Serial converter for mission-critical environments

October 2006 Fieldbus & Industrial Networking

Advantech's OPT8FP is an 8-port RS422 to RS232 converter connection box with 2500 V d.c. isolation protection. Supporting up to 1,2 km and a baud rate of 230,4 Kbps when transferring RS422 signals, it enables communication between an RS232 card and up to eight RS422 devices in the field.

Because of the distance limitation of 15 m for RS232, it is common to convert the signal to RS422 to increase the communication distance up to 1200 m. OPT8FP takes care of this, and also has eight ports with RS422 communication to connect up to eight serial devices. At the other end of the network, an ADAM-4520 may be used to convert the RS422 signal back to RS232 and connect with the RS232 device in the field.

For mission-critical serial networks, OPT8FP offers isolation protection that enables wiring through industrial environments without risk of damaging the equipment. Although distributed serial network solutions are gaining popularity, they still cannot compete with the response rate of a serial card installed in a PC. OPT8FP helps create these serial networks with high response rates, even with eight connected serial devices.

OPT8FP is highly suitable for industrial automation, facility or environmental monitoring, and traffic management systems where many serial devices are required. It has LED indicators to show the communication status for easier troubleshooting.

Advantech is represented locally by ProMicro.

For more information contact Elton Prytz, ProMicro, +27 (0) 11 706 7913, [email protected] or visit www.promicro.co.za

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