Black Box ABC 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
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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
JANUARY 1998
SW010
2 to1
4 to 1
X and
DUAL SWITCH
SERIES
ABC, ABCDE, X,
and Dual Switches
A B
ABC SWITCH
B D
ABCDE SWITCH
A E
A-AA A-BB
B-BB B-AA
X-SWITCH

1
Contents
Contents
1 Description .........................................................................................................2
2 Specifications......................................................................................................3
3 Installation and Operation of an ABC Switch..................................................4
4 Installation and Operation of an ABCDE Switch.............................................5
5 Installation and Operation of an X-Switch.......................................................6
6 Installation and Operation of a Dual Switch....................................................7
7 Interfaces and Supported Leads .......................................................................8
TRADEMARKS USED IN THIS MANUAL
ATARI®is a registered trademark of Hadbro Interactive, Incorporated.
UNIVAC®is a registered trademark of Unisys Corporation.
Datapoint®is a registered trademark of DATAPOINT CORPORATION.
Dataproducts®is a registered trademark of Hitachi Koki Imaging Solutions, Inc.
Bernoulli®is a registered trademark of Iomega®Corporation.
TI™is a registered trademark of Texas Instruments Incorporated.
NCR®is a registered trademark of NCR Corporation.
HP®and LaserJet®are registered trademarks of Hewlett-Packard.
WANG®is a registered trademark of Gentronics NV.
IBM®, PS/2®and AS/400®are registered trademarks of IBM Corporation.
Apple®and Macintosh®are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.
DEC™and DEConnect™are trademarks of Compaq Equipment Corporation.
Centronics®is a registered trademark of GENICOM Corporation.
Gemini®is a registered trademark of Star Micronics America, Inc.
Epson®is a registered trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation.
Any other trademarks mentioned in this manual are acknowledged to be the property of the
trademark owners.

2
2 to 1, 4 to 1, X, and Dual Switch Series
ABC, ABCDE, Dual Switches, and X Switches comprise a unique family of
data-communications switches that provide fast and efficient ways to switch
connections from compatible devices to other compatible devices. They
provide a quick way to connect devices without the need to unconnect and
reconnect numerous cables. These reliable switches have been used in
hundreds of different applications and come in a wide variety of interfaces.
All are available with either male or female connectors and are available in
either rack mounted or standalone versions. Some models are available in
EMI/RFI metal boxes for use in “noisy” environments such as around heavy
machinery.
No power is required to operate the switches and they are transparent to all
data, such as speed (up to 5 MHz) and code. All connections are made to the
rear panel and the switches are manually switched from the knob on the
rotary switch on the front panel.
1. Description

3
CHAPTER 2: Specifications
Enclosures — High-impact plastic (aluminum on EMI/RFI versions)
Connectors — 3, 4, or 5 mounted on the rear panel
Switches — Rotary, self wiping, break before make
Power — None required
Size — Low box: 2.5" x 6" x 6.3" (6.4 x 15.2 x 16 cm)
High box: 3.5" x 6" x 6.3" (8.9 x 15.2 x 16 cm)
Weight — Low-box: Approximately 1.4 lb. (0.63 kg)
High box: Approximately 1.6 lb. (0.726 kg)
High box: EMI/RFI version, approx 2 lbs (0.91 kg)
2. Specifications

4
2 to 1, 4 to 1, X, and Dual Switch Series
Installation of an ABC Switch is quick and easy and will vary only slightly
depending on the type of interface being switched.
CAUTION
During installation of an ABC Switch, it is recommended that all
equipment be turned off with no power applied to any component in the
system.
1. Connect the cable from the device that is going to share the other
two devices to the common connector marked “C” on the rear panel.
2. Connect the cable from one of the shared devices to the connector
marked “A” on the rear panel and the cable from the other device
to the connector marked “B.”
3. Turn on the equipment and operationally check its performance by
having the common device send data to device “A” and then to device
“B” by manually turning the knob on the front panel.
3. Installation and Operation
of an ABC Switch
COMMON
C
SWITCHED
A
SWITCHED
B
Fig. 3-1. Connections made are AC and BC — “C” is COMMON.
ABC Switch

5
CHAPTER 4: Installation and Operation of an ABCDE Switch
ABCDE Switches are useful for switching one device to any one of four other
compatible devices. To install an ABCDE Switch, follow these steps:
CAUTION
During installation of an ABCDE Switch, it is recommended that all
equipment be turned off with no power applied to any component in the
system.
1. Connect the cable from the device that is going to share the other
four devices to the common connector marked “C” on the rear panel.
2. Connect the cable from one of the shared devices to the connector
marked “A” on the rear panel and connect the cables from the other
devices to the connectors marked “B,” “D,” and “E.”
3. Turn on the equipment and operationally check its performance by
having the common device send data to device “A” and then to devices
“B,” “D,” and “E” by manually turning the knob on the front panel.
4. Installation and Operation
of an ABCDE Switch
COMMON
C
SWITCHED
A
SWITCHED
B
SWITCHED
D
SWITCHED
E
Fig. 4-1.
Connections made are AC, BC, DC, and EC — “C” is COMMON.
ABCDE Switch

6
2 to 1, 4 to 1, X, and Dual Switch Series
X-Switches are useful for switching two devices to two other compatible
devices in a crossover setup. Two sets of devices are connected at any one
time. To install an X-Switch, follow these steps:
CAUTION
During installation of an X-Switch, it is recommended that all equipment
be turned off with no power applied to any component in the system.
1. Connect the cable from the first device to the connector marked “A” on
the rear panel and connect the cable from one of the shared devices to
the connector marked “AA.”
2. Connect the cable from the second device to the connector marked “B”
on the rear panel and connect the cable from the other shared device to
the connector marked “BB” on the rear panel.
3. Turn on the equipment and operationally check its performance by
having the two devices connected to the “AA” and “BB” connectors.
Manually turn the knob on the front panel to the opposite position and
again check the operation of the devices while ensuring that crossover
operation takes place.
GENERAL NOTE
It is not recommended to connect an HP®LaserJet®Series II printer to a
manual switch. We recommend a powered automatic switch with that
application.
5. Installation and Operation
of an X-Switch
A
B
AA
BB
Fig. 5-1. Connections made are A-AA & B-BB or A-BB & B-AA.
“X” Switch

7
CHAPTER 6: Installation and Operation of a Dual Switch
Installation of a Dual Switch is quick and easy and will vary only slightly
depending on the type of interface being switched.
CAUTION
During installation of a Dual Switch, it is recommended that all
equipment be turned off with no power applied to any component in the
system.
1. Connect the cable from the two devices that are going to share the other
two devices on “A” and “B” to the common connector marked “C” on the
rear panel.
2. Connect the cable from the shared devices on “A” to the connectors
marked “A” on the rear panel.
3. Connect the cable from the shared devices on “B” to the connectors
marked “B” on the rear panel.
3. Turn on the equipment and operationally check its performance by
having the common device send data to device “A” and then to device “B”
by manually turning the knob on the front panel.
6. Installation and Operation
of a Dual Switch
COMMON
C
COMMON
C
SWITCHED
A
SWITCHED
A
SWITCHED
B
SWITCHED
B
Dual Switch

8
2 to 1, 4 to 1, X, and Dual Switch Series
The ABC, ABCDE, and X family of switches is available in a wide variety of
interfaces along with custom applications. Shown here are some of the
commonly used connectors along with the number of leads supported by
each type of switch. If you have another application not shown here, please
call for details.
7. Interfaces and Supported Leads
Berg-Type Header 48
Connector Number of Leads Supported
(Interface) ABC ABCDE X
DB25 25, 12, or 4 24, 12, or 4 12 or 24
(RS-232, RS-530, IBM®Parallel)
DB37 37 24 24
(RS-449, RS-422, RS-423, Bernoulli®)
DB50 48 24 24
(Dataproducts®, Datapoint®, UNIVAC®, & others)
DB9 9 9 9
(449 Secondary, ATARI®, DAA, Video, & others)
DB15 15 15 15
(Ethernet, TI™, NCR®, IBM PS/2®, & others)
High Density DB15 14 14 14
(Monitor)
Connectors & Leads Supported