ProSoft Technology 5201-DFNT-ASCII User Manual

ASCII

ProLinx Standalone

July 07, 2008

Generic ASCII Serial Communication Module

Driver Manual

Please Read This Notice

Successful application of this module requires a reasonable working knowledge of the ProLinx Module, its connected devices, and the application in which the combination is to be used. For this reason, it is important that those responsible for implementation satisfy themselves that the combination will meet the needs of the application without exposing personnel or equipment to unsafe or inappropriate working conditions.

This manual is provided to assist the user. Every attempt has been made to assure that the information provided is accurate and a true reflection of the product's installation requirements. In order to assure a complete understanding of the operation of the product, the user should read all applicable documentation on the operation of the connected devices.

Under no conditions will ProSoft Technology be responsible or liable for indirect or consequential damages resulting from the use or application of the product.

Reproduction of the contents of this manual, in whole or in part, without written permission from ProSoft Technology is prohibited.

Information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of ProSoft Technology Improvements and/or changes in this manual or the product may be made at any time. These changes will be made periodically to correct technical inaccuracies or typographical errors.

Important Installation Instructions

Power, input and output wiring must be in accordance with Class I, Division 2 wiring methods - Article 501-4 (b) of the National Electrical Code, NFPA 70 and in accordance with the authority having jurisdiction. The following warnings must be heeded:

A WARNING - EXPLOSION HAZARD - SUBSTITUTION OF COMPONENTS MAY

IMPAIR SUITABILITY FOR CLASS I, DIV. 2;

B WARNING - EXPLOSION HAZARD - WHEN IN HAZARDOUS LOCATIONS, TURN

OFF POWER BEFORE REPLACING OR WIRING MODULES, and

C WARNING - EXPLOSION HAZARD - DO NOT DISCONNECT EQUIPMENT

UNLESS POWER HAS BEEN SWITCHED OFF OR THE AREA IS KNOWN TO BE NONHAZARDOUS.

D "THIS DEVICE SHALL BE POWERED BY CLASS 2 OUTPUTS ONLY."

All ProLinx® Products

A WARNING - EXPLOSION HAZARD - SUBSTITUTION OF COMPONENTS MAY

IMPAIR SUITABILITY FOR CLASS I, DIV. 2;

B WARNING - EXPLOSION HAZARD - WHEN IN HAZARDOUS LOCATIONS, TURN

OFF POWER BEFORE REPLACING OR WIRING MODULES, and

C WARNING - EXPLOSION HAZARD - DO NOT DISCONNECT EQUIPMENT

UNLESS POWER HAS BEEN SWITCHED OFF OR THE AREA IS KNOWN TO BE NONHAZARDOUS.

D "THIS DEVICE SHALL BE POWERED BY CLASS 2 OUTPUTS ONLY."

ProLinx Modules with Ethernet Ports

Series C ProLinx™ modules with Ethernet ports do NOT include the HTML Web Server. The HTML Web Server must be ordered as an option. This option requires a factoryinstalled hardware addition. The HTML Web Server now supports:

 8 MB file storage for HTML files and associated graphics files (previously limited to

384K)

 32K maximum HTML page size (previously limited to 16K)

To upgrade a previously purchased Series C model:

Contact your ProSoft Technology distributor to order the upgrade and obtain a Returned Merchandise Authorization (RMA) to return the unit to ProSoft Technology.

To Order a Series C mode with the -WEB option:

Add -WEB to the standard ProLinx part number. For example, 5201-MNET-MCM-WEB.

ProLinx Plus with Radio

The following Information and warnings pertaining to the radio must be heeded: A "THIS DEVICE CONTAINS A TRASMITTER MODULE, FCC ID: SDZ-WA-1.

PLEASE SEE FCC ID LABEL ON BACK OF DEVICE."

B "THIS DEVICE USES AND INTERNAL COMPACT FLASH RADIO MODULE AS

THE PRIMARY RADIO COMPONENT. THE COMPACT FLASH RADIO MODULE DOES NOT HAVE AN FXX ID LABE. THE COMPACT FLASH RADIO MODULE HAS NO USER SERVICABLE PARTS."

C "THIS DEVICE COMPLIES WITH PART 15 OF THE FCC RULES. OPERATION IS

SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING TWO CONDITIONS: (1) THIS DEVICE MAY NOT VAUSE HARMFUL INTERFERENCE, AND (2) THIS DEVICE MUST ACCEPT ANY INTERFERENCE RECEIVED, INCLUDING INTERFERENCE THAT MAY CAUSE UNDESIRED OPERATION.

D THIS DEVICE AND ANY RADIO ACCESSORY SOLD BY PROSOFT MUST BE

INSTALLED BY AN AUTHORIZED PROFESSIONAL INDUSTRIAL RADIO SYSTEM INTEGRATOR. FURTHER, ONLY RADIO ACCESSORIES SOLD BY PROSOFT AND SPECIFICALLY TESTED FOR USE WITH THIS DEVICE MAY BE USED WITH THIS DEVICE.

E THE USER OF THIS EQUIPMENT CANNOT BE WITHIN 20 cm. FROM THE

RADIATING ELEMENT DEVICE.

F CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS NOT EXPRESSLY APPROVED BY THE PARTY

RESPONSIBLE FOR COMPLIANCE COULD VOID THE USER'S AUTHORITY TO OPERATE THE EQUIPMENT.

Industry Canada Requirements:

A "THIS DEVICE HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO OPERATE WITH AN ANTENNA

HAVING A MAXIMUM GAIN OF 24 dB. AN ANTENNA HAVING A HIGHER GAIN IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED PER REGULATIONS OF INDUSTRY CANADA. THE REQUIRED ANTENNA IMPEDANCE IS 50 OHMS."

ProLinx Series C (4000); ProLinx Plus (5000); ProLinx Plus with Radio (6000)

Product Installation Warning

Power, Input and Output (I/O) wiring must be in accordance with Class 1, Division 2 wiring methods, Article 501-4 (b) of the National Electrical Code, NFPA 70 for installation in the U.S., or as specified in Section 18-1J2 of the Canadian Electrical Code for installations in Canada, and in accordance with the authority having jurisdiction.

A Warning - Explosion Hazard - Substitution of components may impair suitability for

Class 1, Division 2.

B Warning - Explosion Hazard - When in Hazardous locations, turn off power before

replacing or wiring modules.

C Warning - Explosion Hazard - Do not disconnect equipment unless power has been

switched off or the area is known to be non-hazardous.

Your Feedback Please

We always want you to feel that you made the right decision to use our products. If you have suggestions, comments, compliments or complaints about the product, documentation or support, please write or call us.

ProSoft Technology

1675 Chester Avenue, Fourth Floor Bakersfield, CA 93301 +1 (661) 716-5100 +1 (661) 716-5101 (Fax) http://www.prosoft-technology.com

ASCII Driver Manual July 07, 2008 PSFT.ASCII.ProLinx.UM.08.07.07

ProSoft Technology ®, ProLinx ®, inRAx ®, ProTalk® and RadioLinx ® are Registered Trademarks of ProSoft Technology, Inc.

Contents ASCII ♦ ProLinx Standalone Generic ASCII Serial Communication Module

Contents

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE................................................................................................................2

Important Installation Instructions......................................................................................................2

Your Feedback Please ...................................................................................................................... 4

1 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................7

1.1 General Specifications..........................................................................................................7

1.2 Resources.............................................................................................................................7

2 FUNCTIONALITY..............................................................................................................................9

2.1 Data Flow..............................................................................................................................9

3 MODES OF OPERATION...............................................................................................................13

3.1 Data Flow............................................................................................................................13

3.2 Termination of Received Data............................................................................................ 15

4 ASCII PROTOCOL CONFIGURATION..........................................................................................19

4.1 [ASCII Port 0]...................................................................................................................... 19

5 DRIVER STATUS DATA.................................................................................................................25

6 LED INDICATORS..........................................................................................................................29

6.1 Base Module LEDs.............................................................................................................29

6.2 LEDs for Port 0 Serial Port .................................................................................................30

6.3 4101 Series LEDs...............................................................................................................30

7 SUPPORT, SERVICE & WARRANTY............................................................................................31

7.1 Return Material Authorization (RMA) Policies and Conditions........................................... 31

7.2 LIMITED WARRANTY........................................................................................................ 33

7.3 How to Contact Us: Technical Support ..............................................................................37

INDEX ....................................................................................................................................................39

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Contents ASCII ♦ ProLinx Standalone Generic ASCII Serial Communication Module

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Introduction ASCII ♦ ProLinx Standalone Generic ASCII Serial Communication Module

1 Introduction

In This Chapter

 General Specifications ............................................................................7

 Resources ...............................................................................................7

The ASCII driver permits the ProLinx module to interface any ASCII device to the many protocols and networks available. ASCII devices include barcode scanners, weigh scales, many field instruments, printers, and terminals. The driver supports one to four ports that provide accessibility from one to four independent serial networks.

1.1 General Specifications

 Ports: One to four ports to receive and/or transmit data  Receive buffer size: 255 bytes  Receive termination: Stream mode, termination character(s), message

timeout, inter-character delay, or packet size length

 Receive database location: -1=disable receiver, 0 to 3896  Transmit buffer size: 255 bytes  Transmit characters with pacing: 0 to 65535 millisecond delay between

each transmitted character

 Transmit database location: -1=disable transmitter, 0 to 3896  Communication Configuration

o Baud Rate: 110 to 115,200 o Parity: None, Odd, Even o Data Bits: 5 to 8 o Stop Bits: 1 or 2 o RTS On and Off Timing: 0 to 65535 milliseconds o Minimum Response Delay: 0 to 65535 milliseconds o Hardware or Software Handshaking: RTS/CTS, DTR/DSR, or

XON/XOFF

1.2 Resources

The ProLinx Reference Guide provides general information on all ProLinx modules including installation, editing configuration files, cabling and jumper configurations, troubleshooting, and a wide range of useful information. You should have this manual available when installing and configuring ProLinx modules.

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ASCII ♦ ProLinx Standalone Introduction Generic ASCII Serial Communication Module

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Functionality ASCII ♦ ProLinx Standalone Generic ASCII Serial Communication Module

2 Functionality

In This Chapter

 Data Flow ................................................................................................9

This section describes the functionality of the ASCII driver.

2.1 Data Flow

The following illustration shows receive and transmit dataflow of the ASCII driver.

Data received from the ASCII device is accepted by the receive driver and placed in the receive database location configured by the user. The receive driver waits until the user-configured termination condition is recognized while receiving the data before placing the new data into the database.

For example, if the carriage-return character (ASCII 13) is used as the termination condition for a received message, this signals the end of the message. When the receive driver observes this character in the input stream, it takes all received characters and places them in the internal database.

In both receive and transmit operations, a signal is required to determine when new data is received or must be transmitted. The first word in the two data area is used for this purpose. When the value of the first word changes, new data is available. Lets look at a receive example. The sequence number in the receive data block has a value of 0 as set when the module initializes. The ASCII device sends a new data packet and the termination condition is present. The receive driver copies the data into the internal data area, sets the message length in the data area, and finally, sets the new sequence number. Receive and transmit data block structure is discussed in the following topics.

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ASCII ♦ ProLinx Standalone Functionality Generic ASCII Serial Communication Module

2.1.1 Receive Data

Data received by the receive driver is placed in the module's internal database in a fixed format at the location selected by the user. The receiver driver is disabled if the database start location is set to a value of -1. The following table shows the structure of the received data.

Word Offset Description

1 Number of characters transmitted (0 to 255) from last transmit request. 2 Number of characters (0 to 256) in receive block (3 to 130). 3 to 130 Received data on port.

The first word of the data block is used to signal when new receive data is available. Word 1 of the block contains the number of bytes in the last message transmitted on the port. Word 2 contains the number of bytes in the received message data area. Words 3 to 130 contain the data received. If the module is configured to swap the data bytes received, the receive driver will swap the bytes in each word received before placing the data into the data block. Because the data received may contain an odd number of bytes, the length of the message received will be incremented by 1 when an odd number of bytes are received and the swap option is utilized. This is to avoid losing the last byte of data in the message.

Receive sequence number. This register is incremented by the Module's Receive Driver for each new packet received.

2.1.2 Transmit Data

Data to transmit by the transmit driver is placed in the module's internal database in a fixed format at the location selected by the user. The transmit driver is disabled if the database start location is set to a value of -1. The following table shows the structure of transmit data.

Word Offset Description

1 Number of characters received (0 to 256) from last receive request. 2 Inter-character delay for this message (milliseconds between characters) 3 Number of characters to transmit on Port (0 to 255) 4 to 131 Data to transmit on port

The first word of the data block is used to signal when new transmit data is available. Word 1 of the block may optionally contain the number of characters processed in the last receive message. Word 2 of the message is used to pace the characters during the transmission process. This may be required when interfacing with slow ASCII devices (that is, modems in command mode).

Transmit sequence number. This number is incremented by the user's application for each new packet to transmit.

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Functionality ASCII ♦ ProLinx Standalone Generic ASCII Serial Communication Module

If the word is set to a value other than zero, a time delay corresponding to the number of milliseconds entered will be placed between each character transmitted. If the word is set to zero, the whole data packet will be transmitted as fast as the transmit driver can function. Word 3 of the data block contains the number of bytes present in the transmit data area to send out the ASCII port. Words 4 to 131 contain the actual data to transmit. If the swap option is utilized, the transmit driver will swap each byte in the words received before transmitting them. Care should be taken if an odd number of bytes are sent by the end device when the swap option is used. The last byte of the message may be lost.

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