RoadRunner
U S E R S G U I D E
12
RS422/RS449/RS530 and X.21 Using the DIF101 Digital
Interface
The RS422 interface specification defines only the electrical voltages at
the interface and leaves the pin-out and meaning of the pins to the
hardware designer. The RS449 interface specification utilizes the
electrical specifications of RS422 but specifies a mechanical connector.
RS449 equipment is therefore electrically compatible with the
RoadRunner
RS422 interface when an appropriate adapter cable is
used. RS449 also specifies numerous control signals besides clock and
data, which are not used by the
RoadRunner
. The
RoadRunner
RS422
interface pin-out is specified in Appendix A.
The RS422 interface also has a separate clock for the transmitted and
received data. The RS422 interface can also echo the transmitter clock.
If the terminal equipment clocks the encoder data with the echoed
clock, the
RoadRunner
may be located up to 4000 feet (1219 meters)
from the terminal equipment without concern for encoder-to-clock
skew.
The X.21 (also known as RS530) interface specification is, in general, a
very complex specification. The general specification allows a
mechanism for communication between the customer equipment and
the network. This communication path can be used for things such as
dialing. A sub-set of the specification, called the leased circuit, used
here, restricts the interconnection to only clock and data and a very
simple control signal. The mechanical connector required is the DB15
with the pin-out specified in Appendix A. The electrical specification
for X.21 is identical to those of RS422. The X.21 interface has only one
clock for both transmit and receive signals.
Since the X.21 uses the RS422 electrical interface, the
RoadRunner
can
use the same connector for both interfaces. In the case of the X.21
interface, the single clock is used internally for both transmit and
receive timing. To change the hardware configuration of the DIF101
interface card between X.21 and RS422/RS449, change the position of
jumper J4 on the interface module. The jumper on positions 1 and 2
sets X.21 operation, and when on positions 2 and 3, the card is set for
RS422/RS449 operation.
Once the DIF101 module is installed, select the appropriate interface
type from the
RoadRunner
menu: