Black Box PI035A User manual

1000 Park Drive • Lawrence, PA 15055-1018 • 724-746-5500 • Fax [phone]
© Copyright 1998. Black Box Corporation. All rights reserved.

CUSTOMER
SUPPORT
INFORMATION
To order or for technical support: Call 724-746-5500 or fax [phone]
Technical support and fax orders 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Phone orders 24 hours, 7 A.M. Monday to midnight Friday; Saturday 8 to 4 (Eastern)
Mail order: Black Box Corporation, 1000 Park Drive, Lawrence, PA 15055-1018
S↔P (Serial↔Parallel) Converter (128K)
SERIAL
↔
PARALLEL CONVERTER II
FEBRUARY 1998
PI035A
PI035AE

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
AND
CANADIAN DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS
RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE STATEMENTS
This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency
energy and if not installed and used properly, that is, in strict
accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, may cause
interference to radio communication. It has been tested and
found to comply with the limits for a Class A computing device
in accordance with the specifications in Subpart J of Part 15 of
FCC rules, which are designed to provide reasonable protection
against such interference when the equipment is operated in a
commercial environment. Operation of this equipment in a
residential area is likely to cause interference, in which case the
user at his own expense will be required to take whatever
measures may be necessary to correct the interference.
Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party
responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to
operate the equipment.
This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class A limits for radio
noise emission from digital apparatus set out in the Radio
Interference Regulation of the Canadian Department of
Communications.
Le présent appareil numérique n’émet pas de bruits radioélectriques
dépassant les limites applicables aux appareils numériques de
classe A prescrites dans le Règlement sur le brouillage
radioélectrique publié par le ministère des Communications du
Canada.
TRADEMARKS USED IN THIS MANUAL
IBM and AT are registered trademarks of International Business
Machines Corporation. PC/XT is a trademark of International
Business Machines Corporation.
Centronics is a registered trademark of Centronics Corporation.
HP and LaserJet are registered trademarks of Hewlett-Packard.

Contents
Chapter Page
1.0 Specifications ........................................................................................ 1
2.0 Introduction ......................................................................................... 2
3.0 Installation ............................................................................................ 3
3.1 What You’ll Need .......................................................................... 3
3.2 Installation Procedures .................................................................. 8
4.0 Operation ........................................................................................... 13
5.0 Troubleshooting ................................................................................. 14
5.1 Common Concerns ...................................................................... 14
5.2 Calling Us ..................................................................................... 19
5.3 Shipping and Packaging .............................................................. 19
Appendix: Connector Pinouts ................................................................. 20
S↔P (SERIAL↔PARALLEL) CONVERTER (128K)

1
CHAPTER 1: Specifications
Interface — Parallel: DB25 IBM style, Centronics®compatible;
Serial: EIA RS-232 asynchronous, DTE or DCE
(user-selectable)
Data Format — Parallel: 8 data bits; Serial: 7 data bits (even or
odd parity) or 8 data bits (no parity), user-
selectable
Flow Control — Parallel: Hardware handshaking;
Serial: Hardware or software (X-ON/X-OFF),
user-selectable
Speed — 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19,200, 38,400, or
76,800 bps (user-selectable)
Conversion Direction — Serial to parallel or parallel to serial (user-
selectable)
Memory — 128K RAM
User Controls — (3) External: (1) Reset pushbutton, (1) DTE/DCE
slide switch, (1) 8-position DIP switch for baud
rate, data bits, self-testing, flow control,
conversion direction
Indicator — (1) Power LED
Diagnostic — Diagnostic self-test transmitted from output port
Connectors — Parallel: (1) DB25 female; Serial: (1) RJ-45 female
Power — 9 VDC @ 0.5 A from wallmount power supply:
115-VAC, 60-Hz type (product code PS036) or
230-VAC, 50-Hz type (product code PS015E), as
specified
Size — 1"H x 4"W x 3"D (2.5 x 10.2 x 7.6 cm)
Weight — 1.5 lb. (0.7 kg)
1.0 Specifications

2
S↔P (SERIAL↔PARALLEL) CONVERTER (128K)
The S ↔ P (Serial ↔ Parallel) Converter (128K) is a serial-to-parallel or
parallel-to-serial converter (conversion direction is user-selectable). It
operates at speeds ranging from 600 bps all the way up to 76.8 Kbps and
has 128K of buffer memory, which is ideal for most ordinary print jobs and
other types of file transfers.
The Converter supports a wide variety of baud rates, three types of data
formats, and either hardware or software (X-ON/X-OFF) flow control, so it
works with many kinds of equipment and applications. You can quickly
and easily choose the settings you want with an external DIP switch. This
switch also has positions that allow you to select the conversion direction
and a self-testing mode. You can choose whether the Converter functions
as DTE or as DCE by moving an external slide switch. And by pushing an
external, recessed pushbutton, you can reset the Converter if anything goes
wrong.
The S ↔ P Converter’s parallel port has a DB25 female connector. Its
serial port has an RJ-45 female connector, so from there to your serial
device you can run unshielded twisted-pair cable with RJ-45 male
connectors. Modular adapters are available to complete the UTP
connection to your serial device if its serial port isn’t RJ-45.
The Converter has its own power supply, so it won’t draw power from the
devices it connects. All the energy in the communication lines goes toward
sustaining communications.
Using the Converter’s self-test mode, you can verify that your Converter
is working properly and that its cable links to your devices are intact before
any operation.
You can use two S ↔ P Converters in series as parallel distance extenders
by setting the first for parallel-to-serial conversion and the second for serial-
to-parallel. This will increase maximum one-way parallel transmission
distance from 20 feet (6.1 m) to as much as 540 feet (164.6 m).
2.0 Introduction

3
CHAPTER 3: Installation
3.1 What You’ll Need
Before you attach any cables or turn anything on, make sure you have
everything necessary to set up your S ↔ P Converter (128K) system.
Each S ↔ P Converter comes with its own power supply and a 6-foot
(1.8-m) flat satin cable with RJ-45 male connectors. This cable can connect
the Converter to an RJ-45 serial port—or to a modular adapter attached to
a different type of serial port—on a nearby device.
What other equipment is necessary depends on whether you’re using a
single Converter for parallel-to-serial conversion or serial-to-parallel
conversion (see the list in Section 3.1.1 )ora pair of Converters as parallel
distance extenders (see the list in Section 3.1.2 ).
3.1.1 A DDITIONAL E QUIPMENT N ECESSARY TO A S INGLE -C ONVERTER S YSTEM :
A. One parallel cable .
For parallel-to-serial conversion: Cable running from the Converter to a
PC’s parallel port should be fully pinned straight-through DB25-male-to-
DB25-male extension cable, up to 20 feet (6.1 m) long, that does not have
Pin 1 tied to the shield. Our product code for this cable is ECN25C.
For serial-to-parallel conversion: Cable running to a printer’s parallel
port should be standard IBM®parallel printer adapter cable. Our product
code for this cable is EYN600.
B. If the Converter is within 6 feet (1.8 m) of the serial port you need to
connect, you can use the flat satin cable that came with your unit.
Otherwise, you’ll need one serial cable .
Cable running from the Converter to the serial port of a device that’s
between 6 feet (1.8 m) and 50 feet (15.2 m) away should be RJ-45-male-to-
RJ-45-male unshielded twisted-pair ( not flat satin!). Our product code for
this cable is EYN730MS-MM. If you need to connect a serial port further
away than 50 feet (15.2 m), contact us for extended distance data cable
(“EDDC”), one or more modular adapters, and the maximum cable length
you can run (this will depend on the speed of your serial device).
3.0 Installation

4
S↔P (SERIAL↔PARALLEL) CONVERTER (128K)
Pinning
DB25 to RJ-45
2 -------------------------------------------------------------- 5
3 -------------------------------------------------------------- 6
5, 6, 8 ------------------------------------------------------- 3
7 -------------------------------------------------------------- 4
9 -------------------------------------------------------------- 8
20 ------------------------------------------------------------ 7
(For more detail, see the Appendix)
Figure 3-1. DB25 Male and Female Adapters and
Required Pinning.
FA080-R2 (Male)
FA081-R2 (Female)

5
CHAPTER 3: Installation
C. If the serial port you need to connect is not an RJ-45 female, you will
also need one modular adapter .
For parallel-to-serial conversion: To connect RJ-45 UTP to a printer’s
serial port, use an RJ-45-female-to-DB25-male adapter pinned as in
Figure 3-1. Our product code for this adapter is FA080-R2. Refer to
Figure 3-3 for a typical system setup using this adapter.
For serial-to-parallel conversion: To connect RJ-45 UTP to an IBM
PC/XT™ type computer’s serial port, use an RJ-45-female-to-DB25-female
adapter pinned as in Figure 3-1. Our product code for this adapter is
FA081-R2. To connect RJ-45 UTP to an IBM AT®type computer’s serial
port, use an RJ-45-female-to-DB9-female adapter pinned as in Figure 3-2.
Our product code for this adapter is FA082-R2. Refer to Figure 3-3 for
typical system setups using these adapters.
Pinning
DB9 to RJ-45
1, 6, 8 ------------------------------------------------------- 3
2 -------------------------------------------------------------- 6
3 -------------------------------------------------------------- 5
4 -------------------------------------------------------------- 7
5 -------------------------------------------------------------- 4
(For more detail, see the Appendix)
FA082-R2
Figure 3-2. DB9 Female Adapter and Required Pinning.

6
S↔P (SERIAL↔PARALLEL) CONVERTER (128K)
PC
Up To 20 Ft.
(ECN25C) Up To 50 Ft.
(EYN730MS-MM)
FROM
PARALLEL
PORT SERIAL↔PARALLEL
CONVERTER (128K)
(PI035A*)
POWER SUPPLY
(PS035A)
SERIAL PRINTER
RJ-45 TO DB25
MALE ADAPTER
(FA080)
SIGNAL DIRECTION
PC
Up To 20 Ft.
(EYN600)
Up To 50 Ft.
(EYN730MS-MM)
SERIAL
↔
PARALLEL
CONVERTER (128K)
(PI035A*)
POWER SUPPLY
(PS035A)
PARALLEL PRINTER
RJ-45 TO DB25
MALE ADAPTER
(FA081)
FROM SERIAL PORT
SIGNAL DIRECTION
AT
Up To 20 Ft.
(EYN600)
Up To 50 Ft.
(EYN730MS-MM)
SERIAL
↔
PARALLEL
CONVERTER (128K)
(PI035A*)
POWER SUPPLY
(PS035A)
PARALLEL PRINTER
RJ-45 TO DB9
FEMALE ADAPTER
(FA082)
FROM SERIAL PORT
SIGNAL DIRECTION
Figure 3-3. Typical Setups for Each of the Three Adapters.
*NOTE: 230-VAC version is product code PI035AE. 230-VAC power supply is PS015E.
®
(FA080-R2)
(FA081-R2)
FROM SERIAL PORT
Up to 20 ft. (6.1 m)
(ECN25C)
Up to 20 ft. (6.1 m)
(EYN600)
Up to 20 ft. (6.1 m)
(EYN600)
Up to 50 ft. (15.2 m)
(EYN730MS-MM)
Up to 50 ft. (15.2 m)
(EYN730MS-MM)
Up to 50 ft. (15.2 m)
(EYN730MS-MM)
(FA082-R2)
FROM SERIAL PORT
(PS036*)
(PS036*)
(PS036*)