SeaLevel ULTRA COMM+422.PCI User manual

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© Sealevel Systems, Inc. 7402 Manual | SL9063 7/2021
ULTRA COMM+422.PCI
User Manual | 7402

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© Sealevel Systems, Inc. 7402 Manual | SL9063 7/2021
Contents
CONTENTS............................................................................................................................................................................................................................2
SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS.....................................................................................................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................................................................................................4
BEFORE YOU GET STARTED..............................................................................................................................................................................................5
CARD SETUP........................................................................................................................................................................................................................9
INSTALLATION...................................................................................................................................................................................................................15
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION...............................................................................................................................................................................................17
PRODUCT OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................................................................................................................19
APPENDIX A –TROUBLESHOOTING.............................................................................................................................................................................20
APPENDIX B –ELECTRICAL INTERFACE......................................................................................................................................................................21
APPENDIX C –ASYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATIONS.............................................................................................................................................22
APPENDIX D –CAD DRAWING ......................................................................................................................................................................................23
APPENDIX E –HOW TO GET ASSISTANCE..................................................................................................................................................................24
APPENDIX F –COMPLIANCE NOTICES.........................................................................................................................................................................25
WARRANTY ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................26

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Safety Instructions
ESD Warnings
Electrostatic Discharges (ESD)
A sudden electrostatic discharge can destroy sensitive components. Proper packaging and earthing rules
must therefore be observed. Always take the following precautions.
•Transport boards and cards in electrostatically secure containers or bags.
•Keep electrostatically sensitive components in their containers, until they arrive at an
electrostatically protected workplace.
•Only touch electrostatically sensitive components when you are properly earthed.
•Store electrostatically sensitive components in protective packaging or on anti-static mats.
Grounding Methods
The following measures help to avoid electrostatic damages to the device:
•Cover workstations with approved antistatic material. Always wear a wrist strap connected to
workplace as well as properly grounded tools and equipment.
•Use antistatic mats, heel straps, or air ionizers for more protection.
•Always handle electrostatically sensitive components by their edge or by their casing.
•Avoid contact with pins, leads, or circuitry.
•Turn off power and input signals before inserting and removing connectors or connecting test
equipment.
•Keep work area free of non-conductive materials such as ordinary plastic assembly aids and
Styrofoam.
•Use field service tools such as cutters, screwdrivers, and vacuum cleaners which are conductive.
•Always place drives and boards PCB-assembly-side down on the foam.

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Introduction
The Sealevel ULTRA COMM+422.PCI is a four channel PCI Bus serial I/O adapter for the PC and
compatibles supporting data rates up to 460.8K bps. RS-422 provides excellent communications 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. In both RS-485
and RS-422 modes, the card works seamlessly with the standard operating system serial driver. 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.
Features
•Compliant with RoHS and WEEE directives
•Each port individually configurable for RS-422 or RS-485
•16C850 buffered UARTs with 128-byte FIFOs (previous releases had the 16C550 UART)
•Data rates to 460.8K bps
•Automatic RS-485 enable/disable
•36" cable terminates to four DB-9M connectors

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Before You Get Started
What’s Included
The ULTRA COMM+422.PCI is shipped with the following items. If any of these items are missing or
damaged, please contact Sealevel for replacement.
•ULTRA COMM+422.PCI Serial I/O Adaptar
•Spider Cable providing 4 DB-9 connectors
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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Optional Items
Depending upon your application, you are likely to find one or more of the following items useful with the
ULTRA COMM+422.PCI. All items can be purchased from our website (www.sealevel.com) by calling our
sales team at [phone].
Cables
DB9 Female to DB9 Male Extension Cable, 72 inch Length (Item# CA127)
The CA127 is a standard DB9F to DB9M serial extension cable.
Extend a DB9 cable or locate a piece of hardware where it is
needed with this six foot (72) cable. The connectors are pinned
one-to-one, so the cable is compatible with any device or cable
with DB9 connectors. The cable is fully shielded against
interference and the connectors are molded to provide strain
relief. Dual metal thumbscrews secure the cable connections
and prevent accidental disconnection.
DB9 Female (RS-422) to DB25 Male (RS-530) Cable, 10 inch Length (Item# CA176)
DB9 Female (RS-422) to DB25 Male (RS-530) Cable, 10 inch
Length. Convert any Sealevel RS-422 DB9 Male Async Adapter
to an RS-530 DB25 Male pinout. Useful in situations where RS-
530 cabling exists, and a multiport Sealevel RS-422 adapter is
to be used.
Terminal Blocks
Terminal Block - Dual DB9 Female to 18 Screw Terminals (Item# TB06)
The TB06 terminal block includes dual right-angle DB-9 female
connectors to 18 screw terminals (two groups of 9 screw
terminals). Useful for breaking out serial and digital I/O signals
and simplifies field wiring of RS-422 and RS-485 networks with
different pin out configurations.
The TB06 is designed to connect directly to Sealevel dual-port
DB9 serial cards or any cable with DB9M connectors and
includes holes for board or panel mounting.
Terminal Block Kit - TB06 + (2) CA127 Cables (Item# KT106)
The TB06 terminal block has been designed to connect
directly to any Sealevel dual DB9 serial board or to serial
boards with DB9 cables. If you need to extend the length of
your dual DB9 connection, the KT106 includes the TB06
terminal block and two CA127 DB9 extension cables.

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Optional Items, Continued
Terminal Block - DB9 Female to 5 Screw Terminals (RS-422/485) (Item# TB34)
The TB34 terminal block adapter offers a simple solution for
connecting RS-422 and RS-485 field wiring to a serial port. The
terminal block is compatible with 2-wire and 4-wire RS-485
networks and matches the RS-422/485 pin-out on Sealevel
serial devices with DB9 male connectors. A pair of
thumbscrews secures the adapter to the serial port and
prevents accidental disconnection. The TB34 is compact and
allows multiple adapters to be used on multi-port serial
devices, such as Sealevel USB serial adapters, Ethernet serial
servers and other Sealevel serial devices with two or more
ports.
Terminal Block - DB9 Female to 9 Screw Terminals (Item# CA246)
The TB05 terminal block breaks out a DB9 connector to 9
screw terminals to simplify field wiring of serial connections. It
is ideal for RS-422 and RS-485 networks, yet it will work with
any DB9 serial connection, including RS-232. The TB05
includes holes for board or panel mounting. The TB05 is
designed to connect directly to Sealevel DB9 serial cards or
any cable with a DB9M connector.
DB9 Female (RS-422) to DB9 Female (Opto 22 Optomux) Converter (Item# DB103)
The DB103 is designed to convert a Sealevel DB9 male RS-422
connector to a DB9 female pinout compatible with AC24AT
and AC422AT Opto 22 ISA bus cards. This allows Optomux
devices to be controlled from any Sealevel RS-422 board with
a DB9 male connector.
Terminal Block Kit - TB05 + CA127 Cable (Item# KT105)
The KT105 terminal block kit breaks out a DB9 connector to 9
screw terminals to simplify field wiring of serial connections. It
is ideal for RS-422 and RS-485 networks, yet it will work with
any DB9 serial connection, including RS-232. The KT105
includes one DB9 terminal block (Item# TB05) and one DB9M
to DB9F 72 inch extension cable (Item# CA127). The TB05
includes holes for board or panel mounting. The TB05 is
designed to connect directly to Sealevel DB9 serial cards or
any cable with a DB9M connector.

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Factory Default Settings
The ULTRA COMM+422.PCI factory default settings are as follows:
Port #
Clock DIV Mode
Enable Mode
Port 1
4
Auto
Port 2
4
Auto
Port 3
4
Auto
Port 4
4
Auto
To install the ULTRA COMM+422.PCI using factory default settings, refer to Installation on page 9.
For your reference, record installed ULTRA COMM+422.PCI settings below:
Port #
Clock DIV Mode
Enable Mode
Port 1
Port 2
Port 3
Port 4

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Card Setup
In all cases J1x is for port 1, J2x - port 2, J3x - port 3 and J4x –port 4.
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 COMM+422.PCI 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 COMM+422.PCI in an RS-485 application with existing
(i.e., standard RS-232) software drivers.
Headers J1B –J4B are used to control the RS-485 mode functions for the driver circuit. The selections are
‘RTS’ enable (silk-screen ‘RT’) or ‘Auto’ enable (silk-screen ‘AT’). The ‘Auto’ enable feature automatically
enables/disables the RS-485 interface. The ‘RTS’ mode uses the ‘RTS’ modem control signal to enable the
RS-485 interface and provides backward compatibility with existing software products.
Position 3 (silk-screen ‘NE’) of J1B – J4B 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.’
For RS-422 compatibility remove the jumpers at J1B –J4B.
Examples on the following pages describe all of the valid settings for J1B –J4B.

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Interface Mode Examples J1B –J4B
Figure 1- Headers J1B –J4B, RS-422
Figure 2 - Headers J1B –J4B, RS-485 ‘Auto’ Enabled, with ‘No Echo’
Figure 3 - Headers J1B –J4B, RS-485 ‘Auto’ Enabled, with ‘Echo’
Figure 4 - Headers J1B –J4B, RS-485 ‘RTS’ Enabled, with ‘No Echo’
Figure 5 - Headers J1B –J4B, RS-485 ‘RTS’ Enabled, with ‘Echo’
AT RT NE
AT RT NE
AT RT NE
AT RT NE
AT RT NE

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Address and IRQ Selection
The ULTRA COMM+422.PCI is automatically assigned I/O addresses and IRQs by your motherboard BIOS.
Only the I/O addresses may be modified by the user. Adding or removing other hardware may change the
assignment of I/O addresses and IRQs.
Line Termination
Typically, each end of the RS-485 bus must have line terminating resistors (RS-422 terminates 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. Headers J1A –J4A allow the user to customize this interface
to their specific requirements. Each jumper position corresponds to a specific portion of the interface. If
multiple ULTRA COMM+422.PCI adapters are configured in an 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 6 - Headers J1A –J4A, Line Termination
P P T L L

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Clock Modes
The ULTRA COMM+422.PCI employs a unique clocking option that allows the end user to select from divide
by 4, divide by 2 and divide by 1 clocking modes. These modes are selected at Headers J1C through J4C.
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 7 - Clocking Mode 'Divide By 4’
To double these rates up to a maximum rate for 230.4K bps place the jumper in the divide by 2 (silk-screen
DIV2) position.
Figure 8 - Clocking Mode 'Divide By 2’
DIV1 DIV2 DIV4
DIV1 DIV2 DIV4

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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 to match them 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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Baud Rates and Divisors for the ‘Div2’ Mode
The following table shows some common data rates and the rates you should choose to match them if
using the adapter in the ‘DIV2’ mode.
For this Data Rate
Choose this Data Rate
1200 bps
600 bps
2400 bps
1200 bps
4800 bps
2400bps
9600 bps
4800 bps
19.2K bps
9600 bps
38.4K bps
19.2K bps
57.6 K bps
28.8K bps
115.2 K bps
57.6 K bps
230.4 K 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
192
2400 bps
96
4800 bps
48
9600 bps
24
19.2K bps
12
38.4K bps
6
57.6K bps
4
115.2K bps
2
230.4K bps
1

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Installation
Software Installation
Windows Installation
Do not install the Adapter in the machine until the software has been fully installed.
Only users running Windows 7 or newer should utilize these instructions for accessing and
installing the appropriate driver via Sealevel’s website. If you are utilizing an operating system
prior to Windows 7, please contact Sealevel by calling 864.843.4343 or emailing
[email protected]om to receive access to the proper driver download and installation
instructions.
1. Begin by locating, selecting, and installing the correct software from the Sealevel software
driver database.
2. Type in or select the part number (#7402) for the adapter from the listing.
3. Select “Download Now” for SeaCOM for Windows.
4. The setup files will automatically detect the operating environment and install the proper
components. Follow the information presented on the screens that follow.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. The software is now installed, and you can proceed with the hardware installation.

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Linux Installation
You MUST have “root” privileges to install the software and drivers.
The syntax is case sensitive.
SeaCOM for Linux can be downloaded here: https://www.sealevel.com/support/software-seacom-linux/.
It includes the README and the Serial-HOWTO help files (located at seacom/dox/howto). This series of
files both explains typical Linux serial implementations and informs the user about Linux syntax and
preferred practices.
User can use a program such as 7-Zip to extract the tar.gz file.
In addition, the software selectable interface settings can be accessed by referencing
seacom/utilities/7402mode.
For additional software support, including QNX, please call Sealevel Systems’ Technical Support, (864) 843-
4343. Our technical support is free and available from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Eastern Time, Monday through
Friday. For email support contact: [e-mail].

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Technical Description
The Sealevel Systems ULTRA COMM+422.PCI provides a PCI interface adapter with 4 RS-422/485
asynchronous serial ports for industrial automation and control applications.
The ULTRA COMM+422.PCI utilizes the 16850 UART. This UART includes 128 byte FIFOs, automatic
hardware/software flow control and the ability to handle much higher data rates than the standard UARTs.
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’:
“One of the key things that makes a computer different from any other kind of man-made
machine is that computers have the capability to respond to the unpredictable variety of
work that comes to them. The key to this capability is a feature known as interrupts. The
interrupt feature enables the computer to suspend whatever it is doing and switch to
something else in response to an interruption, such as the press of a key on the keyboard.”
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 the early days of PCs Sealevel 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 through put
abilities this method of servicing shared IRQs became inefficient.

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Why use an ISP?
The answer to the polling inefficiency was 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.
The ISP is at Base+7 on each port (Example: Base = 280 Hex, Status Port = 287, 28F… etc.). The ULTRA
COMM+422.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 ULTRA COMM+422.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:
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
Connector Pin Assignments
RS-422/485 (DB-9 Male)
Signal
Name
Pin #
Mode
GND
Ground
5
TX +
Transmit Data Positive
4
Output
TX-
Transmit Data Negative
3
Output
RTS+
Request To Send Positive
6
Output
RTS-
Request To Send Negative
7
Output
RX+
Receive Data Positive
1
Input
RX-
Receive Data Negative
2
Input
CTS+
Clear To Send Positive
9
Input
CTS-
Clear To Send Negative
8
Input
DB-37 Connector Pin Assignments
Port #
1
2
3
4
GND
33
14
24
5
TX-
35
12
26
3
RTS-
17
30
8
21
TX+
34
13
25
4
RX-
36
11
27
2
CTS-
16
31
7
22
RTS+
18
29
9
20
RX+
37
10
28
1
CTS+
15
32
6
23

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Product Overview
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
+5 VDC
Rating
620 mA
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF)
Greater than 150,000 hours. (Calculated)
Physical Dimensions
Board length
5.0 inches (12.7 cm)
Board height including Goldfingers
4.2 inches (10.66 cm)
Board height excluding Goldfingers
3.875 inches (9.841 cm)

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Appendix A –Troubleshooting
The adapter should provide years of trouble-free service. However, in the event that device appears to not
be functioning incorrectly, the following tips can eliminate most common problems 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 using a unique IRQ The IRQ is typically selected via an
on-board header block. Refer to the section on Card Setup for help in choosing an I/O address and
IRQ.
4. Make sure the Sealevel Systems adapter is securely installed in a motherboard slot.
5. If you are utilizing an operating system prior to Windows 7, please contact Sealevel by calling (864)
843-4343 or emailing su[email protected] to receive more information in regard to the utility
software which will determine if your product is functioning properly.
6. Only users running Windows 7 or newer should utilize the diagnostic tool ‘WinSSD’ installed in the
SeaCOM 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.
7. Always use the Sealevel Systems diagnostic software when troubleshooting a problem. This will
help eliminate any software issues and identify any hardware conflicts.
If these steps do not solve your problem, please call Sealevel Systems’ Technical Support, [phone].
Our technical support is free and available from 8:00 A.M.- 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time Monday through Friday.
For email support contact [email protected].