A7N8X 2.0 and com port problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter FireBrick
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FireBrick

This is a bit long so please bear with me.
Computer A was a XP1700 on a Soyo board with a Via chipset.
I used com 1 to control my Amateur Radio.
It worked perfectly.

I've upgraded to a Asus & XP3000
I wish to use com 1 or com 2 to control my Amateur Radio but have no
success.

I've checked, both machines have EXACTLY the same settings, I/O addresses
for com 1 and com 2
But no joy.
I'm fairly conversant with this topic so I do know how to check settings.
The Asus board and Com 1 WILL work with other equipment such as a modem.

It's not a wiring issue as I can rehook to the old computer and com will
again controls the radio.

I've checked bios obviously.
But the onboard Asus com 1 AND com2 will not work with the radio as they did
on the older machine.

Same Windows XP drivers, in same directories on both machines.
I'm totally stumped.

Can their be a voltage difference between the two chipsets that would be
insufficient?

Sure hope someone can come up with an idea.
 
"FireBrick" said:
This is a bit long so please bear with me.
Computer A was a XP1700 on a Soyo board with a Via chipset.
I used com 1 to control my Amateur Radio.
It worked perfectly.

I've upgraded to a Asus & XP3000
I wish to use com 1 or com 2 to control my Amateur Radio but have no
success.

I've checked, both machines have EXACTLY the same settings, I/O addresses
for com 1 and com 2
But no joy.
I'm fairly conversant with this topic so I do know how to check settings.
The Asus board and Com 1 WILL work with other equipment such as a modem.

It's not a wiring issue as I can rehook to the old computer and com will
again controls the radio.

I've checked bios obviously.
But the onboard Asus com 1 AND com2 will not work with the radio as they did
on the older machine.

Same Windows XP drivers, in same directories on both machines.
I'm totally stumped.

Can their be a voltage difference between the two chipsets that would be
insufficient?

Sure hope someone can come up with an idea.
Click to expand...

It could be flow control signals. If the Radio uses flow control on
RS-232, maybe not all the flow control signals are working properly
on the new board. Flow control, baud rate, start/stop bits, or parity.

In terms of voltage, RS-232 levels are something like +/- 3V to
+/- 25V. Since the ATX PS has +12 and -12 supplies, it should be
dead easy for the A7N8X RS-232 interface to have enough voltage
to work. Some RS-232 products only have +5V and GND, and don't
have any voltage conversion circuitry - these devices sometimes
work on a very short cable, but long runs cause the device to
not be able to communicate. So, _maybe_ in this case, the Radio
does something like that (insufficient I/O voltage), but that seems
hardly likely. (Products like that actually use a RS-422 chip
single ended, and the result shouldn't work, but it does.)

You need to make yourself a breakout box. Buy a male and female
RS-232 connector of a type to match the computer. Wire all the
pins straight through, leaving room to get a voltmeter on each
wire. Place the breakout in line with the normal connecting cable
and two devices. Compare static levels on old config versus new config,
to see what is different. With the "no-mans-land" between -3 and +3,
you shouldn't be seeing any signals but GND and shield_GND at
zero volts. (Both devices need to be connected together, like
they normally would be, so you can see what the signals are
really doing.) My recollection is the resting state of data signals
TX and RX is the opposite polarity compared to the flow control
signals. Consult one of the many web tutorials for more info,
because each time I debug one of these, I have to go back and
reread it all.

If you aren't into all that kind of work, there are also RS-232
products that have a LED per signal on a little tester. Some
of these devices also have test points on the top of the tester,
so you can insert your multimeter and measure the voltage.
While these are undoubtedly fun to have, I prefer good ole
connectors, wire, and solder myself.

I keep a whole bag of RS-232 converters and debugging tools
around for occasions like this. There must be $100 worth of
odds and ends in there.

Have fun,
Paul
 
thank you for your reply.
I've determined that the port IS working as I can use another program to
control that port and the radio.
Also the port cycles the radio during the computer start up as it
initializes the ports.
This leads me to think the problem is more with I/O addresses, irq
utilization or drivers.
Back to the drawing board.

thanks anyway.
 
"FireBrick" said:
thank you for your reply.
I've determined that the port IS working as I can use another program to
control that port and the radio.
Also the port cycles the radio during the computer start up as it
initializes the ports.
This leads me to think the problem is more with I/O addresses, irq
utilization or drivers.
Back to the drawing board.

thanks anyway.
Click to expand...

Does the program that doesn't work with the Radio have a preferences
panel in the interface ? Have you selected the correct COM port from
the list in the preferences panel? Perhaps the COM port you want to
use is marked as "busy", due to a conflict in the use of two programs
that want to access the COM port at the same time ? It could be a
software problem, but at a level above I/O addresses and IRQ.

As a hardware guy, I would wire the TX or the RX from that cable, to
the RX pin on another COM port. Then, point Hyperterminal to the
second port, and observe whether any communication happens on the port.
If you had two spare COM ports, you could look at both sides of the
link at the same time, rather than just being able to see half of
what is happening.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the OS had a snooping capability ?

Just guessing,
Paul
 
Yes the program has a setup panel.
You can choose the com port and all it's settings.
Settings between the two computers are identical.
Registry settings between the two computers are identical as to that
programs com port settings, I/O addresses and IRQ choice. (although it's PCI
and IRQ's shouldn't matter.

Other users of the program have the same problem but then others do not.
It seems to be machine specific.

If I choose the SIIG dual port pci add-on card and select one of those com
ports, then all functions work correct.
Now of course the SIIG card utilizes it's own drivers so it's tough to
compare.

Other users of this program and the authors have been trying to figure this
out for over two years.

Thanks for the suggestions and help.
 
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