TechMemo

TM

#01-0003

PRIORITY: Normal

DATE: July 31, 2001

TITLE: Installing a USB-to-DB9 adapter to connect a sign to a PC

ECO REFERENCE: N/A

PRODUCT(S)
All Alpha® and BetaBrite® electronic signs
AFFECTED:

If you have an available Universal Serial Bus (USB) port on your computer, you can install a USB-to-DB9 adapter to
SUMMARY:
connect Alpha® or BetaBrite® signs.

Introduction

Purpose
This document shows you how to connect an Alpha® or BetaBrite® sign to a computer
using a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port and a USB-to-DB9 cable adapter. The adapter provides
an additional connection for computers that do not have enough RS232 serial COM ports.
USB-to-DB9 adapters are available at a variety of manufacturers and suppliers. This
document discusses only the Xircom® PortGear™ USB to DB9 serial adapter.

LED indicator light:

• Red—Power on
• Green or Amber—Transmitting data
• No light—No operation

RS232 serial DB9 male connector

Data OUT

USB male connector

Data IN
Figure 1: Xircom® PortGear™ USB to DB9 serial adapter

© Copyright 2001 Adaptive Micro Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Adaptive Micro Systems • 7840 North 86th Street • Milwaukee, WI 53224 USA • 414-357-2020 • 414-357-2029 (fax) • http://www.adaptivedisplays.com
The following are trademarks of Adaptive Micro Systems: Adaptive, Alpha, AlphaNet plus, AlphaEclipse, AlphaPremiere, AlphaTicker, AlphaVision, AlphaVision InfoTracker, Automode,
BetaBrite, BetaBrite Director, BetaBrite Messaging Software, Big Dot, PPD, Smart Alec, Solar, TimeNet
The distinctive trade dress of this product is a trademark claimed by Adaptive Micro Systems, Inc.
Due to continuing product innovation, specifications in this manual are subject to change without notice.
TechMemo #01-0003 1 of 10
 System Requirements
Hardware (minimum requirements)
• USB installed port or USB installed expansion hub
• CD-ROM drive
• 486-66 MHz processor or higher
• 1 MB minimum available hard disk space
Operating Systems
Supported
®
• Windows 98
• Windows® 2000
• Windows® ME
• Windows® 95 OSR2.1 (4.00.950B or later, with USB Supplement)
NOT supported
®
• Windows NT service pack 3 and service pack 4
• All Windows® 95 prior to OSR2.1
Upgradable
• All Windows® 95 prior to OSR2.1
NOTE: To verify that the version of Windows® 95 software installed on your
computer supports USB, connect to http://www.usb.org and open the
Frequently Asked Questions list. Under the Installation heading, select the
USBReady link.

Material Requirements

Qty Description

1 Xircom® PortGear™ USB to DB9 serial adapter

1 Alpha® or BetaBrite® LED electronic sign

1 25- or 50- foot 6-conductor RS232 data cable

Adaptive® messaging software, such as Alpha® or BetaBrite® Messaging Software™, AlphaNet plus™ for Windows,
1
SmartAlec® software, Alpha® Marquee ActiveX® control, or other messaging software.

Related documentation

Document name Part number Description

AlphaNET plus™ for Windows® Software Windows® software compatible messaging software with Ethernet and ActiveX
9708-8081
User Manual support
Alpha® Messaging Software 9701-0202 Basic messaging with a computer
®
ActiveX Developer’s Reference 9709-2054 Programmer’s reference for creating an ActiveX® application
Smart Alec® User Manual 9709-2030 Intelligent messaging software with OPC Client
Alpha® Sign Communications Protocol Manual 9708-8061 Adaptive® Alpha® protocol reference
Network Configurations manual 9708-8046 Basic reference for networking Alpha® signs to a computer network

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 Installation

Installing the software

1. Close any running applications on your PC to minimize the possibility of a conflict during
the installation.
2. Insert the Xircom® PortGear™ adapter software installation guide CD into the CD-ROM
drive.
3. Open Windows® Explorer and double-click the CD-ROM drive.
4. Double-click Setup.exe.
5. Double-click Install USB to USB Adapter.
6. Complete the setup information, clicking Next or Yes to advance to the next window.
7. At the Choose Destination Location window, make sure the path name is
C:\Program Files\Xircom\USBNet, and click Next.
8. At the Select Device window, choose Xircom Inc under Manufacturer and Portgear USB to
USB Adapter under Models, and click OK.
9. At the appropriate prompt, remove the installation CD and choose to restart your
computer.
NOTE: If any windows open automatically once your computer restarts, close
them.

Installing the software driver

Specific software drivers are required to use the Xircom® adapter, which are included on
your CD-ROM. However, if you have Internet access, and to make sure you have the most
recent version of the software drivers, the manufacturer recommends checking the Xircom®
website. If you do not have Internet access, skip to Windows® 98/2000/ME or Windows® 95 later
in this document.
1. Connect to http://www.Xircom.com and go to Products > USB Port Expansion > PortGear >
USB to 9 Pin Serial.
2. Click Software Downloads.
3. Scroll through the list of available software drivers specific to each operating system and
select one. They are listed by version number and the date they were uploaded.
4. The File Download window appears. Click Save this program to disk, and then OK.

Software driver filenames include the

operating system and version number.

5. Change the path name to your desktop and click Save.

TechMemo #01-0003 3 of 10
 6. Close your Internet connection and then double-click the file you just downloaded to your
desktop.
7. Choose to unzip the file to C:\Xircom\Portgear\PGWinXX, where XX is your version of
Windows®.
8. Click Close.

Windows® 98/2000/ME
1. Plug the USB male connector from the Xircom® PortGear™ adapter into an available USB
port. For additional information, see Connecting the sign later in this document.
2. The New Hardware Found window appears briefly on your screen, followed by the Add
New Hardware Wizard window:

3. Insert the Xircom® PortGear™ adapter software installation guide CD into the CD-ROM
drive.
4. Click Next to accept the defaults until you are asked to specify a driver location.
• If you are pulling the driver from the CD-ROM, type D:\Win98, and click Next.
• If you are using the driver you downloaded from the Internet, click Browse, specify a
pathname of C:\Xircom\Portgear\PGWin98, and click Next.
NOTE: If a window appears indicating the driver cannot be found, click Back and
try drilling down further when specifying a driver location. Windows® will
only look within the immediate folder and not inside a folder within a
folder. If you continue to receive this message, the driver may not be
compatible with your version of Windows® or may have been selected
incorrectly or downloaded with errors. Begin this section again with step 1
of Installing the software.

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 5. A window appears letting you know that the etisera.inf driver has been found and
Windows® is ready to install it:

6. Continue to click Next to advance to the next window.

7. When you click Finish to complete the New Hardware Wizard, a New Hardware Found
window briefly appears indicating that Windows® needs another software driver,
followed by the Add New Hardware Wizard window for the PGSDB9 device.
8. Repeat steps 4–6 (in step 5, the driver found is etisere.inf).
9. Click Finish.
10. Close the New Serial Port Found window that appears, if it does not automatically close:

11. Go to Verifying the installation later in this document to confirm the installation was done
correctly.

TechMemo #01-0003 5 of 10
 Windows® 95
1. Plug the USB male connector from the PortGear adapter into an available USB port. For
additional information, see Connecting the sign later in this document.
2. Click the Start button.
3. Select Settings > Control Panel.
4. Double-click the Add New Hardware icon.

5. Continue to click Next to advance to the next windows.

6. Since your adapter is already connected to a USB port, direct Windows® software to
search for the new hardware by clicking Yes on this window:

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 7. Click Finish when the following window appears:

Verifying the installation

1. Click Start > Settings > Control Panel.
2. Double-click the System icon.

3. Click the Device Manager tab. In the list that appears, double-click Ports to view the
installed serial connections. The USB serial port appears, indicating that the serial adapter
has been recognized, successfully installed on your computer, and set up as a specific,

TechMemo #01-0003 7 of 10
 numbered COM port:

NOTE: If a new USB serial port is not listed, go to Troubleshooting later in this
document.
4. In the window above, click the USB serial port and then click Properties.
5. Select the Port Settings tab. The values shown are the standard default for connections to
most Alpha® or BetaBrite® signs.

6. Close the System Properties window and open your messaging software.
7. Check the communication settings. You should re-configure the settings set for your
adapter, sign, or software if they do not all match. To reconfigure settings in Alpha® and
BetaBrite® messaging software, you must uninstall and reinstall the software.
NOTE: Signs that are configured for serial communication properties through DIP
switches do not have a standard default. Make sure the serial communication
through the USB adapter matches the communication settings actually set by
DIP switches in the sign.

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 Troubleshooting
If you did not find a new USB serial port listed, scroll down in the Device Manager window
to Universal serial bus controller. You may see a new listing for the Xircom® USB adapter. This
indicates that installation was only partially completed and the new device has not been set
up to a specific COM port.
The USB adapter is installed as a Xircom USB serial port and automatically assigned a
COM port designation that numbers it as the next available COM port. For example, if you
have already installed two serial devices, the Xircom USB serial port installs itself as COM
port 3.
• If all four COM ports have already been set up for other devices, the Xircom USB serial
port becomes COM port 5.
• To connect an Alpha® or BetaBrite® sign, you may need to make a COM port re-
assignment by uninstalling one or more serial devices. The default software
configuration in some Adaptive® messaging software only allows serial connection to
ports that the messaging software can identify as Local Wired Com 1, Local Wired
Com 2, Local Wired Com 3, or Local Wired Com 4.

If you do not see a listing If you see the

that specifically calls out Xircom connection,
a Xircom USB repeat from step 1
connection, the USB of Installing the
adapter has not installed software driver.
the driver. Repeat from
step 1 of Installing the
software.

TechMemo #01-0003 9 of 10
 Connecting the sign to a PC
The diagram below shows how to connect a sign to your PC using the USB to DB9 serial adapter and a
DB9-to-RJ11 jack. The PC can not be separated from the sign by more than 50 feet of cable because of signal loss.
A B C D

MK
Alpha® or BetaBrite® sign

4000

To sign’s
RS232 port
PC with messaging software.
See Related documentation
NOTE: RS232 cable connection
list, below, for valid software
can not exceed 50 feet,
applications.
total length.

Item Part # Description

A — Ferrite (ferrite end towards sign)

1088-8625 25-foot 6-conductor RS232 data cable

B
1088-8627 50-foot 6-conductor RS232 data cable

C 1088-9108 9 pin sub-D/to 6 pos. RJ11 adapter

D — Xircom® PortGear™ USB to DB9 serial adapter

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