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Author Topic: CP500 Serial Data Port Brandon Lokesak Film Handler Posts: 34 From: Johnstown, PA USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 01-10-2006 04:20 PM                     Hi, I'm trying to hook up our CP500 to a laptop to use the Dolby program to analze the sound setup. However On the back of the CP500 there is something plugged into the port to the left of the Serial Data port Labeled Automation that has a large circuit board attached. The problem is that I cant get the serial cable in there because of the other board thats covering the serial port. Any Ideas? We really dont use automation the only thing thats hooked up to it is the cue detector to dim the lights and change over to house music.  |  IP: Logged Alan Gilbertson Expert Film Handler Posts: 148 From: Carpentersville Il 60110 Registered: Nov 1999 posted 01-10-2006 05:43 PM                        The automation break out board is overlapping the serial port. I made a bunch of 8" ribbon cables to hook to the serial port and just left them hang there that way I only needed to unhook the automation connection once.  |  IP: Logged Brandon Lokesak Film Handler Posts: 34 From: Johnstown, PA USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 01-10-2006 07:45 PM                     Thanks, Would you be able to give me some basic instructions on what to do? as far as connection ends? I cant really picture this in my head. Sorry. Thanks again  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 01-11-2006 01:22 AM                     You can temporarilly unplug that automation breakout board from the CP-500 to do your serial connection checks. All that card is for the automation to pulse the CP-500 to do its thing during normal show operation. These tests are made during the use of manual machine operations - no automation is used. Your laptop should have the DB-9 male socket in which the passthorugh serial cable would be a serial extension cord (one with the DB-9 female on one end and the DB-9 male on the other end). If your laptop doesn't have the serial port, then you have to get a serial to USB interface device, available from about any electronics retail outlet. DB-9 is commonly known as the "joystick connection" since early computers used this serial connector for their joysticks. ATARI, "Ti99/4a" and COMMODORE were famous for their use of this connector. -Monte [ 01-11-2006, 02:42 AM: Message edited by: Monte L Fullmer ]  |  IP: Logged Frank Dubrois Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 896 From: Cleveland, OH Registered: Mar 2005 posted 01-13-2006 10:43 PM                    Do those adapters really work well? (serial to USB). I know their picky. I was told that you might need a port replicator instead of the small adapter, so I was just curious if people really had sucess with the adapters with the CP500, CP650.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 01-13-2006 11:58 PM                     The Keyspan variety does indeed work like a charm...never even the least hint of trouble...it lets you have it act as any of the COM ports and programs seem to see the COM port as if it was really there. I've tried it on many different programs, both cinema (like the CP650 and CP500) as well as non-industry programs...never a problem. Steve  |  IP: Logged Joel N. Weber II Expert Film Handler Posts: 115 From: Somerville, MA, USA Registered: Dec 2005 posted 01-15-2006 07:11 PM                     There are standards for many classes of USB devices. For example, just about every USB keyboard and mouse in existance follows the USB HID (Human Interface Device) standard. There's a standard for handling audio and MIDI data. There's a standard for the lowest level of the printer interface. The consequence of these standards is that there can be a single USB HID driver for your operating system that knows how to talk to pretty much any USB HID device; if you plug in a random HID device, you probably won't have to install a driver specific to that brand. The same goes for the generic audio, MIDI, and printer interfaces. (However, with printing, the language for the data stream that describes what the page looks like is not standard; it's only how you get that data stream from the computer to the printer that's standardized. But this at least means that if you buy a USB->parallel widget that the manufacturer of that widget didn't have to write a driver from scratch.) With USB->RS232 widgets, there's no standard at all; every manufacturer writes their own drivers for Windows, and under any other operating system, whether it will be supported at all is something you need to carefully research before buying. Of course, the code running on the USB device can still be buggy; I recently came across some old USB docking stations which include ps/2 ports for a keyboard and mouse where under Linux the keyboard didn't seem to work and under FreeBSD the mouse didn't seem to work. I assume that I found them on a pile of unloved hardware because they didn't very well, but I'm not really sure.  |  IP: Logged Thomas King Expert Film Handler Posts: 119 From: Sheffield, Yorkshire, England Registered: Oct 2004 posted 01-24-2006 06:34 AM                        I believe that the CP500 has a serial port header on the main system board, accessible by opening the front. However, you'd need an adaptor to allow you to connect a standard serial cable; you should be able to pick one up at a computer shop. Obviously it's not intended for constant connection, as you don't want to have the front wide open all the time, but it's handy if you need connectivity without having to faff about around the back.  |  IP: Logged Jean-Pierre Van Hoof Film Handler Posts: 21 From: Enschede, Ov, Netherlands Registered: Dec 2003 posted 01-24-2006 07:49 AM                        Hi, This is what I use lately and it works great!  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 01-24-2006 10:46 AM                     I have a Belkin USB to Serial adapter for use with my notebook. I mainly use it to communicate with LED-based electronic message center displays. It works fine. I've tried others as well (usually in relation to customer notebooks), the most recent being an odd unit from Radio Shack. No problems with any of those either, but some are a bit screwy when first installed. If you don't get a handshake with the external serial connected device, check your COM port settings in Windows Device Manager, the driver for the USB to Serial adapter (if applicable) and the application using the device. Just about every time the problem will be inconsistent settings between the application and the adapter. Most applications will default to COM1 or COM2, but many of these adapters may install on COM5. Baud rate has to be consistent. So does the data order (such as 8N1 or 7E2).  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 01-24-2006 01:42 PM                        I also use the Keyspan adapter, and one of the good things about it is that it comes with a configuration tool which allows you to rempa ports very easily and quickly. It worked with every device I have tried, except for the QSC DCMs (crossover/monitor). Sam from QSC told me that the serial adapter for some older palmtops works, but I haven't tried it yet. When I needed it, I simply commandeered the older notebook of one of my office colleagues which still had the hardware serial port.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-24-2006 03:10 PM                        The overpriced USB->serial/parallel adapter that IBM (err...Lenovo) sells for its laptops seems to work fine. At least it works with my T42 for talking to various pieces of network hardware. I'll have to try it with a CP500 this week and will post the results. Personally, I think it's a travesty that few laptops are available with built-in serial ports, but I'm apparently in the minority on that issue. Dell Latitude and Precision laptops (at least the D610 and M70, which is what we are currently buying at work) do have standard serial ports, although the build quality of those machines is somewhat cheesy when compared with the IBMs.  |  IP: Logged Joel N. Weber II Expert Film Handler Posts: 115 From: Somerville, MA, USA Registered: Dec 2005 posted 01-24-2006 06:20 PM                     Perhaps the travesty is that network hardware (switches, routers, etc) still don't have USB ports to replace the traditional RS-232 ports for their console ports, and that Dolby hasn't yet released a processor that has a USB port for configuration. On the other hand, a nice thing about the RS-232 standard is that, well, it's a standard; there doesn't seem to be any clear standard to replace it with for the console ports on network hardware if you want to migrate to USB. On the gripping hand, the Dolby Digital decoders require the special Dolby software anyway, so migrating to USB might be a bit less of an inconvenience there...  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 01-24-2006 06:33 PM                     quote: Scott Norwood Personally, I think it's a travesty that few laptops are available with built-in serial ports, but I'm apparently in the minority on that issue. Dell Latitude and Precision laptops (at least the D610 and M70, which is what we are currently buying at work) do have standard serial ports, although the build quality of those machines is somewhat cheesy when compared with the IBMs. Dell is phasing out serial ports on all their laptops. The Inspiron 600m was the last in that product line to feature a 9-pin serial port. Such ports are disappearing on Latitudes. As to build quality, that's a point of debate. IBM (or rather Lenovo now) deserves points for building lightweight systems that are easy to take on the road. However, I simply had to choose a Dell Inspiron 6000d notebook because all other notebook manufacturers did not have the high resolution displays, fast 7200rpm hard discs and other power features boasted by the Dell Inspiron product line. Even Apple's notebook line fell short. I can get a lot of graphics work done very productively on my Dell notebook. Alas, it does not have a serial port. Very few of Dell's new desktop computers have them either. Most even lack traditional printer ports. You just get a lot of USB connections and perhaps a few Firewire ports if you order the option.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-24-2006 09:44 PM                     One of the problems of legacy devices is that most industrial aplications still use serial communication and many still use DOS aps to comunicate and set up and the replacement costs of some of that equipment far outways the concept of the latest greatest interface being the only route to go  |  IP: Logged

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