ASSURED PCIe-COM232-8, PCIe-COM232-4 PCI Express Multi-Port Low Profile Serial Communications Cards User Manual
- September 12, 2024
- ASSURED
Table of Contents
ASSURED PCIe-COM232-8, PCIe-COM232-4 PCI Express Multi-Port Low Profile Serial Communications Cards User Manual
Notice
The information in this document is provided for reference only. ACCES does
not assume any liability arising out of the application or use of the
information or products described herein. This document may contain or
reference information and products protected by copyrights or patents and does
not convey any license under the patent rights of ACCES, nor the rights of
others.
IBM PC, PC/XT, and PC/AT are registered trademarks of the International
Business Machines Corporation.
Printed in USA. Copyright 2009 by ACCES I/O Products Inc, 10623 Roselle
Street, San Diego, CA 92121. All rights reserved.
WARNING!!
ALWAYS CONNECT AND DISCONNECT YOUR FIELD CABLING WITH THE COMPUTER POWER OFF.
ALWAYS TURN COMPUTER POWER OFF BEFORE INSTALLING A CARD. CONNECTING AND
DISCONNECTING CABLES, OR INSTALLING CARDS INTO A SYSTEM WITH THE COMPUTER OR
FIELD POWER ON MAY CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE I/O CARD AND WILL VOID ALL WARRANTIES,
IMPLIED OR EXPRESSED.
Warranty
Prior to shipment, ACCES equipment is thoroughly inspected and tested to
applicable specifications. However, should equipment failure occur, ACCES
assures its customers that prompt service and support will be available. All
equipment originally manufactured by ACCES which is found to be defective will
be repaired or replaced subject to the following considerations.
Terms and Conditions
If a unit is suspected of failure, contact ACCES’ Customer Service department.
Be prepared to give the unit model number, serial number, and a description of
the failure symptom(s). We may suggest some simple tests to confirm the
failure. We will assign a Return Material Authorization (RMA) number which
must appear on the outer label of the return package. All units/components
should be properly packed for handling and returned with freight prepaid to
the ACCES designated Service Center, and will be returned to the
customer’s/user’s site freight prepaid and invoiced.
Coverage
First Three Years: Returned unit/part will be repaired and/or replaced at
ACCES option with no charge for labor or parts not excluded by warranty.
Warranty commences with equipment shipment.
Following Years: Throughout your equipment’s lifetime, ACCES stands ready to
provide on-site or in-plant service at reasonable rates similar to those of
other manufacturers in the industry.
Equipment Not Manufactured by ACCES
Equipment provided but not manufactured by ACCES is warranted and will be
repaired according to the terms and conditions of the respective equipment
manufacturer’s warranty.
General
Under this Warranty, liability of ACCES is limited to replacing, repairing or
issuing credit (at ACCES discretion) for any products which are proved to be
defective during the warranty period. In no case is ACCES liable for
consequential or special damage arriving from use or misuse of our product.
The customer is responsible for all charges caused by modifications or
additions to ACCES equipment not approved in writing by ACCES or, if in ACCES
opinion the equipment has been subjected to abnormal use. “Abnormal use” for
purposes of this warranty is defined as any use to which the equipment is
exposed other than that use specified or intended as evidenced by purchase or
sales representation. Other than the above, no other warranty, expressed or
implied, shall apply to any and all such equipment furnished or sold by ACCES.
Chapter 1: Introduction
The PCI Express Multiport Serial cards were designed for RS232 asynchronous communications for use in a variety of applications. These boards were designed to offer compatibility with the PCI Express bus and to be used by system integrators and manufacturers in the design of industrial and commercial communication systems. The card is available in 8-port and 4-port versions and is compatible with all popular operating systems. Each RS232 port is capable of supporting data rates up to 921.6kbps (460.8kbps version is standard) and implements full modem control signals to ensure compatibility with a wide range of serial peripherals. Existing serial peripherals can connect directly to the industry standard DB9M connectors which are provided via an available cable. The board features a x1 lane PCI Express connector which can be used in any x1, x2, x4, x8, x12 or x16 PCI Express slot. .
Features
- Eight- or four-port PCI Express RS-232 serial communications
- Low profile MD1 form factor, MD1 defines the shortest standard card length available
- High performance 16C950 class UARTs with 128-byte FIFO for each TX and RX
- Supports data communication speeds up to 921.6kbps (standard model 460.8kbps)
- +/-15kV ESD protection on all signal pins
- Full modem control signals
- Software compatible with all operating systems
- Plug and Play, no jumpers to configure
- 3‟ breakout cable terminating with industry-standard DB9M connectors
Applications
- POS (Point-of-sale) Systems
- Gaming Machines
- Transportation Stations
- Telecommunications
- Industrial Automation
- ATM (Automated Teller Machine) Systems
- Multiple terminal control
- Office Automation
- Kiosks
Functional Description
These cards feature high performance 16C950 class UARTs which support the complete register set of the standard 16C550-type devices. The UARTs support operations in 16C450, 16C550 and 16C950 modes. Each port is capable of data communication speeds up to 921.6kbps (standard model up to 460.8kbps) in asynchronous mode and has 128-byte deep transmit and receive FIFOs to protect against lost data in multitasking operating systems, to help reduce CPU utilization and to improve data throughput.
The card features a x1 lane PCIe connector which can be used in any available
PCIe slot width. The low profile MD1 form factor allows the card to be
installed in small embedded systems where a standard MD2 low profile card will
not fit. The card can be used in both a standard profile chassis or in a low
profile chassis when used with the correct mounting bracket. Our PCI Express
RS-232 cards ship with a standard height PCIe mounting bracket installed. This
bracket also has threaded inserts above and below the VHDCI 68-pin connector
to facilitate installation of the strengthening bracket accessory. The
industrialized strengthening bracket accessory protects against damage to the
very high density I/O cardmounted connector when side-to-side tension can
occur on the breakout cable.
A crystal oscillator is located on the card. This oscillator permits precise
selection of standard baud rates.
Ordering Guide
- PCIe-COM232-8 PCI Express eight-port RS-232 card with standard height mounting bracket and a 3 DB9M breakout cable
- PCIe-COM232-8NC PCI Express eight-port RS-232 card with standard height mounting bracket without cable
- PCIe-COM232-4 PCI Express four-port RS-232 card with standard height mounting bracket and a 3 DB9M breakout cable
- PCIe-COM232-4NC PCI Express four-port RS-232 card with standard height mounting bracket without cable
Model Options
- -F Fast RS-232 transceivers (up to 921.6kbps)
- -L Low-profile mounting bracket
- -T Extended Operating Temperature of -40°C to +85°C
- -RoHS RoHS compliant version
- -W Wake-up enable (see Chapter 3: Hardware Details)
Optional Accessories
Special Order
Virtually any custom baud rate can be achieved with the standard card (see Table 5-2: Sample Baud Rate Setting) and still be within the standard tolerance range for serial communications. If that method doesnt produce an exact enough baud rate a custom crystal oscillator may be specified, contact factory with your precise requirement. Other specials: conformal coating, custom software, RJ-45 connectivity, special breakout boxes, etc., we will work with you to provide exactly what is required.
Included with your board
The following components are included with your shipment, depending on options ordered. Please take the time now to ensure that no items are damaged or missing.
- Eight- or four-port card with standard height mounting bracket
- 3 breakout cable to DB9M connectors
- Software Master CD
- Quick-Start Guide
Chapter 2: Installation
A printed Quick-Start Guide (QSG) is packed with the card for your
convenience. If youve already performed the steps from the QSG, you may find
this chapter to be redundant and may skip forward to begin developing your
application.
The software is provided with this card on the CD and must be installed onto
your hard disk prior to use. Perform the following steps as appropriate for
your operating system.
A complete driver support package is provided including an easy-to-use Windows
terminal program for testing out your COM ports. This simplifies the
verification of proper COM port operating. The card installs as standard COM
ports in all operating systems.
A software reference manual is installed as part of the software and support
package for this product. Please refer to this document for extensive
information and guidance on software tools and programming support at your
disposal.
CD Software Installation
The following instructions assume the CD-ROM drive is drive “D”. Please substitute the appropriate drive letter for your system as necessary.
DOS
- Place the CD into your CD-ROM drive.
- Type to change the active drive to the CD-ROM drive.
- Type to run the install program.
- Follow the on-screen prompts to install the software for this board.
Windows
- Place the CD into your CD-ROM drive.
- The system should automatically run the install program. If the install program does not run promptly, click START | RUN and type , click OK or press .
- Follow the on-screen prompts to install the software for this board.
Linux
- Please refer to linux.htm on the CD-ROM for information on installing under linux.
Note: COM boards can be installed in virtually any operating system. We do support installation in earlier versions of Windows, and are also likely to support future versions.
Hardware Installation
Caution! * ESD
A single static discharge can damage your card and cause premature failure!
Please follow all reasonable precautions to prevent a static discharge such as
grounding yourself by touching any grounded surface prior to touching the
card.
- Do not install the card into the computer until the software has been fully installed.
- Turn OFF computer power AND unplug AC power from the system.
- Remove the computer cover.
- Carefully install the card in an available PCIe expansion slot (you may need to remove a backplate first).
- Inspect for proper fit of the card and install and tighten the mounting bracket screw. Make sure that the card mounting bracket is properly screwed into place and that there is a positive chassis ground.
- Install a cable onto the cards bracket mounted connector
- If you purchased the optional DB9M breakout cable, you may have also purchased the connector / cable stabilization bracket, which should be installed at this time
- Replace the computer cover and turn ON the computer.
- Most computers should auto-detect the card (depending on the operating system) and automatically finish installing the drivers.
- Run one of the provided sample programs that was copied to the newly created card directory (from the CD) to test and validate your installation.
Chapter 3: Hardware Details
Fast RS-232 transceivers (-F)
The standard RS-232 transceivers used are capable of speeds up to 460.8kbps which is adequate in many applications. For this factory option, the board is populated with high-speed RS-232 transceivers enabling error-free communications at up to 921.6kbps.
Low-profile mounting bracket (-L)
For system designers where space is limited we offer a low profile mounting bracket option. The strengthening bracket accessory can not be used with this option.
Remote Wake-Up (-W)
The “Remote Wake-Up” factory option is for use in applications where the host computer (the one this card would be installed in) enters the L2 low-power state where its main power is turned off though VAUX is still applied. When the Ring Indicator is received on serial port channel A in the L2 power state, Wake-Up is asserted.
Extended temperature (-T)
This factory option is for use in harsh environments and is populated with all-industrial rated components, specified at a minimum temperature range of -40°C to +85°C.
RoHS compliance (-RoHS)
For international customers and other special requirements, this factory option is available in RoHS compliant versions.
VHDCI connector
These cards use an Amphenol 68-pin VHDCI (Very High Density Cable Interconnect) connector. They are SCSI-III type, female, right-angle with screw locks and a 1.6mm pitch.
Chapter 4: Address Selection
The card uses one I/O address space PCI BAR[0]. COM A, COM B, COM C, COM D,
COM E, COM F, COM G and COM H each occupy eight consecutive register
locations. These COM designations correlate to the corresponding DB9 on
breakout cable, which are labeled as such. Please note – for 4-port card
versions, the ports will be installed as:
COM A, COM B, COM C and COM H. The breakout cable will have the corresponding
port labels near the DB9 connectors.
The Vendor ID for the card is 494F. The Device ID for the 8-port card is
10A9h. The Device ID for the 4-port card is 1098h.
Chapter 5: Programming
Sample Programs
There are sample programs with source-code provided with the card in a variety of common languages. DOS samples are located in the DOS directory and Windows samples are located in the WIN32 directory.
Windows COM Utility Program
WinRisc is a COM utility program provided on CD with the installation package for this card that is very useful when working with any serial ports and serial devices. If you havent used this program yet, do yourself a favor and run this program to test out your COM ports.
Windows Programming
The card installs into Windows as COM ports. Thus the Windows standard API
functions can be used. In particular:
CreateFile() and CloseHandle() for opening and closing a port. SetupComm(),
SetCommTimeouts(), GetCommState(), and SetCommState() to set and change a
ports settings. ReadFile() and WriteFile() for accessing a port.
See the documentation for your chosen language for details.
In DOS the process is identical to programming 16550- compatible UARTs.
Baud Rate Generation
The built-in Baud Rate Generator (BRG) allows a wide range of input frequency and flexible Baud Rate generation. To obtain the desired Baud Rate, the user can set the Sample Clock Register (SCR), Divisor Latch Low Register (DLL), Divisor Latch High Register (DLH) and Clock Prescale Registers (CPRM and CPRN). The Baud Rate is generated according to the following equation:
To ensure the proper operation of the Baud Rate Generator, users should avoid
setting the value ,,0 to Sample Clock, Divisor and Prescaler.
The following table lists some of the commonly used Baud Rates and the
register settings that generate a specific Baud Rate. The examples assume an
Input Clock frequency of 14.7456 Mhz. The SCR register is set to ,,0h, and the
CPRM and CPRN registers are set to ,,1h and ,,0h respectively. In these
examples, the Baud Rates can be generated by different combination of the DLH
and DLL register values.
We re-define the parameter of “Baudrate” on DCB structure,
Bit[30:28]: User Defined Baudrate, this value has to be non-zero
Bit[27:24]: to indicate the value of SCR (SampleClock)
Bit[23:16]: to indicate the value to put in DLH
Bit[15:8]: to indicate the value to put in DLL
Bit[7:3]: to indicate the value to put in M (CPRM)
Bit[2:0]: to indicate the value to put in N (CPRN)
If you want to set
DLL=1
DLH=0
SCR=12
then, the parameters of Baudrate in the DCB structure should be set to
0x1c000108. When the driver finds the parameter “Baudrate” does not exist on
the default baudrate table, and Bit 28 is set to “1”, it will get the values
of SCR, DLL, DLH, M and N from the Baudrate parameter and set to the registers
directly.
Chapter 6: Connector Pin Assignments
Input/Output Connections
The serial communications ports are available to the user via a female 68-pin VHDCI Connector. There is an available breakout cable terminating in eight (or four) individual D-sub 9-pin connectors.
The cable is permanently labeled near each DB9 connector with the port letter. Four port cards ordered with a breakout cable will have four D-sub 9-pin connectors, labeled as COM A, COM B, COM C and COM H.
The RS-232 specification allows for a maximum recommended length of 50 due to the singleended signaling line drivers.
To ensure that there is minimum susceptibility to EMI and minimum radiation, it is important that the card mounting bracket be properly screwed into place and that there be a positive chassis ground. Also, proper EMI cabling techniques (cable connect to chassis ground at the aperture, shielded twisted- pair wiring, etc.) should be used for the input/output wiring.
VHDCI 68-Pin D-Connector
Connections will normally be made to the D-Sub 9-pin connectors through the breakout cable. In case you wish to connect directly to the 68-pin connector, the pins translate as follows.
Chapter 7: Specifications
Communications Interface
- I/O connection: 68-pin female VHDCI SCSI-Type III connector with screw locks
- Serial ports: 8 or 4 RS-232 ports
- Serial data rates: Up to 921.6k baud asynchronous (460.8k standard)
- UART: Octal type 16C950 with 128-byte transmit & receive FIFO, 16C550 compliant
- Character length: 5, 6, 7, or 8 bits
- Parity: Even, Odd, None, Space, Mark
- Stop interval: 1, 1.5, or 2 bits
- Flow control: RTS/CTS and/or DSR/DTR, Xon/Xoff
- ESD protection: ±15kV on all signal pins
- Cable: 3‟ shielded breakout cable terminated with male D-sub 9- pin connectors
Environmental
-
Operating Temperature: Commercial: 0°C to +70°C
Industrial: -40°C to +85°C -
Storage temperature: -65°C to +150°C
-
Humidity: 5% to 95%, non-condensing
-
Power Required: +3.3VDC at 0.9W (typical)
-
Size: 4.72 inches long x 2.20 inches high (120mm long x 55.8mm high)
Customer Comments
If you experience any problems with this manual or just want to give us some feedback, please email us at: manuals@accesio.com. Please detail any errors you find and include your mailing address so that we can send you any manual updates.
10623 Roselle Street, San Diego CA 92121 Tel. (858)550-9559 FAX (858)550-7322 www.accesio.com
Assured Systems
Assured Systems is a leading technology company with over 1,500 regular
clients in 80 countries, deploying over 85,000 systems to a diverse customer
base in 12 years of business. We offer high-quality and innovative rugged
computing, display, networking and data collection solutions to the embedded,
industrial, and digital-out-of-home market sectors.
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References
- Industrial Embedded Computers and Displays - Assured Systems
- Industrial Embedded Computers and Displays - Assured Systems
- Industrial Embedded Computers and Displays - Assured Systems
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