Serial Cards Expand PC Capability
PCI serial cards are installed inside of the PC’s case, and can be used to add more ports to your standard PC. While this involves removing the PC cover, it is easily done. Most newer PCs are designed to provide easy access to the inside for expansion and upgrade. Once the power is turned off, the cover can be removed. The card slots are obvious and the new serial card can easily be slipped into place. A slot cover on the case back is taken off and the new card secured with the existing hardware. PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) type slots are found in standard PCs today. PCI Serial Cards use software that installs drivers for the card onto the PC with Plug and Play simplicity. ISA (Industry
Standard Architecture) Cards are yet another way to add serial ports
to the older desktop PCs. ISA type slots are becoming scarce in consumer
PCs today. They are often found in industrial PCs. The ISA Cards are
typically configured using A number of serial card variations are available. Optical isolation is a popular feature. It protects the serial port and its connected equipment from data line spikes and surges. Newer PCs may provide power of only 3.3 VDC (Volts Direct Current) compared to the 5.0 volts used on earlier machines. There are cards now available to work on that lower voltage. Other cards have a special low profile to fit in the tight confines of slim-line PCs. Connectors are available in many flavors- DB9, DB25, RJ45 and others. A slightly off-topic but related product is a USB port to serial converter. This is to add serial ports to a modern PC that has only a USB port. This is an external device that simply plugs into the USB port and has from one to sixteen or more serial ports on its output side. One supplier of
serial cards and USB port converters is B&B Electronics of Ottawa,
Illinois. They have a free catalog
which may be obtained by calling +353
91 792444
or visiting their website www.bb-europe.com. #########
|
||||||||
Ottawa,
IL – Do
you need to add two, four or eight extra ports to your industrial
or personal PC? Or to change the regular RS-232 PC output to RS-422
or RS-485 to extend its range up to 4,000 feet, rather than the 50
feet normally provided? The answer to these questions can be the installation
of a new serial card into your PC.