Contec Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of PC-based instrument interfaces and industrial computers, has developed the new COM-1PD(CB)H "Isolated RS-422A/485 Single-Channel Serial Communication Card for CardBus" for providing an additional RS-422A or RS-485 serial port on a PC. The new product is available from February 4th.  The COM-1PD(CB)H is a PC Card Standard compliant CardBus PC card that adds a single-channel RS-422A/485 serial communication interface to a PC, and can be used on notebook PCs and similar that have a CardBus compatible PC Card slot. The send and receive lines include an isolation circuit to allow them to be used safely even in long-distance communication applications.  Also, the card includes large 128-byte send and 128-byte receive FIFO buffer memories and an adjustable FIFO trigger size that determines the timing for sending and receiving buffered data. As increasing the FIFO trigger size reduces the load on the CPU and reducing the size makes operation more realtime, the FIFO trigger size can be optimized to suit your application.  The [COM Setup Disk] driver software included with the card allows it to be used as a standard COM port in commonly available operating systems such as Windows and Linux, meaning the card can be used in a broad range of applications. RS-422A/485 1ch  Isolated Serial I/O Card for CardBus COM-1PD(CB)H -> Larger image data [ 98KB ] 800 x 382pix 350dpi

[ Features ] PC Card Standard-compliant CardBus PC Card corresponding to RS-422A/485 standard. Driver software is supplied to allow the serial ports to be used as standard Windows or Linux COM ports. Maximum communication speed = 921,600bps. The baud rate can be set independently for each channel, by software. Each channel has a 128Byte receive and 128Byte send FIFO buffer. The FIFO trigger size can be specified. This permits operation to be adjusted to achieve optimal performance for your system. An internal insulated circuit enables safe use of the card for long-distance communications. Up to two cards can be installed on one PC. (Only one card on Windows Me, 98SE, 98 and Linux.) You can use the PC Card attachment to protect the PC Card and cable socket. The data transmission mode (full or half duplex) setting can be changed using a switch. The card includes the 100Ω terminating resistors required for a party line (multi-drop) connection.

[ Specifications ] Item Specification Number of channels 1ch I/O specification RS-422A/485 Isolated specification Bus isolation Dielectric strength 300VDC Transfer method Asynchronous serial transfer (Full / Half duplex) Baud rate 2 to 921,600bps *1 *2 Data length 5, 6, 7, 8bits 1, 1.5, 2stop bits *1 Parity check Even, Odd, Non-parity *1 Loading LSI 162850 or equivalent (Each channel has 128-byte receive and 128-byte transmit FIFO buffers.) Connecting distance 1200m(Max.) *3 Interrupt requests One channel used I/O address 32 port boundary Power consumption 3.3VDC Terminator OFF:300mA(Max.) / Terminator ON:500mA(Max.) Operating condition 0 to 50°C, 10 to 90%RH (No condensation) Length of supplied cable 250mm Card slot specifications PC Card Standard-compliant CardBus Card size TYPE II Weight 30g (80g including cable) *1 These items can be set by software.       Baud rate is 15 to 921,600bps in "Standard COM driver software COM Setup Disk" or "driver library API-SIO within       API-PAC(W32)" of the bundled CD-ROM. *2 Data transmission at high speed may not be performed normally depending on the environment including the type of status of       connected material of cable and environment. *3 Relationship between the communication distance and baud rate is as follows. Communication distance Baud rate 300m 115,200bps 600m 57,600bps 900m 19,200bps 1200m 9,600bps   Communication cable: 28 AWG, Double shielded cable. The positive and negative conductors for each signal are a twisted pair.

[ Option ] D-SUB9P (Female) Connector Set (5 Pieces) : CN5-D9F D-SUB9P (Female) Connector Set (5 Pieces) : CN5-D9M

[ Support Software (included) ] Standard COM driver software : COM Setup Disk This software allows serial ports on CONTEC serial communication boards to be used in the same way as the standard COM ports in the PC (standard COM) under both Windows and Linux. By adding boards or PC cards, additional serial ports can be added in the range COM1 to COM256 to support various different serial communications applications such as remote access (RAS). On Windows, the standard Win32 API communication routines (including CreateFile( ), WriteFile( ), ReadFile( ), and SetCommState( )) are available as usual. The Visual Basic communication control (MSComm) is also supported. On Linux, the software is compatible with the operating system's standard tty driver. The open( ), close( ), read( ), write( ), and other standard routines are supported.

[ Support Software (free download) ] API function library : API-TOOL for Windows This proprietary library software is a standard Windows Win32 API (DLL) that provides commands for accessing the hardware. In addition to giving access to features such as advanced FIFO buffer trigger size settings and special baud rates that are unavailable using the standard Window's API, this rich set of API functions makes possible advanced programming that takes maximum advantage of the capabilities of the hardware. Visit the following web site for more details and to download the latest version (http://www.contec.com/apipac/)

[ Contact ]
U.S.A. (North & South America Sales) CONTEC Microelectronics U.S.A. Inc. 2161 O'Toole Ave., Suite I, San Jose, CA, 95131 TEL: (1)-408-954-7700  FAX: (1)-408-954-7710 E-mail: sales@contecusa.com Web Site: www.contecusa.com PHONE (800)888-8884   Toll Free in the USA	EUROPE CONTEC Microelectronics EUROPE B.V. Binnenweg 4, 2132 CT Hoofddorp, The Netherlands TEL: (31)-23-567-3030  FAX: (31)-23-567-3035 E-mail: sales@conteceu.nl Web Site: www.contec-europe.com
CONTEC GROUPS JAPAN (Headquarters) CONTEC Co., Ltd. 3-9-31, Himesato, Nishi-Yodogawaku, Osaka, 555-0025, TEL: +81-6-477-5219  FAX: +81-6-477-1692 E-mail: intsales@osaka.contec.co.jp Web Site: www.contec.com