BLACK BOX IC1023A 4 Port RS-232 USB Hub Instructions

BLACK BOX IC1023A 4 Port RS-232 USB Hub Instructions

Specifications

Communication Chips: High-speed, USB-to-serial interface (128-byte FIFO transmit, 384-byte FIFO receive) UARTs: (4) for IC1027A and (8) for IC1023A
Distance (Maximum): RS-232: 50 ft. (15.2 m)
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF): Greater than 150,000 hours
Speed (Maximum): RS-232: 460.8 kbps
Connectors: Serial: (4) DB9 male (IC1027A) or (8) DB9 male (IC1023A) (see pinout below); USB: (1) Type B female

Indicators: LEDs: USB Enabled, Serial Port 1, Serial Port 2, Serial Port 3, Serial Port 4: (5) for IC1027A and (9) for IC1023A (also includes Serial Port 5, Serial Port 6, Serial Port 7, and Serial Port 8)
Temperature Tolerance: 32 to 158°F (0 to 70°C)
Humidity Tolerance: 10 to 90%, noncondensing
Power: From the USB bus (as long as the device is connected directly to a powered PC or hub)
Size: IC1023A: Size: 2.25″ H x 6.0″ W x 8.5″ D (5.5 x 15.2 x 22.0 cm); IC1027A: 1.5″H x 5.3″W x 7.1″D (3.8 x 13.5 x 18 cm)

Overview

Introduction
The 4-Port RS-232 USB Hub has four (IC1027A) or eight (IC1023A) USB to RS-232 asynchronous serial ports that enable you to connect non-USB peripherals to a USB bus. It doesn’t require installing cards, I/O ports, or IRQs. However, you must have a recent enough operating system to support USB.

Hardware Description
FRONT PANEL
The 4-Port (IC1027A) RS-232 USB Hub’s front panel appears in Figure 2-1. Its components are described in Table 2-1. The 8-Port version (IC1023A) looks similar, except it has twice as many ports shown on the front panel.

(IC1027A shown; IC1023A has double the number of ports on the front panel.)

Table 2-1. Front-panel components.

is active.
➂| Serial Port 2 LED| Lights when the corresponding serial device is active.
➃| Serial Port 3 LED| Lights when the corresponding serial device is active.
➄| Serial Port 4 LED| Lights when the corresponding serial device is active.

BACK PANEL
The 4-Port (IC1027A) RS-232 USB Hub’s back panel appears in Figure 2-2. Its components are described in Table 2-2.The 8-Port version (IC1023A) has two rows of 4 ports.

Table 2-2. Back-panel components.

| Number| Component| Description
---|---|---|---
| ➅| Serial Port 1| Connect a serial device to this DB9 port.
| ➆| Serial Port 2| Connect a serial device to this DB9 port.
| ➇| Serial Port 3| Connect a serial device to this DB9 port.
➈| Serial Port 4| Connect a serial device to this DB9 port.|
➉| USB Type B connector| Links the USB source device to the hub.|

What’s Included
The 4-Port (IC1027A) and 8-Port (IC1023A) RS-232 USB Hubs are shipped with the following items. If any of these items is missing or damaged, contact Black Box at 1-877-877-2269.

• 4-Port RS-232 USB Hub (IC1027A) or 8-Port RS-232 USB Hub (IC1023A)
• USB cable

Installation

Windows®

1. Users running Windows® 10 or later, proceed to section 3.2 Hardware installation. Windows should automatically detect and load the correct drivers.
2. If Windows does not automatically detect and load the correct drivers, download the SeaCom drivers from the Black Box® websit

Hardware Installation

1. Connect the RS-232 USB Hub to any upstream type “A” port either at the PC host or an upstream hub. The hub is hot-pluggable, so you don’t have to power down your computer before installing it.
2. The New Hardware Found wizard will now locate the appropriate drivers. These drivers were installed during the software setup procedure. Once the drivers are found, a new window will appear and tell you that the new ports are installed properly.
3. If you view the system’s Device Manager, new COM ports in the Ports (COM & LPT) device class should appear.
4. You can access your new COM ports by using the assigned COM identifiers as shown in the Device Manager. The assigned COM port may differ from system to system. The hardware is now recognized and ready to use.

Appendix A. Troubleshooting

A.1 Calling Black Box
If you determine that your RS-232 USB Hub is malfunctioning, do not attempt to alter or repair the unit. It contains no user-serviceable parts. Contact Black Box Technical Support at 1-877-877-2269. Before you do, make a record of the history of the problem. We will be able to provide more efficient and accurate assistance if you have a complete description, including:

• the nature and duration of the problem.
• when the problem occurs.
• the components involved in the problem.
• any particular application that, when used, appears to create the problem or make it worse.

A.2 Shipping and Packaging
If you need to transport or ship your RS-232 USB Hub:

• Package it carefully. We recommend that you use the original container.
• If you are returning the unit, make sure you include everything you received with it. Before you ship for return or repair, contact Black Box to get a Return Authorization (RA) number.

Appendix B. Electrical Interface

RS-232
Quite possibly the most widely used communication standard is RS-232. This implementation has been defined and revised several times and is often referred to as EIA/TIA-232. The IBM® AT ® computer defined the RS-232 port on a DB9 connector and subsequently the EIA/TIA approved this implementation as the EIA/TIA-574 standard. This standard is defined as the 9-Position Non- Synchronous Interface between Data Terminal Equipment and Data Circuit- Terminating Equipment Employing Serial Binary Data Interchange. Both implementations are in widespread use and are referred to as RS-232 in this document. RS-232 is capable of operating at data rates up to 20 kbps at distances less than 50 feet (15.2 m). The absolute maximum data rate may vary due to line conditions and cable lengths. RS-232 is a single-ended or unbalanced interface, meaning that a single electrical signal is compared to a common signal (ground) to determine binary logic states. The RS-232 and the EIA/TIA-574 specification define two types of interface circuits, Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) and Data CircuitTerminating Equipment (DCE). The RS-232 USB Hub is a DTE device.

Appendix C. Asynchronous Communication

Serial data communications implies that individual bits of a character are transmitted consecutively to a receiver that assembles the bits back into a character. Data rate, error checking, handshaking, and character framing (start/stop bits) are pre-defined and must correspond at both the transmitting and receiving ends.

Asynchronous communication is the standard means of serial data communication for PC and compatible computers. The original PC was equipped with a communication or COM port that was designed around an 8250 Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART), which allows asynchronous serial data to be transferred through a simple and straightforward programming device.

Asynchronous communication works this way: A start bit, followed by a pre- defined number of data bits (5, 6, 7, or 8) defines character boundaries for asynchronous communication. The end of the character is defined by the transmission of a predefined number of stop bits (usually 1, 1.5, or 2).

Figure C-1. Asynchronous communication bit diagram.

An extra bit used for error detection is often appended before the stop bits. This special bit is called the parity bit. Parity is a simple way to determine if a data bit has been lost or corrupted during transmission. There are several methods for implementing a parity check to guard against data corruption. Common methods are called (E)ven Parity or (O)dd Parity. Sometimes parity is not used to detect errors on the data stream (this is called [N]o Parity). Because each bit in asynchronous communication is sent consecutively, it is wrapped (framed) by predefined bits to mark the beginning and end of the serial transmission of the character. The data rate and communication parameters for asynchronous communication have to be the same at both the transmitting and receiving ends. The communication parameters are baud rate, parity, number of data bits per character, and stop bits—for example, 9600, N, 8, 1.

References

• Global IT Products & Network Solutions Provider | Black Box

Read User Manual Online (PDF format)

Read User Manual Online (PDF format)  >>

Download This Manual (PDF format)

Download this manual  >>