Black Box 485 User Manual
The only way to put your async RS-232 devices
on an RS-485 network!
The only way to put your async RS-232 devices
on an RS-485 network!
SmartNode 485
© 2007. All rights reserved. Black Box Corporation.
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FEATURES
• Poll “dumb” RS-232 devices on your
multidrop RS-485 line.
• Place your RS-232 devices up to 5000 ft.
(1524 m) from each other.
• 253 addresses for each network.
• Send commands to individual
SmartNode 485s or broadcast messages
over the entire network.
• No need to modify your RS-232 device
or your RS-485 line.
Add RS-232 devices to your RS-485 environment or create an RS-232 multidrop network.
OVERVIEW
SmartNode 485 is the first device to allow async RS-232
printers, terminals, scales, lathes, bar code readers—
any “dumb” RS-232 device—to function in a multidrop
RS-485 network.
An RS-485 network consists of a master device polling
slaving devices for information. RS-485 devices already
have the “smarts” needed to follow the rules for orderly
communication. In contrast, RS-232 devices are “dumb”—
unaided, they can’t follow the rules of a multipoint protocol.
And that’s where SmartNode 485 comes in.
SmartNode 485 does two jobs. It converts your RS-232
signals to the RS-485 interface so your async ASCII devices
can operate in an RS-485 polled environment.
It also acts as the address node for your RS-232 device,
allowing it to communicate with a master device on a
multidrop network.
SmartNode 485 lets you combine the variety of RS-232
devices with the advantages of RS-485. For example, the
superb noise immunity of RS-485 enables your RS-232 devices
to send data at rates up to 38.4 kbps, while residing on the
network up to 5000 ft. (1524 m) away from one another .
And SmartNode 485 does not require you to modify your
RS-232 device. Instead, you configure SmartNode 485 for
your device’s requirements through internal DIP switches.
Each RS-485 network segment can consist of 32 devices.
And up to 253 device addresses are available to SmartNode
485s on a network. Using repeaters, your SmartNode 485
network can be as complex as your application demands.
SmartNode 485 is available in either standalone or
rackmount card versions. A 230-VAC model is also available.
TYPICAL APPLICATIONS
Add RS-232 devices to your existing RS-485 network. Your
unmodified RS-232 devices operate along side your RS-485
machines.
Create a multidrop network of RS-232 devices. Place RS232 printers, terminals, and bar code readers up to 5000 ft.
(1524 m) apart. Control them with an RS-232 host controlling
the network via an RS-232÷RS-485 Interface Converter .
SmartNode
485
Logic
controller
Conveyor Lathe
Master PCs
Terminal
Printer
Scale
Bar-code reader
Terminal
RS-232↔RS-422/
485 Interface
Converter
Printer
Industrial controller RS-232 pump
SmartNode
485
SmartNode
485
SmartNode
485
SmartNode
485
SmartNode
485
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