Sealevel Systems, represented in Australia by Allied Data Systems , have announced two additions to the popular SeaLINK USB to serial product line, the SeaLINK+4.SC and SeaLINK+8.SC. Offering four or eight serial ports that are software configurable for RS-232, RS-422, or RS-485, the USB Serial adapters eliminate the need to open the enclosure to change jumper settings or dipswitches.
The USB serial devices maintain their electrical interface settings locally, allowing the host computer to be repaired or upgraded without reconfiguring the serial ports. Additionally, the USB serial devices can be configured at one computer and deployed to other computers.
The USB serial ports on each SeaLINK USB Serial adapter appear as standard COM ports to the host computer enabling compatibility with legacy software. All Sealevel SeaLINK USB serial adapters use a state-machine architecture that reduces the host computer’s overhead when communicating over multiple serial ports simultaneously while supporting data rates to 921.6kbps. Status LEDs on the front of the enclosure indicate serial data activity, electrical interface and power.
The SeaLINK+4.SC and SeaLINK+8.SC are USB bus powered, so no external power supply is needed. Both models include highly-retentive USB type B connectors to prevent unintentional disconnection from standard USB cables.
The SeaLINK+8.SC also integrates a SeaLATCH locking USB port, which is fully compatible with standard USB cables. When used with the included USB cable with a locking type B connector, the metal thumbscrew provides a secure connection to the device and prevents accidental cable disconnection.
All SeaLINK USB serial adapters are shipped with the Sealevel Systems SeaCOM suite of Windows drivers and diagnostic utilities. WinSSD, a full-featured application to provide powerful testing and diagnostic capabilities is also included. The serial adapters use WinSSD for BERT (Bit Error Rate Testing), throughput monitoring, loopback tests and transmit test pattern messages.
Sealevel Systems provide industrial computing solutions in addition to a variety of communications and I/O products including PCI Bus cards, Ethernet serial servers, USB serial adapters, PCMCIA cards and PC/104 modules. The product line includes multi-port RS-232, RS-422/485, RS-232/422/485 multi-interface high-speed sync/async, and digital/relay I/O.