ABC DEMOD INFORMATION
Information below includes the latest Starguide cable info, and older receiver info, AND troubleshooting cables and
Loopbacktesting COM ports after you make a connection. Please note: ABC had distributed information that had a minor error. The document showed a 4 connector cable was required. We have found that just two connectors are required. Pins 1&8 on the RJ-45 being were shown connected together to pin 1 on a 9 pin computer connector which is incorrect.
It should be pin 4. and this connection is not required in any case Please note, we have put in bold the two conductors that are required for a Starguide receiver.
The other two are optional. NCC (RJ-45) 9-pin 25-pin
[receiver] [computer] [computer]
6 3 2
3 2 3
5 5 7
1+8 4 20
WireReady /SA TROUBLE SHOOTING PROCEDURES
FOR ABC DATA/NEWSWIRE SUBSCRIBERS
After installing WireReady software on your computer, you need to start the program. To start the program: Assuming you installed to the "C:\WIRE" directory... Type: C: and hit ENTER (to make sure you're on C drive)
Type: CD \WIRE and hit ENTER (go into the WIRE directory)
Type: WR and hit ENTER (to start the program)
IF YOU GET: "Unable to create Window Temp Manager/file:"
You don't have enough space on your hard-drive.
Delete other programs, and try and restart the program. "....NOT ENOUGH MEMORY FOR..." or anything like this: You have other programs loaded in DOS like:
SMARTDRIVE (autoexec.bat)
EMM386.EXE (config.sys)
Remove these from your boot files. If your machine has 1MB of RAM or more you should have: DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS (assuming HIMEM.SYS is in C:\)
(if it's in your DOS directory)
(DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS etc.)
DOS=HIGH "ERROR #22 (at any time within WireReady)" You don't have enough FILES= in your CONFIG.SYS file
EDIT it, and make sure it says FILES=20
IF YOU'VE BEEN IN THE PROGRAM FOR SEVERAL MINUTES AND HAVE NOT SEEN ANY STORIES
SEE NEXT PAGE
If you haven't received any stories in WireReady's WIRE BROWSER Hit the F3 UPDATE KEY
If still no stories continue below:
1) Make sure you have called ABC at (212) 456-5556 and requested an "ANPA" download.
They will need the serial number
of your Mainstream data box, ENCORE receiver
or S.A. data card. (make sure you tell them
whether you have a Mainstream, ENCORE, or SA data
card when you give them the serial number. 2) Make sure your wire service cable has been connected to
a working COM port on your computer, according to our
connection information enclosed with your system. 3) Test your COM port. This is called a LOOP BACK TEST Disconnect the wire service from your computer's COM port.
Exit from WireReady, i.e hit ESCape in the Wire Browser
Type: EXIT and hit ENTER From the C:\WIRE> prompt type: SETUP and hit ENTER
Hit ENTER on INSTALLATION path. Choose SELECT SERVICE TYPE AND SPEED and hit ENTER You will see your existing wire service connection(s)
The settings and COM port for the ABC service
should match the actual COM port you connected to
and the baud rate shown on our connection information.
(generally 9600 N81 DIRECT) You can perform a Loop-back test on that COM port Performing a Loopback Test: Install a loop back tester from your TEST KIT (that
came with the original system) on the port you plan
to use. Then with the highlight bar on the wire
service line you just setup, hit F8 LOOPBACK, you
should see an alphabet and numbers repeat on the screen.
If not, you COM port isn't functioning, or it's setup
for a different COM# or IRQ. (If you don't have a loop
back tester, you can make one by taking a 9 pin
or 25 pin connector and soldering pins 2 and 3 together.)
At any time you can Hit ESCape to leave the test.
If you performed a loop back test: If loopback test passed: This means your COM port is fine, and either the
cable you made is wrong, or your receiver isn't
sending data. If you are still in LoopBack Test screen hit ESCape You should be in the SERVICE SELECTION SCREEN
(showing the wire services you setup) hit F4 SAVE again, and ESCape back to DOS. Then type C: and hit ENTER.
from the C:\WIRE prompt>
type: WR <and hit ENTER> If loopback test failed: (you don't see anything) Either your COM port is bad, or it isn't the COM
port number you think, i.e it's misconfigured.
See your computer person to install another COM
port or check it's jumper settings. Note:
on old computers, if you don't have the docs to
the COM port card in the computer, don't even
try to fiddle with the jumpers. It's best to
buy a new expansion card. They are inexpensive. If your COM port tested okay, you can go back into WireReady and see if "any" data is actually hitting the
computer when you reconnect the wire service cable. Go back into WireReady... From the WIRE BROWSER hit CTRL-F10
You'll see the STATISTICS SCREEN Put the highlight bar over the port you just configured:
3f8 is COM1, 2f8 is COM2, 3e8 is COM3, and 2e8 is COM4
Choose the "F" key that says VIEW SAMPLE (F7) You can see how many bytes (characters) have been received so far
When a story hits, you can see the raw data fly across the screen.
Most of it should be readable, except a few control codes.
If it's all garbled, you are probably setup for the wrong baud
rate or stop bits, or parity (When you used the SETUP program)
You might have to go back into SETUP and change the settings. When you are in the STATISTICS SCREEN, WireReady will still capture
the other wire services, and the new wire service, assuming the
data is coming in clean. To leave screen hit ESCape. Note: while viewing the raw data, you can generate a test message on SA receiver cards by hitting the RED
BUTTON on the card inside the SA receiver. You should see some test data/table outputted. The
mainstream box also can be setup to send test data. (Call if you can't follow our Mainstream connection
information)
If your COM port has tested successfully in the loop back test: You can see if your cable is made correctly by using the MINI TESTER included in your test kit. With the mini-tester attached to the end of the cable that would connect to the computer, hold the
mini-tester in your hand: You can use the 9-25 adapter cable if you need to: The "RD" light should be illuminated. If not, your cable is incorrect. Refer to our connection information or call. FOR SA RECEIVER CARD USERS SA data cards need to see their pin "20" as HI.
Therefore, you should also plug the wire service cable back
into the computer, and go into the WireReady program. Disconnect the 25 pin cable end from the back of the SA
receiver. Put the mini-tester on the end of the cable. The DTR light should be illuminated. If not your
cable is incorrect. Refer to our connection information or
call.
Technical notes about choosing COM ports: You must choose a COM port that isn't already used on your computer
for another wire service. COM ports are MALE (you can see the pins,
and are either 9pin or 25pin sizes) If you can't find an available
port you have to go to your computer store and buy an expansion card
(unless you knew beforehand and purchased one through us) WireReady sells options to connect additional wire services.
Software for each additional wire service is only $199. Before you
order a driver for AP, NOAA, CBS, etc. read the following: For capturing 2 wire services: In general you can only use the following port
combinations: COM1 and COM2
COM2 and COM3
COM3 and COM4
COM1 and COM4 COM1 and COM3 share IRQ#4 and COM2 and COM4 share IRQ#3 Thus if you already have a wire service coming into COM1, then
you should put the second wire service in COM2 or COM4. This
of course depends on whether your computer has a COM2 or COM4
port available. If your computer only has COM1, then you may
have to buy an expansion card that gives you a COM2 port. These
are very inexpensive (under $50) Bad combinations: You can't use COM1 and COM3 or COM2 and COM4. Why? You can't use 2 COM ports that share the same
IRQ number. The cards in your computer are
pre-set to these IRQs. In general you can't
change the IRQ on most standard cards. You can't simply change the IRQ# in the SETUP program
since you also have to set a jumper on the card itself.
99% of the cards out there are permanently set to IRQ3
or IRQ4. This is why SETUP auto-sets the IRQ when
you choose the COM port. If you need to setup a COM3 or COM4 with
an IRQ other than #3 or #4, you can buy
such a special card from the store or from us. If you already have COM1 and COM2 used,
then you need to add a COM3 or COM4 that
uses an IRQ# different from 3 or 4.
This is a bit more tricky since most cards
don't give you this choice. Ask your store
for a COM3 or COM4 card that supports IRQ#5
or IRQ#7, which are safe with WireReady. We
sell an expansion card that allows COM3
to be set to IRQ#5. HW-MIO550 ($69) Also
cards that are equipped with "16550UARTS"
are the ones to go with, especially if
your wire service is 9600 baud or faster.
Special Note: Only wire service connections use the IRQ on a COM
port. For example if you have a WireReady alarm
interface connected to COM1, then it IS OKAY to
use COM3 even if it set to IRQ#4. Only ports that
have wire services coming in can't share their IRQ#. Serial printers also don't use the IRQ, so you can
have another port using that IRQ for an incoming
wire service. If you are capturing more than 3 wire services:
If you are getting very fancy, we sell special 4-port cards
that have an octopus cable that adds 4 new COM ports using
only one slot in your computer and also share either IRQ#5 or
IRQ#7. (HW-M/P W/S BOARD $249)
Conflicts with other cards in the computers:
Beware, many computers on networks (LANS) have network cards that may
be set for IRQ#3, or IRQ#5. If you are on a LAN, make sure you know
what IRQ your network card uses before adding any new wire services. Don't worry about the fact that LPT1 and LPT2 (parallel ports) in
your computer are generally set to IRQ#5, or IRQ#7. Even if you
add a special COM card on IRQ#5 or IRQ#7, you won't get a conflict since WireReady doesn't enable the
IRQ on parallel ports when you print. Older receivers are listed at the end of this document, but are generally not used. Data comes off the satellite through an ABC data card which outputs data on PORT 1,2,3, or 4 on a serial
cable. This cable then plugs into your PC com port. ABC Scientific Atlanta/SEDAT Data Card Information RESET- Can be generated from the card.
PINOUTS- Output from back of SAT card are 2,7, & 20.
PROTOCOL-1200,N,8,1 If using an ABC demodulator box.
9600,n,8,1 If coming off the receiver card. The SAT card is selectable for lower baud rates with
jumpers, but is generally not recommended. 2 is DATA
7 is GROUND
20 is for FLOW CONTROL Connect 2 to computer's RECEIVE PIN
Connect 7 to computer's GROUND PIN
Connect 20 to computer's DTR PIN Computer pinouts 25 MALE 9 MALE
RECEIVE PIN 3 2
GROUND PIN 7 5
DTR PIN 20 4
Once you have hooked up to the pc you must then call ABC directly at 212-456-5556 for an ANPA
download. This download will allow the ABC data to get into the Wire Browser. If you have any
questions please don't hesitate to call us at 1-800-833-4459. Generating a RESET message and viewing the raw data in WireReady's SETUP screen, or BUFFER
STATISTICS screen can tell you which ports have been downloaded, and whether they show an "A"
meaning they contain the proper ANPA codes. ABC ENCORE 4595 and 3910 RECEIVER
PHYSICAL INFORMATION: Color: Cream-colored
Height: Approx. 2 inches
Front: A LCD display
Back: DATA port on far left. 9-Pin MALE. The ABC Encore Receiver is a self-contained unit which can fit in most rack-mounts. TECHNICAL INFORMATION:
The DATA RATE is configurable using the keypad on the device and LCD display. The rates can vary
from 1200 BAUD to 9600 BAUD. The default is 9600. PIN-OUTS FOR THE CABLE:
Receiver PC
9-Pin 9-Pin or 25-Pin 3 2 3
5 5 7
6 4 20
8 7 4
The pins in the receiver column should be connected to the corresponding pins in the PC column.
ABC Remote Demodulator This is only rarely used when the printer/computer is several hundred feet or miles from the true satellite
receiver card. There is a special modem jack on the receiver card which sends audio down a cable to the remote
demodulator (modem) Protocol is automatically 1200 N81 (at least from the output of the modem) 2 line data "test" message can be generated by the modem, but will not show up as a story in WireReady
since it is not ANPA packeted. Thus you must use WIRE SAMPLE to view it as it comes in. There is a test Button on top of the remote demodulator.
TEST Button generates the 2 line message.
RESET just resets the device, and DOES NOT generate the message. You must use port 1 on the demodulator to see the test. Same pin-outs as a cable going from WireReady to the satellite card. (thus 3 conductor cable, modem
WILL not output unless DTR line (pin 20 on modem) is asserted HI by WireReady.
MAINSTREAM DATA IDR RECEIVER If you are receiving your ABC data on a Mainstream box, it looks like a white box the size of a pizza box
with a small LCD display. Refer to the Mainstream Data Handout for proper connection, configuration and testing of this device.
ABC CONTACT INFORMATION
CONTACT NAME: Ron Rolla (212) 456-5556
ADDRESS: ABC
6th Floor
125 West End Ave.
New York, NY 10023
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