SeaLevel SIO-104 User manual

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© Sealevel Systems, Inc. 3550 Manual | SL9121 9/2022
ULTRA SIO-104
User Manual | 3550

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© Sealevel Systems, Inc. 3550 Manual | SL9121 9/2022
Contents
CONTENTS...........................................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................... 3
BEFORE YOU GET STARTED ...............................................................................................................................4
CARD SETUP ........................................................................................................................................................5
SOFTWARE INSTALLATION ..............................................................................................................................12
PHYSICAL INSTALLATION................................................................................................................................13
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION ...............................................................................................................................14
SPECIFICATIONS ...............................................................................................................................................15
APPENDIX A – TROUBLESHOOTING................................................................................................................16
APPENDIX B – HOW TO GET ASSISTANCE .....................................................................................................17
APPENDIX C – ELECTRICAL INTERFACE ........................................................................................................18
APPENDIX D – PC/104......................................................................................................................................19
APPENDIX E – SILK SCREEN ............................................................................................................................20
WARRANTY ........................................................................................................................................................21
................................................................................................................................................................................

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© Sealevel Systems, Inc. 3550 Manual | SL9121 9/2022
Introduction
The ULTRA SIO-104 is the ultimate single port RS-422/485 serial connection for your PC/104 application.
The ULTRA SIO-104 provides a single field selectable port configurable as RS-422/485 supporting
asynchronous data rates up to 460.8K bps. The ULTRA SIO-104 utilizes the Exar 16C850, which provides
128-byte, transmit and receive FIFOs. These larger buffers allow error free operation even in high-speed
applications. In RS-485 mode the ULTRA SIO-104 offers automatic control of the RS-485 driver enable for
trouble free network master arbitration.
Choose the RS-422 mode for long distance device connections up to 4000ft. where noise immunity and
high data integrity are essential. Select RS-485 and capture data from multiple peripherals in a RS485 multi-
drop network. Up to 31 RS-485 devices can be connected to each port to automate your data collection.
In RS-485 mode, our special auto-enable feature allows the RS485 ports to be viewed by the operating
system as a COM: port. This allows the standard COM: driver to be utilized for RS485 communications.
Our on-board hardware automatically handles the RS-485 driver enable.

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© Sealevel Systems, Inc. 3550 Manual | SL9121 9/2022
Before You Get Started
What’s Included
The ULTRA SIO-104 is shipped with the following items. If any of these items is missing or damaged, please
contact Sealevel for replacement.
•ULTRA SIO-104 Adapter
•Nylon Mounting Hardware Kit (PC304-NK)
Advisory Conventions
Warning
The highest level of importance used to stress a condition where damage could result to the
product, or the user could suffer serious injury.
Important
The middle level of importance used to highlight information that might not seem obvious or a
situation that could cause the product to fail.
Note
The lowest level of importance used to provide background information, additional tips, or other
non-critical facts that will not affect the use of the product.

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© Sealevel Systems, Inc. 3550 Manual | SL9121 9/2022
Optional Accessories
Depending upon your application, you are likely to find one or more of the following items useful with the
ULTRA SIO-104. All items can be purchased from our website (www.sealevel.com) or by calling our sales
team at 864-843-4343.
•CA152 - Terminates the ULTRA SIO-104 10 pin header to a DB9M connector. This termination
provides the Sealevel Systems’ DB9 standard for RS-422/485.
•DB103 - The DB103 is designed to convert a Sealevel DB9 Male connector to a pinout
compatible with AC24AT and AC422AT Opto-22 ISA bus cards. When used with the optional
CA152 cable assembly it allows Optomux devices to be controlled with the ULTRA SIO-104.
•CA190 - When used with the optional CA152 cable assembly it allows connection directly to a
Sony (or compatible) 207M "9 Pin" connector.
Card Setup
The ULTRA SIO-104 contains several jumper straps for each port, which must be set for proper operation.
Address Selection
The ULTRA SIO-104 occupies eight consecutive I/O locations. A DIP-switch is used to set the base address
for these locations. Be careful when selecting the base address as some selections conflict with existing
ports. The following table shows several examples that typically do not cause a conflict. SW1 sets the I/O
address for the ULTRA SIO-104.
Address
Binary
Switch Position Setting
Hex
A9 A0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
280-287
1010000XXX
Off
On
Off
On
On
On
On
2A0-2A7
1010100XXX
Off
On
Off
On
Off
On
On
2E8-2EF
1011101XXX
Off
On
Off
Off
Off
On
Off
2F8-2FF
1011111XXX
Off
On
Off
Off
Off
Off
Off
3E8-3EF
1111101XXX
Off
Off
Off
Off
Off
On
Off
300-307
1100000XXX
Off
Off
On
On
On
On
On
328-32F
1100101XXX
Off
Off
On
On
Off
On
Off
3F8-3FF
1111111XXX
Off
Off
Off
Off
Off
Off
Off
Figure 1 - Address Selection Table

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© Sealevel Systems, Inc. 3550 Manual | SL9121 9/2022
The following illustration shows the correlation between the DIP-switch setting and the address bits used
to determine the base address. In the example below, address 300 is selected as a base. Address 300 in
binary is XX11 0000 0XXX where X = a non-selectable address bit.
ON
A9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
EN
A3
Figure 2 - DIP-Switch Illustration
Setting the switch “On” or “Closed” corresponds to a “0” in the address, while leaving it “Off” or
“Open” corresponds to a “1”.
Port Enable / Disable
The port on the ULTRA SIO-104 can be enabled or disabled with switch position 8 on the DIP-switch. The
port is enabled with the switch “On” or “Closed” and disabled when “Off” or “Open” (refer to Figure 2). If the
port is disabled, be sure to also disable the interrupt request for that port by removing the IRQ jumper at
header J2.
IRQ Selection
The ULTRA SIO-104 has an interrupt selection jumper, which should be set prior to use, if an interrupt is
required by your application software. Consult the user manual for the application software being used to
determine the proper setting. Position “R” is provided so that a jumper can be installed that connects a 1K-
Ohm pull-down resistor to the output of a high-impedance tri-state driver which carries the IRQ signal.
Because the IRQ line is driven low only by the pull-down resistor, it is possible for two or more boards to
share the same IRQ signal. Position “R” installed is the default setting and should be left as is unless
multiple cards are sharing a single IRQ. If multiple adapters are sharing a single IRQ, then only one adapter
should have the pull-down resistor (position “R” selected) in the circuit.
The IRQ can be set at jumper J2 for IRQ 2/9, 3-5, 7, 10, 11, 12, or 15. In the following example, the IRQ is set
as IRQ4.

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© Sealevel Systems, Inc. 3550 Manual | SL9121 9/2022
Figure 3 - Header J2, IRQ Selection (Factory Default)
RS-485 Enable Modes
RS-485 is ideal for multi-drop or network environments. RS-485 requires a tri-state driver that will allow the
electrical presence of the driver to be removed from the line. The driver is in a tri-state or high impedance
condition when this occurs. Only one driver may be active at a time and the other driver(s) must be tri-
stated. The output modem control signal Request To Send (RTS) is typically used to control the state of
the driver. Some communication software packages refer to RS-485 as RTS enable or RTS block mode
transfer.
One of the unique features of the ULTRA SIO-104 is the ability to be RS-485 compatible without the need
for special software or drivers. This ability is especially useful in Windows, Windows NT, and OS/2
environments where the lower level I/O control is abstracted from the application program. This ability
means that the user can effectively use the ULTRA SIO-104 in an RS-485 application with existing (i.e.
standard RS-232) software drivers.
Header E4 is used to control the RS-485 mode functions for the driver circuit. The selections are:
‘Auto’ enable (silk-screen ‘AT’). The ‘Auto’ enable feature automatically enables/disables the RS-485
interface via on board circuitry.
‘RTS’ enable (silk-screen ‘RT’) The ‘RTS’ mode uses the ‘RTS’ modem control signal to enable the RS-485
interface and provides backward compatibility with existing software products.
‘DTR’ enable (silk-screen ‘DT’) The ‘DTR’ mode uses the ‘DTR’ modem control signal to enable the RS-485
interface, provides backward compatibility with existing software products and with the Oxford
Semiconductor 16C950 RS-485 enable feature.
‘Output One’ enable (silk-screen ‘OP’) This mode uses the ‘OP1’ control signal to enable the RS-485 interface
and provides backward compatibility with existing software products and with the Exar 16C850 RS-485
enable feature.
No Echo’ (silk-screen ‘NE’) of E4 is used to control the RS-485 enable/disable functions for the receiver
circuit and determine the state of the RS-422/485 driver. The RS-485 ‘Echo’ is the result of connecting the
receiver inputs to the transmitter outputs. Every time a character is transmitted; it is also received. This can
be beneficial if the software can handle echoing (i.e. using received characters to throttle the transmitter)
or it can confuse the system if the software does not. To select the ‘No Echo’ mode select silk-screen
position ‘NE’.

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© Sealevel Systems, Inc. 3550 Manual | SL9121 9/2022
RS-485 Mode Examples (Header E4)
Figure 4 - Header E4, RS-422
Figure 5 - Header E4, RS-485 'Auto' Enabled, with 'No Echo'
Figure 6 - Header E4, RS-485 'Auto Enabled, with 'Echo'
Figure 7 - Header E4, RS-485 'RTS' Enabled, with ‘No Echo’
Figure 8 - Header E4, RS-485 'RTS' Enabled, with 'Echo'
AT
RT
DT
OP
NE
AT
RT
DT
OP
NE
AT
RT
DT
OP
NE
AT
RT
DT
OP
NE
AT
RT
DT
OP
NE

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© Sealevel Systems, Inc. 3550 Manual | SL9121 9/2022
Figure 9 - Header E4, RS-485 'DTR' Enabled, with No-Echo
Line Termination
Typically, each end of the RS-485 bus must have line-terminating resistors (RS-422 terminates at the receive
end only). A 120-ohm resistor is across each RS-422/485 input in addition to a 1K-ohm pull-up/pull-down
combination that biases the receiver inputs. Header E4 allows customization of this interface to specific
requirements. Each jumper position corresponds to a specific portion of the interface. If multiple ULTRA
SIO-104 adapters are configured in a RS-485 network, only the boards on each end should have jumpers T,
P & P ON. Refer to the following table for each position’s operation:
Name
Function
P
Adds or removes the 1K ohm pull-down resistor in the RS-422/RS-
485 receiver circuit (Receive data only).
P
Adds or removes the 1K ohm pull-up resistor in the RS-422/RS-485
receiver circuit (Receive data only).
T
Adds or removes the 120-ohm termination.
L
Connects the TX+ to RX+ for RS-485 two-wire operation.
L
Connects the TX- to RX- for RS-485 two-wire operation.
Figure 10 - Headers E3, Line Termination
AT
RT
DT
OP
NE
P P T L L

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© Sealevel Systems, Inc. 3550 Manual | SL9121 9/2022
Clock Modes
The ULTRA 530.PCI employs a unique clocking option that allows the end user to select from divide by 4
and divide by 1 clocking modes. These modes are selected at Header E8.
To select the Baud rates commonly associated with COM: ports (i.e. 2400, 4800, 9600, 19.2, … 115.2K Bps)
place the jumper in the divide by 4 mode (silk-screen DIV4).
Figure 11 - Clocking Mode 'Divide By 4'
To select the maximum data rate (460.8K bps) place the jumper in the divide by 1 (silk-screen DIV1)
position.
Figure 12 - Clocking Mode 'Divide By 1'
DIV1 DIV4
DIV1 DIV4