The Code Operated Switch II (COS II) makes code-operated switching possible for diverse combinations of serial devices. As it switches, the COS II also reconciles differences in word size, speed, flow control, and parity for up to four devices. An Expansion Board, available separately, doubles the maximum number of devices, to eight.
Configuration is port-independent: You may set different speeds, word sizes, parities, and flow-control requirements for each port. The 8K buffer handles speed conversions from 110 bps to 19,200 bps. DTE and DCE are also independently determined for every port.
A control sequence manages the switching for the COS II. The COS II will accept the sequence from any port—the master port, which will ordinarily have a PC or terminal connected to it, or any of the four (or eight) slave ports.
A special graphics timeout lets you send graphics files through the Switch without the chance of accidental switching. In graphics mode, the COS II recognizes the appearance of the control code only when the code characters are preceded by a pause of a specified length. The COS II treats all other occurrences of the control code as data—they are passed along to the slave device with the rest of the characters in the file.
Any office, lab, or shop with a variety of serial devices will benefit from a COS II. Use it in a typical multiprinter office, or to transfer files between computers. You could also set up the COS II as the link between a single PC and a mixture of high- and low-speed remote data lines. The COS II will pass your high-speed—9600-bps—data without interference, while the internal buffer of the COS will downshift PC data for the slower modems.
