Black Box PI035A, PI035AE Instructions Manual

1000 Park Drive • Lawrence, PA 15055-1018 • 724-746-5500 • Fax [phone]

© Copyright 1998. Black Box Corporation. All rights reserved.

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INFORMATION

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S↔P (Serial↔Parallel) Converter (128K)

SERIAL

↔

PARALLEL CONVERTER II

FEBRUARY 1998

PI035A
PI035AE

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

AND

CANADIAN DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS

RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE STATEMENTS

This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency
energy and if not installed and used properly, that is, in strict
accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, may cause
interference to radio communication. It has been tested and
found to comply with the limits for a Class A computing device
in accordance with the specifications in Subpart J of Part 15 of
FCC rules, which are designed to provide reasonable protection
against such interference when the equipment is operated in a
commercial environment. Operation of this equipment in a
residential area is likely to cause interference, in which case the
user at his own expense will be required to take whatever
measures may be necessary to correct the interference.

Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party
responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to
operate the equipment.

This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class A limits for radio
noise emission from digital apparatus set out in the Radio
Interference Regulation of the Canadian Department of
Communications.

Le présent appareil numérique n’émet pas de bruits radioélectriques
dépassant les limites applicables aux appareils numériques de
classe A prescrites dans le Règlement sur le brouillage
radioélectrique publié par le ministère des Communications du
Canada.

TRADEMARKS USED IN THIS MANUAL

IBM and AT are registered trademarks of International Business

Machines Corporation. PC/XT is a trademark of International

Business Machines Corporation.
Centronics is a registered trademark of Centronics Corporation.
HP and LaserJet are registered trademarks of Hewlett-Packard.

Contents

Chapter Page

1.0 Specifications ........................................................................................ 1

2.0 Introduction ......................................................................................... 2

3.0 Installation ............................................................................................ 3

3.1 What You’ll Need .......................................................................... 3

3.2 Installation Procedures .................................................................. 8

4.0 Operation ........................................................................................... 13

5.0 Troubleshooting ................................................................................. 14

5.1 Common Concerns ...................................................................... 14

5.2 Calling Us ..................................................................................... 19

5.3 Shipping and Packaging .............................................................. 19

Appendix: Connector Pinouts ................................................................. 20

S↔P (SERIAL↔PARALLEL) CONVERTER (128K)

1

CHAPTER 1: Specifications

Interface —

Parallel: DB25 IBM style, Centronics®compatible;
Serial: EIA RS-232 asynchronous, DTE or DCE
(user-selectable)

Data Format —

Parallel: 8 data bits; Serial: 7 data bits (even or
odd parity) or 8 data bits (no parity), user-
selectable

Flow Control —

Parallel: Hardware handshaking;
Serial: Hardware or software (X-ON/X-OFF),
user-selectable

Speed —

600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19,200, 38,400, or
76,800 bps (user-selectable)

Conversion Direction —

Serial to parallel or parallel to serial (user-
selectable)

Memory —

128K RAM

User Controls —

(3) External: (1) Reset pushbutton, (1) DTE/DCE
slide switch, (1) 8-position DIP switch for baud
rate, data bits, self-testing, flow control,
conversion direction

Indicator —

(1) Power LED

Diagnostic —

Diagnostic self-test transmitted from output port

Connectors —

Parallel: (1) DB25 female; Serial: (1) RJ-45 female

Power —

9 VDC @ 0.5 A from wallmount power supply:
115-VAC, 60-Hz type (product code PS036) or
230-VAC, 50-Hz type (product code PS015E), as
specified

Size —

1"H x 4"W x 3"D (2.5 x 10.2 x 7.6 cm)

Weight —

1.5 lb. (0.7 kg)

1.0 Specifications

2

S↔P (SERIAL↔PARALLEL) CONVERTER (128K)

The S↔P (Serial↔Parallel) Converter (128K) is a serial-to-parallel or
parallel-to-serial converter (conversion direction is user-selectable). It
operates at speeds ranging from 600 bps all the way up to 76.8 Kbps and
has 128K of buffer memory, which is ideal for most ordinary print jobs and
other types of file transfers.

The Converter supports a wide variety of baud rates, three types of data
formats, and either hardware or software (X-ON/X-OFF) flow control, so it
works with many kinds of equipment and applications. You can quickly
and easily choose the settings you want with an external DIP switch. This
switch also has positions that allow you to select the conversion direction
and a self-testing mode. You can choose whether the Converter functions
as DTE or as DCE by moving an external slide switch. And by pushing an
external, recessed pushbutton, you can reset the Converter if anything goes
wrong.

The S↔P Converter’s parallel port has a DB25 female connector. Its
serial port has an RJ-45 female connector, so from there to your serial
device you can run unshielded twisted-pair cable with RJ-45 male
connectors. Modular adapters are available to complete the UTP
connection to your serial device if its serial port isn’t RJ-45.

The Converter has its own power supply, so it won’t draw power from the
devices it connects. All the energy in the communication lines goes toward
sustaining communications.

Using the Converter’s self-test mode, you can verify that your Converter
is working properly and that its cable links to your devices are intact before
any operation.

You can use two S↔P Converters in series as parallel distance extenders
by setting the first for parallel-to-serial conversion and the second for serial-
to-parallel. This will increase maximum one-way parallel transmission
distance from 20 feet (6.1 m) to as much as 540 feet (164.6 m).

2.0 Introduction

3

CHAPTER 3: Installation

3.1 What You’ll Need

Before you attach any cables or turn anything on, make sure you have
everything necessary to set up your S↔P Converter (128K) system.

Each S↔P Converter comes with its own power supply and a 6-foot
(1.8-m) flat satin cable with RJ-45 male connectors. This cable can connect
the Converter to an RJ-45 serial port—or to a modular adapter attached to
a different type of serial port—on a nearby device.

What other equipment is necessary depends on whether you’re using a

single Converter

for parallel-to-serial conversion or serial-to-parallel

conversion (see the list in

Section 3.1.1

)ora

pair of Converters

as parallel

distance extenders (see the list in

Section 3.1.2

).

3.1.1 A

DDITIONALEQUIPMENTNECESSARY TO ASINGLE-CONVERTERSYSTEM

:

A.

One parallel cable

.

For

parallel-to-serial conversion:

Cable running from the Converter to a
PC’s parallel port should be fully pinned straight-through DB25-male-to-
DB25-male extension cable, up to 20 feet (6.1 m) long, that does

not

have

Pin 1 tied to the shield. Our product code for this cable is ECN25C.

For

serial-to-parallel conversion:

Cable running to a printer’s parallel
port should be standard IBM®parallel printer adapter cable. Our product
code for this cable is EYN600.

B. If the Converter is within 6 feet (1.8 m) of the serial port you need to
connect, you can use the flat satin cable that came with your unit.
Otherwise, you’ll need

one serial cable

.

Cable running from the Converter to the serial port of a device that’s
between 6 feet (1.8 m) and 50 feet (15.2 m) away should be RJ-45-male-to-
RJ-45-male unshielded twisted-pair (

not

flat satin!). Our product code for
this cable is EYN730MS-MM. If you need to connect a serial port further
away than 50 feet (15.2 m), contact us for extended distance data cable
(“EDDC”), one or more modular adapters, and the maximum cable length
you can run (this will depend on the speed of your serial device).

3.0 Installation

4

S↔P (SERIAL↔PARALLEL) CONVERTER (128K)

Pinning

DB25 to RJ-45

2 -------------------------------------------------------------- 5
3 -------------------------------------------------------------- 6
5, 6, 8 ------------------------------------------------------- 3
7 -------------------------------------------------------------- 4
9 -------------------------------------------------------------- 8
20 ------------------------------------------------------------ 7

(For more detail, see the Appendix)

Figure 3-1. DB25 Male and Female Adapters and

Required Pinning.

FA080-R2 (Male)

FA081-R2 (Female)