| The PM2+ is designed
to work and must have a working available "RS232 Serial" port on an IBM
Compatible computer. USB is not supported in e-Row, except as noted below.
RS232 serial
ports can be identified on the back of the PC by their shape, gender, and number of pins.
RS232 ports have either 25 pins or 9 pins. The computer end always is a "Male"
connector, meaning it has "pins" sticking out. The pins are arranged in two
rows. One side of the connector is wider than the other. If you were to see it arranged
vertically, it would be roughly D shaped.
This is a serial
port:
|
RS232 9pin serial port |
RS232 25pin serial port |
|
USB (aka Universal Serial Bus,
USB 1.1, USB 2.0) are very different than a RS232 serial port. The port looks like a flat,
rectangular opening with a plastic tongue with four metal strips on it.
The distinctive logo  is also usually present.
USB Information in relation to
e-Row
There are many issues with USB
to consider with do not relate to e-Row. These are:
- As a general rule, USB does not work
at all (for all practical purposes) under Win 95, Win 3.1, and Win NT. Some USB devices do
have drivers for NT or 95, but USB does not work natively on these OS's.
- USB itself works properly with Win
98, Me, 2000, XP Home, XP Pro.
- Some implementations of USB present
on some computers are very problematic. Computer systems with SiS or Ali chipsets can be a
real problem. Check out www.usbman.com
for help with these issues. These issues may or many not affect e-Row and PM2+'s.
In relation to e-Row, the PM2+ has a
RS232 serial port. There are, on the market, many USB to RS232 Serial adapters available.
Do not confuse these with "USB Hubs". In theory these USB to RS232 serial
adapters should work.
Concept2 is currently testing
various adapters. Preliminary results indicate the Keyspan model #USA19W works, but it has
only been through limited testing on a few Windows versions.
Out of the box, e-Row ver 4.0
will work with USB adapters on 2000 and XP only. The reason for this is e-Row installs a
different "windows" type driver for Win NT, 2000, XP. The driver that is
installed for these OS's is a "UMD" (User Mode Driver) which should work with
the adapters (and seems to work with the Keyspan adapter). However, when e-Row 4.0
installs on Win 98 and Me, the installation program installs a "VXD" driver that
is incompatible with USB to RS232 adapters. To use USB to serial adapters on 98 or Me,
download e-Row 4.1 beta version here which contains a
single UMD driver for all operating systems.
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