SEALEVEL 2163 Series +16-232.RJ USB to 16-Port User Manual

SeaLINK+16/USB
User Manual | 2163

Introduction

Overview
The Sealevel Systems SeaLINK+16 family of products equips the PC with 16 USB to Asynchronous serial ports. Three different model numbers are available that offer a variety of port options. Model 2801 equips the PC with 8 additional RS-232 ports that support a full RS-232 interface and data rates up to 460.8K baud. Model 2802 equips the PC with 8 RS-422/485 ports that support data rates up to 921.6K baud and provide selectable line termination and biasing. 2-wire RS-485 line turnaround is supported via an onboard hardware circuit. Model 2803 equips the PC with 16 user configurable RS-232/422/485 ports. Each port is individually configurable, and the interface is selected by configuring two dipswitch positions. The advantage of this product over more traditional approaches is that it does not require opening the computer case, nor does it require resources such as I/O ports or IRQs. It does require a system that supports USB both in terms of hardware and operating system.

Before You Get Started

What’s Included
The SeaLINK+16/USB is shipped with the following items. If any of these items is missing or damaged, please contact Sealevel for replacement.

• SeaLINK+16 USB to Asynchronous Serial Converter
• USB Cable Part Number CA179 for Connecting to Upstream Host/Hub

All items can be purchased from our website (www.sealevel.com) by calling our sales team at +1(864) 843-4343.

Advisory Conventions
Warning
The highest level of importance is used to stress a condition where damage could result in the product or the user could suffer serious injury.
Important
The middle level of importance is used to highlight information that might not seem obvious or a situation that could cause the product to fail.
Note
The lowest level of importance is used to provide background information, additional tips, or other non-critical facts that will not affect the use of the product.

Installation & Configuration

Software Installation
Windows Installation

Do not install the Adapter in the machine until the software has been fully installed.
Only users running Windows 7 or newer should utilize these instructions for accessing and installing the appropriate driver via Sealevel’s website. If you are utilizing an operating system prior to Windows 7, please contact Sealevel by calling 864.843.4343 or emailing support@sealevel.com to receive access to the proper driver download and installation instructions.

1. Begin by locating, selecting, and installing the correct software from the Sealevel SeaCOM software for Windows.
2. Click the ‘SeaCOM for Window’ download link.
3. The setup file will automatically detect the operating environment and install the proper components.
4. A screen may appear with the declaration: “The publisher cannot be determined due to the problems below: Authenticode signature not found.” Please select the ‘Yes’ button and proceed with the installation. This declaration simply means that the Operating System is not aware of the driver is loaded. It will not cause any harm to your system.
5. During setup, you may specify installation directories and other preferred configurations. This program also adds entries to the system registry that are necessary for specifying the operating parameters for each driver. An uninstall option is included to remove the driver and all registry/ini file entries from your system.
6. Proceed with the physical installation of your Sealink USB serial adapter.

To confirm that the SeaCOM driver has been successfully installed, click on the ‘Start’ button, and then select ‘All Programs’. You should see the ‘SeaCOM’ program folder listed.
You are now ready to proceed with connecting 2163 to your system. Refer to the Hardware Installation section for details.

Windows NT is not USB aware and thus cannot support this device.

Hardware Installation

The screen captures below are taken from a Windows 10 installation. Your particular operating system may differ slightly from what is shown based on your version of Windows.

Do not connect the device to a USB port until the software has been fully installed.

1. The SeaLINK+16 can be connected to any upstream type “A” port, either at the PC host or an upstream hub. The SeaLINK+16 is hot-pluggable, meaning there is no need to power down your computer prior to installation.
2. Connect the SeaLINK+16 to an upstream host or hub.
3. The New Hardware Found wizard will now proceed to locate the appropriate drivers. These drivers were installed during the SeaCOM software setup procedure. Once the drivers are found a new window will pop up indicating the installation of each of the eight new ports.
4. If you view the system’s Device Manager, you should have new “COM” ports in the Ports (COM & LPT) Device Class.

You can access your new COM: ports by using the assigned COM: identifiers as shown above. In this case, it is COMs 12 thru 19. However, this assignment will vary from system to system. At this point, the hardware is recognized and ready to use.

Configuration

FACTORY CONFIGURATION
The 2163 ships from Sealevel Systems with the following configuration.
RS-422 4-wire full duplex mode selected.
The transmitter is always enabled.
The receiver always enabled and terminated and biased as follows:
120ohm terminator between RX+ and RX-
1Kohm pull-up on RX+
1Kohm pull-down on RX-

In order to change the configuration, the box must be opened. Do this by removing the four screws that attach the two halves of the box.

ELECTRICAL INTERFACE SELECTION

Below is a figure of dipswitches SW1, SW2, SW3, and SW4. Each switch has a total of twelve positions and serves to configure two ports. Six positions are used for each port. The default mode of the RS-422 4-wire full duplex is shown.

Mode Select Configuration

The first two positions for each port are used to select the electrical interface mode. In RS-422 mode the transmitter and receiver are always enabled. “485 WE” refers to RS-485 mode with receiver echo. In this mode, the receiver is always enabled. If the card is in 2-wire mode, all transmitted data will be “echoed” back. “485 NE” refers to RS-485 mode with no receiver echo. In this mode, the receiver is enabled only when no data is being transmitted. In either RS-485 mode, the transmitter is only enabled during data transmission. Refer to the chart below for specific switch settings. Note that this chart appears in the silkscreen on the board as well.

Interface Biasing Configuration
The last four positions for each port are used to select the line termination and bias settings. Refer to the chart below for specific switch settings of the three supported electrical interface modes. Note that this chart appears in the silkscreen on the board as well.

PD = 1Kohm pull-down resistor connected to RX-
RS-232 mode = always OFF
RS-422 mode = always ON
RS-485 mode = ON if not provided by another device on the bus
PU = 5.1Kohm pull-up resistor connected to CTS+
RS-232 mode = always OFF
RS-422 mode = always ON
RS-485 mode = always ON

PU = 1Kohm pull-down resistor connected to RX+
RS-232 mode = always OFF
RS-422 mode = always ON
RS-485 mode = ON if not provided by another device on the bus

T = 120ohm terminating resistor connected between RX+ and RX-
RS-232 mode = always OFF
RS-422 mode = always ON
RS-485 mode = ON if physically located at one end of bus

Technical Note
Contrary to some of our other products, there are no provisions on board for looping TX+ to RX+ and TX- to RX- for 2-wire RS-485 mode. These connections must be made externally inside the mating DB-9 connector. Refer to the RS-422 pinout diagram for the appropriate pin numbers.

Technical Description

The SeaLINK+16 utilizes eight USB UARTs. These chips feature programmable baud rate, data format, -byte Dual Port TX Buffer, and 384-byte Dual Port RX Buffer. The RS-232/422/485 transceiver supports data rates up to 921.6K baud for RS-422/485 and 460.8K baud for RS-232.

Features

• A hot-pluggable device that does not require opening the case
• No system resources are required (i.e. I/O ports or IRQs)
• LED status indicators for power and port activity

Connector Pin Assignments
RS-422/485 (DB-9 Male)

RS-232 (DB-9 Male)

Specifications

Environmental Specifications

Manufacturing
All Sealevel Systems Printed Circuit boards are built to UL 94V0 rating and are 100% electrically tested. These printed circuit boards are solder mask over bare copper or solder mask over tin nickel.
Power Consumption
This device is a high-power USB device. It must be plugged into the USB root hub or a self-powered hub capable of supplying 500 mA per port.
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)

Greater than 150,000 hours. (Calculated)

Physical Dimensions

• Width excludes rack-mount ears.

Appendix A – Troubleshooting

The serial Utility test software is supplied with the Sealevel Systems adapter and should be used in the troubleshooting procedures. Using this software and following these simple steps, most common problems can be eliminated without the need to call Technical Support.

1. If your adapter isn’t working, first check to make sure that USB support is enabled in the System BIOS and it is functioning properly in the operating system. This can be done by using either the Windows 98/ME or Windows 2000 Device Manager.
2. Ensure that the Sealevel Systems software has been installed on the machine so that the necessary files are in place to complete the installation.
3. When the SeaLINK+16 is configured properly, Sealevel’s WinSSD utility and a loopback plug can be used to check communications. You can make a simple Loopback in the field by connecting the TX and RX pins. If you decide to test the Modem Control Signals, a full pin loopback plug will be required. Details on loopback plugs are included within WinSSD. Contact Sealevel Systems if you need further assistance.
4. When testing the SeaLINK+16 in loopback mode, you should see both the TD and RD echoed as data on the screen. The loopback test first transmits a HEX pattern, 55AA, and then an ASCII string of data. If this test passes, then the SeaLINK+16 is ready for use in your application.
5. Please note that if the adapter is configured for 2-wire RS-485 with no echo a loopback test is not possible. The receiver in this case will be turned off and the test will fail. If you plan on using this device in 2-wire mode, test the adapter in RS-422 mode first. Then configure the adapter for your application.
6. Always use the Sealevel Systems diagnostic software when troubleshooting a problem. This will eliminate any software issues from the equation.

If these steps do not solve your problem, please call Sealevel Systems’ Technical Support, (864) 843- 4343. Our technical support is free and available from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time Monday through Friday. For email support contact support@sealevel.com.

Appendix B – How To Get Assistance

Please refer to: Appendix A — Troubleshooting Guide prior to calling Technical Support.
Begin by reading through the Trouble Shooting Guide in Appendix A. If assistance is still needed, please see below.
When calling for technical assistance, please have your user manual and current adapter settings. If possible, please have the adapter installed in a computer ready to run diagnostics.
Sealevel Systems provides an FAQ section on its website. Please refer to this to answer many common questions. This section can be found at http://www.sealevel.com/faq.asp.
Sealevel Systems maintains a web page on the Internet. Our home page address is www.sealevel.com. The latest software updates and newest manuals are available via our
web site.

Technical support is available Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. eastern time.
Technical support can be reached at 864-843-4343.
RETURN AUTHORIZATION MUST BE OBTAINED FROM SEA LEVEL SYSTEMS BEFORE RETURNED MERCHANDISE WILL BE ACCEPTED. AUTHORIZATION CAN BE OBTAINED BY CALLING SEALEVEL SYSTEMS AND REQUESTING A RETURN MERCHANDISE AUTHORIZATION (RMA) NUMBER.

Appendix C – 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 RS-232 or EIA/TIA-232. The IBM PC computer defined the RS-232 port on a 9-pin D sub 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 will be 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 ft. 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 Circuit-Terminating Equipment (DCE). The IC485+ is a DCE device.

RS-422
The RS-422 specification defines the electrical characteristics of balanced voltage digital interface circuits. RS-422 is a differential interface that defines voltage levels and driver/receiver electrical specifications. On a differential interface, logic levels are defined by the difference in voltage between a pair of outputs or inputs. In contrast, a single-ended interface, for example, RS-232, defines the logic levels as the difference in voltage between a single signal and a common ground connection. Differential interfaces are typically more immune to noise or voltage spikes that may occur on communication lines. Differential interfaces also have greater drive capabilities that allow for longer cable lengths. RS-422 is rated up to 10 Megabits per second and can have cabling 4000 feet long. RS-422 also defines driver and receiver electrical characteristics that will allow 1 driver and up to 32 receivers on the line at once. RS-422 signal levels range from 0 to +5 volts. RS-422 does not define a physical connector.

RS-485
RS-485 is backwardly compatible with RS-422; however, it is optimized for party line or multi-drop applications. The output of the RS-422/485 driver is capable of being Active (enabled) or Tri-State (disabled). This capability allows multiple ports to be connected in a multi-drop bus and selectively polled. RS-485 allows cable lengths up to 4000 feet and data rates up to 10 Megabits per second. The signal levels for RS-485 are the same as those defined by RS-422. RS-485 has electrical characteristics that allow for 32 drivers and 32 receivers to be connected to one line. This interface is ideal for multi-drop or network environments. RS-485 tri-state driver (not dual- state) will allow the electrical presence of the driver to be removed from the line. Only one driver may be active at a time and the other driver(s) must be tri-stated. RS-485 can be cabled in two ways, two-wire, and four-wire mode. The two-wire mode does not allow for full duplex communication and requires that data be transferred in only one direction at a time. For half-duplex operation, the two transmit pins should be connected to the two receive pins (Tx+ to Rx+ and Tx- to Rx-). Four-wire mode allows full duplex data transfers. RS-485 does not define a connector pin-out or a set of modem control signals. RS-485 does not define a physical connector.

Appendix D – Asynchronous Communications

Serial data communications imply that individual bits of a character are transmitted consecutively to a receiver that assembles the bits back into a character. The 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 communications is the standard means of serial data communication for PC compatibles and PS/2 computers. The original PC was equipped with communication or COM: port that was designed around an 8250 Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART). This device allows asynchronous serial data to be transferred through a simple and straightforward programming interface. A start bit, followed by a pre-defined number of data bits (5, 6, 7, or 8) defines character boundaries for asynchronous communications. The end of the character is defined by the transmission of a pre-defined number of stop bits (usually 1, 1.5 or 2). 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 method of determining 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 referred to as (N)o parity. Because each bit in asynchronous communications is sent consecutively, it is easy to generalize asynchronous communications by stating that each character is wrapped (framed) by pre-defined bits to mark the beginning and end of the serial transmission of the character. The data rate and communication
parameters for asynchronous communications must 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 (i.e., 9600, N, 8, 1).

Appendix E – Compliance Notices

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Statement
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for Class A digital devices, 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 such case the user will be required to correct the interference at the user’s expense.

EMC Directive Statement
Products bearing the CE Label fulfill the requirements of the EMC directive (89/336/EEC) and of the low-voltage directive (73/23/EEC) issued by the European commission. To obey these directives, the following European standards must be met:

• EN55022 Class A – “Limits and methods of measurement of radio interference characteristics of information technology equipment”
• EN55024 – “Information technology equipment Immunity characteristics Limits and methods of measurement”.

This is a Class A Product. In a domestic environment, this product may cause radio interference in In which case the user may be required to take adequate measures to prevent or correct the interference.
Always use the cabling provided with this product if possible. If no cable is provided or if an alternate cable is required, use high-quality shielded cabling to maintain compliance with FCC/EMC directives.

Warranty

Sealevel’s commitment to providing the best I/O solutions is reflected in the Lifetime Warranty that is standard on all Sealevel-manufactured I/O products. We are able to offer this warranty due to our control of manufacturing quality and the historically high reliability of our products in the field. Sealevel products are designed and manufactured at its Liberty, South Carolina facility, allowing direct control over product development, production, burn- in, and testing. Sealevel achieved ISO-9001:2015 certification in 2018.

Warranty Policy
Sealevel Systems, Inc. (hereafter “Sealevel”) warrants that the Product shall conform to and perform in accordance with published technical specifications and shall be free of defects in materials and workmanship for the warranty period. In the event of failure, Sealevel will repair or replace the product at Sealevel’s sole discretion. Failures resulting from misapplication or misuse of the Product, failure to adhere to any specifications or instructions, or failure resulting from neglect, abuse, accidents, or acts of nature are not covered under this warranty.
Warranty service may be obtained by delivering the Product to Sealevel and providing proof of purchase. The customer agrees to ensure the Product or assume the risk of loss or damage in transit, to prepay shipping charges to Sealevel, and to use the original shipping container or equivalent. The warranty is valid only for original purchasers and is not transferable.
This warranty applies to Sealevel manufactured Products. Products purchased through Sealevel but manufactured by a third party will retain the original manufacturer’s warranty.

Non-Warranty Repair/Retest
Products returned due to damage or misuse and Products retested with no problem found are subject to repair/retest charges. A purchase order or credit card number and authorization must be provided in order to obtain an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) number prior to returning the Product.

How to obtain an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization)
If you need to return a product for warranty or non-warranty repair, you must first obtain an RMA number.
Please contact Sealevel Systems, Inc. Technical Support for assistance:

Available Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST
Phone 864-843-4343
Email support@sealevel.com

Trademarks
Sealevel Systems, Incorporated acknowledges that all trademarks referenced in this manual are the service mark, trademark, or registered trademark of the respective company.

References

• FAQs - Sealevel

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