FROM EDN EUROPE: Easy bridge for Ethernet to RS-232
By Graham Prophet -- EDN, June 10, 2004
If you have an application that you need to "put online," to add Ethernet connectivity but you are not yet ready to do a board revision to incorporate a port such as Lantronix's X-Port (www.lantronix.com), you may find a module from Alphamicro useful (Picture). The Netport is, in effect, a packaged X-Port, an external solution that bridges Ethernet and serial-port standards. It can also be used to provide an additional COM port on an existing PC-based system. It provides an embedded Web-server function and e-mail client so that applications can send notification and reports by SMTP. You can power it from a line adapter, and it has reserves to feed power to an application device, or it can draw power from the RS-232 socket using the unallocated Pin 9. It accepts 5 to 24V dc and uses about 180 mA. It also has a built-in voltage regulator, and you can daisy-chain a few such devices.
Netport comes with software utilities, such as a COM- port redirector. You can configure it via your application, or by a Telnet window, or via the Web server, setting parameters such as speed, flow control, and port ID. Achieved data rates are 230 kbps, with a faster version to come. Netport will sell for around €100.
Alphamicro, +44 1256 851770, www.alphamicro.net.
