Impulse 7108 User Manual
ULTRA COMM+I.LPCI
Users Manual
Part # 7108
Sealevel Systems, Inc. Telephone: 864.843.4343
PO Box 830 Fax: 864.843.3067
Liberty, SC 29657 USA www.sealevel.com
Contents
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1
OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................................................. 1
WHAT’S INCLUDED ................................................................................................................................. 1
CARD SETUP ............................................................................................................................ 2
ELECTRICAL INTERFACE SELECTION ....................................................................................................... 2
LINE TERMINATION ................................................................................................................................. 3
RS-485 ENABLE MODES ......................................................................................................................... 3
CLOCK MODES ........................................................................................................................................ 4
INSTALLATION ......................................................................................................................... 6
OPERATING SYSTEM INSTALLATION........................................................................................................ 6
Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP....................................................................................................... 6
Linux ................................................................................................................................................... 6
QNX .................................................................................................................................................... 6
PHYSICAL INSTALLATION ........................................................................................................................ 7
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION ...................................................................................................... 8
CONNECTOR PIN ASSIGNMENTS .............................................................................................................. 8
RS-232 Signals (DB-25 Male)............................................................................................................. 8
RS-422/485/530 Pin Assignments (DB-25 Male) ............................................................................... 8
SPECIFICATIONS ...................................................................................................................... 9
ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIFICATIONS.......................................................................................................... 9
MANUFACTURING ................................................................................................................................... 9
POWER CONSUMPTION ............................................................................................................................ 9
PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS ........................................................................................................................... 9
APPENDIX A - TROUBLESHOOTING ...................................................................................... 10
APPENDIX B - HOW TO GET ASSISTANCE............................................................................ 11
APPENDIX C - ELECTRICAL INTERFACE .............................................................................. 12
RS-232.................................................................................................................................................. 12
RS-422.................................................................................................................................................. 12
RS-485.................................................................................................................................................. 12
APPENDIX D - GROUND LOOP PHENOMENON ...................................................................... 13
WHAT IS GROUND LOOP?...................................................................................................................... 13
CABLING RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................................................. 13
APPENDIX E - ASYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATIONS ............................................................ 14
APPENDIX F - SILK-SCREEN ................................................................................................. 15
PPENDIX G - COMPLIANCE NOTICES ................................................................................. 16
A
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION STATEMENT ....................................................................... 16
EMC DIRECTIVE STATEMENT ............................................................................................................... 16
W
ARRANTY............................................................................................................................ 17
© Sealevel Systems, Inc.
SL9056 Revision 7/2006
Sealevel Systems, Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Introduction
Introduction
Overview
The Sealevel Systems ULTRA COMM+I.LPCI is a single channel isolated low profile Universal Bus serial I/O
adapter for the PC and compatibles. Utilizing the Exar 16C850 UART with its industry leading 128 byte FIFOs, it
provides a field selectable RS-232/422/485 serial port supporting data rates up to 921.6K bps (RS-422/485).
Configure as RS-232 for standard serial COM: port requirements. Choose the RS-422 mode for long distance device
connections up to 5000ft. where noise immunity and high data integrity are essential. Select RS-485 and capture data
from multiple peripherals in a RS-485 multidrop network. Up to 31 RS-485 devices can be connected to each port to
automate your data collection. You can even mix the ports in any of the interface combinations to provide maximum
flexibility to your application. Optional Terminal Block adapters are available to simplify field-wiring connections.
In both RS-232 and RS-422 modes, the card works seamlessly with the standard operating system serial driver. In
RS-485 mode, our special auto-enable feature allows the RS-485 ports to be viewed by the operating system as a
COM: port. This allows the standard COM: driver to be utilized for RS-485 communications. Our on-board
hardware automatically handles the RS-485 driver enable.
The ULTRA COMM+I.LPCI ships with a Low Profile PCI bracket that will only work in a Low Profile PCI slot.
If you need a standard size PCI bracket, please order Item# 7108S.
What’s Included
The ULTRA COMM+I.LPCI is shipped with the following items. If any of these items is missing or damaged,
contact the supplier.
• ULTRA COMM+I.LPCI Serial I/O Adapter
Item# 7108 ships with a Low Profile PCI bracket
Item# 7108S ships with a standard size PCI bracket
• Sealevel Software CD
Sealevel Systems ULTRA COMM+I.LPCI Page 1
Card Setup
Card Setup
Electrical Interface Selection
The ULTRA COMM+I.LPCI has the ability to be used as RS-232, RS-422 or RS-485. This is selectable via
DIP-switch SW1. Please use the following examples to configure your adapter.
ON
RS-232
RS-422
OFF
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
123TPPLLE
Figure 1- RS-232
ON
OFF
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
123TPPLLE
8 9 10
8 9 10
Figure 2 - RS-422
4-Wire
RS-485
W/Echo
ON
OFF
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10
123TPPLLE
Figure 3 - RS-485, 4-Wire with Echo
2-Wire
ON
RS-485
W/Echo
OFF
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10
123TPPLLE
Figure 4 - RS-485 2-Wire with Echo
2-Wire
RS-485
NO Echo
ON
OFF
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10
123TPPLLE
Figure 5 - RS-485, 2-wire without Echo
Sealevel Systems ULTRA COMM+I.LPCI Page 2
Card Setup
Line Termination
Typically, each end of the RS-485 bus must have line-terminating resistors (RS-422 terminates at the receive end
only). A 120-ohm resistor is across each RS-422/485 input in addition to a 1K-ohm pull-up/pull-down combination
that biases the receiver inputs. Switches SW1 and SW2 allow the user to customize this interface to their specific
requirements. Each switch position corresponds to a specific portion of the interface. If multiple ULTRA
COMM+I.LPCI adapters are configured in a RS-485 network, only the boards on each end should have jumpers T,
P & P ON. Refer to the following table for each position’s operation:
Name Function
T Adds or removes the 120 ohm termination.
P Adds or removes the 1K ohm pull-down resistor in the
RS-422/RS-485 receiver circuit (Receive data only).
P Adds or removes the 1K ohm pull-up resistor in the RS-422/RS-
485 receiver circuit (Receive data only).
L Connects the TX+ to RX+ for RS-485 two wire operation.
L Connects the TX- to RX- for RS-485 two wire operation.
RS-485 Enable Modes
RS-485 is ideal for multi-drop or network environments. RS-485 requires a tri-state driver that will allow the
electrical presence of the driver to be removed from the line. The driver is in a tri-state or high impedance condition
when this occurs. Only one driver may be active at a time and the other driver(s) must be tri-stated. The output
modem control signal Request To Send (RTS) is typically used to control the state of the driver. Some
communication software packages refer to RS-485 as RTS enable or RTS block mode transfer.
One of the unique features of the ULTRA COMM+I.LPCI is the ability to be RS-485 compatible without the need
for special software or drivers. This ability is especially useful in Operating Systems where the lower level I/O
control is abstracted from the application program. This ability means that the user can effectively use the
ULTRA COMM+I.LPCI in an RS-485 application with existing (i.e. standard RS-232) software drivers.
Switch SW2 is used to control the RS-485 mode functions for the driver circuit. The selections are ‘RTS’ enable
(silk-screen ‘RT’ switch position 4) or ‘Auto’ enable (silk-screen ‘AT’ switch position 3). The ‘Auto’ enable feature
automatically enables/disables the RS-485 interface. The ‘RTS’ mode uses the ‘RTS’ modem control signal to
enable the RS-485 interface and provides backward compatibility with existing software products.
The RS-485 ‘Echo’ is the result of connecting the receiver inputs to the transmitter outputs. Every time a character is
transmitted; it is also received. This can be beneficial if the software can handle echoing (i.e. using received
characters to throttle the transmitter) or it can confuse the system if the software does not. Position 9 of SW1 is used
to control the RS-485 enable/disable functions for the receiver circuit. To select the ‘No Echo’ mode place switch
position 9 to the ‘On’ position (see Figure 5).
Caution: Do not set both switches in the ‘On’ position. This could potentially cause damage to the adapter,
and definitely cause a malfunction.
SW2
RS-232/422
Default
ON
OFF
1 2 3 4
D1D4ATR
T
SW2
RS-485
Auto
Enabled
ON
OFF
1 2 3 4
D1D4ATR
T
Figure 6 - RS-485 Enable modes
Sealevel Systems ULTRA COMM+I.LPCI Page 3
Card Setup
Clock Modes
The ULTRA COMM+I.LPCI employs a unique clocking option that allows the end user to select from divide by 4
and divide by 1 clocking modes. These modes are selected at switches SW-2.
To select the Baud rates commonly associated with COM: ports (i.e. 2400, 4800, 9600, 19.2, … 115.2K Bps) set
switch position 2 to the ‘On’ position (silk-screen D4). To select the maximum data rate (921.6K bps) set switch
position 1 to the ‘On’ position (silk-screen D1).
Caution: Do not set both switches in the ‘On’ position. This could potentially cause damage to the adapter,
and definitely cause a malfunction.
Divide by
1 mode
ON
OFF
1 2 3 4
D1D4ATR
T
SW2
Divide by
4 mode
ON
OFF
1 2 3 4
D1D4ATR
SW2
T
Figure 7 - Clocking Modes
Sealevel Systems ULTRA COMM+I.LPCI Page 4
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