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SERVSWITCH™ BRAND CAT5 KVM/SERIAL/AUDIO EXTENDER

Appendix C: 

Keyboard-Command Summary

Here is a brief list of the keyboard commands you can use to control your
ServSwitch™ Brand CAT5 KVM/Serial/Audio Extender. For detailed descriptions
of the commands and the effects they have on the system (including their effects
on the keyboard LEDs), refer to 

Section 7.3

.

Function:

Keyboard command/activity:

Take control of local CPU

Press any key on keyboard or move mouse

Reset keyboard and mouse

Press and release {hotkey*}, then press and

release keypad’s up-arrow (number [8]) key

Send null byte to mouse

Press and release {hotkey*}, then press and

release keypad’s left-arrow (number [4]) key

Enter Private Mode

Press and release {hotkey*}, then press and

release [Scroll Lock]

*The default {hotkey} is right-[Ctrl], but you can set it to left-[Ctrl]; see 

Section 5.2

.

Summary of Contents for ServSwitch ACU1022A

Page 1: ......

Page 2: ...ad line of robust solutions for all these applications Do you have just two PCs and need an economical alternative to keeping two monitors keyboards and mice on your desk Or do you need to share dozens of computers including a mix of IBM PC RS 6000 Apple Macintosh Sun Microsystems and SGI compatibles among multiple users with different access levels Does your switch have to sit solidly on a workta...

Page 3: ...likely to cause interference in which case the user at his own expense will be required to take whatever measures may be necessary to correct the interference Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user s authority to operate the equipment Shielded PC equipment cables must be used with this equipment to maintain compliance with radio ...

Page 4: ...or recommended for use with this product TRADEMARKS USED IN THIS MANUAL BLACK BOX and the logo are registered trademarks and ServSwitch is a trademark of Black Box Corporation Apple and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc AT T is a registered trademark of AT T Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation IBM PC AT PS 2 and RS 6000 are registered trademarks and PC XT...

Page 5: ...ricante 7 El aparato eléctrico debe ser montado a la pared o al techo sólo como sea recomendado por el fabricante 8 Servicio El usuario no debe intentar dar servicio al equipo eléctrico más allá a lo descrito en las instrucciones de operación Todo otro servicio deberá ser referido a personal de servicio calificado 9 El aparato eléctrico debe ser situado de tal manera que su posición no interfiera ...

Page 6: ...xterna deberá ser localizada lejos de las lineas de energia 16 El cable de corriente deberá ser desconectado del cuando el equipo no sea usado por un largo periodo de tiempo 17 Cuidado debe ser tomado de tal manera que objectos liquidos no sean derramados sobre la cubierta u orificios de ventilación 18 Servicio por personal calificado deberá ser provisto cuando A El cable de poder o el contacto ha...

Page 7: ...the Local Unit to the Remote Unit 21 5 Configuration 22 5 1 Setting the Cable Length Jumpers 22 5 2 Setting the DIP Switch Keyboard Command Hotkey 24 5 3 Setting the Microphone Amplification Jumper Not Normally Necessary 24 6 Installation 25 6 1 Test Placing the Extender Optional 25 6 2 Attaching Devices 25 6 2 1 Special Concerns About Connecting Audio Devices 26 6 2 2 Attaching a CPU to the Local...

Page 8: ...7 3 3 The Inactivity Timeout Dual Access Extender Only 36 7 3 4 Private Mode Dual Access Extender Only 37 8 Troubleshooting 38 8 1 Common Problems 38 8 1 1 Keyboard 38 8 1 2 Mouse 39 8 1 3 Both Keyboard and Mouse 40 8 1 4 Serial Device 41 8 1 5 Audio Devices 42 8 1 6 Video 42 8 1 7 Power 44 8 2 General Questions About the Extender 45 8 3 Calling Black Box 47 8 4 Shipping and Packaging 47 Appendix ...

Page 9: ...can if none of your software or hardware looks for a single isolated press and release of this key you don t need to set anything If you need to press and release this key by itself to trigger some function of an attached KVM switch or of a software program on an attached computer common on Compaq Alpha HP and other workstations for which right Ctrl maps to the Compose key move position 2 of the D...

Page 10: ...to the Remote Unit 4 Connect the Local and Remote Units with straight pinned four pair CAT5 cable 5 Power the Remote Unit with its included power supply For more information about installation or if you re attaching any KVM switches to the Extender refer to Chapter 6 Operating the Extender For the most part your Extender system should operate automatically and transparently Some functions though a...

Page 11: ...tible PC AT types require connector adapter Mouse IBM PS 2 compatible two button Microsoft IntelliMouse or Logitech PS 2 compatible 3 button Interfaces Video VGA Keyboard and mouse IBM PS 2 compatible Serial EIA TIA RS 232 DCE to CPU DTE to stations Audio Bidirectional 3 5 mm mini stereo audio Video Characteristics Bandwidth to 3 dB Local Unit 150 MHz Remote Unit 300 MHz Across 100 meters 328 feet...

Page 12: ...n to 17 dB for external microphone Maximum Distance 5 m 16 ft from the Local Unit to the attached KVM switch or CPU 5 m 16 ft from the Remote Unit to the attached KVM switch or monitor keyboard mouse serial device and audio devices 300 m 1000 ft between Local and Remote Units Dual Access ACU1028A model only 5 m 16 ft from the Local Unit to the attached keyboard mouse serial device and audio device...

Page 13: ...unted 1 HD15 female for video output to monitor 2 6 pin mini DIN female for input from keyboard and mouse 1 DB9 male for serial I O to from RS 232 device On Remote Unit 1 Front mounted RJ 45 female for local remote interconnection Rear mounted 1 HD15 female for video output to monitor 2 6 pin mini DIN female for input from keyboard and mouse 2 3 5 mm mini stereo jacks for audio I O to from audio d...

Page 14: ... and IEC 320 male inlet to external transformer Output isolated from mains ground 9 VDC regulated at up to 1 amp from transformer to Extender CAUTION If you ever need to replace the Remote Unit s power supply the replacement power supply must have identical output characteristics Using a power supply with different output even if it s almost the same could damage your Remote Unit and the attached ...

Page 15: ... model ACU1028A you can attach an additional monitor keyboard and mouse to the Local Unit the PC can then be operated from either the local or remote user station they share access on a first come first served basis see Section 7 3 3 The Extender is simple to operate and works with all operating systems no software is required Once you ve made sure you have everything you ll need see Chapter 4 and...

Page 16: ...on but not the remote user station so either a do not use a DDC monitor at your remote station or b go into your graphics card s settings turn DDC off and manually configure the card for your monitor Keyboard Standard PS 2 type 101 or 102 key or enhanced PS 2 type 104 or 105 key designed for use with versions of Windows starting with Windows 95 Also supports PC AT type keyboards with 5 pin DIN con...

Page 17: ...to 300 m 1000 ft Operate your PC from almost anywhere in the same building Fully adjustable video equalization Compensates for the loss of image quality caused by the signal passing through such a long run of cable Fully buffered signals Remote operation of the PC is consistently smooth and transparent Intelligent PS 2 keyboard and mouse emulation With this the PC boots and operates correctly unde...

Page 18: ...a standard PS 2 mouse at one user station and an IntelliMouse at the other Rackmountable You can use our Rackmount Kit product code RMK19U to place Extender Units in 1U of vertical space in a 19 rack See Appendix B We recommend that you read the remainder of this manual before you install the Extender in order to fully familiarize yourself with the product ...

Page 19: ...e DB9 male connector straight through pinned Pin 1 to Pin 1 Pin 2 to Pin 2 etc 2 6 ft 1 8 m audio extension cables with 3 5 mm plugs Keyboard video and mouse extension cabling that will run from your local CPU to the Local Unit This might be three separate cables or it might be a single bonded cable with three connectors at each end In either case the cabling will be 6 ft 1 8 m long and will have ...

Page 20: ...s on connecting a Multi Before attaching any other KVM switch to the Extender please call Black Box Technical Support to discuss your application NOTE When you order any cable listed in this section you will be asked to specify the length you want Some cables might be available in a few stock lengths only If you are using any equipment with PC AT style connectors you might also need to order some ...

Page 21: ...sses through RTS CTS DTR and DSR it is possible to substitute additional TD RD data pairs to from a second or third serial device for each pair of these hardware flow control signals if you re using software flow control or no flow control instead To do this you ll need to attach special breakout cables to the Extender s serial ports Call Black Box Technical Support if you d like to do this If you...

Page 22: ...rates higher than 100 Mbps bandwidths higher than 100 MHz This is because the wires in these cables are twisted much more tightly than those in regular CAT5 which is great for high speed data but really bad for video signals Also even though your network might use the same type of 4 wire twisted pair cabling do not connect the Extender to 10BASE T Ethernet devices or any other network equipment Do...

Page 23: ...h cables in the neighborhood of 300 meters 1000 feet long this loss is considerable There are three jumpers on the main circuit board of the Extender s Remote Unit that you can use to select an equalization adjustment range appropriate to the length of the interconnect cable you ll be running between the Local and Remote Units Figure 5 1 on the next page shows where these jumpers are Once you set ...

Page 24: ... of 0 to 100 m 0 to 330 ft set all three to OFF For cable lengths of 100 to 200 m 330 to 655 ft set all three to A For cable lengths of 200 to 300 m 655 to 1000 ft set all three to B Figure 5 1 The Remote Unit s main PCB and audio daughterboard showing the cable length jumpers MIC jumper and DIP switch MOUSE lower KEYBOARD lower MONITOR lower AUDIO LINE OUT upper AUDIO LINE IN upper SERIAL upper P...

Page 25: ... Instead of a standard right Ctrl key these workstations keyboards have a Compose key which shouldn t be absorbed by the Extender because it s required for use with some of the software written for these workstations To have the Extender use left Ctrl for its hotkey move position 2 to ON If neither right nor left Ctrl are suitable for this purpose in your application please call Black Box Technica...

Page 26: ... considerations involved in audio connections Section 6 2 2 for attaching a CPU to the CPU port of an Extender s Local Unit Section 6 2 3 for attaching a monitor keyboard and mouse to the user port of a Dual Access Extender s Local Unit Section 6 2 4 for attaching a monitor keyboard mouse serial device and or audio devices to the user port of an Extender s Remote Unit Section 6 2 5 for attaching a...

Page 27: ...UT connector of a PC s sound card colored green in the PC99 specifications or of a CD player or other audio source NOTES The Dual Access Extender s Local Unit doesn t have pass through connectors for local audio If you want to listen to audio output from the CPU at the local user station you ll need to attach an audio jack doubler to your sound card s LINE OUT connector These are inexpensive and a...

Page 28: ...rs to use on the PC s sound card see Section 6 2 1 Figure 6 1 Attaching a CPU to the Local Unit Single Access model shown 6 2 3 ATTACHING A MONITOR KEYBOARD AND MOUSE TO THE DUAL ACCESS LOCAL UNIT Plug the monitor keyboard and mouse directly into the matching connectors in the Dual Access Local Unit s user port Figure 6 2 Attaching a monitor keyboard and mouse to the Dual Access Local Unit Serial ...

Page 29: ... more guidelines on connecting audio devices see Section 6 2 1 It is theoretically possible to attach two or three serial devices to the Extender although this will require special cabling see the Note in Section 4 2 2 Figure 6 3 Attaching a user station with a monitor keyboard mouse serial device touchscreen shown microphone and speakers to the Remote Unit Power supply Speakers cable Microphone s...

Page 30: ...user port of a Dual Access Extender s Local Unit which doesn t have serial or audio ports run a regular ServSwitch Multi CPU Cable such as product code KV2020 R2 from the CPU Card to the appropriate connectors on the Local Unit s CPU port To attach a ServSwitch Multi CPU Card to the user port of an Extender s Remote Unit run a ServSwitch Multi CPU Cable with Audio such as product code KV2040 R2 fr...

Page 31: ... supply must have identical output characteristics see the Power specification in Chapter 2 Using a power supply with different output even if it s almost the same could damage your equipment 4 Power ON the PC CPU or KVM switch attached to the Local Unit s CPU port Like the Remote Unit the Local Unit has no ON OFF switch it will start up immediately if the CPU or switch provides enough keyboard li...

Page 32: ...te site s video see Section 6 4 For pictures of complete installations see Figures 6 6 and 6 7 below and Figure 6 8 on the next page Figure 6 6 An Extender system installation front view Figure 6 7 A Single Access Extender system installation rear view Remote monitor keyboard mouse speakers and modem serial cable to modem is not included Remote touchscreen monitor keyboard mouse microphone and hea...

Page 33: ... Dual Access Extender system installation rear view Local monitor keyboard and mouse Remote monitor keyboard mouse serial printer and dual connector headset with microphone Remote Unit Local Unit PC CPU Extension cables included CAT5 interconnect cable Power supply ...

Page 34: ...dows art or design program a word processor or desktop publishing package or even a graphics intensive game 2 If the video reaching the remote monitor is undercompensated you will notice black smearing on the right hand edge of large horizontal objects such as title bars The degradation becomes more noticeable as cable length increases 3 Keep your eyes on a part of the image where the smearing is ...

Page 35: ...hed KVM extension system with multiple user stations You can do this by moving cable between patch panel ports or directly between Units although you should do this as infrequently as possible to avoid wearing out the connectors on your cable and devices Or you can use a CAT5 switch but the switch must carry all eight wires maintaining the twists between the wire pairs and must have enough bandwid...

Page 36: ...e local keyboard Note that the Extender will automatically reinitialize the keyboard and mouse whenever you attach them If a reset doesn t help your remote keyboard or mouse try cycling power to the Remote Unit 7 3 2 CORRECTING THE PS 2 MOUSE IF IT GETS OUT OF SYNC On rare occasions you might notice that instead of behaving normally your mouse pointer is moving and jumping erratically all over the...

Page 37: ... ONLY Because two user stations one local one remote can be directly attached to them the Dual Access Extender has shared access features including Private Mode see Section 7 3 4 and an inactivity timeout While the inactivity timeout isn t controlled by a keyboard command per se it responds to general keyboard activity The two stations attached to the Extender normally contend for access When ther...

Page 38: ... Mode and locks out the local station the local monitor s screen will be blanked the local keyboard and mouse will be disabled and all three of the local keyboard s LEDs Num Lock Caps Lock and Scroll Lock will light to show that the station is locked out and can t access the local PC The local station will be unusable until the remote station exits Private Mode In the meantime the Scroll Lock LED ...

Page 39: ...board as described in Section 7 3 1 2 Check the interconnect cable between the Extender s Local and Remote Units Is it intact along its length and securely connected at both ends And is it wired correctly Compare its wiring with that shown in Appendix A 3 If your PC is a Pentium class machine see the entry for the My Pentium class PC problem in Section 8 1 3 4 Try a different model of keyboard If ...

Page 40: ...C problem in Section 8 1 3 4 Check the interconnect cable between the Extender s Local and Remote Units Is it intact along its length and securely connected at both ends And is it wired correctly Compare its wiring with that shown in Appendix A 5 Try powering the Remote Unit OFF and then ON again 6 Try using a different model of mouse The system does not detect a PS 2 mouse or the application cann...

Page 41: ...ave both locked up first try resetting the keyboard and mouse as described in Section 7 3 1 2 Reset the PC and try again 3 If the problem is happening at the remote station cycle power to the Remote Unit My Pentium class PC will not boot properly due to keyboard or mouse problems or After my Pentium class PC boots the keyboard and or mouse don t work Try crossing the keyboard and mouse extension c...

Page 42: ...ct along their length and securely connected at both ends 3 Check the data rate Is the device operating at a rate not exceeding 19 200 bps Is the CPU s serial port set to the same data rate 4 Check the data format and flow control Are the device and your PC s driver or serial communication program using the same format and flow control type 5 Is your PC a UNIX workstation In order to operate corre...

Page 43: ...tender doesn t support the older cheap non amplified speakers that could be plugged into the SPEAKERS jack on old sound cards 8 1 6 VIDEO The picture is not sharp or is badly smeared 1 The video compensation might not be set correctly See Section 6 4 2 Check the interconnect cable between the Extender s Local and Remote Units Is it solid core cable rated as Category 5 It might be possible to use C...

Page 44: ... motors or fluorescent lights If this is a persistent problem please discuss it with Black Box Technical Support I only need video or serial extension not keyboard mouse control but I can t get a picture Even if you are only using the Extender for video extension to drive video to a remote monitor or serial extension to drive RS 232 to or from a remote touchscreen or other device the Extender s Lo...

Page 45: ...sing a newer keyboard Some older keyboards require too high a current for the Remote Unit to properly drive the video signal The Extender doesn t seem to work correctly with my LCD panel Try reducing the refresh rate of the video signal that your graphics card is outputting The maximum refresh rates supported by most LCD panels are less than those supported by most monitors 8 1 7 POWER I don t nee...

Page 46: ...rs please contact Black Box Technical Support to discuss your application Can the Extender be used between buildings No Ground loops could destroy the Extender and attached equipment Can I use multiple Local or Remote Units by swapping interconnect cables or switching the interconnect link Because the Extender performs full keyboard and mouse emulation it is possible to swap or switch the Local Re...

Page 47: ...te monitor or KVM switch and the local CPU or KVM switch are all connected to the same utility power mains phase b Make sure that the AC voltage across the utility power mains grounds at both the local PC and remote monitor is less than 2V c Use a clean earth or clean grounding system if your site has one installed d Route the interconnection cable away from generators motors compressors fluoresce...

Page 48: ...mouse make and model of monitor type and make of CAT5 cable etc any particular application that when used appears to create the problem or make it worse and the results of any testing you ve already done To solve some problems it might be necessary to upgrade the Extender s firmware If this turns out to be the case for your difficulty our technical support technicians will arrange for you to recei...

Page 49: ...X Pair 3 7 White Brown TX Pair 4 8 Brown White RX Pair 4 NOTES In runs of our EHN840 cable over 200 m 655 ft long you might get much better video quality if at both ends of the cable you swap the green and brown pairs so that White Green is on Pin 7 Green White on Pin 8 White Brown on Pin 3 and Brown White on Pin 6 The Extender has been tested with all major makes of CAT5 cable including Black Box...

Page 50: ...o the illustration below 1 Unscrew and keep the two screws on each side of the Unit s case 2 Match up the two holes in the Unit end of each Kit bracket with the two now vacant screwholes on each side of the Unit then fasten the brackets to the Unit with the screws you removed in step 1 3 Once you ve attached both brackets match the holes in the rack end of each bracket to an appropriate set of mat...

Page 51: ...ts on the keyboard LEDs refer to Section 7 3 Function Keyboard command activity Take control of local CPU Press any key on keyboard or move mouse Reset keyboard and mouse Press and release hotkey then press and release keypad s up arrow number 8 key Send null byte to mouse Press and release hotkey then press and release keypad s left arrow number 4 key Enter Private Mode Press and release hotkey t...

Page 52: ...lting from the use of the information contained herein They reserve the right to change the specifications functions or circuitry of the product without notice The manufacturer cannot accept liability for damage due to misuse of the product or due to other circumstances outside the manufacturer s control And the manufacturer will not be responsible for any loss damage or injury arising directly or...

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