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FMT 3000 Hardware Reference Manual - Introduction
Note: No system setup procedures are required after installing new memory
since the memory controller automatically scans the DRAM sites and
determines the amount of memory.
Communication Port Control
The unit has four serial communications ports (COM1 - 4) and one internal parallel port
(LPT1). The LPT1 port is used to interface the LCD display (described later in this section).
Two dual 550 type UARTS are used to provide the 4 serial ports.
COM1, COM2
Serial communications ports COM1 and COM2 are general purpose 9-pin RS-232 ports that
accept and output standard RS-232 signal voltage levels. The standard DB9-pin male
connector for COM1 is located inside the unit’s case, and the standard DB9-pin male
connector for COM2 is located at the recessed area at the front of the unit. Using ordinary
communications software, these ports can be used for any common serial communication
tasks (point-to-point or external modem communications).
COM3
COM3 is dedicated to interfacing to the bar code decoder. The decoder circuitry, which
provides three separate bar code and magnetic card reader interfaces, is described under the
Communication Port Wedging
Data from COM3 can be redirected (“wedged”) into the keyboard buffer via software
drivers. This allows data decoded from bar code devices appear directly in the keyboard
input stream. Information on keyboard wedging is found in Chapter 4, Bar Coding,
of the
FMT 3000 Software Manual.
COM4
COM4 is primarily dedicated to supporting the RS-485 port option board which mounts to
an internal 10-pin connector on the power I/O board. The connector carries COM4’s Rx,
Tx, RTS/ and CTS/ signals as well as +5 V and GND to drive the RS-485 option board. Signal
inputs unused by the RS-485 interface are tied to ground.
Normally, COM4 is enabled and uses IRQ 11. A category in the Setup utility (
) allows COM4 to be disabled (or enabled), making the port assignment and
associated IRQ available for use by PCMCIA or PC/104 devices.