Quatech RS-232 User manual

ESC(LP)-100
Eight Channel Low Profile RS-232
Asynchronous Communications Adapter
for PCI bus
User's Manual
QUATECH, INC. TEL: [phone]
5675 Hudson Industrial Parkway FAX: [phone]
Hudson, Ohio 44236 http://www.quatech.com

WARRANTY INFORMATION
Quatech, Inc. warrants the ESC(LP)-100 to be free of defects for
five (5) years from the date of purchase. Quatech, Inc. will repair or
replace any board that fails to perform under normal operating conditions
and in accordance with the procedures outlined in this document during
the warranty period. Any damage that results from improper installation,
operation, or general misuse voids all warranty rights.
Please complete the following information and retain for your
records. Have this information available when requesting warranty
service.
DATE OF PURCHASE:
MODEL NUMBER: ESC(LP)-100
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: Eight Channel Low Profile RS-232
Asynchronous PCI Bus
Communications Adapter
SERIAL NUMBER:
ii ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual

©2006, Quatech, Inc.
NOTICE
The information contained in this document cannot be reproduced
in any form without the written consent of Quatech, Inc. Likewise, any
software programs that might accompany this document can be used only
in accordance with any license agreement(s) between the purchaser and
Quatech, Inc. Quatech, Inc. reserves the right to change this
documentation or the product to which it refers at any time and without
notice.The authors have taken due care in the preparation of this
document and every attempt has been made to ensure its accuracy and
completeness. In no event will Quatech, Inc. be liable for damages of any
kind, incidental or consequential, in regard to or arising out of the
performance or form of the materials presented in this document or any
software programs that might accompany this document.
Quatech, Inc. encourages feedback about this document. Please
send any written comments to the Technical Support department at the
address listed on the cover page of this document.
DOS, Windows 95/98/2000/ME, Windows NT are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. OS/2 is a registered trademark of IBM
Corporation. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are property of their
respective owners.
iii ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual

Declaration of Conformity
Manufacturer's Name: Quatech Inc.
Manufacturer's Address: 5675 Hudson Industrial Parkway
Hudson, Ohio 44236 (USA)
Application of Council Directive: 89/336/EEC
Standards to which
Conformity is Declared: * EN50081-1 (EN55022,
EN60555-2, EN60555-3)
* EN50082-1 (IEC 801-2,
IEC 801-3, & IEC 801-4)
Type of Equipment: Information Technology
Equipment
Equipment Class: Commercial, Residential, & Light
Industrial
Product Name: PCI Eight-Port Serial
Communications
Card
Model Number : ESC(LP)-100
iv ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual

Table of Contents
30
10 Troubleshooting ...............................
29
9 Specifications ....................................
28
8 PCI Resource Map ..............................
26
7 External Connections ..........................
24
6.3.1 QTPCI.EXE .....................................23
6.3 DOS and other operating systems .................23
6.2 OS/2 ...............................................23
6.1 Windows NT ......................................23
6 Other Operating Systems .....................
17
5.1.1 Changing Resource Settings with Device
Manager ..............................................
14
5.1 Viewing Resources with Device Manager .........12
5.4.1 Using the "New Hardware Found" Wizard .......12
5.4 Windows 95 .......................................10
5.3 Windows 98 .......................................9
5.2 Windows 2000 ......................................8
5.1 Windows Millennium ..............................8
5 Windows Configurations ......................
7
4.4.2 Clock Rate Multiplier ...........................6
4.4.1 Enhanced Serial Adapter Identification ..........6
4.4 Options Register ...................................5
4.3 Interrupt Status Register ...........................5
4.2 Enabling the Special Registers ......................4
4.1 Base Address and Interrupt Level (IRQ) ............4
4 Address Map and Special Registers .........
3
3 Hardware Installation ..........................
2
2 Hardware Configuration .......................
1
1 General Information ............................
vESC(LP)-100 User's Manual

vi ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual

1General Information
The Quatech, Inc. ESC(LP)-100 provides eight RS-232 asynchronous
serial communication interfaces for Low Profile IBM-compatible personal
computer systems using the PCI expansion bus. The ESC(LP)-100 uses
Quatech's new Enhanced Serial Adapter design. Legacy serial port data
rates are limited to a maximum of 115,200 bits per second. Quatech
Enhanced Serial Adapters can achieve data rates as high as 921,600 bits
per second.
As a PCI device, the ESC(LP)-100 requires no hardware
configuration. The card is automatically configured by the computer's
BIOS or operating system. The eight serial ports share a single interrupt
line and are addressed in a contiguous block of 64 bytes. Aspecial
interrupt status register is provided to help software to manage the
shared interrupt.
The ESC(LP)-100's serial ports are implemented using
16750-compatible Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitters
(UARTs). These UARTs contain hardware buffers (FIFOs) which reduce
processing overhead and allow higher data rates to be achieved.
The ESC(LP)-100 is supported under several popular operating
systems and environments. Contact the sales department for details on
current software offerings. Most device drivers are available for
download from the Quatech world wide web site at
http://www.quatech.com.
ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 1

2Hardware Configuration
The ESC(LP)-100 is automatically configured at boot time by the
computer's BIOS or operating system. There are no switches or jumpers to
set for installation. See Section 5.5 for instructions on how to use
Windows Device Manager to view and change resource settings.
ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 2

3Hardware Installation
1.Turn off the power of the computer system in which the
ESC(LP)-100 is to be installed.
2.Remove the system cover according to the instructions provided by
the computer manufacturer.
3.Install the ESC(LP)-100 in any empty PCI expansion slot. The board
should be secured by installing the Option Retaining Bracket (ORB)
screw.
4.Replace the system cover according to the instructions provided by
the computer manufacturer.
5.Attach and secure the cable connectors to the desired equipment.
6.Turn on the power of the computer system.
Figure 1: ESC(LP)-100 board outline
The output of the ESC(LP)-100 is a 68-pin VHDCI connector. A
choice of cablesis provided to convert the VHDCI into either eight
standard male D-9connectors or eight 10-pin RJ-45 connectors with all
control signals provided to each port (RTS,DTR,CTS, DSR,DCD, and
RI).
ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 3

4Address Map and Special Registers
This chapter explains how the eight UARTs and special registers
are addressed, as well as the layout of those registers. This material will
be of interest to programmers writing driver software for the
ESC(LP)-100.
4.1Base Address and Interrupt Level (IRQ)
The base address and IRQ used by the ESC(LP)-100 are determined
by the BIOS or operating system. Each serial port uses 8 consecutive I/O
locations. The eight ports reside in a single block of I/O space in eight
byte increments, for a total of 64 contiguous bytes, as shown in Figure 2.
Base Address + 56 to Base Address + 63Serial 8
Base Address + 48 to Base Address + 55Serial 7
Base Address + 40 to Base Address + 47Serial 6
Base Address + 32 to Base Address + 39Serial 5
Base Address + 24 to Base Address + 31Serial 4
Base Address + 16 to Base Address + 23Serial 3
Base Address + 8 to Base Address + 15Serial 2
Base Address + 0 to Base Address + 7Serial 1
I/O Address RangePort
Figure 2--- Port Address Map
All eight serial ports share the same IRQ. The ESC(LP)-100 signals
a hardware interrupt when any port requires service. The interrupt signal
is maintained until no port requires service. Interrupts are level-sensitive
on the PCI bus.
The base address and IRQ are automatically detected by the device
drivers Quatech supplies for various operating systems. For cases where
no device driver is available, such as for operation under DOS, Quatech
supplies the "QTPCI" DOS software utility for manually determining the
resources used. See Section 6.3.1 for details.
ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 4

4.2Enabling the Special Registers
The ESC(LP)-100 contains two unique registers, an Interrupt Status
Register and an Options Register. They replace the UART Scratchpad
Register on accesses to register address 7.
The Interrupt Status Register and Options Register are accessed
through the scratchpad location of any UART. The DLAB bit of the UART
(Line Control Register, bit 7) is used to select between the two registers.
The most recent write of a DLAB bit in any UART selects between the two
registers as shown in Figure 3.
Options Register1Interrupt Status Register0
Register selected for
address 7 accesses
DLAB Bit
Figure 3--- DLAB bit selects between special registers
4.3Interrupt Status Register
The read-only Interrupt Status Register can be used to quickly
identify which serial ports require servicing after an interrupt. Reading
the Interrupt Status Register will return the interrupt status of the entire
ESC(LP)-100, as shown in Figure 4. The individual bits are cleared as the
interrupting ports are serviced. The interrupt service routine should
ensure that the interrupt status register reads zero before exiting.
Port 1 --- 1 if interrupt pending0
Port 2 --- 1 if interrupt pending1
Port 3 --- 1 if interrupt pending2
Port 4 --- 1 if interrupt pending3
Port 5 --- 1 if interrupt pending4
Port 6 --- 1 if interrupt pending5
Port 7 --- 1 if interrupt pending6
Port 8 --- 1 if interrupt pending7 (MSB)
DescriptionBit
Figure 4--- Interrupt Status Register
ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 5

4.4Options Register
The Options Register allows software to identify the ESC(LP)-100
as a Quatech Enhanced Serial Adapter. It also allows software to set the
UART clock rate multiplier. Figure 5shows the structure of the Options
Register.
The powerup default of the Options Register is all bits zero.
Clock rate multiplier bit 0RR00
Clock rate multiplier bit 1RR11
(reserved, 0)-2
(reserved, 0)-3
(reserved, 0)-4
(reserved, 0)-5
ID bit 0ID06
ID bit 1ID17 (MSB)
DescriptionNameBit
Figure 5--- Options Register bit definitions
4.4.1Enhanced Serial Adapter Identification
The ID bits are used to identify the ESC(LP)-100 as a Quatech
Enhanced Serial Adapter. Logic operations are performed such that the
values read back from these bits will not necessarily be the values that
were written to them. Bit ID1 will return the logical-AND of the values
written to ID[1:0], while bit ID0 will return their exclusive-OR.
Software can thus identify a Quatech Enhanced Serial Adapter by
writing the ID bits with the patterns shown in the "write" column of
Figure 6, then reading the bits and comparing the result with the patterns
in the "read" column. Matching read patterns verify the presence of the
Options Register.
0111 1001 1010 0000 ID0ID1ID0ID1 ReadWrite
Figure 6--- ID bit write/read table
ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 6

4.4.2Clock Rate Multiplier
A standard RS-232 serial port operates at a clock speed of 1.8432
MHz. In order to achieve higher data rates, Quatech Enhanced Serial
Adapters can operate at two times, four times or even eight times this
standard clock speed. This is controlled by the clock rate multiplier bits in
the Options Register.
Software can determine the UART clock frequency by reading the
clock rate multiplier bits RR1 and RR0 in the Options Register as shown in
Figure 7. RR1 and RR0 can be set by writing to the Options Register.
Reading the Options Register will always return the clock rate multiplier
at which the board is operating.
921.6 kbaud14.7456 MHzX811 460.8 kbaud7.3728 MHzX401 230.4 kbaud3.6864 MHzX210
115.2 kbaud1.8432 MHz
X1
(default)
00
Maximum Data
Rate
UART Clock
Frequency
Clock Rate
Multiplier
RR0RR1
Figure 7--- Rate Register bit definition
At powerup and reset, the Options Register is initialized to 0. The
ESC(LP)-100 will thus powerup in the x1 mode with software control of
the clock rate multiplier enabled as long as the X2, X4, and X8 jumpers are
not installed.
Software can control high baud rates through a combination of
changing the clock rate multiplier and the UART baud rate divisor. For
example, a baud rate of 230.4 kbps could be achieved by setting the clock
rate multiplier to X2 mode and setting a software application for 115.2
kbps.
ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 7

5Windows Configurations
5.1Windows Millennium
1. After inserting the ESC(LP)-100 for the first time the "Add New
Hardware Wizard" will begin.
2. Select "Search for the best driver for your device.". Check the
"Removable media" and "Specify location" box. Click the "Next"
button.
3. Window will locate the proper INF file and copy the file from the
CD. Click the "Next" button.
4. The final dialog screen will verify the file copy from the CD. Click
the "Finish" button.
ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 8

5.2Windows 2000
1.After inserting a ESC(LP)-100 for the first time, the "Add New
Hardware Wizard will appear at start up. Click the "OK" button.
2. The “Files Needed”dialog box will be displayed. Insert the
Quatech COM CD (shipped with the device). Click the "OK"
button.
3. The following dialog box will display the appropriate INF file on
the CD in the drive. Click the "OK" button.
4. Window will copy the INF file from the CD and display a final
dialog indication that the process is complete. Click the "Finish"
button.
ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 9

5.3Windows 98
1.After inserting a ESC(LP)-100 for the first time, the "Add New
Hardware Wizard will appear at start up. Click the "Next" button.
2.Select "Search for the best driver for yourdevice".
Click the "Next" button.
3. On the next dialog, select the "CD-ROM DRIVE" check box. Insert
the Quatech COM CD (shipped with the device) into the CD-ROM
drive. Click the "Next" button.
ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 10

4. The following dialog box will display the appropriate INF file on
the diskette in the drive. Click the "Next" button.
5. Window will copy the INF file from the diskette and display a final
dialogindication that the process is complete. Click the "Finish"
button.
ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 11

5.4Windows 95
Windows 95 maintains a registry of all known hardware installed
in your computer. Inside this hardware registry Windows 95 keeps track
of all of your system resources, such as I/O locations, IRQ levels, and
DMA channels. The "Add New Hardware Wizard" utility in Windows 95
was designed to add new hardware and update this registry.
An "INF" configuration file is included with the ESC(LP)-100 to
allow easy configuration in the Windows 95 environment. Also a custom
Windows 95 serial device driver is included with the ESC(LP)-100 to
support the use of the 16750 UART's 64 byte fifo.
5.4.1 Using the "New Hardware Found" Wizard
The following instructions provide step-by-step instructions on
installing the ESC(LP)-100 in Windows 95 using the "New Hardware
Found" wizard.
1.After booting the computer with a newly-installed ESC(LP)-100,
the "New Hardware Found" dialog box will appear. If you have
never installed a Quatech PCI communications adapter before, the
dialog box may simply indicate that it has found a "PCI Card."
2.Select the radio button for "Driver from disk provided by hardware
manufacturer." Click the "OK" button to continue.
3.An "Install From Disk"dialog box should pop up. Insert the
diskette with the Quatech INF files on it, select the correct drive
letter, and click the "OK" button. Windows 95 automatically
browses the root directory for an INF file that defines
configurations for Multi-function Adapters. If no INF files are
found, click the "Browse" button and search the Win95 sub
directory on the installation diskette. You are not required to select
the file name. After finding the directory containing the INF files,
Windows 95 will choose the correct file.
4.The "New Hardware Found" dialog box will appear again, this
time for an "Unknown Device."
5.Again select the radio button for "Driver from disk provided by
hardware manufacturer." Click the "OK" button to continue.
6.Another "Install From Disk" dialog box will pop up. The path
should already be pointing to the Quatech diskette. Click the "OK"
button to continue.
ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 12

7.You should now see the "Copying Files" dialog box as Windows 95
copies the driver files from the diskette.
8.The installation utility will ask for your Windows 95 installation
disks. Serial communication ports require two drivers supplied by
Microsoft to function: SERIAL.VXD and SERIALUI.DLL. Insert the
disk or CD and click "OK".
NOTE:
You may be able to skip this step if you are certain that your system has
the latest version of these files installed. If you do not have your
Windows 95 install disks immediately available, click "OK" anyway. A
dialog box appears with an option to Skip the files. Click the Skip button
and the files will not be installed. This is all right if the latest version of
these drivers are currently in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.
9.The "New Hardware Found" dialog will repeat for each of the
serial ports on the ESC(LP)-100 as each port is registered with
Windows 95.
10.Installation is complete.
ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 13

5.1Viewing Resources with Device Manager
This discussion applies equally to Windows 95/98/ME and
2000/XP. The following instructions provide step-by-step instructions on
viewing resources used by the ESC(LP)-100 in Windows using the
"Device Manager" utility. Select Start|Help from within Windows for
additional information on this utility.
1.Double click the "System" icon inside the Control Panel folder. This
opens up the System Properties box.
2.Click the "Device Manager" tab located along the top of the System
Properties box. This lists all hardware devices registered inside the
Windows registry. Additional information is available on any of
these devices by click on the device name and then selecting the
"Properties" button.
3.Double click the device group "Multi-function Adapters". The
ESC(LP)-100 model name should appear in the list of
Multi-function adapters.
4.Double click the ESC(LP)-100 model name and a properties box
should open for the hardware adapter.
5.Click the "Resources" tab located along the top of the properties
box to view the resources Windows has allocated for the
ESC(LP)-100 match the hardware configuration. Because PCI is a
true plug-and-play bus, do not attempt to modify the
configuration values listed. Click "Cancel" to exit without making
changes.
ESC(LP)-100 User's Manual 14