Quatech ESCLP-100, ESC-100 User Manual

ESC(LP)-100

Eight Channel Low Profile RS-232

Asynchronous Communications Adapter

for PCI bus

User's Manual

QUATECH, INC. TEL: [phone]
5675 Hudson Industrial Parkway FAX: [phone]
Hudson, Ohio 44236 http://www.quatech.com

WARRANTY INFORMATION

Quatech, Inc. warrants the ESC(LP)-100 to be free of defects for

five (5) years from the date of purchase. Quatech, Inc. will repair or
replace any board that fails to perform under normal operating conditions
and in accordance with the procedures outlined in this document during
the warranty period. Any damage that results from improper installation,
operation, or general misuse voids all warranty rights.

Please complete the following information and retain for your
records. Have this information available when requesting warranty
service.

DATE OF PURCHASE:

MODEL NUMBER: ESC(LP)-100

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: Eight Channel Low Profile RS-232

Asynchronous PCI Bus
Communications Adapter

SERIAL NUMBER:

ii ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual

© 2006, Quatech, Inc.

NOTICE

The information contained in this document cannot be reproduced
in any form without the written consent of Quatech, Inc. Likewise, any
software programs that might accompany this document can be used only
in accordance with any license agreement(s) between the purchaser and
Quatech, Inc. Quatech, Inc. reserves the right to change this
documentation or the product to which it refers at any time and without
notice.

The authors have taken due care in the preparation of this
document and every attempt has been made to ensure its accuracy and
completeness. In no event will Quatech, Inc. be liable for damages of any
kind, incidental or consequential, in regard to or arising out of the
performance or form of the materials presented in this document or any
software programs that might accompany this document.

Quatech, Inc. encourages feedback about this document. Please
send any written comments to the Technical Support department at the
address listed on the cover page of this document.

DOS, Windows 95/98/2000/ME, Windows NT are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. OS/2 is a registered trademark of IBM
Corporation. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are property of their

respective owners.

iii ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual

Declaration of Conformity

Manufacturer's Name: Quatech Inc.

Manufacturer's Address: 5675 Hudson Industrial Parkway

Hudson, Ohio 44236 (USA)

Application of Council Directive: 89/336/EEC

Standards to which
Conformity is Declared: * EN50081-1 (EN55022,

EN60555-2, EN60555-3)
* EN50082-1 (IEC 801-2,
IEC 801-3, & IEC 801-4)

Type of Equipment: Information Technology

Equipment

Equipment Class: Commercial, Residential, & Light
Industrial

Product Name: PCI Eight-Port Serial
Communications
Card

Model Number : ESC(LP)-100

iv ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual

Table of Contents

1 General Information
2 Hardware Configuration
3 Hardware Installation

......................... ...

.................... ...

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4 Address Map and Special Registers

4.1 Base Address and Interrupt Level (IRQ)

4.2 Enabling the Special Registers

4.3 Interrupt Status Register

4.4 Options Register

................................ ...

........................ ...

................... ...

4.4.1 Enhanced Serial Adapter Identification

4.4.2 Clock Rate Multiplier

5 Windows Configurations

5.1 Windows Millennium

5.2 Windows 2000

5.3 Windows 98

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....... ...

1

2

3

4
4
5
5
6
6
7

8
8
9

10

5.4 Windows 95

..................................... ..

5.4.1 Using the "New Hardware Found" Wizard

5.1 Viewing Resources with Device Manager

5.1.1 Changing Resource Settings with Device
Manager

6 Other Operating Systems

6.1 Windows NT

6.2 OS/2

6.3 DOS and other operating systems

6.3.1 QTPCI.EXE

7 External Connections
8 PCI Resource Map
9 Specifications
10 Troubleshooting

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v ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual

vi ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual

1 General Information

The Quatech, Inc. ESC(LP)-100 provides eight RS-232 asynchronous
serial communication interfaces for Low Profile IBM-compatible personal
computer systems using the PCI expansion bus. The ESC(LP)-100 uses
Quatech's new Enhanced Serial Adapter design. Legacy serial port data
rates are limited to a maximum of 115,200 bits per second. Quatech
Enhanced Serial Adapters can achieve data rates as high as 921,600 bits
per second.

As a PCI device, the ESC(LP)-100 requires no hardware
configuration. The card is automatically configured by the computer's
BIOS or operating system. The eight serial ports share a single interrupt
line and are addressed in a contiguous block of 64 bytes. A special
interrupt status register is provided to help software to manage the
shared interrupt.

The ESC(LP)-100's serial ports are implemented using
16750-compatible Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitters
(UARTs). These UARTs contain hardware buffers (FIFOs) which reduce
processing overhead and allow higher data rates to be achieved.

The ESC(LP)-100 is supported under several popular operating
systems and environments. Contact the sales department for details on
current software offerings. Most device drivers are available for
download from the Quatech world wide web site at
http://www.quatech.com.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 1

2 Hardware Configuration

The ESC(LP)-100 is automatically configured at boot time by the
computer's BIOS or operating system. There are no switches or jumpers to
set for installation. See Section 5.5 for instructions on how to use
Windows Device Manager to view and change resource settings.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 2

3 Hardware Installation

1. Turn off the power of the computer system in which the
ESC(LP)-100 is to be installed.

2. Remove the system cover according to the instructions provided by
the computer manufacturer.

3. Install the ESC(LP)-100 in any empty PCI expansion slot. The board
should be secured by installing the Option Retaining Bracket (ORB)
screw.

4. Replace the system cover according to the instructions provided by
the computer manufacturer.

5. Attach and secure the cable connectors to the desired equipment.

6. Turn on the power of the computer system.

The output of the ESC(LP)-100 is a 68-pin VHDCI connector. A

choice of cables is provided to convert the VHDCI into either eight
standard male D-9 connectors or eight 10-pin RJ-45 connectors with all
control signals provided to each port (RTS, DTR, CTS, DSR, DCD, and
RI).

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 3

Figure 1: ESC(LP)-100 board outline

4 Address Map and Special Registers

This chapter explains how the eight UARTs and special registers

are addressed, as well as the layout of those registers. This material will
be of interest to programmers writing driver software for the
ESC(LP)-100.

4.1 Base Address and Interrupt Level (IRQ)

The base address and IRQ used by the ESC(LP)-100 are determined

by the BIOS or operating system. Each serial port uses 8 consecutive I/O
locations. The eight ports reside in a single block of I/O space in eight
byte increments, for a total of 64 contiguous bytes, as shown in Figure 2.

I/O Address RangePort

Base Address + 0 to Base Address + 7Serial 1
Base Address + 8 to Base Address + 15Serial 2
Base Address + 16 to Base Address + 23Serial 3
Base Address + 24 to Base Address + 31Serial 4
Base Address + 32 to Base Address + 39Serial 5
Base Address + 40 to Base Address + 47Serial 6
Base Address + 48 to Base Address + 55Serial 7
Base Address + 56 to Base Address + 63Serial 8

Figure 2 --- Port Address Map

All eight serial ports share the same IRQ. The ESC(LP)-100 signals

a hardware interrupt when any port requires service. The interrupt signal
is maintained until no port requires service. Interrupts are level-sensitive
on the PCI bus.

The base address and IRQ are automatically detected by the device

drivers Quatech supplies for various operating systems. For cases where
no device driver is available, such as for operation under DOS, Quatech
supplies the "QTPCI" DOS software utility for manually determining the
resources used. See Section 6.3.1 for details.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 4

4.2 Enabling the Special Registers

The ESC(LP)-100 contains two unique registers, an Interrupt Status

Register and an Options Register. They replace the UART Scratchpad
Register on accesses to register address 7.

The Interrupt Status Register and Options Register are accessed

through the scratchpad location of any UART. The DLAB bit of the UART
(Line Control Register, bit 7) is used to select between the two registers.
The most recent write of a DLAB bit in any UART selects between the two
registers as shown in Figure 3.

DLAB Bit

Register selected for

address 7 accesses

Interrupt Status Register0

Options Register1

Figure 3 --- DLAB bit selects between special registers

4.3 Interrupt Status Register

The read-only Interrupt Status Register can be used to quickly

identify which serial ports require servicing after an interrupt. Reading
the Interrupt Status Register will return the interrupt status of the entire
ESC(LP)-100, as shown in Figure 4. The individual bits are cleared as the
interrupting ports are serviced. The interrupt service routine should
ensure that the interrupt status register reads zero before exiting.

DescriptionBit

Port 8 --- 1 if interrupt pending7 (MSB)
Port 7 --- 1 if interrupt pending6
Port 6 --- 1 if interrupt pending5

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 5

Port 5 --- 1 if interrupt pending4
Port 4 --- 1 if interrupt pending3
Port 3 --- 1 if interrupt pending2
Port 2 --- 1 if interrupt pending1
Port 1 --- 1 if interrupt pending0

Figure 4 --- Interrupt Status Register

4.4 Options Register

The Options Register allows software to identify the ESC(LP)-100

as a Quatech Enhanced Serial Adapter. It also allows software to set the
UART clock rate multiplier. Figure 5 shows the structure of the Options
Register.

The powerup default of the Options Register is all bits zero.

DescriptionNameBit

ID bit 1ID17 (MSB)

ID bit 0ID06
(reserved, 0)-5
(reserved, 0)-4
(reserved, 0)-3
(reserved, 0)-2

Clock rate multiplier bit 1RR11
Clock rate multiplier bit 0RR00

Figure 5--- Options Register bit definitions

4.4.1 Enhanced Serial Adapter Identification

The ID bits are used to identify the ESC(LP)-100 as a Quatech
Enhanced Serial Adapter. Logic operations are performed such that the
values read back from these bits will not necessarily be the values that
were written to them. Bit ID1 will return the logical-AND of the values
written to ID[1:0], while bit ID0 will return their exclusive-OR.

Software can thus identify a Quatech Enhanced Serial Adapter by
writing the ID bits with the patterns shown in the "write" column of
Figure 6, then reading the bits and comparing the result with the patterns
in the "read" column. Matching read patterns verify the presence of the
Options Register.

ReadWrite

ID0ID1ID0ID1

0000
1010
1001
0111

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 6

Figure 6 --- ID bit write/read table

4.4.2 Clock Rate Multiplier

A standard RS-232 serial port operates at a clock speed of 1.8432
MHz. In order to achieve higher data rates, Quatech Enhanced Serial
Adapters can operate at two times, four times or even eight times this
standard clock speed. This is controlled by the clock rate multiplier bits in
the Options Register.

Software can determine the UART clock frequency by reading the
clock rate multiplier bits RR1 and RR0 in the Options Register as shown in
Figure 7. RR1 and RR0 can be set by writing to the Options Register.
Reading the Options Register will always return the clock rate multiplier
at which the board is operating.

UART Clock

Frequency

00

Clock Rate

Multiplier

X1

(default)

RR0RR1

Maximum Data

Rate

115.2 kbaud1.8432 MHz

230.4 kbaud3.6864 MHzX210

460.8 kbaud 7.3728 MHzX401

921.6 kbaud 14.7456 MHzX811

Figure 7 --- Rate Register bit definition

At powerup and reset, the Options Register is initialized to 0. The
ESC(LP)-100 will thus powerup in the x1 mode with software control of
the clock rate multiplier enabled as long as the X2, X4, and X8 jumpers are
not installed.

Software can control high baud rates through a combination of
changing the clock rate multiplier and the UART baud rate divisor. For
example, a baud rate of 230.4 kbps could be achieved by setting the clock
rate multiplier to X2 mode and setting a software application for 115.2
kbps.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 7

5 Windows Configurations

5.1 Windows Millennium

1. After inserting the ESC(LP)-100 for the first time the "Add New

Hardware Wizard" will begin.

2. Select "Search for the best driver for your device.". Check the

"Removable media" and "Specify location" box. Click the "Next"

button.

3. Window will locate the proper INF file and copy the file from the

CD. Click the "Next" button.

4. The final dialog screen will verify the file copy from the CD. Click

the "Finish" button.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 8

5.2 Windows 2000

1. After inserting a ESC(LP)-100 for the first time, the "Add New
Hardware Wizard will appear at start up. Click the "OK" button.

2. The “Files Needed” dialog box will be displayed. Insert the
Quatech COM CD (shipped with the device). Click the "OK"
button.

3. The following dialog box will display the appropriate INF file on
the CD in the drive. Click the "OK" button.

4. Window will copy the INF file from the CD and display a final
dialog indication that the process is complete. Click the "Finish"
button.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 9

5.3 Windows 98

1. After inserting a ESC(LP)-100 for the first time, the "Add New
Hardware Wizard will appear at start up. Click the "Next" button.

2. Select "Search for the best driver for your device".

Click the "Next" button.

3. On the next dialog, select the "CD-ROM DRIVE" check box. Insert
the Quatech COM CD (shipped with the device) into the CD-ROM
drive. Click the "Next" button.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 10

4. The following dialog box will display the appropriate INF file on
the diskette in the drive. Click the "Next" button.

5. Window will copy the INF file from the diskette and display a final
dialog indication that the process is complete. Click the "Finish"
button.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 11

5.4 Windows 95

Windows 95 maintains a registry of all known hardware installed

in your computer. Inside this hardware registry Windows 95 keeps track
of all of your system resources, such as I/O locations, IRQ levels, and
DMA channels. The "Add New Hardware Wizard" utility in Windows 95
was designed to add new hardware and update this registry.

An "INF" configuration file is included with the ESC(LP)-100 to

allow easy configuration in the Windows 95 environment. Also a custom
Windows 95 serial device driver is included with the ESC(LP)-100 to
support the use of the 16750 UART's 64 byte fifo.

5.4.1 Using the "New Hardware Found" Wizard

The following instructions provide step-by-step instructions on

installing the ESC(LP)-100 in Windows 95 using the "New Hardware
Found" wizard.

1. After booting the computer with a newly-installed ESC(LP)-100,
the "New Hardware Found" dialog box will appear. If you have
never installed a Quatech PCI communications adapter before, the
dialog box may simply indicate that it has found a "PCI Card."

2. Select the radio button for "Driver from disk provided by hardware
manufacturer." Click the "OK" button to continue.

3. An "Install From Disk" dialog box should pop up. Insert the
diskette with the Quatech INF files on it, select the correct drive
letter, and click the "OK" button. Windows 95 automatically
browses the root directory for an INF file that defines
configurations for Multi-function Adapters. If no INF files are
found, click the "Browse" button and search the Win95 sub
directory on the installation diskette. You are not required to select
the file name. After finding the directory containing the INF files,
Windows 95 will choose the correct file.

4. The "New Hardware Found" dialog box will appear again, this
time for an "Unknown Device."

5. Again select the radio button for "Driver from disk provided by
hardware manufacturer." Click the "OK" button to continue.

6. Another "Install From Disk" dialog box will pop up. The path
should already be pointing to the Quatech diskette. Click the "OK"
button to continue.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 12

7. You should now see the "Copying Files" dialog box as Windows 95
copies the driver files from the diskette.

8. The installation utility will ask for your Windows 95 installation
disks. Serial communication ports require two drivers supplied by
Microsoft to function: SERIAL.VXD and SERIALUI.DLL. Insert the
disk or CD and click "OK".

NOTE:

You may be able to skip this step if you are certain that your system has

the latest version of these files installed. If you do not have your

Windows 95 install disks immediately available, click "OK" anyway. A

dialog box appears with an option to Skip the files. Click the Skip button

and the files will not be installed. This is all right if the latest version of

these drivers are currently in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.

9. The "New Hardware Found" dialog will repeat for each of the
serial ports on the ESC(LP)-100 as each port is registered with

Windows 95.

10. Installation is complete.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 13

5.1 Viewing Resources with Device Manager

This discussion applies equally to Windows 95/98/ME and

2000/XP. The following instructions provide step-by-step instructions on

viewing resources used by the ESC(LP)-100 in Windows using the
"Device Manager" utility. Select Start|Help from within Windows for
additional information on this utility.

1. Double click the "System" icon inside the Control Panel folder. This
opens up the System Properties box.

2. Click the "Device Manager" tab located along the top of the System
Properties box. This lists all hardware devices registered inside the
Windows registry. Additional information is available on any of
these devices by click on the device name and then selecting the
"Properties" button.

3. Double click the device group "Multi-function Adapters". The
ESC(LP)-100 model name should appear in the list of
Multi-function adapters.

4. Double click the ESC(LP)-100 model name and a properties box
should open for the hardware adapter.

5. Click the "Resources" tab located along the top of the properties
box to view the resources Windows has allocated for the
ESC(LP)-100 match the hardware configuration. Because PCI is a

true plug-and-play bus, do not attempt to modify the
configuration values listed. Click "Cancel" to exit without making

changes.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 14

Figure 8--- Windows Device Manager

6. The ESC(LP)-100 serial ports are also listed under the group Ports
(COM and LPT). Windows 95 does not assign COM1-COM4 to
ports addressed at nonstandard locations. The ESC(LP)-100 ports
will be enumerated starting with COM5 (or higher) even if lower
logical numbers are available.

7. Select any of the Quatech Serial Ports listed under the group Port
(COM and LPT) and click the "Properties" button. This action
opens a properties dialog for the specific COM port on the
ESC(LP)-100.

8. Click the "Port Settings" tab and then click the "Advanced" button.
The ESC(LP)-100 driver will display a custom Advanced Port
Settings control, which allows the ports UART compatibility mode
and FIFO threshold levels to be configured. The threshold values of
full-scale for the transmit buffer and ¾-scale for the receive buffer
shown below are optimal for most applications. Note that the FIFO
option for each of the ESC(LP)-100's eight ports is configured
independently.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 15

Figure 9 --- Device Manager Advanced Port Settings

9. Use the Logical COM Port names to access the serial ports on your
ESC(LP)-100 through your software applications. Note: The
Logical COM Port name is assigned to your ports by Windows .
This name is required by a Windows application when accessing a
particular port.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 16

5.1.1 Changing Resource Settings with Device Manager

1. Start the Windows 95/98/ME Device Manager.

2. Double click on the hardware class Multi-Port Serial Adapters
to list hardware devices in the class.

3. The ESC(LP)-100 “parent device” belongs to this hardware
class. The full device name for the ESC(LP)-100 is Quatech

ESC(LP)-100: Eight-Port RS-232 Serial Adapter.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 17

4. Open the Properties dialog for the ESC(LP)-100 device, then
click the Resources tab to view the Input/Output Range and
Interrupt Request resource allocations. Do not change these
settings without specific instructions from a Quatech Technical
Support Specialist. To exit without saving changes, click the
“cancel” button.

5. Open the Properties dialog for the ESC(LP)-100 device, then
click the Advanced tab to view the clock rate settings.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 18

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 19

Data Rate Multiplier

DescriptionMax bpsClock Mode
Auto clock mode enables
applications to request any baud

921,600Auto

rate up to 921,600. The hardware
drivers will select the correct clock
multiplier based on the baud rate
requested
The X1 clock mode mimics a
standard COM port. The hardware

115,200X1

drivers lock the clock to the
standard rate. The port will run at
the baud rate requested by the
application.
The X2 clock mode locks the ports
hardware clock at double the
standard rate. The baud rate the
port runs at will always be double

230,400X2

the rate requested by the
applications. This mode is useful
for legacy applicattions which
cannot request baud rates over
115,200
The X4 clock mode locks the ports
hardware clock at four times the
standard rate. The baud rate the

460,800X4

port runs at will always be four
times the rate requested by the
application. This mode is useful for
legacy applications which cannot
request baud rates over 115.200.
The X8 clock mode locks the ports
hardware clock at eight times the
standard rate. The baud rate the

921,600X8

port runs at will always be eight
times the rate requested by the
application. This mode is useful for
legacy applications which cannot
request baud rates over 115.200.

6. Double click the hardware class Ports (Com and LPT). Each
Quatech PCI Serial Port listed in this class is a “child device”
of the ESC(LP)-100 “parent device.”

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 20

7. Open the Properties dialog for a COM port, then click the Port
Properties tab to view the settings for that port.

8. Click the "Port Settings" tab and then click the "Advanced"
button. The ESC(LP)-100 driver will display a custom
Advanced Port Settings control, which allows the ports UART
compatibility mode and FIFO threshold levels to be configured.
The threshold values of full-scale for the transmit buffer and
¾-scale for the receive buffer are optimal for most applications.
Note that the FIFO option for each of the ESC(LP)-100's eight
ports is configured independently.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 21

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 22

6 Other Operating Systems

Device drivers for Windows NT and OS/2 are also available for

the ESC(LP)-100. The board can be used under DOS and other operating
systems as well in many circumstances. The software described below can
be downloaded from the Quatech web site if it did not come with the
board.

6.1 Windows NT

The Windows NT device driver is installed by running the SETUP

program. Up to 256 serial ports are supported. There is a command
line-based configuration utility which is used for adding PCI bus and ISA
bus serial ports. Please refer to the documentation included with the
device driver for full installation and configuration details.

6.2 OS/2

The OS/2 device driver supports up to 32 serial ports in a system.

Installation is a manual, but simple, process. Please refer to the
documentation included with the device driver for full installation and
configuration details.

6.3 DOS and other operating systems

The ESC(LP)-100 is not a direct drop-in replacement for a legacy

serial port because its base address and IRQ cannot be fixed at values
such as 3F8 hex, IRQ 4 (COM1) or 2F8 hex, IRQ 3 (COM2), etc. Rather, the
system BIOS assigns the address and the IRQ in a plug-and-play fashion
at boot time. Software which is to use the ESC(LP)-100 must be able to
accommodate any valid assignments of these resources.

For Windows 95/98/2000/ME, Windows NT and OS/2, the

Quatech device drivers determine what the resource assignments are and
proceed accordingly. In other cases, however, the user must intervene.
The discussion below will center on DOS, but the concepts can be applied
to other operating systems as well.

Many DOS applications support user configuration of the base

address and IRQ of a serial port. Such applications can generally make
use of the ESC(LP)-100. Older applications, as well as some custom
software, may use hard-coded standard legacy serial port addresses.
These applications will require modifications if they are to use the
ESC(LP)-100.

Custom applications for which the customer has source code can be

modified to make just a few PCI BIOS function calls to obtain all the

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 23

necessary configuration information. The PCI BIOS specification can be
obtained from the PCI Special Interest Group. Contact Quatech technical
support for more information.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 24

6.3.1 QTPCI.EXE

Quatech's "QTPCI" utility supplies the information required when

modifying the serial port settings of the application. This program should
be run from real DOS, not in a Windows DOS box.

Figure 11 shows the Basic Mode display for the ESC(LP)-100 after

the "Q" key has been pressed. In this example, the ESC(LP)-100 uses I/O
base address FF80 hex and IRQ 11. The hardware revision of the
ESC(LP)-100 is also displayed. Pressing the "N" key will show similar
information for all non-Quatech PCI devices in the system, including
those devices integrated on the motherboard.

The QTPCI program is capable only of displaying the PCI

configuration. It cannot be used to make changes.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 25

Figure 11 --- QTPCI.EXE Basic Mode display

Figure 12 shows the Expert Mode display for the ESC(LP)-100 after

the "Q" key has been pressed. The information from the Basic Mode
display is presented along with more details such as the Vendor and
Device IDs, PCI Class Code, size of memory and I/O regions, etc.
Pressing the "N" key will show similar information for all non-Quatech
PCI devices in the system, including those devices integrated on the
motherboard. In this example, the "Base addr 0" resource is reserved.

For users interested in even more details, PCI BIOS information can

be displayed by pressing the "B" key. Pressing the "I" key displays the PCI
interrupt routing table.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 26

Figure 12 --- QTPCI.EXE Expert Mode display

7 External Connections

RS-232-C devices are classified by their function as either Data

Terminal Equipment (DTE) or Data Communication Equipment (DCE).
Generally, data terminal equipment is defined as the communication
source and data communication equipment is defined as the device that
provides a communication channel between two DTE-type devices.

Terminal

DTE

Terminal

DTE

RS-232-C

RS-232-C

Modem

DCE

Telephone

line

Modem

DCE

Figure 13 --- Use of DTEs and DCEs in a communications link

DTE- and DCE-type devices have complementary pinouts to allow

terminals and modems to be connected directly using a one-to-one cable
as shown in Figure 13. In many applications, DCEs are unnecessary, and
in these cases a cable called a "null modem cable" or "modem eliminator
cable" is used to directly connect two DTE-type devices. A typical null
modem cable is also shown in Figure 14.

(3)

(3)

RxD

RxD

(2)

(2)

TxD

TxD

(4)

(4)

RTS

RTS

(5)

(5)

CTS

CTS

(20)

(20)

DTR

DTR

(6)

(6)

DSR

DSR

(8)

(8)

DCD

DCD

(22)

RI

(22)

(7)

(7)

GND

GND

Typical DTE-to-DCE cable

TxD
RxD
CTS
RTS
DSR
DTR
DCD

DCD
RI

RI
GND

GND

(3)
(2)
(4)
(5)
(20)
(6)
(8)

(8)
(22)

(22)
(7)

(7)

(3)

RxD

(2)

TxD

(4)

RTS

(5)

CTS

(20)

DTR

(6)

DSR

(8)

DCD

RI

(22)

(7)

GND

Typical DTE-to-DTE null modem cable

RxD
TxD
RTS
CTS
DTR
DSR
DCD
RI
GND

(3)
(2)
(4)
(5)
(20)
(6)
(8)
(22)
(7)

Figure 14 --- Cabling requirements for RS-232-C devices

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 27

(cables using 25-pin connectors shown)

The ESC(LP)-100 is a DTE device which connects to peripheral

equipment through an adapter cable’s eight male D-9 connectors. The
standard serial port connections are listed in Figure 15.

RS-232

Signal

RJ-45D-9

83TxD
92RxD
47RTS
38CTS
74DTR
56DSR

101DCD

29RI
65GND

Figure 15 --- ESC(LP)-100 D-9 connector pinouts

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 28

Figure 16 --- ESC(LP)-100 RJ-45 connector pinouts

8 PCI Resource Map

Listed below are the PCI resources used by the ESC(LP)-100. Such

information may be of use to customers writing their own device drivers
or other custom software. A detailed description of the ESC(LP)-100's
UARTs is available on the Quatech web site.

(all numbers in hex)

PCI Vendor ID: 0x135C Quatech, Inc.

PCI Device ID: 0x01E0 ESC(LP)-100

PCI Class Code

Base class: 0x07 Simple communications controller
Subclass: 0x02 Multiport serial controller
Interface: 0x00

IRQ sourced by: INTA#

Base address 0: 0x40 bytes I/O Serial ports

Port 1 at offset 0x00
Port 2 at offset 0x08
Port 3 at offset 0x10
Port 4 at offset 0x18
Port 5 at offset 0x20
Port 6 at offset 0x28
Port 7 at offset 0x30
Port 8 at offset 0x38

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 29

9 Specifications

Bus interface: PCI, 32-bit bus, Universal Voltage

Signaling

Dimensions: approx. 5.0" x 2.5"

Serial ports Controller: 16750-compatible with 64-byte FIFOs

Interface: One female 68-pin VHDCI connector to:

Eight male D-9 connectors using adapter cable

Eight female 10-pin RJ-45 connectors using

adapter cable

Transceivers: ISL4245EIR

IBM-compatible computers

-or-

High-level output: +5V min
Low-level output: -5V max,
Switching speed

to 80°

Power requirements: +5 volts; approx. 150 mA

Temperature: operating 0° to 70° / storage -50°

Humidity: 10% to 90%

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 30

Maximum Load (pF)

Data Rate

(kbaud)

4%

trans

time

10%
trans

time

15%

trans

time

20%

trans

time

25%

trans

time

470430300100N/A921.6

1100900670430100460.8

200016301100900330230.4

4800430033001570800115.2

Note 1: The signal transition time ratio is defined as the
percentage of the unit interval or bit time (the inverse of the data
rate) that is occupied by the signal transitioning from -3V to +3V.
The EIA/TIA-232-E standard defines a maximum signal
transition time ratio of 4%; most RS-232 receivers will recognize
signal transitions with much larger ratios. With a 4% signal
transition time ratio, EIA/TIA-232-E is limited to a theoretical data
rate of 200 kbaud. If maximum signal transition time ratio is
extended to 10%, 15%, 20%, or even 25%, the maximum data rate
achievable using EIA/TIA-232-E can be increased past 200 kbaud.

Note 2: A typical value for capacitance per foot of standard cable
is 50 pF/ft.

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 31

10 Troubleshooting

Listed here are some common problems and frequent causes of

those problems. If the information here does not provide a solution,
contact Quatech technical support.

Any unauthorized repairs or modifications will void the ESC(LP)-100's
warranty.

Computer will not boot up.

1. Is the ESC(LP)-100 properly inserted? Remove the card and try
again. Perhaps try a different expansion slot.

2. Ensure that an ISA-bus card is not using the same IRQ that the PCI
BIOS tries to assign to the ESC(LP)-100. Most computers have BIOS
setup options to reserve IRQs for either ISA or PCI use. Try
reserving the IRQ for the ISA card. The BIOS will automatically
choose a different IRQ for the ESC(LP)-100. An address conflict is
unlikely because most PCI-based computers will assign I/O
addresses in such a way that they cannot conflict with ISA-bus
devices.

3. The ESC(LP)-100 may be defective. Contact technical support for
instructions.

Cannot communicate with other equipment.

1. Are the cable connections correct? Are the cables securely attached?

2. Is the software configured with the correct base address and IRQ
information for the ESC(LP)-100? (This is mainly a DOS issue.)

3. Is the device driver installed?

4. If you are trying to communicate with another DTE, a null-modem
cable will be required.

5. If possible, use a loopback connector to test the port. This connector
needs to connect the following sets of signals on a D-9 connector:

TxD and RxD (pins 2 and 3)
RTS and CTS (pins 7 and 8)
DCD, DTR, DSR, and RI (pins 1, 4, 6 and 9)

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 32

ESC(LP)-100
User's Manual
Revision 1.12
December 2006
P/N: 940-3105-112

ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 33