Black Box RS-232 User Manual 2

1

Add serial, USB, and
parallel ports to a PC,
server, laptop, or thin
client without opening
the computer‘s
chassis!

High-speed alternative
to serial cards.

All models have
operating-system
support for Windows
98, SE, Me, XP, and
Windows 2000.

Single-port model also
supports Windows CE.

Lower cost per port
than serial boards.

Configurable COM port
assignment.

T

he Single-Port USB Director

RS-232 gives you reliability,
superb performance, and
operating-system support. Simply
plug the Single-Port USB Director
RS-232 into the USB port of a
desktop PC, laptop, or thin client
and gain one high-speed RS-232
DB9 serial port. Attaching
personal digital assistants (PDAs),
printers, bar-code scanners, and
other peripheral devices has
never been easier! The director is
perfect for point-of-sale and
mobile computing applications in
which space is limited and flexible
I/O expansion is required.

The 2-, 4-, and 8-port USB
Director RS-232s are intelligent,
stackable expansion modules
designed for the enterprise user
who requires reliability in mission­critical applications. They
connect to a PC, thin client,
laptop, or server via the Universal
Serial Bus (USB) port, providing
instant COM-port expansion for

Add one, two, four, or eight

RS-232 serial ports to your PC,

laptop, thin client, or server.

Key Features

USBDIRECTOR RS-232

peripheral-device connectivity.
Unmatched operating-system
support and reliable performance
make the USB Director RS-232
ideal for applications such as
point-of-sale, kiosk connectivity,
and mobile computing. The 2-, 4-,
and 8-port USB Directors RS-232
are compatible with Windows

®

98,
SE, Me, XP, and Windows 2000.
The single-port model is also
compatible with Windows CE.

The USB Director RS-232s
feature a Type B USB connector
that’s used to attach a cable to the
USB port of a PC, USB hub, or USB
switch. In addition, the units are
equipped with one, two, four, or
eight DB9 male RS-232 ports
(depending on the model). Port
pinning is like that of a PC‘s serial
ports.

Installing the hardware
is straightforward. To make
connections, simply plug one end
of the included USB cable into

your PC’s USB port (or into a USB
hub or switch, if necessary), and
plug the cable’s other end into the
USB Director RS-232. Then plug
your RS-232 device(s), or their
attached cables, into the USB
Director RS-232’s serial
connector(s).

Driver installation is just as
easy. CD-ROM-based wizards
take you step-by-step through the
process of setting them up in your
Windows system. In fact, once you
install the drivers, Windows will
detect your USB Director RS-232‘s
new COM ports and will begin to
initialize them.

After you install the hardware
and software, the USB Director
RS-232 operates without requiring
further intervention on your part.
On the 2-, 4-, and 8-port models,
a tri-color indicator signals USB
communications between the
device and host as well as serial
port activity on the device.

Black Box Corporation • 1000 Park Drive • Lawrence, PA 15055-1018 • Tech Support: 724-746-5500 • www.blackbox.com • e-mail: [e-mail]

© 2004. All rights reserved.

Black Box Corporation.

10/26/2004 #26231

2

The USB Director RS-232 also
comes with a configuration utility
program that enables you to
manage various resources on
the unit, such as mapping of each
physical communications port to
your Windows COM port numbers.
You can reassign the physical
ports on the USB Director RS-232

to any available Windows COM
port number 1 to 255 or give your
USB Director RS-232 a user­friendly device name—a feature
that’s particularly helpful if you
intend to install more than one
USB Director RS-232.

To install the USB Director,

you don’t need to open the

chassis, power down your
computer, or reconfigure the
system. It supports baud rates of
up to 230 kbps per port.

A tri-state LED shows the
device status and COM port
activity. The Director is
compatible with USB 1.0 and 1.1.

The USB Director offers full

hardware and software flow­control support. And it costs less
per port than serial boards. Each
port features a UART with 64-byte
FIFOs.

No additional IRQ or memory
is required. And jack screws keep
your serial devices securely in
place.

PC

USB

Single-Port USB

Director RS-232

Bar-Code Scanner

(RS-232 Device)

Single-Port USB Director RS-232 in a point-of-sale application.

PC

USB

Scale

Serial RS-232

Devices

Signature

Scanner

Hand

Scanner

Credit-Card

Reader

4-Port USB

Director RS-232

4-Port USB Director RS-232 in a

point-of-sale application.