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Disclaimer Of Liability
We have checked the contents of this manual against the hardware and software described. However, deviations from the description cannot
be completely ruled out.
RuggedCom shall not be liable for any errors or omissions contained herein or for consequential damages in connection with the furnishing,
performance, or use of this material.
The information given in this document is reviewed regularly and any necessary corrections will be included in subsequent editions. We appreciate
any suggested improvements. We reserve the right to make technical improvements without notice.
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RuggedBackbone™ is a trademark of RuggedCom Inc. Other designations in this manual might be trademarks whose use by third parties for
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RuggedCom recognizes the following third party copyrights:
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Federal Communications Commission Radio Frequency Interference
Statement
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device
pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection
against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This
equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which
case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.
Caution: Service
This product contains no user-serviceable parts. Attempted service by unauthorized
personnel shall render all warranties null and void.
Changes or modifications not expressly approved by RuggedCom Inc. could invalidate
specifications, test results, and agency approvals, and void the user’s authority to
operate the equipment.
Should this device require service, refer to Appendix A, Warranty in this guide.
Caution: Physical Access
This product should be installed in a restricted access location where access can only
be gained by service personnel or users who have been instructed about the reasons
for the restrictions applied to the location and about any precautions that shall be taken;
and access is through the use of a tool or lock and key, or other means of security,
and is controlled by the authority responsible for the location.
The RuggedServer™ RMC30 is an industrially hardened, 2-port serial device server specifically
designed to operate in electrically harsh and climatically demanding environments. The RMC30
allows you to communicate with virtually any serial device via Ethernet providing simple and
reliable network connectivity.
The RMC30 is packaged in a compact, galvanized steel enclosure that allows either DIN or panel
mounting for efficient use of cabinet space. It has an integrated power supply with a wide range of
voltages for worldwide operability. An operating temperature range of -40 to +85°C (-40 to +185°F)
without the use of internal cooling fans allows it to be placed in almost any location.
The RMC30 is compliant with EMI and environmental standards for utility substations, industrial
manufacturing, process and control and intelligent transportation systems applications.
The RMC30 offers both an RS232 port and a RS485/422 port simultaneously via a solid screw
down terminal block. The 10Base-T Ethernet port supports both auto-negotiation and autocrossover detection and simplifies cabling. Simple and intuitive network based configuration using
either the built in Web or Telnet server makes setup a breeze.
The RMC30’s superior ruggedized design coupled with the Rugged Operating System™ (ROS)
provides improved system reliability making it ideally suited for creating Ethernet networks for
mission critical, real-time, control applications.
Connectivity
• 1 RS232 and 1 RS422/485 port
• 1-10BaseTX
• Fully compliant EIA/TIA RS485 and RS232 ports
• Built-In optional RS485 Termination
Serial Encapsulation
• Baud rates up to 230 kbps
• Point to point and multi-point modes
• Convert Modbus RTU to Modbus TCP
• Support multiple Modbus masters
• Use ‘serial IP’ port redirection software to support PC applications statistics and built-in ‘sniffer’
for troubleshooting
Universal Power Supply Options
• Input voltages of 24VDC, 48VDC, and (88-300VDC or 85-264VAC) for worldwide operability
• Integrated power supply eliminates need for an awkward external power transformer
• Screw down terminal blocks ensure reliable maintenance free connections
• CSA/UL 60950 safety approved to +85°C
Designed for Harsh Environments
• Exceeds IEC 61850-3 requirements for electric power substations
• Exceeds IEC 61000-6-2 for industrial environments
With the use of an optional panel-mount adapter, the RuggedMC series of media converters can
be panel mounted. This section shows an example of an RMC unit panel mounted using the
optional panel mount adapter.
The panel mount adapter can be secured to a panel with three screws. The RuggedMC product
is easily mounted onto the panel mount adapter via the two metal clips on either side of the unit,
and a single screw located on the bottom.
1.+/L = DC (+) / AC (Hot) is connected to the positive (+) terminal if the power source is DC or
to the (Hot) terminal if the power source is AC.
2.-/N = DC (-) / AC (Neutral) is connected to the negative (-) terminal if the power source is DC
or to the (Neutral) terminal if the power source is AC.
3.Surge Ground is connected to the Safety Ground via a braided cable or other appropriate
grounding wire. Surge Ground is used as the ground conductor for all surge and transient
suppression circuitry internal to the RuggedMC.
4.Safety Ground should be connected to the power supply ground. This should be the safety
ground for AC inputs or the equipment ground bus for DC inputs.
Surge Ground must be disconnected from Chassis Ground during HIPOT (Dielectric
strength) testing.
1.For 125/250VDC rated equipment: An appropriately rated 300VDC circuit breaker
must be installed within 3 meters of unit.
2.For 110/230VAC rated equipment: An appropriately rated 250VAC circuit breaker
must be installed within 3 meters of the unit
3.A circuit breaker is not required for 48 or 24VDC rated equipment.
4.For multiple supplies, separate circuit breakers must be installed. Equipment must
be installed according to the applicable country wiring codes.
2.4. Serial Ports – Signal Description
The RMC30 is equipped with a seven-terminal Phoenix-style connector. This connector can
accommodate one RS232 connection, and one RS485/422 connection. Drawing 6 shows the
connections for RS232, RS485, and RS422 communications. The following sections describe
installation details for respective ports.
Figure 2.4. Serial RS232, RS485, and RS422 terminal block connections
2.4.1. RS232 Data Port
The RMC30 is equipped with a single EIA/TIA RS232 compliant port, consisting of three terminals:
Transmit, Receive, and Common. The RS232 port is intended for point-to-point applications only.
The EIA/TIA guidelines for RS232 communications include (but are not limited to) the following:
1.To minimize the effects of ambient electrical noise, shielded cabling is recommended.
2.Reliable communications within 15m. Greater distances are possible.
3.Communications of up to 120kbaud signal rate.
The RMC30’s RS232 port does not use an industry standard DB9 connector but rather a Phoenix-
style compression connector. See below for pinout information.
The RS232 data port has two modes of operations; only one mode is active at any given time:
1.Communications with IEDs (intelligent electronic devices such as PLC, RTU, etc.)
2.Console configuration of the RMC30.
To activate console configuration mode, press and hold <CTRL>Z for approximately 10 seconds
during power up. To deactivate console mode, reset the RMC30.
The RMC30 is equipped with a single RS485 / RS422 data port. In half duplex mode (See section
2.5 for RMC30 configuration) the RS485 connections (Rx +, Rx -, COM) should be connected.
In full-duplex mode the RS422 connections (Rx+, Rx -, Tx+, Tx-, COM) should be connected.
Both RS485 and RS422 can accommodate multi-drop networks, for master-slave serial network
communications. For both RS485 / RS422 connections, the following general guidelines should
be followed:
1.To minimize the effects of ambient electrical noise, shielded cabling is recommended
2.The correct polarity must be observed throughout the daisy chain
3.The number of devices wired should not exceed 32, and total distance should be less than
4000 feet (at 100Kbps)
4.The COM terminal should be connected to the common wire inside the shield.
5.The shield/COM should be grounded at ONE single point to avoid loop currents
6.The twisted pair should be terminated at each end of the chain. (Typically with a 120Ohm
resistor and a 10nF capacitor in series across the twisted pair).
Both data terminal pairs (Rx +/- and Tx +/-) are terminated by default from the factory. To
remove termination: Open the cover and remove jumper JP1 and/or JP2 (JP1 for Rx+, Rxterminals, JP2 for Tx+, Tx- terminals) depending on which port termination is NOT required.
Termination provided is a 120 Ohm resistor in series with a 10nF capacitor as per the ModBus
1.0 specification. In general termination should be left in place unless it is detrimental to
communications.
Transient protection is provided on all RMC30 terminals. Lightning strikes and ground
surge currents can cause large momentary voltage differences between ends of
communication links. To ensure maximum reliability of the entire link, all equipment
should have similar transient protection installed.
The following is an excerpt from the RMC30 User’s Guide. It is included to aid those users
experienced with communications equipment that may wish to attempt to configure the server
without fully reading the guide. We recommend review of the User Guide for a complete
understanding of the RMC30 serial device server.
1.Attach a PC running terminal emulation software to the RS232 port and apply power to the
chassis (default baud rate, data bits, parity - “57600 8 n”, no hardware/software flow control).
Set the terminal type to VT100. See section 2.4.1 for making an appropriate RS232 cable.
2.While the RMC30 is powering on press and hold <CTRL>Z. The following prompt should
appear on the screen:
Console mode...
Type 'yes' if you want to enter MAIN console mode:
Type yes and press Enter. The log in screen appears. The default user name and password,
“admin” and “admin”, provides access to the User Interface (see Chapter 1).
3.As an alternative to steps 1 and 2, you may use Telnet or HTTP via the default IP address of
192.168.0.1 to configure the RMC30. This may require some minor setup of you PC network
interfaces to ensure that the RMC30 can be reached.
4.Configure the server’s IP address (Administration, Configure IP Services, IP Address)
and Subnet Mask (Administration, Configure IP Services, Subnet). If instead you wish
the server to load the address via DHCP, set the address type to dynamic (Administration,
Configure IP Services, IP Address Type). See Chapter 1 for more details.
5.You may wish to change the default guest, operator and administration passwords
(Administration, Configure IP Services, Configure Passwords). See Chapter 1 for more
details.
6.The serial ports may be configured to support Serial encapsulation or TcpModbus, placing
connections to or accepting connections from a remote host. See Chapter 2 for more details
7.You may wish to configure the security aspects of the server. By default the server allows
a number of incoming telnet sessions. TFTP sessions are allowed, and may read (and
not write) the servers configuration. The server also allows a number of web management
sessions to occur. You can limit the numbers of these sessions or disable them completely
(Administration, IP Services). If remote SNMP management or traps are desired, configure
the appropriate manage station (Administration, Configure SNMP Management Stations).
8.Further concerns such as fine-tuning serial port parameters, measuring and optimizing
performance are dealt with by reading the guide fully.
RuggedCom warrants this product for a period of five (5) years from the date of purchase. This
product contains no user-serviceable parts. Attempted service by unauthorized personnel shall
render all warranties null and void. For warranty details, visit www.RuggedCom.com or contact
your customer service representative.
Should this product require service, contact the factory at: