Comtrol Rocket Port - Manual (Page 58)

58 - Using Test Terminal RocketPort Series/RocketModem IV Driver User Guide: 2000564 Rev. A
Troubleshooting and Technical Support
Using Test Terminal Test Terminal (WCom2) allows you to open a port, send characters and commands
to the port, and toggle the control signals. This application can be used to
troubleshoot communications on a port-by-port basis.
Note: See Verifying and Testing RocketModem IV Adapters on Page 35 to test
RocketModem IV ports.
• Send and Receive Test Data: This sends data out the transmit line to the
loopback plug, which has the transmit and receive pins connected thus
sending the data back through the Rx line to Test Terminal, which then
displays the received data in the terminal window for that port. This test is
only testing the Tx and Rx signal lines and nothing else. This test works in
either RS-232 or RS-422 modes as both modes have transmit and receive
capability. A failure in this test will essentially prevent the port from working
in any manner.
• Loopback Test: This tests all of the modem control signals such as RTS, DTR,
CTS, DSR, CD, and RI along with the Tx and Rx signals. When a signal is
made HI in one line the corresponding signal line indicates this. The Loopback
Test changes the state of the lines and looks for the corresponding state
change. If it successfully recognizes all of these changes, the port passes.
A failure on this test is not necessarily critical as it will depend on what is
connected and how many signal lines are in use. For example, if you are using
RS-232 in 3-wire mode (Transmit, Receive and Ground) a failure will cause no
discernible issue since the other signals are not being used. If the port is
configured for use as either RS-422 or RS-485 this test will fail and is expected
to fail since RS-422 and RS-485 do not have the modem control signals that
are present in RS-232 for which this test is designed.
The following procedures require a loopback plug to be placed on the port or ports
that you want to test. A loopback plug was shipped with your RocketPort. If you
need to build a replacement or additional loopback plugs, refer to the appropriate
User Guide for your Comtrol device. See
Downloading the Latest Software and
User Guides on Page 7, if you need to build loopback plugs.
Opening Ports The following procedure shows how to use Test Terminal to send and receive test
data to the serial ports. If necessary, use
Comtrol Utility on Page 9 or PortVision
Plus on Page 13 to install Test Terminal.
1. Stop all applications that may be accessing the ports such as RRAS or any
faxing, or production software. See the appropriate help systems or manuals
for instructions on stopping these services or applications.
If another application is controlling the port, then Test Terminal will be unable
to open the port and an error message will be shown.
2. Start Test Terminal (WCom2), from the Start menu, select Programs > Comtrol
> Utilities > Test Terminal (WCom2).