Scan-Data C

C
TELEMETRY EQUIPMENT
SIGNAL MULTIPLEXERS
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Phone: 818-785-6200
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APP-1238
01-05-00
Application Note APP-1238

The Serial Port & Bell-202 Modems Explained.

The PC serial port can be the cause of confusion. Ask

anyone who has spent hours of frustration trying to
figure out the pin numbers, the difference between 25-
pin and 9-pin and male and female connectors and
trying to figure out which pin is transmit, #3 or #2? And
where are these pins? Listed below are the answers to
these and other questions.
How may pins does the serial port use?
Originally, all computer serial ports had 25 pins with
special functions designated for each pin. As the
computer science progressed, less and less of these
functions were needed and today almost all serial
ports on computers, PLCs and RTUs have only 9
pins. And not even all of these are used, as we shall
see.
How many of these pins are really
needed?
The minimum that's needed, in some cases, are four
pins. Our LDR-S Spread Spectrum Data Radio and
our MDM-202D full duplex modem uses four pins in its
9 pin connector. A transmit data pin, a received data
pin, a clear to send pin and a ground pin.
Where are these four pins and how can I
identify them?
If you look at the serial port at the back of your
computer, you will probably see a 9 pin male serial
connector. It is called a 'male' because it has little pins
sticking out. A 'female' connector has holes instead of
pins.
Pin #3 is the 3rd pin from the left in the top (wide) row
on the male connector. This is the transmit data pin.
Pin #2 is the 2nd pin from the left in the top row. It is
the receive data pin. Pin #5 is the rightmost one in the
What kind of modems are
there?
There are basically two major categories
of modems in use. One is the dialing (or
dial up) modems. The other is the
continuous communication modems that
work over continuous connections such
as proprietary direct or leased cables or
over proprietary radios.
The rapid expansion of the Internet has
caused an incredibly rapid development
in advanced dialing modems. The first
dialing modems, the old Bell-103 data
set, ran at 300 baud. This means 300
bits or 30 characters per second.
Requirements for faster Internet
connections have driven the modem
speeds higher and higher. Today,
56,000 baud modems can be bought
anywhere for less than $50.00.
The speed of continuous communication
modems for SCADA and Telemetry has
remained at 1,200 baud. There are
many reasons for this.
One is that the Bell-202 modulation
system used is virtually error free and
works very well, even over questionable
cable and radio circuits. Another is that
the measurement and command data
strings normally sent over these
modems are also short, normally only a
few seconds in duration.
In these systems, reliability is always
more important than speed.
top row. It is the ground connection. Pin #8 is the
second pin from the right in the bottom row. It is the
clear to send (CTS) pin. The five pin row, pins 1 - 5
reading from left to right, is the widest part of the
connector. It is almost always at the top. The narrower
four pin row, pins 6 - 9 reading from left to right, is at
the bottom.
What are the other pins used for?
If you want your program to communicate over radio or
over simplex modems, it is going to have to tell the
modem to turn the modem and radio carriers on and
off. That's the main thing pin #7, Request To Send,
(RTS) is there for. When the program wishes to
transmit a message, it activates this pin (sets it high).
The modem then answers by setting pin #8 (Clear To
Send, CTS) high, telling the program that it can go
ahead and transmit.
APP-1238, Page 2
In devices that do not accept (or need) RTS, such as
the LDR-S Data Radio and the MDM-202D full duplex
modem, the CTS pin is always held high and RTS is
ignored.
Some SCADA programs, like Lookout, allow you to
select or unselect the RTS/CTS option. Set this option
'ON' if you use MDM-202A or MDM-202B modems
operating over cable or radio. If you use the MDM-
202D full duplex cable only modem or the LDR-S
Spread Spectrum Data Radio, you can set it either
'ON' or 'OFF' as these two devices do not need the
RTS signal. All ScanData RS-232 RTUs always have
this option 'ON'
A few low cost PLCs, designed to talk short distances
over direct wiring, do not have this RTS/CTS option.
They can therefore not work over radio (except over
the LDR-S Spread Spectrum Radio) and need the
MDM-202D full duplex modem to work over cables.
There is an adjustable delay between the incoming
RTS and the outgoing CTS in all ScanData modems.
Normally it is set to zero delay as most programs do
not require a delay. But if your program needs it, it is
there. Adjust it to what your program needs with the
potentiometer on the MDM-202 -A and -B boards. Fully
counter clockwise gives you no delay and fully
clockwise gives you about 1 second delay. It is factory
set for 100 mS delay. An on board jumper extends this
to 10 seconds.
How about the remaining pins?
Below is a complete list of the pins in a DB-9
connector with their 2- or 3 letter designators. Some of
these have a corresponding indicating red LED built
into our MDM-202B modem , as noted below, making
it easy for you to check their operation.
Pin #1, CDT, is the far end modem carrier detect.
With an indicating LED. It tells you that the carrier from
the far end modem is turned on.
Pin #2, TD, is the transmit data from the modem. With
an indicating LED. It tells you that the modem is
transmitting data to the PC.
Pin #3, RD, is the received data into the modem. With
an indicating LED. It tells you that the modem is
receiving data from the PC.
Pin #4, DTR, is data terminal ready (left open on most
devices).
Pin #5, SG, is signal ground.
Pin #6, DSR, is data set ready (normally held high).
Pin #7, RTS, is request to send. With an indicating
LED. It tells you that the modem has turned its carrier
on and that it has activated the 'transmit on' terminals
that connect to the radio.
Pin #8, CTS, is clear to send (see above).
Pin #9, RI, is ring indicator (normally held high).
What do these LEDs tell me?
Watching these LEDs blink on and off will give you a
good indication of the operation of your system, as
follows.
At the central PC, RTU or PLC you will see the RTS
LED go on when the program starts transmitting. The
transmit data TD LED then goes on as the outgoing
message is sent. When the central is through
transmitting, the RTS and the TD LEDs go off. When
the far end device answers, the CD LED will go on,
followed by the RD LED.
At the far end modem, the LEDs turn on in a reverse
sequence: First the CDT LED and the RD LED go on
as the message is received. After the message is
received they go off and the RTS and TD LEDs go on
as the unit answers.
Why is there a delay between RTS and
CTS?
The delay between RTS and CTS serves to give the
transmission circuit time to stabilize after the carrier is
turned on. In some PLCs this is called the 'Warmup
delay' and it is software adjustable. There is also a
small software adjustable 'Warmdown' delay between
the end of the transmit data and the dropping of the
RTS. This delay creates a pause between the end of
the message and the inevitable noise character(s) that
occur when the carrier drops. When you talk over a
press to talk radio you hear this noise when the far
end transmitter goes off as a 'squelch tail' noise. The
pause between the message and the noise gives the
software a better chance to separate the two.
On cable circuits you need only a short delay for the
modem carrier to stabilize; 5 - 20 mA. On radio circuits
you need a longer delay for the radio carrier and AGC
to stabilize, 100 mS and up. If the radio circuit has
APP-1238, Page 3
multiple frequency repeaters (not store and forward
repeaters), you need to add the delay needed for each
transmitter in the chain.
Adjust the RTS/CTS delay on the MDM-202 modem
accordingly. This assumes that the PC or PLC
program checks CTS before transmitting, which most
do. Check the Scan-Data Application Note APP-1288
for a detailed explanation on how to adjust this delay
when working with the LOOKOUT software.
How about converter plugs?
All serial port and modem connectors are called DB-
something. Either DB-25 ( seldom used nowadays) or
DB-9, depending on how many pins they have. These
can be male or female as described above. You can
buy converter plugs to go from DB-25 to DB-9, from
male to female, in nearly every combination possible.
Which pin is transmit, #2 or #3?
That depends. On the PC, RTU and PLC serial
connector, pin #3 is generally the data transmit pin and
pin #2 is the receive data pin. On the modem pin #2 is
the data transmit pin and #3 is the receive data pin. In
this way you match transmitter to receiver when you
plug them together.
What's a null modem?
The above pin arrangement works fine between the
PC and the modem. But not when you wish connect
two PCs (or two PLCs or two RTUs) together, to have
them talk to each other. You then have to cross the
wires connecting pins #2 and #3. You want the
transmit pin (#3) from one end to go to the receiver
pin ( #2) at the other end and vice versa. Simply
crossing these two wires in your connector cable will
do the job. You do this and then you will have a null
modem cable. You can, of course, buy a null modem
cable or a connector already made up.
Do I really have to worry about all this?
Maybe not. All ScanData RTUs with built in modems
and robust software packages such as ScadaGraph
and Lookout handle all this automatically. Other RTUs,
PLCs and other software packages have caused
problems in these areas, resulting in numerous phone
calls for help. The questions have always been the
same and they are the reason why the answers have
been written in this application note.