SeaLevel COMM+232.PCI User manual

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© Sealevel Systems, Inc. 7202 Manual | SL90597/2021
COMM+232.PCI
User Manual | 7202

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© Sealevel Systems, Inc. 7202 Manual | SL90597/2021
Contents
CONTENTS...........................................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................................3
BEFORE YOU GET STARTED ...............................................................................................................................4
CARD SETUP ........................................................................................................................................................6
INSTALLATION .................................................................................................................................................... 8
HARDWARE INSTALLATION ............................................................................................................................... 9
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION ...............................................................................................................................10
SPECIFICATIONS ...............................................................................................................................................12
APPENDIX A –TROUBLESHOOTING................................................................................................................13
APPENDIX B –HOW TO GET ASSISTANCE .....................................................................................................15
APPENDIX C –ELECTRICAL INTERFACE ........................................................................................................16
APPENDIX D –ASYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATIONS ..................................................................................17
APPENDIX E –SILK SCREEN ............................................................................................................................18
APPENDIX F –COMPLIANCE NOTICES...........................................................................................................19
WARRANTY ........................................................................................................................................................21

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© Sealevel Systems, Inc. 7202 Manual | SL90597/2021
Introduction
The Sealevel COMM+232.PCI is a two channel PCI Bus serial I/O adapter for the PC and compatibles. It
provides two RS-232 serial ports supporting data rates up to 460.8K bps.
The COMM+232.PCI works seamlessly with the standard operating system serial driver. UART upgrades
are available providing 32. 64 and 128 byte FIFOs.

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Before You Get Started
What’s Included
The COMM+232.PCI is shipped with the following items. If any of these items are missing or damaged,
please contact Sealevel for replacement.
•COMM+232.PCI Serial I/O Adapter
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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Factory Default Settings
The COMM+232.PCI factory default settings are as follows:
Port #
Clock Mode
Port 1
DIV4
Port 2
DIV4
To install the COMM+232.PCI using factory default settings, refer to Installation.
For your reference, record installed ULTRA COMM+2.PCI settings below:
Port #
Clock Mode
Port 1
Port 2

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Card Setup
Address and IRQ Selection
The COMM+232.PCI is automatically assigned I/O addresses and IRQs by your motherboard BIOS. Only
the user may modify the I/O address.
Adding or removing other hardware may change the assignment of I/O addresses and IRQs.
Clock Modes
The COMM+232.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 Headers E1 and E2.
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) position.
DIV1 DIV4 DIV4 DIV1
E1 E2
Figure 1 - 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.
DIV1 DIV4 DIV4 DIV1
E1 E2
Figure 2 - Clocking Mode 'Divide By 1’

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Baud Rates and Divisors for the ‘DIV1’ Mode
The following table shows some common data rates and the rates you should choose if using the adapter
in the ‘DIV1’ mode.
For this Data Rate
Choose this Data Rate
1200 bps
300 bps
2400 bps
600 bps
4800 bps
1200 bps
9600 bps
2400 bps
19.2K bps
4800 bps
57.6 K bps
14.4K bps
115.2 K bps
28.8K bps
230.4K bps
57.6 K bps
460.8K bps
115.2 K bps
If your communications package allows the use of Baud rate divisors, choose the appropriate divisor from
the following table:
For this Data Rate
Choose this Divisor
1200 bps
384
2400 bps
192
4800 bps
96
9600 bps
48
19.2K bps
24
38.4K bps
12
57.6K bps
8
115.2K bps
4
230.4K bps
2
460.8K bps
1

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Installation
Software Installation
Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7™ Operating Systems
Do not install the adapter until the software has been successfully installed.
1. Begin by locating, selecting, and installing the correct software (SeaCOM Software) from the
Sealevel’s software database: Sealevel Driver Downloads & Software.Select SeaCOM
software for Windows. Select SeaCOM for Windows v3.7.5 in Downloads.
2. The setup files will automatically detect the operating environment and install the proper
components. Follow the information presented on the screens that follow.
3. A screen may appear with text similar to: “The publisher cannot be determined due to the
problems below: Authenticode signature not found.” Please click the ‘Yes’ button and proceed
with the installation. This declaration simply means that the operating system is not aware of
the driver being loaded. It will not cause any harm to your system.
4. During setup, the user may specify installation directories and other preferred configurations.
This program also adds entries to the system registry that are necessary for specifying the
operating parameters for each driver. An uninstall option is also included to remove all
registry/INI file entries from the system.
5. The software is now installed, and you can proceed with the hardware installation.
Other Operating Systems
Refer to the appropriate section of the Serial Utilities Software.
LINUX INSTALLATION
Refer to the Linux Archives - Sealevel. This link contains valuable information on installing your serial
adapter in the various Linux releases. Also included is a series of files explaining proper Linux syntax and
typical Linux serial implementations.
QNX
For the most up to date information on the QNX4 and QNX6 software support, please call Sealevel Systems’
Technical Support, [phone]. Our technical support is free and available from 8:00AM-5PM Eastern
Time, Monday through Friday. For email support contact: [e-mail].

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Hardware Installation
The COMM+232.PCI can be installed in any of the PCI expansion slots and contains several jumper straps
for each port that must be set for proper operation.
1. Turn off PC power. Disconnect the power cord.
2. Remove the PC case cover.
3. Locate an available PCI slot and remove the blank metal slot cover.
4. Gently insert the COMM+232.PCI into the slot. Make sure that the adapter is seated properly.
5. Replace the screw.
6. Replace the cover.
7. Connect the power cord.
Installation is complete.

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Technical Description
The Sealevel Systems COMM+232.PCI provides a PCI interface adapter with 2 asynchronous serial ports
providing a versatile interface for modems, printers, and plotters.
The COMM+232.PCI utilizes the 16550 UART. This chip features programmable baud rates, data format,
interrupt control and a 16-byte input and output FIFO. A full array of advanced UARTS is also available for
this card. Contact Sealevel Systems for more information.
Interrupts
A good description of an interrupt and its importance to the PC can be found in the book ‘Peter Norton’s
Inside the PC, Premier Edition’:
A good analogy of a PC interrupt would be the phone ringing. The phone ‘bell’ is a request for us to stop
what we are currently doing and take up another task (speak to the person on the other end of the line).
This is the same process the PC uses to alert the CPU that a task must be performed. The CPU upon
receiving an interrupt makes a record of what the processor was doing at the time and stores this
information on the ‘stack;’ this allows the processor to resume its predefined duties after the interrupt is
handled, exactly where it left off. Every main sub-system in the PC has its own interrupt, frequently called
an IRQ (short for Interrupt ReQuest).
In these early days of PC’s Sealevel Systems decided that the ability to share IRQs was an important feature
for any add-in I/O card. Consider that in the IBM XT the available IRQs were IRQ0 through IRQ7. Of these
interrupts only IRQ2-5 and IRQ7 were actually available for use. This made the IRQ a very valuable system
resource. To make the maximum use of these system resources Sealevel Systems devised an IRQ sharing
circuit that allowed more than one port to use a selected IRQ. This worked fine as a hardware solution but
presented the software designer with a challenge to identify the source of the interrupt. The software
designer frequently used a technique referred to as ‘round robin polling.’ This method required the interrupt
service routine to ‘poll’ or interrogate each UART as to its interrupt pending status. This method of polling
was sufficient for use with slower speed communications, but as modems increased their throughput
abilities this method of servicing shared IRQs became inefficient.
Why use an ISP?
The answer to the polling inefficiency is the Interrupt Status Port (ISP). The ISP is a read only 8-bit register
that sets a corresponding bit when an interrupt is pending. Port 1 interrupt line corresponds with Bit D0 of
the status port, Port 2 with D1 etc. The use of this port means that the software designer now only has to
poll a single port to determine if an interrupt is pending.

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Technical Description, Continued
The ISP is at Base+7 on each port (Example: Base = 280 Hex, Status Port = 287, 28F… etc.). The
COMM+232.PCI will allow any one of the available locations to be read to obtain the value in the status
register. Both status ports on the COMM+232.PCI are identical, so any one can be read.
Example: This indicates that Channel 2 has an interrupt pending.
Bit Position:
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Value Read:
X
X
X
X
X
X
1
0
Bit positions D7-D2 are not biased in anyway and may report back as either a 1 or a 0. When
checking the ISP, these bits should be masked.
Connector Pin Assignments
RS-232 (DB-9 Male)
Name
Pin #
Mode
TD Transmit Data
3
Output
RTS Request To Send
7
Output
DTR Data Term Ready
4
Output
GND Ground
5
RD Receive Data
2
Input
DCD Data Carrier Detect
1
Input
DSR Data Set Ready
6
Input
CTS Clear To Send
8
Input
RI Ring Indicator
9
Input
These assignments meet EIA/TIA/ANSI-574 DTE for DB-9 type connectors.

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Specifications
Environmental Specifications
Specification
Operating
Storage
Temperature Range
0º to 50º C (32º to 122º F)
-20º to 70º C (-4º to 158º F)
Humidity Range
10 to 90% R.H. Non-Condensing
10 to 90% R.H. Non-Condensing
Manufacturing
All Sealevel Systems Printed Circuit boards are built to UL 94V0 rating and are 100% electrically tested.
These printed circuit boards are solder mask over bare copper or solder mask over tin nickel.
Power Consumption
Supply line
+12VDC
-12VDC
+5 VDC
Rating
50 mA
50 mA
480 mA
Mean Time Between Failures
Greater than 150,000 hours. (Calculated)
Physical Dimensions
Board length
5.0 inches (12.7 cm)
Board height including Goldfingers
3.5 inches (8.89 cm)
Board height excluding Goldfingers
3.175 inches (8.07 cm)

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Appendix A –Troubleshooting
Serial Utility test software is supplied with the Sealevel Systems adapter and will be used in the
troubleshooting procedures. By using this software and following these simple steps, most common
problems can be eliminated without the need to call Technical Support.
1. Identify all I/O adapters currently installed in your system. This includes your on-board serial ports,
controller cards, sound cards etc. The I/O addresses used by these adapters, as well as the IRQ (if
any) should be identified.
2. Configure your Sealevel Systems adapter so that there is no conflict with currently installed
adapters. No two adapters can occupy the same I/O address.
3. Make sure the Sealevel Systems adapter is securely installed in a motherboard slot.
4. When running DOS, Windows 3.x or other operating systems refer to the Serial Utilities software for
that operating system and the User Manual to verify that the Sealevel Systems adapter is
configured correctly. The supplied software contains a diagnostic program 'SSD' that runs under
DOS and will verify if an adapter is configured properly. This diagnostic program is written with the
user in mind and is easy to use. Refer to the DIAG.txt file in the dos\diag directory for detailed
instructions on using 'SSD'.
5. For Windows 95/98 and Windows NT, the diagnostic tool 'WinSSD' is installed in the Sealevel folder
on the Start Menu during the setup process. First find the ports using the Device Manager, then use
'WinSSD' to verify that the ports are functional.
6. Always use the Sealevel Systems diagnostic software when troubleshooting a problem. This will
help eliminate any software issues and identify any hardware conflicts.

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Appendix A - Troubleshooting, Continued
PCI COM: Number Selection in Windows 95/98
When installing a multi-port PCI card in Windows 95 the default starting COM: number assigned to the first
port will be COM:5 if no COM:5 exists. If there is a COM: 5, 6, etc., the next available COM: number will be
assigned to the first port with all additional ports following in ascending order.
To change the first two ports so that Windows assigns them COM: 3 and COM: 4 port enumeration double
click the Systems icon in control panel or right click on My Computer and choose properties which will bring
you to System Properties. Choose the Device Manager tab and double click on the Multi-Function Adapter
heading. This will show all the information concerning the Sealevel adapter. Choose the Resources tab,
which will show all resources assigned to the multi-function adapter. Uncheck the Use Automatic Settings
box. Notice that with a two port card there will be three input/output, (I/O), ranges listed. With a four port
card there will be five input/output, (I/O), ranges listed. The first I/O range is for the PCI bus and should not
be changed. The second and third I/O ranges are the ones that need to be changed in order to have those
ports enumerated as COM: 3 and COM: 4. Double click on the second I/O range which will allow you to
change the address. Highlight the entire I/O range and type: 03e8–03ef for COM: 3. Click OK. Windows will
inform you that you have made modifications that may affect other devices. Click OK. Next double click on
the third I/O range. Highlight the entire I/O range and type: 02e8–02ef for COM: 4. Again Windows will
inform you that you have made modifications that may affect other devices. Click OK.
Following these steps will change the COM: number assignments on the first two ports to
COMS: 3 and 4.
If these steps do not solve your problem, please call Sealevel Systems’ Technical Support, [phone].
Our technical support is free and available from 8:00AM-5PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. For
email support contact: supp[email protected].

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Appendix B –How To Get Assistance
Please refer to Troubleshooting Guide prior to calling Technical Support.
1. Begin by reading through the Trouble Shooting Guide in Appendix A. If assistance is still needed
please see below.
2. When calling for technical assistance, please have your user manual and current adapter
settings. If possible, please have the adapter installed in a computer ready to run diagnostics.
3. Sealevel Systems provides an FAQ section on its web site. Please refer to this to answer many
common questions. This section can be found at http://www.sealevel.com/faq.asp.
4. Sealevel Systems maintains a web page on the Internet. Our home page address is
www.sealevel.com. The latest software updates, and newest manuals are available via our web
site.
5. Technical support is available Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. eastern time.
Technical support can be reached at [phone]. For email support contact:
[email protected].
RETURN AUTHORIZATION MUST BE OBTAINED FROM SEALEVEL SYSTEMS BEFORE RETURNED
MERCHANDISE WILL BE ACCEPTED. AUTHORIZATION CAN BE OBTAINED BY CALLING SEALEVEL
SYSTEMS AND REQUESTING A RETURN MERCHANDISE AUTHORIZATION (RMA) NUMBER.

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Appendix C –Electrical Interface
RS-232
Quite possibly the most widely used communication standard is RS-232. This implementation has been
defined and revised several times and is often referred to as RS-232 or EIA/TIA-232. The IBM PC computer
defined the RS-232 port on a 9 pin D sub connector and subsequently the EIA/TIA approved this
implementation as the EIA/TIA-574 standard. This standard is defined as the 9-Position Non-Synchronous
Interface between Data Terminal Equipment and Data Circuit-Terminating Equipment Employing Serial Binary
Data Interchange. Both implementations are in widespread use and will be referred to as RS-232 in this
document. RS-232 is capable of operating at data rates up to 20 Kbps at distances less than 50 ft. The
absolute maximum data rate may vary due to line conditions and cable lengths. RS-232 is a single ended
or unbalanced interface, meaning that a single electrical signal is compared to a common signal (ground)
to determine binary logic states. The RS-232 and the EIA/TIA-574 specification define two types of interface
circuits, Data Terminal Equipment (DTE) and Data Circuit-Terminating Equipment (DCE). The
COMM+232.PCI is a DTE device.

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Appendix D –Asynchronous Communications
Serial data communications implies that individual bits of a character are transmitted consecutively to a
receiver that assembles the bits back into a character. Data rate, error checking, handshaking, and
character framing (start/stop bits) are pre-defined and must correspond at both the transmitting and
receiving ends.
Asynchronous communications is the standard means of serial data communication for PC compatibles
and PS/2 computers. The original PC was equipped with a communication or COM: port that was designed
around an 8250 Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART). This device allows asynchronous
serial data to be transferred through a simple and straightforward programming interface. A start bit,
followed by a pre-defined number of data bits (5, 6, 7, or 8) defines character boundaries for asynchronous
communications. The end of the character is defined by the transmission of a pre-defined number of stop
bits (usually 1, 1.5 or 2). An extra bit used for error detection is often appended before the stop bits.
Figure 3 - Asynchronous Communications Bit Diagram
This special bit is called the parity bit. Parity is a simple method of determining if a data bit has been lost
or corrupted during transmission. There are several methods for implementing a parity check to guard
against data corruption. Common methods are called (E)ven Parity or (O)dd Parity. Sometimes parity is not
used to detect errors on the data stream. This is referred to as (N)o parity. Because each bit in
asynchronous communications is sent consecutively, it is easy to generalize asynchronous
communications by stating that each character is wrapped (framed) by pre-defined bits to mark the
beginning and end of the serial transmission of the character. The data rate and communication
parameters for asynchronous communications have to be the same at both the transmitting and receiving
ends. The communication parameters are baud rate, parity, number of data bits per character, and stop bits
(i.e.,9600,N,8,1).

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Appendix E –Silk Screen
3.5"
5.0"
3.175"

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Appendix F –Compliance Notices
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Statement
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for Class B digital
device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a
residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause
harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that
interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful
interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the
equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or
more of the following measures:
•Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna
•Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver
•Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected
•Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help
EMC Directive Statement
Products bearing the CE Label fulfill the requirements of the EMC directive (89/336/EEC)
and of the low-voltage directive (73/23/EEC) issued by the European Commission. To obey
these directives, the following European standards must be met:
•EN55022 Class B - “Limits and methods of measurement of radio interference
characteristics of information technology equipment”
•EN55024 –“Information technology equipment Immunity characteristics Limits
and methods of measurement”.
Always use cabling provided with this product if possible. If no cable is provided or if an alternate
cable is required, use high quality shielded cabling to maintain compliance with FCC/EMC directives.

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Appendix F –Compliance Notices, Continued
Caution
Sealevel Systems, Inc. is not responsible for any radio or television interference caused by unauthorized
modifications of this equipment or the substitution of attachment of connecting cables and equipment
other than those specified by Sealevel Systems. Such unauthorized modifications, substitutions, or
attachments may void the user’s authority to operate the equipment. The correction of interference
caused by such unauthorized modifications, substitutions, or attachments will be the responsibility of the
user.
Always use cabling provided with this product if possible. If no cable is provided or if an alternate cable is
required, use high quality shielded cabling to maintain compliance with FCC directives.
Canadian Radio Interference Regulations
This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment
Regulations.
Cet Appareil numérique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences de Règlement sur le matériel du
Canada.