5
SERIAL CONSOLE REFERENCE
5.1
Introduction
This section documents the usage of the WinSystems Serial Console feature present
on the PCM-586 board. The serial console consists of special BIOS code and a special
terminal program used to communicate with the board. The principal design criteria for
the serial console was the ability to access the AWARD CMOS setup options without the
need for a standard keyboard or video adapter and monitor. This allows embedded system
designers and technicians access to CMOS setup on the PCM-586 using only a laptop
computer.
5.2
Wincom.exe Serial Console Client
Wincom.exe is the application run on the laptop or other 100% PC compatible in order
to access the PCM-586. The client is started on the DOS command line with :
WIN COM port in ter rupt baud_rate
'port' is re placed with the I/O port ad dress of the de sired com port in hex. i.e. 3F8 for
COM1 and 2F8 for COM2. This al lows for the us age of non stan dard ad dresses for COM
ports.
'i nte rrupt' is re placed with the IRQ number as signed to the de sired COM port
typi cally the val ues would be 4 for COM1 and 3 for COM2.
‘Baud_rate’ is re placed with one of the fol low ing val ues
1200
2400
4800
9600
19200
38400
57600
115200
which is the baud_rate to use for the connection. Higher baud_rates mean snappier
response but may be limited due to the client PC. The best compromise for speed and
reliability in testing was 38400. The baud_rate MUST be matched to the “Console Baud
Rate” selected in CMOS setup (discussed later) in order for the systems to communicate.
021402
OPERATIONS MANUAL PCM-586
Page
5-7
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