ICS Advent COMM4AT/EX User manual

Model COMM4AT/EX
Product Manual
MANUAL NUMBER : 00750-123-1B

Page - iii
FOREWORD
This product manual provides information to install, operate and or program the referenced product(s)
manufactured or distributed by ICS Advent. The following pages contain information regarding the
warranty and repair policies.
Check our Web site (www.icsadvent.com) for technical information, manuals, and BIOS updates.
Technical assistance is also available at: 800-480-0044 (U.S.) or 858-677-0877 (international).
Customer Comments: If you experience any problems with this manual or just want to provide some
feedback, please send us a message using the online "Service Form" on our Web site (www.icsadvent.com)
under "Support." Detail any errors you find. We will correct the errors or problems as soon as possible and
post the revised manual in our online Support Library. Thank you.
The information in this document is provided for reference only. ICSAdvent does not assume any liability
arising from 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 ICS Advent, nor the rights of others.
Copyright © 1997, a California Corporation, 6260 Sequence Drive, San Diego, CA92121-4371. ICSAdvent
is a Registered Trademark of ICS Advent. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of
their respective owners. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publi-
cation may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, elec-
tronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording , or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the pub-
lisher.

Page - iv
Guarantee
A thirty day money-back guarantee is provided on all standard products sold. Special order products are
covered by our Limited Warranty, however they may not be returned for refund or credit. EPROMs,
RAM, Flash EPROMs or other forms of solid electronic media are not returnable for credit - but for
replacement only. Extended Warranty available. Consult factory.
Refunds
In order to receive a refund on a product for the purchase price, the product must not have been
damaged by the customer or by the common carrier chosen by the customer to return the goods and
the product must be returned complete (meaning all manuals, software, cables, etc.) within 30 days of
receipt and in an as-new and resalable condition. The Return Procedure must be followed to assure
prompt refund.
Restocking Charges
Product returned after 30 days, and before 60 days, of the purchase will be subject to a minimum20%
restocking charge and charges for any damaged or missing parts. Products not returned within 60
days of purchase, or products which are not in an as-new and re-saleable condition, are not eligible
for credit return and will be returned to the customer.
Limited Warranty
Effective April 1, 1998, all products carry a 2-year limited warranty. Within two years of purchase,
ICS Advent will repair or replace, at our option, any defective product. ICS Advent will service the
warranty for all standard catalog products for the first two years from the date of shipment.
Please note: The 2-year warranty may not apply to special promotion items. Please consult the factory for
warranty verification.
The limited warranty is void if the product has been subjected to alteration, neglect, misuse, or abuse; if any
repairs have been attempted by anyone other than ICS Advent or its authorized agent; or if the failure is
caused by accident, acts of God, or other causes beyond the control of ICS Advent or the manufacturer.
Neglect, misuse, and abuse shall include any installation, operation, or maintenance of the product other than
in accordance with the user’s manual.
No agent, dealer, distributor, service company, or other party is authorized to change, modify, or extend the
terms of this Limited Warranty in any manner whatsoever. ICS Advent reserves the right to make changes
or improvements in any product without incurring any obligation to similarly alter products previously
purchased.
Shipments not in compliance with this Guarantee
and Limited Warranty Return Policy will not be ac-
cepted by ICS Advent.

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Return Procedure
For any Guarantee or Limited Warranty return, please contact ICS Advent's Customer Service at
800-480-0044 (U.S.) or 858-677-0877 (international) and obtain a Return Material Authorization (RMA)
Number. All product(s) returned to ICS Advent for service or credit must be accompanied by a Return
MaterialAuthorization (RMA) Number. Freight on all returned items mustbe prepaid by the customer who
is responsible for any loss or damage caused by common carrier in transit. Returns for Warranty must
include a Failure Report for each unit, by serial number(s), as well as a copy of the original invoice showing
date of purchase.
To reduce risk of damage, returns of product must be in an ICS Advent shipping container. If the original
container has been lost or damaged, new shipping containers may be obtained from ICS Advent Customer
Service at a nominal cost.
ICS Advent owns all parts removed from repaired products. ICS Advent uses new and reconditioned parts
made by various manufacturers in performing warranty repairs and building replacement products.
If ICS Advent repairs or replaces a product, its warranty term is not extended.
ICSAdvent will normally return your replacement or repaired items via Second DayAir. Overnight delivery
or delivery via other carriers is available at an additional charge.
Limitation of Liability
In no event shall ICS Advent be liable for any defect in hardware, software, loss, or inadequacy of data of
any kind, or for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of
the performance or use of any product furnished hereunder. ICSAdvent liability shall in no event exceed the
purchase price of the product purchased hereunder. The foregoing limitation of liability shall be equally
applicable to any service provided by ICSAdvent or its authorized agent.
Some Sales Items and Customized Systems are not subject to the guarantee and limited warranty.
However in these instances , any deviations will be disclosed prior to sales and noted in the original invoice.
ICS Advent reserves the right to refuse returns or credits on software or special order items.

Page - vi
Advisories
Three types of advisories are used throughout the manual to stress important points or warn of potential
hazards to the user or the system. They are the Note, the Caution, and theWarning. Following is an example
of each type of advisory:
Note: The note is used to present special instruction, or to provide extra information which may
help to simplify the use of the product.
CAUTION!
A Caution is used to alert you to a situation which if ignored may cause injury or
damage equipment.
WARNING!
AWarningisusedtoalertyouofasituationwhichifignoredwillcauseseriousinjury.
Cautions and Warnings are accented with triangular symbols. The exclamation symbol is used in all cautions
and warnings to help alert you to the important instructions. The lightning flash symbol is used on the left
hand side of a caution or a warning if the advisory relates to the presence of voltage which may be of
sufficient magnitude to cause electrical shock.
Use caution when servicing any electrical component. We have tried to identify the areas which may pose
a Caution or Warning condition in this manual; however, ICS Advent does not claim to have covered all
situations which might require the use of a Caution or Warning.
You must refer to the documentation for any component you install into a computer system to ensure proper
precautions and procedures are followed.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction................................................................................................ 1
Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 1
What’sIncluded ............................................................................................................................. 1
FactoryDefaultSettings ....................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 2: Card Setup .................................................................................................3
AddressSelection ................................................................................................................................ 3
JumperSelections ......................................................................................................................... 5
IRQSelection ....................................................................................................................................... 5
InterruptModes..................................................................................................................................... 6
ClockModes ........................................................................................................................................ 6
Baud Ratesand Divisorsfor the ‘Div1’mode .................................................................................. 7
Baud Ratesand Divisorsfor the ‘Div2’mode .................................................................................. 8
Chapter 3: Installation .................................................................................................. 9
Operating SystemInstallation ........................................................................................................ 9
Windows3.1x/95/NT ......................................................................................................... 9
OS/2 ................................................................................................................................. 9
QNX .................................................................................................................................. 9
Chapter 4: Technical Description.............................................................................. 11
Features........................................................................................................................................11
InterruptStatusPort.............................................................................................................................11
Connector PinAssignments..........................................................................................................12
DB-25(RS-232DTE) ........................................................................................................12
DB-9(EIA-574 DTE) .........................................................................................................12
DB-37 ..................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................12
Chapter 5: Specifications ..........................................................................................13
EnvironmentalSpecifications.........................................................................................................13
TemperatureRange ..........................................................................................................13
HumidityRange................................................................................................................13
Appendix A: Troubleshooting ...................................................................................15
Appendix B: Electrical Interface................................................................................17
RS-232 .............................................................................................................................17
Appendix C: Asynchronous Communications ........................................................ 19
Appendix D: Silk-Screen............................................................................................21

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CE Declaration of Conformity
List of Figures
Figure 1: Headers J1B – J4B, IRQ Selection .............................................................................................. 5
Figure2: HeaderJ1A,NormalIRQ Mode.................................................................................................... 6
Figure3: Header J1A&J2A, SharedIRQMode ......................................................................................... 6
Figure 4: Clocking Mode ‘Divide By 4 ......................................................................................................... 6
Figure 5: Clocking Mode ‘Divide By 2 ......................................................................................................... 7
Figure 6: Clocking Mode ‘Divide By 1 ......................................................................................................... 7
Figure7: Asynchronous CommunicationsBit Diagram ..............................................................................19
List of Tables
Table1: AvailableAddressCombinations.................................................................................................... 3
Table 2: Address Selection Table................................................................................................................ 4
Table 3: Port to Connector Table................................................................................................................. 4
Current Revision 1B
December 2000

Manual Number: 00750-123-1 Page 1
Chapter 1: Introduction
Overview
The COMM4AT/EX provides the PC with four RS-232 asynchronous ports. The COMM4AT/
EX allows for connection to any device utilizing the RS-232 electrical interface, such as modems,
data-entry terminals, and plotters.
Whats Included
The COMM4AT/EX is shipped with the following items. If any of these items are missing or
damaged, contact the supplier.
COMM4AT/EX Serial I/O Adapter
 DB-37 to four DB-25 Spider Cable (DB-9 Spider Cable is available)
 3.5" Serial Utility Diskette
 User Manual
Factory Default Settings
The COMM4AT/EX factory default settings are as follows:
Port # Base Address IRQ IRQ Mode Clock Divisor
Port 1 280 5 M 4
Port 2 288 5 S 4
Port 3 290 5 S 4
Port 4 298 5 S 4
To install the COMM4AT/EX using factory default settings, refer to Installation on page 1.
For your reference, record installed COMM4AT/EX settings below:
Port # Base Address IRQ IRQ Mode Clock Divisor
Port 1
Port 2
Port 3
Port 4

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COMM4AT/EX Manual
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Manual Number: 00750-123-1 Page 3
Chapter 2: Card Setup
The COMM4AT/EX contains several jumper straps that must be set for proper operation.
Address Selection
Each port on the COMM4AT/EX occupies eight consecutive I/O locations. A DIP-switch is used
to set the base address for these locations.
The COMM4AT/EX has a unique addressing scheme that allows it to be completely compatible
with the Model COMM4AT and provides the ability to select specific non-linear address combina-
tions (i.e. 3F8, 2F8, 3E8, 2E8).
The first addressing scheme allows the user to select the addresses for its ports from a table of
available address combinations.
The following table shows the addressing combinations available. If different address combina-
tions are required, please contact Technical Support about custom PAL options.
6ZLWFK 6ZLWFK 6ZLWFK 3RUW 3RUW 3RUW 3RUW
2Q 2Q 2II ) ) ( (
2Q 2II 2Q ) ( ( (
2Q 2II 2II ( (  
2II 2Q 2Q    
2II 2Q 2II    
2II 2II 2Q    
2II 2II 2II    
2Q 2Q 2Q $GGUHVVHVVHWXSE\VZLWFKHV
Table 2: Available Address Combinations
Note: Each COM: port in the system should have a unique address. Typically COM1: - COM4:
addresses are 3F8, 2F8, 3E8 and 2E8 Hex.
Refer to Appendix A for common address contentions.