QSC(LP)-200/300 Four Channel RS-422/485 Asynchronous Communications Adapter for PCI bus User's Manual QUATECH, INC. 5675 Hudson Industrial Parkway Hudson, Ohio 44236 TEL: (330) 655-9000 FAX: (330) 655-9010 http://www.quatech.
WARRANTY INFORMATION Quatech, Inc. warrants the QSC(LP)-200/300 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.
1998 - 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.
Declaration of Conformity Manufacturer's Name: Quatech Inc.
...................................................................... 1 1 General Information .......................................... 5 1.1 Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1.1.1 "IND" Option --- Surge Suppression Upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2 Hardware Configuration ..................................... 2.1 Signal Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Base Address and Interrupt Level (IRQ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 8 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 General Information The Quatech, Inc. QSC(LP)-200/300 provides four RS-422 or RS-485 asynchronous serial communication interfaces for IBM-compatible personal computer systems using the PCI expansion bus. The QSC(LP)-200/300 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.
2 Hardware Configuration The QSC(LP)-200/300 is automatically configured at boot time by the computer's BIOS or operating system. There are no required switches or jumpers to set for installation. This chapter lists a number of optional jumper settings that control various hardware features. These jumpers, located in a row along the top of the board , control how signals are routed from the UARTs to the connector, as well as special options.
2.1.3 Force High-Speed UART Clock (X8, pins 17 and 18) This jumper forces an increase of the UART input clock frequency by a factor of eight. This feature can allow legacy software to use baud rates above 115,200 bits per second. It is also useful if the serial port device driver does not directly support setting the higher baud rates through the Options Register. If this jumper is applied, it overrides any value written to the Options Register to set the clock multiplier by software.
3 Hardware Installation 1. Turn off the power of the computer system in which the QSC(LP)-200/300 is to be installed. 2. Remove the system cover according to the instructions provided by the computer manufacturer. 3. Make any desired optional jumper setting changes. 4. Install the QSC(LP)-200/300 in any empty PCI expansion slot. The board should be secured by installing the Option Retaining Bracket (ORB) screw. 5. Replace the system cover according to the instructions provided by the computer manufacturer.
4 Windows Configuration 4.1 Windows Millennium 1. After inserting the QSC(LP)-200/300 for the first time the "Add New Hardware Wizard" will begin. Select "Search for the best driver for your device.". Check the "Removable media" and "Specify location" box. Click the "Next" button. 2. Window will locate the proper INF file and copy the file from the CD. Click the "Next" button. The final dialog screen will verify the file copy from the CD. Click the "Finish" button. 3.
4.2 Windows 2000 1. After inserting a QSC(LP)-200/300 for the first time, the "Add New Hardware Wizard will appear at start up. Click the "OK" button. 2. When the following dialog box appears, insert the Communications Driver CD (shipped with the device). Click the "OK" button. 3. The following dialog box will display the appropriate INF file on the CD in 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.
4.3 Windows 98 1. After inserting a QSC(LP)-200/300 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 you device". Click the "Next" button. 3. On the next dialog, select the "CD - ROM drive" check box. Insert the Communication Drivers CD (shipped with the device) into the CD - ROM drive. Click the "Next" button.
4. The following dialog box will display the appropriate INF file on the cd in drive. Click the "Next" button. 5. Window will copy the INF file from the cd and display a final dialog indication that the process is complete. Click the "Finish" button.
4.4 Windows 1995 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 QSC(LP)-200/300 to allow easy configuration in the Windows 95 environment.
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.
4.6 Viewing Resources with Device Manager This discussion applies equally to Windows 95/98/ME and 2000/XP. Windows maintains a registry of all known hardware installed within the computer. Inside this hardware registry Windows keeps track of all the computer's resources, such as base I/O addresses, IRQ levels, and DMA channels. In the case of a PCI plug-in card, Windows configures the new hardware using free resources it finds within the hardware registry, and updates the registry automatically.
Range and Interrupt Request resource allocations. These will match those of the “parent device.” Click "Cancel" to exit without making changes. 8. Click the "Port Settings" tab and then click the "Advanced" button. The QSC(LP)-200/300 driver will display a custom Advanced Port Settings control, which allows the ports UART compatibility mode and FIFO threshold levels to be configured.
4.6.1 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 QSC(LP)-200/300 “parent device” belongs to this hardware class. The full device name for the QSC(LP)-200/300 is Quatech QSC(LP)-200/300: Four-Port RS-422/485 Serial Adapter. 4.
Clock Mode Max bps Auto 921,600 X1 115,200 X2 230,400 X4 460,800 X8 921,600 Data Rate Multiplier Description Auto clock mode enables applications to request any baud 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 drivers lock the clock to the standard rate. The port will run at the baud rate requested by the application.
RS-422/485 Connector Setup RTS routed to CTS, AUXIN routed to AUXOUT, and TCLK routed to RCLK. Loopback All Used when external handshaking or clocking signals are not available. RTS routed to AUXOUT, AUXIN routed to CTS, and TCLK routed to Modem Control RCLK. Used when RTS/CTS handshaking is required. RTS routed to CTS, AUXIN routed to RCLK, and TCLK routed to AUXOUT. Used to connect ports transmitting at Clocks different baud rates. In order to function, all ports must have and use this feature.
Receivers are only enabled when not When NOT Tranmitting transmitting. In a Half Duplex mode, you will not receive what you transmit. RS-422/485 Duplex Mode Transmitters and receivers are always enabled; ports can send and receive Full Duplex simultaneously. Used in four-wire communication. RTS is set to enable the transmitters. Half Duplex using RTS Used in two-wire communication. DTR is set to enable the transmitters.
5 Other Operating Systems Device drivers for Windows NT and OS/2 are also available for the QSC(LP)-200/300. The board can be used under DOS and other operating systems as well in many circumstances. The software described below can be obtained from the Quatech web site if it did not come with the board. 5.1 Windows NT The Windows NT device driver is installed by running the SETUP program. Up to 256 serial ports are supported.
5.3.1 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 4 shows the Basic Mode display for the QSC(LP)-200/300 after the "Q" key has been pressed. In this example, the QSC(LP)-200/300 uses I/O base address FFA0 hex and IRQ 3. The hardware revision of the QSC(LP)-200/300 is also displayed.
Figure 5 shows the Expert Mode display for the QSC(LP)-200/300 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.
6 External Connections The QSC(LP)-200/300 provides four differential communication signals per channel. The two output signals are Transmit Data (TxD) and Auxiliary Output (AUXOUT). The two input signals are Receive Data (RxD) and Auxiliary Input (AUXIN). A ground signal is also provided. The available input signals for AUXIN are Clear To Send (CTS) and the Receive Clock (RCLK).
Control”, or “Clocks” selections under “RS-422/485 connector set-up” on the RS-422/485 tab of each port’s property dialog. 6.5 AUXIN/AUXOUT Loopback The AUXIN signal is an input from the external device, and connecting it to the AUXOUT signal provides for a loopback mode of operation. In other words, whatever signal is transmitted by the external device over the AUXIN line will be fed back to the external device over the AUXOUT line.
6.7 Termination Resistors No termination resistors are provided on the ports. Both output and input signals are connected only to the external connector. Any termination which is required must be added externally. RS-422/485 Receiver RXD+ + Rt - RXD- RS-422/485 Receiver AUXIN+ + Rt - AUXIN- Recommended Termination Resistor Values RS-422 100 ohm 1/2W resistor RS-485 60 ohms total resistance (120 ohms at each end) Figure 6.
6.8 RS-422/485 Peripheral Connection The QSC(LP)-200/300 is a DTE device which connects to peripheral equipment through four female D-9 connectors. The onboard connector is a D-44 connector, which is brought out into four separate D-9 connectors via a custom cable assembly. The pin-out for the D-44 connector is listed in Figure 7. The serial port connections are listed in Figure 9.
6.9 RS-422/485 Peripheral Connection The QSC(LP)-200/300 connects to peripheral equipment through four male D-9 connectors. The serial port connector definitions are listed in Figure 10.
7 PCI Resource Map Listed below are the PCI resources used by the QSC(LP)-200/300. Such information may be of use to customers writing their own device drivers or other custom software. A detailed description of the QSC(LP)-200/300's UARTs is available on the Quatech web site. (all numbers in hex) PCI Vendor ID: 0x135C Quatech, Inc.
8 Specifications Bus interface: PCI, 32-bit bus, Universal Signalling Voltage IBM-compatible computers Dimensions: approx. 4.725" x 2.5" Serial ports Controller: Interface: 16750 with 64-byte FIFOs Custom cable to four female D-9 connectors Transceivers: MAX-3076E or compatible Differential output: 2V min. with 50-ohm load (RS-422) 1.5V min. with 27-ohm load (RS-485) Output rise/fall time: 15ns max. Differential input threshold: -0.2V min., -0.05V max. Input resistance: 96k ohm min..
9 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 QSC(LP)-200/300's warranty. Computer will not boot up. 1. Is the QSC(LP)-200/300 properly inserted? Remove the card and try again. Perhaps try a different expansion slot. 2.
QSC(LP)-200/300 User's Manual Revision 1.
