address 300H or IRQ 5 is unavailable, the SSP-100 will not be configured. In
addition, if aSSP-100 is inserted into any other socket, it will not be configured.

2.1.2.4 Example 4
DEVICE = C:\SSP-100\SSP130CL.SYS(i5,h,b300)

In example 4, a single command line argument is provided. Because the parameter
order is not significant, the Client Driver will attempt to configure a SSP-100 inserted
into any socket with a base address of 300H and IRQ 5. If address 300H or IRQ 5 is
unavailable, the SSP-100 will not be configured.

2.1.2.5 Example 5
DEVICE = C:\SSP-100\SSP130CL.SYS (b300,i5) (i10) ( )

In example 5, three command line arguments are provided. The Client Driver will first
attempt to configure a SSP-100 inserted into any socket with a base address of 300H
and IRQ 5. If address 300H or IRQ 5 is unavailable, the Client Driver will proceed to
the second command line argument and attempt to configure the card with a base
address assigned by Card and Socket Services and IRQ 10. If IRQ 10 is also
unavailable, the Client Driver will proceed to the third command line argument and
attempt to configure the SSP-100 with a base address and an IRQ assigned by Card and
Socket Services.

2-7 SSP-100 (Rev. G and later) User's Manual

2.1.2.6 Example 6
DEVICE = C:\SSP-100\SSP130CL.SYS (b300,i5) ( ) (i10)

In example 6, the three command line arguments of example 5 have been rearranged.
The Client Driver will first attempt to configure a SSP-100 inserted into any socket with
a base address of 300H and IRQ 5. If address 300H or IRQ 5 is unavailable, the Client
Driver will proceed to the second command line argument and attempt to configure the
card with a base address and IRQ assigned by Card and Socket Services. Since the
second command line argument includes all available address and IRQ resources, the
third command line argument will never be reached by the Client Driver. It is the
user's responsibility to place the command line arguments in a logical order.

2.1.2.7 Example 7
DEVICE = C:\SSP-100\SSP130CL.SYS (s0,b300,i5) (s1,b340,i10)

The type of configuration shown in example 7 may be desirable in systems where more
than one SSP-100 is to be installed. In this example, the Client Driver will attempt to
configure a SSP-100 inserted into socket 0 with a base address of 300H and IRQ 5. If the
SSP-100 is inserted into socket 1, the Client Driver will attempt to configure it with base
address 340H and IRQ 10. This allows the user to force the SSP-100's address and IRQ
settings to be socket specific which may simplify cable connections and software
development. As in the previous examples, however, if the requested address or
interrupt resources are not available, the SSP-100 will not be configured.

2.1.3 Common Problems

Generic Client Drivers:

Many Card and Socket Services packages include a generic client driver (or
SuperClient) which configures standard I/O devices. If one of these generic client
drivers is installed, it may configure the SSP-100 causing the SSP-100 client driver to
fail installation. In these cases, the user should do one of the following:

1. Modify the operation of the generic client driver to disable the configuration
of modem/serial port cards. Consult the Card and Socket Services
documentation for availability and details of this feature.

2. Place the SSP-100 client driver before the generic client driver in the
CONFIG.SYS.