Expanding IR and RS232 Ports
elytronic
Posts: 51
We have a project that we need 20 IR and 12 RS232 ports. I am trying to find the best and most cost effective way to do this. Usually I would go with an NI4100 and NXC-IRS4 and NXC-COM2 cardds but in this case those are not enough. How do I expand the system with more IR and RS232 ports.\
We have 2 small headends on each floor that require 2-3 IR and 1 RS232 each and I though of putting an NI700/900 there but still it does not seem like a good solution.
Thanks for any help in advance.
We have 2 small headends on each floor that require 2-3 IR and 1 RS232 each and I though of putting an NI700/900 there but still it does not seem like a good solution.
Thanks for any help in advance.
0
Comments
1. NXF holds 12 cards -- 5 IR4 cards for 20 IR outs and 6 Serial2 cards with one slot left open.
2. Put a Global Cache at each location that you need serial and IR. Then you could run the thing with an NI700 and a couple of inexpensive 8 port switches.
I've not used the Global Cache things and I don't know how hard it is to create the appropriate IR files necessary, but some people who post here have used them and I don't recall any gross gnashing of teeth over them. Search the forums for "Global Cache" if using them's a possibility.
Thanks for this. Does the NXF work standalone or does it need another controller?
I am also a bit confused between aoo the other options like the NXI, NXF-MINI, NXC-ME260/64, NXC-NH, NXS-MHS and NXS-NMS and how to combine some of these for the best solution for my needs. Is there a white paper or a design guide I can read on this?
OK, you need a master: either a master card to put in the NXF or a hub card which will allow the NXF to communicate with another Netlinx controller which has ICSNet. Not all masters have ICSNet -- only the X000 masters and maybe the NXI, I'm not sure.
Not very many times have we done jobs requiring an NXF and in those cases, a master card was used (NXC-ME260) which turns the NXF into a standalone master controller with whatever cards are installed. I think in one case we actually had two NXFs, one with a master card and one with a hub card. I'm not sure about the hub cad, that was several years ago.
Anyway, to do what you want using the NXF solution you need the NXF cardframe with the NXC-ME260 (whatever is the most modern version) to act as master and then the IR4 cards and the COM2 (2 port RS232 cards) to meet your needs. That's a clean, but probably expensive, solution.
The other devices and cards -- you're just going to have to peruse the docs on the AMX site to see what they all do -- several are devices/cards for setting up an ICSNet device network etc. It's confusing to me too as almost all of my experience is with NIx00 and NIxx00 master and a couple card frames.
By the way, if I was installing such a system for my own use, I'd probably get an NI700 and score a couple Axcent 3s from Ebay to provide all the extra ports needed. Or, one or more Axcent cardframes, though the COM cards for those were one port. The last Axcent3 I got on Ebay cost like $40 including shipping.
I too haven't heard anything negative about Global Cache but when I need more serial devices I use a Moxa IP-Serial server like this one: http://www.moxa.com/product/NPort_5650.htm this one has 8 ports and can do 485/422 also. For strictly 232 they have a model that's slightly cheaper. I think around $650 US. Extron has some boxes that can do RS232 & IR but I don't think there'd any real cost savings over NI-700/900's. I've never used any so I don't really know.
Very true. We don't do that (probably for financial reasons that don't affect me), but I'm told you can easily do 2 or 3 IR devices/port. OP could probably cut his IR requirements in half. More free advice.
You can also combine RS232 ports if you're adventurous. I've done experiments running two devices off one RS232 port and had it work. It was a lutron controller and an Extron switcher -- no overlap between the protocols, minimal feedback parsing requirements, not much traffic per device, and relative indifference by the devices to BS transmissions. We didn't actually install it that way, probably for those financial reasons.