Rose Electronics Porter User Manual
Page 21
PORTER INSTALLATION AND OPERATIONS MANUAL
17
Broadcast mode
When the
broadcast (via the configuration menu or the
corresponding port LEDs. On serial units, all ports enabled for broadcast will immediately
have their receive buffers cleared.
Any data sent to port 0 during broadcast mode is transmitted simultaneously to all
enabled ports. Commands, with the exception of the
to be processed normally. Broadcast mode is terminated by sending a connect
command or the null destination command.
Side effects of broadcast mode
On serial units, port 0 must not be set to 19,200 baud (38400 baud if that option is
present) during broadcast mode. Due to the overhead of transmitting to multiple ports,
the Porter cannot process incoming data for broadcast at tis baud rate. Attempting this
will cause the ERROR LED to flicker and characters to be lost on output.
Also, on serial units during broadcast mode, incoming data on ports 1-8 is ignored.
However, X-on and X-off characters sent into ports set for X-on / X-off handshaking
continue to be processed.
On parallel units, the ERROR LED is always off during broadcast mode.
Also on parallel units the BUSY LED reflects the state of BUSY out on port 0,
not BUSY in on the connected port.
Also, on parallel units all ports enabled for broadcast must be hooked up to something. If
this is not done, broadcasting will stop when the unconnected port transmit buffer fills
up, as unconnected parallel ports are not set ot ready as with serial ports.
As mentioned before, the
function during broadcast mode. To change the mask you ust first exit broadcast mode
(preferably with the
command, then reenter broadcast mode.
Diagnostic mode
This mode allows the unit to self test itself. You can also restore the factory set
configuration from this mode. Refer to the section on “Diagnostic Modes” for
information on this mode.
Configuration mode
This mode is activated by the configuration menu command
is active, the MODE, DATA, and BUSY LEDs will all be lit. Data transfer from or to ports
1-8 is ignored in this mode. See “The Configuration Menu” for more information on this
mode.
Manual mode
This feature is used for manually establishing a port connection. It is useful for port
selection where software codes may not be desired to be sent. To enter the manual
mode, momentarily press both switches. The mode light will illuminate to indicate that
the manual mode has been entered. Pressing the ADVANCE switch will cause the port
selected to be changed to the next port. To leave the manual mode, momentarily press
both switches again. The mode light will go blank to indicate you are in the normal mode.
In the manual mode, connect commands sent to port 0 will still take effect.