power supply plugged in the base, you can perform a site test to be sure you have adequate coverage and the radios are working perfectly. (See Chapter 4).

5.Now connect the Base Station to the computer’s serial port. Be sure to turn OFF all handshaking on the COM port used; in Windows, go to Start Menu, Settings, System, Device Manager, Ports (COM and LPT). Now run one of the RF Terminal demo programs found on the Utilities CD-ROM.

6.Now run one of the demo programs to validate that everything is working. If you have problems, refer to the Trouble Shooting Section.

Connecting the Base Station to a serial port

How it works…

The R/F Terminal transmits data to the Base station, which in turn transmits the data to the host serial port. The computer software reads the data coming through the serial port and processes the information accordingly. When the computer software running on the host has a task for the terminal, it transmits data out to the serial port, which then passes this data on to the Base station. The Base station then broadcasts the message to the terminal, causing the terminal to display the message to the user.

The Base station is not machine-sensitive (it needs a standard RS-232 serial port) nor is it operating system dependent (you just need to be able to read and write to the serial port as a separate device).

Connecting the Base station…

If you specified a 25 pin cable (part #F34) or a 9 pin cable (part #F36) when

you ordered your Base station, simply plug the RJ45 end of that cable into the COMPUTER port on the Base station, and the 25 or 9 pin end into

your computer’s serial port. If you are not connecting to a PC, see Appendix C for cable and serial pin-outs.

If your extension cable is over 80 feet long and you are running Windows,

open up the DB9 or DB25 connector on the base station side and cut the unused pins (see Appendix C.).

For an extension cable, you can use existing network cabling already in existence, but you must be certain that the Transmit and Receive data lines are not in the same twisted pair.

If you are using an extension cable and are having problems, test the cable by:

1.Connecting the Base station without using the extension cable. Simply plug in the F34 or F36 cable that came with the Base.

2.If the Base works with only the F34 or F36 cable in place, add in the extension cable without changing the physical location of the Base station. If the extension cable appears to be the culprit, check to be sure that Transmit lines are connected to Receive lines.

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Worth Data 701 RF manual Connecting the Base Station to a serial port, How it works…, Connecting the Base station…