RS 422/485 Communications Network Analyzer

Frontline’s “RS-422/485 ComProbe” – A Portable, Rugged and Easy-to-Use Device for monitoring Asynchronous RS-422/485 communications

To keep pace with advances in technology, the tried and true NetDecoder™ analyzer has been upgraded to support the new "RS-422/485 ComProbe". Most new laptops and PCs do not have PCMCIA interfaces and the PC industry has migrated towards USB ports. To help our customers monitor asynchronous serial communications via their PC's USB port, Frontline has introduced its new RS-422/485 ComProbe II. This new device plugs into a PC's USB port and has screw terminal connectors to tap into the RS-422/485 circuit.

The RS-422/485 ComProbe monitors and captures Asynchronous RS-422/584 communications. It does not lose timing and control signal information. With this new interface, Frontline has made its NetDecoder analyzer more rugged, easier to use, portable and transportable. It allows you to spend more time doing your real job.

• Captures, decodes, timestamps, filters and displays data, and detects protocol errors (indicated in red) simultaneously, all live and in real-time
• Data is also displayed in binary, octal, hex, and ASCII
• Familiar tree (Explorer style) protocol decode display with single-click protocol filtering
• Session notes and annotated bookmarks allow for quick identification of questionable messages
• Log data to single or multiple files
• Reduce downtime and increase uptime
• Improve network performance
• Improve network security
• Improve network maintenance
• Perform faster and more efficient network installations
• Rapidly develop industrial control and SCADA network products
• Perform better in conformance testing of your network products

The new RS-422/485 ComProbe allows the user plenty of options for monitoring various serial communication setups. The I/O Settings dialog allows the user to configure the setup.

The RS-422/485 ComProbe supports data rates up to 921.6Kbps. The user can pick one of the standard rates in the drop down box in the I/O Settings dialog. For non-standard rates, the user can simply type in the value in the box.

The RS-422/485 ComProbe can monitor serial communications with 5, 6, 7 or 8 data bits and with 1, 1.5 or 2 stop bits. The device also supports all the standard parity types (None, Odd, Even, Mark, Space, and Ignore).

The user can also choose the bit order on their serial communication circuit. The choices are either LSB (least significant bit) first or MSB (most significant bit) first. LSB first is normal, while MSB first is considered "reversed" from normal. This option reverses the order of the bits within each byte.

The user can also choose to monitor either DTE only, DCE only or both DTE and DCE ends of the communication.

The RS-422/485 ComProbe can be used for monitoring both 2-wire and 4-wire RS-422/485 communication circuits.

For 2-wire circuits, Serialtest expects to see the transmit lines of your circuit connected to the corresponding pins on the RS-422/485 ComProbe. Tap off of the Transmit + line (TX+) of your circuit, and connect that to pin 1 (TX+) on the RS-422/485 ComProbe, then tap off of the Transmit - line (TX-) and connect that to pin 2 (TX-) on the RS-422/485 ComProbe.

For a four wire circuit, the procedure is the same. Tap off of the Transmit + line (TX+) of your circuit, and connect that to pin 1 (TX+) on one RS-422/485 ComProbe, then tap off of the Transmit - line (TX-) and connect that to pin 2 (TX-) on the RS-422/485 ComProbe. Do the same with the Receive lines, tap off of the X+ and connect that to pin 6 on the RS-422/485 ComProbe then tap RX- and send it to pin 7 on the RS-422/485 ComProbe.

More details about wiring information for these configurations are available in this document.

Frontline's new licensing scheme allows you to share the analyzer among different platforms used by different individuals. A desktop user would simply park his key, download it to his laptop and head to the remote site exhibiting symptoms of a problem.

Frontline's NetDecoder™ protocol analyzer is designed to diagnose and troubleshoot communication problems in industrial networks. The NetDecoder analyzer is a combination of software and hardware. The hardware is used as a license key to activate the software. Frontline's NetDecoder analyzer has the ability to monitor and provide detailed timing, data and messaging information for serial, fieldbus, and ethernet networks.

The NetDecoder protocol analyzer is used in many industries including Oil & Gas, Food and beverage, Electric power transmission, Water or sewer management, and Factory automation.

When something goes wrong with your industrial network, spending time and resources trying to diagnose and resolve the problem is very costly. With NetDecoder software combined with capturing hardware, you can learn about impending problems before they occur. It’s an intuitive, passive network monitor and trouble-shooting tool that offers high level views of your network activity and helps you understand your communications traffic.

Together with our hardware interfaces, Frontline’s NetDecoder protocol analyzer monitors and provides detailed timing, data, and messaging information for a wide range of communications protocols.

Information is show in multiple views and displays:

• Byte Level Display
• Frame Level Display
• Network Statistics
• Network View
• Dashboard View

Learn more about NetDecoder software and its Core Features to see how it can help you to more efficiently monitor and troubleshoot your industrial communication networks.