Panther PN-6730-UXP, User Manual

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2.7 Connecting RS232 Control Cables
Many installations control the displays with RS232 commands from a computer or processor. If your
installation does not, skip this section.
RS232 control has one big advantage: you can control
one or more Panthers from a computer at a consider-
able distance.
! If your installation will not use RS232 control, skip this
section.
RS232 connections are made with cables like those
used for computer networks. These cables have eight
(8) conductors and have RJ-45 connectors on each
end.
!
It is important that the cable have ‘straight through’
connections. To know if your cable is correct, hold the
two connectors side by side with the ends pointing in
the same direction. Look at the side of the connectors
that do not have the locking tab. If the colors of the
wires inside the connector are the same left to right for
both connectors, this is the correct cable. If the colors
are mirror reflections of each other, it is the wrong type.
You need an adapter to go from the computer’s 9-pin
serial output connector to an RJ-45 connector. Adapt-
ers of this type are readily available at computer and
electronic supply stores. You will only need one
adapter; all the rest of the connections will be RJ-45
to RJ-45.
The adapter is not pre-wired. You will make three
connections inside the adapter, as described on the
facing page and in “Connector Diagrams” on
page 146.
Connecting RS232 cables
1. Connect the adapter to the serial output connec-
tor of the controlling computer. (This computer
does not have to be the same one as the computer
used as a picture source.) The serial output is
sometimes called the Comm Port, and sometimes
there are two.
! If the serial output is a 25-pin connector, use a 25-to-9-
pin adapter, then the 9-pin to RJ-45 adapter.
2. Connect a cable from the RJ-45 adapter to the
nearest display’s RS232 In connector.
3. Connect this first display’s RS232 Out connector
to the next display’s RS232 In connector.
4. Continue in this way until all displays are con-
nected.
! The order in which you connect the displays is not
important. You can connect them in any order that is
convenient and keeps the cable lengths to a minimum.