The BayTech H-Series multiport controllers are flexible, multi-function data acquisition and control units that provide cost effective data communications for applications that require control of multiple peripherals from a single host computer. Designed with flexibility in mind, the H-Series controllers can be programmed to provide full duplex communication between host and peripheral or can provide real-time data acquisition from remote peripherals. In a typical application, the host port may be connected to such devices as bar code readers, cash registers, fire alarms, numerical machines, modems, plotters, printers, security systems, and terminals.
The host computer system may individually select up to seventeen peripheral devices and send data to the selected device. The 525H interfaces four peripheral devices to a single host device, the 528H and 529H interface eight peripherals, and the 5218H interfaces seventeen peripherals. All H-Series models will simultaneously multiplex incoming data from peripheral devices to be transmitted to the host system. The method of data transmission from the peripheral devices to the host system is dependent upon the mode of operation.
The H-Series models feature six user-selectable modes of operation. The six modes of operation are:
Mode 1 Full Duplex Communication - Allows a single host computer to switch between a maximum of seventeen peripheral devices. Provides bidirectional data transfer between the host computer and the selected peripheral device. Data received from non-selected peripheral devices is stored in a buffer until the port is selected.
Mode 2 All messages from all ports - Provides automatic multiplexing of all messages from all peripheral devices. Data is buffered until a terminating character is received or until the buffer fills. The messages are then sent to the host device preceded by a port identification code.