The Working Principle and Use of RS485 Signal Conversion to Ethernet

PublishTime： 2023-09-01 Article Source：usr News

RS485 serial bus is widely used in the communication distance from tens of meters to several kilometers. RS485 uses balanced transmission and differential reception, so it has the ability to reject common mode interference. Coupled with the high sensitivity of the bus transceiver, which can detect voltages as low as 200 mV, the transmitted signal can be recovered from kilometers away.

RS-485 adopts a half-duplex working mode, and only one point can be in the transmitting state at any time, so the transmitting circuit must be controlled by the enabled signal. RS485 signal to Ethernet signal, that is, RS485 Ethernet converter equipment, has its role in industrial, security, remote meter reading, and other scenarios, using its signal conversion function to achieve signal conversion and improve the network.

How it works

RS485 to Ethernet provides the function of converting serial port to network, which can convert RS485 serial port to TCP/IP network interface and realize bidirectional and transparent data transmission between RS485 serial port and TCP/IP network interface. The serial device can immediately have the function of TCP/IP network interface, connect the network for data communication, and expand the communication distance of the serial device.

RS485 is a differential signal negative logic, + 2V ~ + 6V represents "1", and -2V ~ -6V represents "0". RS485 communication interface is divided into two types, one is a two-wire system, and the other is a four-wire system. The two-wire system is a half-duplex communication mode, and the four-wire system is a full-duplex communication mode. RS485 communication interface, strong anti-interference ability, good anti-noise interference. In industrial control, the RS485 bus is widely used because of its simple interface, convenient networking, long transmission distance, and other characteristics.

The RS485 interface is a half-duplex data communication mode. The half-duplex network composed of the interface is generally a two-wire system in use, and the shielded twisted pair is often used for transmission. Such a wiring mode is a bus-type topology, and 32 nodes can be connected to the same bus at most. RS485 in the communication network uses a master with multiple slaves. In most cases, a simple pair of twisted pairs are used to connect the two ends of the "A" and "B" "of each interface when connecting RS485 communication. The RS485 interface connector adopts the 9-core socket head of DB-9, the RS485 interface of the intelligent terminal adopts DB-9, and the keyboard interface RS485 connected with the keyboard adopts DB-9.

"Advantages"

The wiring is simple: only 2 wires are needed, and the shielded wire interface of the network cable is adopted;

Long communication distance: differential mode communication is adopted, and the communication distance is long;

Multi-machine networking: RS485 supports mounting multiple terminals online, and realizes multi-machine communication by means of query-response;

"Solution"

RS485 to Ethernet hardware converter is divided into two types: RS485 Ethernet converter and serial networking module.

The RS485 to Ethernet converter realizes the conversion of the RS485 interface into the TCP/IP interface, and with the use of the virtual serial port driver on the computer side, the TCP/IP connection is virtually converted into a serial port again.

The virtual serial port driver creates virtual serial port numbers such as COM5 and COM6 in the driver layer of the computer and binds the remote RS485 Ethernet converter with the virtual serial port to realize communication.

After using the hardware and software system of the solution, the RS485 device is equivalent to the expansion of the network, and the original hardware and software programs do not need to be modified.

RS485 to Ethernet converter

Basic functions: RS485 serial port to Ethernet, bidirectional transparent transmission, support Modbus forwarding;

Guide rail installation: exquisite volume, standard 35mm guide rail installation, easy layout, and installation, convenient for later maintenance;

Operating mode:

TCP Server: As a Server, the device can be set with two TCP clients to perform transparent data transmission with the device at the same time, so as to solve the problem of simultaneous communication between multiple clients and the device. It can also be used as a standby network channel for switching communication;

TCP Client: As a Client, the device can be set to face four server addresses at the same time, actively initiate connections to the server, and as a Client, support the setting of custom heartbeat packets and handshake packets;

UDP Server: as the Server end, the device supports multiple UDP clients to transmit data with the device;

UDP Client: as the Client end, the device actively communicates with the UDP Server and transparently transmits data with the RS232 serial port;

UDP multicast: as the Client end, the device can realize the mutual communication between the devices in the multicast;

HTTP server: as the HTTP server, the device supports HTTP communication in the local area network through HTTP (get);

What are the features of the RS485 repeater?

RS485 is convenient for multipoint interconnects, eliminating many signal lines. Using RS-485, a distributed system can be networked, allowing up to 32 drivers and 32 receivers to be connected in parallel. In view of the shortcomings of RS-232-C, the new standard RS-485 has the following characteristics:

Electrical characteristics of RS485: logic "1" is represented by the voltage difference between two lines +2V~+6V, and logic "0" is represented by the voltage difference between two lines -6 V ~ -2 V. The interface signal level is lower than RS-232-C, so it is not easy to damage the interface circuit chip, and the level is compatible with the TTL level, so it is convenient to connect with the TTL circuit.

Maximum data transmission rate: 10Mbps

RS485 interface adopts the combination of balanced driver and differential receiver, which has strong anti-common-mode interference ability, that is, good anti-noise performance.

The standard maximum transmission distance of the RS-485 interface is 4000 feet, but in fact, it can reach 3000 meters.

The RS232-C interface allows only one transceiver to be connected on the bus, that is, single-station capability; The RS-485 interface only allows up to 128 transceivers to be connected on the bus, that is, it has multi-station capability, so users can easily establish a network of devices using a single RS-485 interface.

RS485 repeater, as RS485/422 data relay communication product, features, and functions:

High efficiency: The 485 repeater adopts a professional I/O circuit and uses the automatic control technology of data flow direction to automatically distinguish and control the direction of data transmission. It can easily switch between the RS-485 bus and the RS-422 bus without changing the software and hardware. Zero delay design is adopted, and the transmission speed is fast. Automatic detection of serial port signal rate, no need to set the serial port baud rate.

Anti-interference: 485 bus requires 485 equipment to be as close as possible to the bus backbone. Using a 485 bus repeater, the bus topology can be changed into a "T" topology, which is convenient for field construction. If the 485 transmission line reaches a certain distance and is in a complex external environment, it is vulnerable to external interference such as electromagnetic induction of the external environment.

Stability: The lightning protection tube in the 485 repeater can effectively suppress lightning and ESD, and provide lightning surge protection power of 600 W per line. Absorb external interference such as electromagnetic induction of the external environment, thereby protecting the stability of the 485 bus.

Expansibility: Due to the extension of the 485 bus transmission distance or the increase of devices in the 485 bus, 485 signals will be continuously attenuated, which may lead to 485 bus instability or even unavailability. 485 bus repeater can enhance and amplify the existing 485 signals. Increase the number of 485 devices in an RS-422/RS-485 bus network.

Isolation: In the field construction, due to the long distance of the 485 bus, the potential difference is formed, resulting in common mode interference, resulting in reduced stability. Photoelectric isolators can provide isolation voltage, effectively isolating and preventing common-ground interference. The DC/DC module can completely isolate the power supply at both ends.

Different from RS232

RS232 interface standard. RS-232 interface conforms to the serial data communication interface standard formulated by the Electronic Industry Alliance (EIA) of the United States. It is widely used in the connection of computer serial interface peripherals. For example, some old PCs are equipped with an RS232 interface. RS-232 is one of the mainstream serial communication interfaces. RS is the abbreviation of the English "Recommended Standard", 232 is the identification number, and C represents the number of revisions.

The RS232-C bus standard has 25 signal lines, including a main channel and an auxiliary channel. In most cases, the main channel is mainly used. For general duplex communication, only a few signal lines are needed, such as a transmit line, a receiving line, and a ground line. Another reason for the short transmission distance is that RS-232 is a single-ended signal transmission, which has problems such as common-ground noise and the inability to suppress common-mode interference, so it is generally used for communication within 20 m.

Due to the early appearance of the RS232 interface standard, it is inevitable that there are shortcomings. The RS-232-C standard specifies data transmission rates of 50, 75, 100, 150, 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, and 19200 baud per second. In a device network composed of RS232 or RS485 devices, if the number of devices exceeds two, RS485 must be used as a communication medium, and the devices in the RS485 network can communicate with each other only through the transfer of a Master device, which is usually a PC, and only one Master device is allowed to exist in the device network. The rest are all Slave devices. Fieldbus technology is based on ISO/OSI model and has a complete software support system, which can solve the problems of bus control, conflict detection, link maintenance, and so on.

"Field of application"

RS485 is often used in long-distance transmission with a high data transmission rate, and the commonly used equipment includes point-of-sale terminals (POS), measuring instruments, and large special automation machines. The commonly used RS-232 is now generally used in short-distance transmission with a low data transmission rate and can work effectively in noisy environments, such as factories, public sites, and so on. Its common equipment includes low-speed modems, industrial control equipment, programmable logic controllers (PLC), computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools, robots, embedded control computers, medical instruments and equipment, and embedded controller development systems.

However, in normal applications, we often need to convert between two different interface types. At this time, we can use the popular USB interface, which can help us convert to the RS-232 interface and RS-485 interface.

To sum up, RS-232 is suitable for short-distance and low-rate transmission, while RS-485 is suitable for long-distance communication transmission. RS-485 is a new interface standard to overcome the shortcomings of the RS-232 interface. Because of its good anti-noise interference ability and multi-station ability, it has become the preferred standard.

RS485 bus frequent fault

In the conventional 485 bus communication, the 485 repeaters, 485 converters, and other equipment will encounter many problems in the application process, such as unable to communicate, abnormal data upload and download, communication interference, abnormal flickering of the communication indicator light, communication instructions on and off, which affect the normal use. The usual detection method is as follows:

Common ground method: use one wire or shielded wire to connect the grounding points of all 485 equipment to avoid potential differences affecting communication between all equipment.

Termination resistance method: Connect a termination resistance of 120 ohms in parallel on 485 + and 485- of the last 485 devices to improve communication quality.

Middle section disconnection method: check whether the equipment is overloaded, the communication distance is too long, and the damage of certain equipment has an impact on the entire communication line by disconnecting from the middle;

Separate wire pulling method: simply and temporarily pull a wire to the equipment to rule out whether the communication failure is caused by wiring.

Converter replacement method: Replace several converters to rule out whether the converter quality problem affects the communication quality.

Notebook debugging method: First ensure that the notebook computer is a device with normal communication, and then replace it with another computer for communication. If it is possible, it indicates that the serial port of the computer may be damaged or injured.

+1 Like
Add to Favorites

Recommend

Technical Resources

More>

New Products & Solutions

More>

This document is provided by Sekorm Platform for VIP exclusive service. The copyright is owned by Sekorm. Without authorization, any medias, websites or individual are not allowed to reprint. When authorizing the reprint, the link of www.sekorm.com must be indicated.

Integrated Circuits