Comtrol RPSH Windows 2000 - Manual (Page 14)

Using Port Monitor 14
Testing a VS1000 or RocketPort Serial Hub
Use the following procedure to test a port.
1. Place a loopback plug on the COM port you are testing. Make sure all connectors are seated firmly and that
the loop button is off.
2. From the Port menu, select Send Test Data. The program sends out a repeating data stream.
Note: To stop the data stream, select Send Test Data again.
• If the loopback plug is in place and the port is working correctly, the test data should be echoed back
to the screen.
• If the loopback plug is not in place or the port is not working correctly, no data or garbled data is echoed
back to the screen.
Note: If no characters appear, try putting the loopback plug on an adjacent port. It may be that you have
the ports mixed up.
3. If further testing is required, select Loopback Test from the Port menu. If the loopback plug is in place and
the port is working correctly, the system should return the message “Passed.”
If the loopback plug is not in place or the port is not working correctly, the system will return the message
“Failed.”
4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3. If the port now passes the tests, the fault may lie in the interface box or fan-out
cable. Contact Comtrol technical support for more assistance.
Modem Control Signals
The terminal window displays the modem control signals as gray or green lights at the top of the window. The
first four are inputs:
The lights are green if they are turned on, or gray if off. The text on the light also changes from uppercase
(CTS), which is on, to lowercase (cts), which is off.
The next two lights are outputs:
Note: If you have a loopback plug connected and you click on one of the outputs, the corresponding signal is
sent to the input and the input lights should toggle accordingly.
The rightmost light is the loop indicator:
If this is on, the COM port internal loopback feature is activated and any information or code entered in the
terminal window loops back through the COM port circuitry. If this is off, the COM port internal loopback is
deactivated, and any information or code entered in the terminal window is sent out of the port.
Using Port Monitor
The Port Monitor program (portmon.exe) offers a summary of all VS1000 or RocketPort Serial Hub statistics
in one spreadsheet view. It also enables you to verify operation of all VS1000 or RocketPort Serial Hub ports
from a single window.
The Port Monitor display follows the familiar spreadsheet model: each COM port is a horizontal row, and each
vertical column displays a variable or value for the respective COM port. For definitions of the abbreviations
used, see the
Port Monitor Variable List .
Port Monitor can also produce statistics and reports that can help you verify the operation of the COM ports
and connected peripherals.
Some immediate feedback includes: