
Ether I/O 24 Users Manual V1.3
Elexol Pty Ltd Version 1.3
Page 6
http://www.elexol.com
E L E
X O L
E L E C T R O N I C
S O L U T I O N S
Functional Description
The Ether I/O 24 is an integrated, micro-controller based network interface board with 24 digital user I/O
lines and an on board switch mode voltage regulator. The module’s firmware and hardware enable your
devices or other modules to be connected to a generic Ethernet network and controlled or sensed using
industry standard protocols. Each of the 24 User I/O lines operates at 5V maximum levels and can be
independently programmed as, an Input whose state can be remotely sensed via another network device, an
Input whose state is internally checked and transmitted when a change occurs, or an output whose state can
be remotely controlled by another networked device.
The IP Address of the module is determined either automatically by BOOTP protocol from a DHCP server
or is programmed by the user to be at a fixed address. The MAC or Ethernet address of the module is
factory programmed and cannot be altered by the user.
Onboard firmware reads the user configuration stored on the module’s onboard non-volatile memory and
sets the ports to a user configured state at power up. If un-configured, all ports will be set as inputs with
the input thresholds set at TTL levels and the pull-up function disabled.
If configured to do so, the module periodically scans any or all of the digital inputs, filters any changes to
remove noise and signals a remote unit of the changes. The scan rate can be set from 1 millisecond to 65.5
seconds and the filter can be set to discard any number of unstable readings from 1 up to 255. Each of the
24 signal lines has an independent control bit that controls whether the module detects changes on that line.
Filtering is done on a per port basis with each port filtered as a group. When any line is set as an output its
state is not checked for changes.
If a PC controls the module, the Programmer must have access to an UDP/IP socket in order to
communicate with the module. The Winsock control in MS Windows operating systems provides for such
communication in a simple and easy manner. As other operating systems have different methods of
programming network sockets, please consult your operating system’s specifications, software and
language manuals for details of how to open a UDP/IP socket to communicate with the module.
The programmer should note that the UDP/IP protocol requires an IP address and a Port Number to allow
communication with the module. The Port number for communication with the module is 2424 decimal
and this port number is used for all UDP/IP communications for module and port programming. Other port
numbers are used for the ICMP and BOOTP protocols, however the programmer is advised not to use other
ports unless they possess an extensive knowledge of these protocols.
The IP address of the module can be programmed to a fixed address by a windows PC running the
ELEXOL Ether I/O 24 Test and Programming utility software (downloadable from the Elexol website).
Alternately, the user may program the fixed IP address from their own software by using the EEPROM
writing commands. If the Fixed IP address function is not used the module will have a dynamically
assigned IP address from the DHCP server. To find the IP address of any module, broadcast a special
message to port 2424 and each of the Ether I/O 24 modules will respond, stating their IP address, Ethernet
address and firmware version number.
LED Functions
There are 2 LED indicator lights on the Ether I/O 24 module; their operation is as follows.
UPPER LED = NETWORK LINK/ACTIVITY. This LED is illuminated when the module is powered and
the network interface has detected a connection. The LED will blink whenever there is
activity on the network link.
LOWER LED = VALID COMMAND. This LED illuminates for 0.1 second each time the unit processes a
valid command. When the commands are arriving faster than 10 times per second the
LED will be continuously illuminated.