Comtrol RPSH User Manual

RocketPort® Serial Hub (RPSH) and

www.comtrol.com

ftp://ftp.comtrol.com

How to Use this Document

You can use the interactive Table of Contents to locate the information you need.

Driver Requirements

This document discusses installing and configuring the RocketPort Serial Hub and VS1000 device driver for
the Windows 9x platform. The RocketPort Serial Hub or VS1000 requires at least one host server running

Windows

Note: The driver for the RocketPort Serial Hub

For hardware specific information or the product overview , see the Hardware Installation
is available on the Comtrol media (diskette or CD) shipped with your product or download the current version
from the ftp/web site.

Driver updates

sites to make sure that you ha ve the current driver and documentation. Software downloaded from the ftp/
web site are self-extracting zipped files that you must extract before installing.

®

95 or Windows 98.

Hub/VS1000 and they are NOT interchangeable.

can be downloaded at no charge from the Comtrol ftp/web site. Always check the web or ftp

VS1000/VS1100 Driver Installation with
Windows® 95/98

Si

is different than the driver for the RocketPort Serial

documentation that

Connectivity Requirements

An Ethernet connection (10 Mbps), either to an Ethern et hub or to a netw ork int erface card (NIC) in the hos t
server. See the Hardware Installation documentation for information regarding hardware in stallation,
including building crossover cables.

Note: If connecting the RocketPort Serial Hub or VS1000 directly to the server NIC card, an

crossover

cable is required.

Ethernet

RocketPort® Serial Hub (RPSH) and VS1000/VS1100 Driver Installation with Windows® 95/98 1

Interactive Table of Contents

How to Use this Document................................................................................................................................. 1

Driver Requirements .......................................................................................................................................... 1

Connectivity Requirements............................... ................................................................................................ 1

Installing the Device Driver.............................................................................................................................. 3

Configuring the Device.................................................................................................................................. ..... 9

Configuring Modems.... ....................................... .............................................................................................. 17

Verifying the Ports are Available.................................. ................................................................................. 19

Troubleshooting................................................................................................................................................. 19

Removing the RocketPort Serial Hub or VS1000/VS1100 ......................................................................... 19

Removing a Device ............................................................................................................................................ 19

Removing the Driver........................................................ ................................................................................. 19

Installing Additional Devices.......................................................................................................................... 19

Using Test Terminal (WCOM32) to Test Ports............................................................................................. 20

Contacting Technical Support............. .............................................................................. ............................. 22

2

Installing the Device Driver

Use the following procedure to initially install the RocketPort Serial Hub (RPSH) or VS1000/VS1100
software. See the Removing the Driver

Note: You may need to extract the driver files to a subdirectory on your system or a diskette. Drivers on the

Comtrol CD and downloaded from the ftp/web site are self-extracting zip files.

1. Open the Control Panel and double-click on the Add New Hardware icon.

discussion before re-installing a driver.

Note: This document illustrates a version of Windows 98 screens. Windows 95 is similar and you may

Installing the Device Driver 3

have to make slightly different selections.

2. If Windows 98, select Next
If Windows 95, select No

at the first screen and Next

at the Do you want Windows to search for your new hardware? prompt .

when it wants to sea rc h for Pl ug and P l ay devi ces.

Installing the Device Driver 4

3. Select No, the device isn't in the list

and the Next

button.

4. Select No, I want to select the hardware from a list

and the Next

button.

Installing the Device Driver 5

5. Highlight Multi-function adapters

6. Select the Have Disk button.

and select Next.

7. Select the Browse button.

Installing the Device Driver 6

8. Highlight the directory where the unzipped driver files are located and select the OK button. For
example:

9. Select the OK button.

10. Highlight the Comtrol device you want to install and select the Next button.

Note: This driver does not support the VS2000.

Installing the Device Driver 7

11. Select Finish.

12. Select Yes

to the restart your computer query.

After rebooting your system, a new hardware wizard appears for each port on the device and the Comtrol
VS1000 and RocketPort Serial Hub proram group appears.

13. Close the program group window.

Installing the Device Driver 8

14. Select Yes when this message appears.

15. Go to Step 7

on Page 11 to configure the device.

Configuring the Device

Use the following procedure to configure the device and it’s properties. You must configure device properties
for the device to function. You ca n also use this procedure to change device or port properties any time.

1. Right-click on the

My Computer

icon and select the Properties

double-click on the System icon.

2. Select the Device Manager tab .

3. Double-click on Multi-function adapters.

4. Highlight the device you want to configure and select the Properties button.

button or open the Control Panel and

Configuring the Device 9

5. Select the Device Setup tab.

6. Select the Configure

button.

Note: If you see a Setup button instead of a Configure button, select the Setup button.

Configuring the Device 10

7. Highlight the device for which you want to configure and select the Properties button.

Configuring the Device 11

8. Enter the following into the Device Properties screen:

Note: For information on any field definitions, use the Help button or the ? in the title bar.

• Optionally, enter a different device name.

• Enter the MAC address for the d evice. The MAC address is located on a sticker on the bottom of the

RocketPort Serial Hub or on the back panel of the VS1000.

• Optionally, change the starting COM port number.

Note: The screen for the VS1000 displays a different graphic.

Configuring the Device 12

9. After entering the device properties, select the OK button. The Main Setup screen appears:

10. Optionally, select the Options

tab to set any of the following device features:

• Small send windows

• Scan rate

• RS-485 mode (convertor box required)

Note: Use the Help button or the ? in the title bar for definitions of features.

a. Select the options you want to enable.
b. Select the Main Setup tab.

Configuring the Device 13

11. Optionally, highlight the port that you want to configure and select the
configure port for the following features:

• Overriding and locking the baud rate

• Lock baud rates

• Set a timeout time on transmit data on a port

• Map CD to DSR

• Map 2 stop bits to 1

• Wait for physical transmission before write

• Clone port settings

Properties

button You can

Note: Use the Help button or the ? in the title bar for detailed information regarding these fields.

If you enabled RS-485 mode in the Device Options tab, an RS-485 tab exists in the COM Port Properties
window. The RS-485 tab allows you to:

• Override and lock RS-485 toggle mode

•Toggle RTS low

Configuring the Device 14

12. After completing all necessary configuration, select the Ok button to close the Main Setup screen.

13. Select Ok in the Port Properties screen.

Configuring the Device 15

14. Select Ok in the System Properties screen.

15. If you have not done so, install the hardware and connect your peripheral devices. See the Configuring

Modems discussion to install a modem on a port.

Configuring the Device 16

Configuring Modems

The RocketPort Serial Hub can support any asynchronous serial modem for use by any application that uses
Windows 95/98 COM ports.

Follow these steps to install and configure modems.

1. Connect the modem(s) to the desired port(s).

2. Power up the modem(s).

3. Open the Control Panel window.

4. Double-click on the Modems icon. The Install New Modem wizard starts:

Note: Screen appearances may differ slightly between different versio ns of the operating syst ems. You may

5. Check the “Don’t detect my modem” box.

Note: Do

6. Click Next. A list of modem manufacturers and models displays:

7. Select the manufacturer and modem type from the list or click Have Disk.

need to adapt as necessary.

not

use the auto-detect feature. The Windows modem auto-detect function does not recognize
ports above COM10, and it scans
produce extremely confusing modem-to-port numbering and naming sequences.

down

, beginning with the highest detected COM port. This can

Configuring Modems 17

8. Click Next. The list of available ports displays:

9. Select the port to which the mode m is attached and click Next. The system installs the modem software.

10. Click Finish. The Modems Properties window displays:

11. To add more modems, click the Add button and repeat Steps 4

through 9.

12. Optionally: a. Click Dialing Properties to configure basic phone service information.

b. Highlight a modem and click Properties to configure port speed, data bits, parity, and so on.
c. Click the Diagnostics tab, then select a port and click More Info to query and test the modem.

13. When you are done , c l ick Close or ( Ok, depending on the operat ing system vers ion) to exit the Inst all New
Modem wizard. Your changes take effect immediately. No reboot is required.

Configuring Modems 18

Verifying the Ports are Available

Use the following procedure to verify that the COM ports are available to Windows 98:

1. Right-click on the My Computer icon.

2. Select Properties.

3. Select the Device Manager tab .

4. View your system’s ports by clicking on the plus (+) sign for Ports (COM & LPT).

Troubleshooting

If you are having problems, you can try the f ollowing:

1. Verify that you are using the correct types of cables, see the Hardware documentation
information.

2. Verify that all cables are connected securely.

3. Reboot the server.

4. Ve rify that you are address ing the port correctly. In many applications, device names above COM9 require
the prefix
port name.

5. Use the Test Terminal program (WCOM32) to troubleshoot communications on a port-by-port basis.

6. Remove and reinstall the driver.

\\.\

in order to be recognized. For example, to reference COM10, use \\.\COM10 as the file or

for pin out

Removing the Roc ke tPort Serial Hub or VS1000/VS1100

There are two steps to removing a RPSH/VS1000.

• If you want only to remove a device, follow Removing a Device

• If you want to completely remov e the device a nd driver, first foll ow Removing a Device, then Removing the

Driver.

.

Removing a Device

1. Follow Steps 1 through 5 in the Configuring the Device discussion.

2. Highlight the device you want to remove and select

3. Close the Device Ma nager.

Remove

.

Removing the Driver

To remove the Comtrol Windows 95/98 device driver:

1. Follow Steps 1

2. Select

3. Select

4. Select the

5. When the process is complete, select

Add/Remove Programs
Comtrol Serial Port Tools

through 5 in the Configuring the Device discussion.

.

.

Add/Remove

button.

OK

to exit.

Installing Additional Devices

Use the Installing the Device Driver discussiong to add an additional device.

Verifying the Ports are Available 19

Using Test Terminal (WCOM32) to Test Ports

Test Terminal (WCOM32) is a terminal program that enables you to open a port, send characters and
commands to the port, and toggle the control signals.

Use the following procedure to run Test Terminal to test the RocketPort USB Serial Hub ports.

1. To start the Test Terminal (WCOM32), select Test Terminal from the Comtrol program group. The program
window displays:

2. Select Open Port from the Port menu. A list of possible COM port numbers displa ys.

3. Select the COM port you want to test, for example, COM5.

Note: Signals displayed in gray and lowercase are inactive and green uppercase signals are active.

Note: If the COM port does not exist or if it is currently being used by another program, a Create File

Error message displays.

4. Place a loopback plug on the COM port you want to test. Make sure all connectors are seated firmly. If you
need to build loopback plugs, see the Hardware documentation

Using Test Terminal (WCOM32) to Test Ports 20

.

5. From the Port menu, select Send Test Data. The program sends out a repeating data stream.

Note: If the loopback plug is in place and the port is working correctly, the test data should be echoed back

to the screen. If the loopback plug is not in place or the port is not working correctly, no data or
garbled data is echoed back to the screen. If no characters appear, try putting the loopback plug on
an adjacent port. It may be that y ou have the ports mixed up.

6. To stop sending data, uncheck the Send Test D ata option.

Note: It takes a few moments for the buffer to empty and the data to stop displaying on the screen.

7. If further testing is required, select Loopback Test from the Port menu. If the loopback plug is in place and
the port is working correctly, the system displays:

Note: If the loopback plug is not in place or the port is not working correctly, the system returns a “Failed”

message.

Using Test Terminal (WCOM32) to Test Ports 21

Contacting Technical Support

Comtrol has a staff of support technicians available to help you. Before you call, please have the following
information available:

• Model number

• Serial number

• Operating system type and release

• Device driver version

• PC make, model, and speed

Comtrol Headquarters Europe

Phone [phone] [phone]

FAX [phone] [phone]

Email [e-mail]

web site www.comtrol.com www.comtrol.co.uk

ftp site ftp.comtrol.com

First Edition, December 12, 2000 Copyright © 2000 Comtrol Corporation All Rights Reserved.

RocketPort is a registered trademark of the Comtrol Corporation. Other product and company names
mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Comtrol Corporation makes no representations or warranties with regard to the contents of this reference
card or to the suitability of any Comtrol product for any particular purpose. Specifications subject to change
without notice. Some software or features may not be available at the time of publication. Contact your
reseller for current product information.

[e-mail]

Document Number:

Contacting Technical Support 22

2000060 Rev A