Note Concerning Ring Indicator

Ring Indicator

The following information applies when operating the analyzer in Spy mode or Source DTE, No FTS Cables mode. When using the cables supplied with the analyzer to capture or source data, Ring IndicatorRing Indicator (RI) is routed to a different pin which generates interrupts normally.

There is a special case involving Ring Indicator and computers with 8250 UARTUniversal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter. This is the chip that controls the serial port.UARTs or UARTs from that family where the state of RI may not be captured accurately. Normally when a control signal changes state from high to low or low to high, an interrupt is generated by the UART, and the analyzer goes to see what has changed and record it. Ring Indicator works a little differently. An interrupt is generated when RI changes from high to low, but not when RI changes from low to high. If Ring Indicator changes from low to high, the analyzer does not know that RI has changed state until another eventAn event is anything that happens on the circuit or which affects data capture. Data bytes, control signal changes, and long and short breaks are all events, as are I/O Settings changes and Data Capture Paused and Resumed.event occurs that generates an interrupt. This is simply the way the UART works, and is not a deficiency in the analyzer software.

To minimize the chance of missing a Ring Indicator change, the analyzer polls the UART every millisecond to see if RI has changed. It is still possible for the analyzer to miss a Ring Indicator change if RI and only RI changes state more than once per millisecond.

UARTs in the 8250 family include 8250s, 16450s, 16550s and 16550 variants. If you have any questions about the behavior of your UART and Ring Indicator, please contact technical support.