Frontline’s “RS-422/485 ComProbe” – A Portable, Rugged and Easy-to-Use Device for monitoring Asynchronous RS-422/485 communications

RS-422/485 ComProbeThe Serialtest® analyzer supports the "RS-422/485 ComProbe". Many laptops and PCs do not have PCMCIA interfaces and the PC industry has migrated towards USB ports. To help our customers monitor asynchronous serial communications via their PC's USB port, Frontline has created the RS-422/485 ComProbe. This device plugs into a PC's USB port and has screw terminal connectors to tap into the RS-422/485 circuit.

The RS-422/485 ComProbe monitors and captures Asynchronous RS-422/485 communications. It does not lose timing and control signal information. With this interface, Frontline has made its Serialtest analyzer more rugged, easier to use, portable and transportable. It allows you to spend more time doing your real job.

I/O Settings

The RS-422/485 ComProbe allows the user plenty of options for monitoring various serial communication setups. The I/O Settings dialog allows the user to configure the setup.

The RS-422/485 ComProbe supports data rates up to 921.6Kbps. The user can pick one of the standard rates in the drop down box in the I/O Settings dialog. For non-standard rates, the user can simply type in the value in the box.

The RS-422/485 ComProbe can monitor serial communications with 5, 6, 7 or 8 data bits and with 1, 1.5 or 2 stop bits. The device also supports all the standard parity types (None, Odd, Even, Mark, Space, and Ignore).

The user can also choose the bit order on their serial communication circuit. The choices are either LSB (least significant bit) first or MSB (most significant bit) first. LSB first is normal, while MSB first is considered "reversed" from normal. This option reverses the order of the bits within each byte.

The user can also choose to monitor either DTE only, DCE only or both DTE and DCE ends of the communication.

Tap 2-Wire RS-422/485 Circuits 2-Wire Connection

The network transmit lines are connected to the RS-422/485 ComProbe receive pins.

Tap off the network transmit + line (TX+) and connect it to the RS-422/485 ComProbe RX+ pin, ensuring that the connecting wire is firmly attached by using the connector screw.

Tap off the network transmit - line (TX-) and connect it to the RS-422/485 ComProbe RX- pin, ensuring that the connecting wire is firmly attached by using the connector screw.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tap 4-Wire RS-422/485 Circuits 4-Wire Connection

The network transmit lines are connected to the RS-422/485 ComProbe receive pins, and the network receive lines are connected to the RS- 422/485 ComProbe transmit pins.

Tap off the network transmit + line (TX+) and connect it to the RS-422/485 ComProbe RX+ pin, ensuring that the connecting wire is firmly attached by using the connector screw.

Tap off the network transmit - line (TX-) and connect it to the RS-422/485 ComProbe RX- pin, ensuring that the connecting wire is firmly attached by using the connector screw.

Tap off the network receive + line (RX+) and connect it to the RS-422/485 ComProbe TX+ pin, ensuring that the connecting wire is firmly attached by using the connector screw.

Tap off the network receive - line (RX-) and connect it to the RS-422/485 ComProbe TX- pin, ensuring that the connecting wire is firmly attached by using the connector screw.


Additional Information

More details about wiring information for these configurations are available in this document.  You can order your copy of Serialtest online.