VICI SVI User Manual

Valco Instruments Co. Inc.

Serial V alve Interface
Instruction Manual

North America, South America, and Australia/Oceania contact:

® ®

Valco Instruments Co. Inc.

tel: [phone]
fax: [phone]

[e-mail]

svi.P65

Rev. 7/08

Printed in USA

Europe, Asia, and Africa contact:

VICI AG International

tel: + 41 41 925-6200
fax: + 41 41 925-6201
[e-mail]

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Table of Contents

General Description .............................................................................................. 1

Installation............................................................................................................ 2

SVI Setup ...................................................................................................... 2

Interfacing the SVI to a PC ............................................................................ 3

Electric Actuator Connections........................................................................ 4

T wo P osition Air Actuator Connections........................................................... 5

SVI Control of Other Electrical Devices ......................................................... 5

Communicating with the SVI using VCom............................................................. 7

T ransmitted Command T ypes ......................................................................... 8

T ransmitted Command Syntax ....................................................................... 8

Multiple Device Mode Commands.................................................................1 0

Responses Received from the SVI ...............................................................1 1

T echnical Drawings..............................................................................................12

Warranty .............................................................................................................17

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General Description

The Valco Serial Valve Interface (SVI) is a de vice that converts commands
from a computer, via a serial port, into positional control for our two position
and multiposition valve actuators. Each SVI can control up to four air or
electrically actuated two position valves and two electrically actuated
multiposition valves. The SVI has two serial port connections (one male,
one female) which allow daisy-chaining of up to eight SVI’ s on a single serial
communication port. In addition to controlling valves, the SVI can be used to
control other devices which require logic level BCD or single line inputs.

The SVI is a packaged unit which includes an external 12 VDC 200 MA wall­mount power supply. There is no need to open the computer to connect the
SVI, because its DB-9 to DB-9 RS-232 cable connects to any available serial
port on the back of the computer. It also includes an interface cable for
V alco two position actuators, and tw o 20-pin IDC connectors for installation
on the interface cable which comes as part of the multiposition standard
electric actuator. For air actuated v alves , optional interf ace cables are
available f or the Valco Digital Valve Interface (DVI), which converts electrical
signals to pneumatic pulses. (V alco product number I-22239).

1

While the SVI can be operated by virtually any computer with an RS-232
port, the software supplied with this package is written for PC’s . The SVI is
supplied with Vcom software .

2

Installation

Serial Valve Interface

Power supply

RS-232 cable

The Serial Valve Interface can be easily installed by the user with the
following items as supplied with the SVI:

• One wall-mount power supply

• One RS-232 cable, to interface the SVI to any PC/AT compatible serial
communications port with a DB-9 connector

• One two-position interface cable for connecting up to four two-position
electric actuators or Digital Valve Interfaces for use with air actuators

• T wo 20-pin IDC connectors, to adapt the e xternal interface cables supplied
with Valco multiposition electric actuators for use with the SVI

• One CD with Vcom software.

NOTE: The jumpers ref erred to se v eral times in the installation instructions
are small plastic connectors on the circuit boards which can be easily pulled
off and reinstalled on different pins.

SVI Setup

T wo position

interface cable

20-pin IDC

connector

Valco Instruments Co. Inc.

Software CD

The SVI can operate in one of two different modes, determined by the
position of the jumper on connector CO14 on the SVI main board during
power up. In the Option 1 position (the factory setting) the Single Device
Mode is selected; in the Option 2 position, the Multiple Device Mode is
selected. See Drawing 22110, page 14 for a complete list of the SVI jumper
options and the factory settings.

Single Device Mode

The single device mode, which is the factory-preset mode, requires a
dedicated Serial Communications Port on the host computer for each SVI.
Three optional baud rates can be selected by jumpers on the SVI main
board, with a factory setting of 9600 baud. See Drawing 22110, page 14.

Multiple Device Mode

The multiple device mode allows up to eight SVIs to be daisy-chained from a
single serial communications port on the host computer. (Figure 1) In this
mode the SVI has a fixed 9600 baud rate. Connector CO11 on the SVI main
board selects an ID of 0 to 7 which is used to distinguish each device. (Each
SVI in the daisy chain must have a diff erent ID.) The communications board
connector CO14 jumper must be changed to the PASS THRU position f or all
SVIs on the daisy chain except for the last device, which should be set to
the END MODULE position to properly terminate the daisy-chain. See
Drawing 22110, page 14 for a complete list of the SVI jumper options.

CAUTION: For proper startup, make sure that all the
jumper settings in the SVI are correct, and that all exter­nal devices have been disconnected or are turned off
before applying power to the SVI.

Figure 1: SVIs daisy-chained to a single host computer

Interfacing the SVI to a PC

Installation

3

The SVI has two communication port connectors labeled “COM 1” and “COM
2”. The RS-232 cab le provided connects the COM 1 connector on the SVI to
the serial port connector on the PC. If the computer serial port connector is
a DB-25 connector, then a DB-25 FEMALE to DB-9 MALE adapter connector
or cable is required. Most computer or electronic stores carry this adapter.

The RS-232 cable with Male and Female DB-9 connectors must be wired
“straight through”, or pin to pin;
Only Pins 2, 3, and 5 are used by the SVI; they are functionally defined
as TRANSMIT, RECEIVE, and GROUND , respectiv ely,

perspective.

TWO POSITION

ELECTRIC ACTUATORS

TWO POSITION

INTERFACE CABLE

i.e.

, Pin 2 to Pin 2, Pin 3 to Pin 3,

INTERFACE CABLES
SUPPLIED WITH
MULTIPOSITION
ELECTRIC ACTUATORS

ANSLEY
CONNECTORS

from the SVI

MULTIPOSITION
ELECTRIC ACTUATORS

HOST COMPUTER

etc

.

Figure 2: SVI interconnection diagram

RS-232 INTERFACE CABLE