PenMount Bulletin No. PMY10007

Released Date：April 7, 2010

Between the 2 major transmission interfaces that PenMount touch controller provides, RS-232 and USB, the RS-232 interface is widely used by clients due to it's merit of low hardware requirement and easier software development. However, since RS-232 interface doesn't support hot plug features as completely as USB does, clients having difficulty in installing PenMount's RS-232 device occurs from time to time. Therefore, via this bulletin, PenMount software develop team will guide you to the matters needing your attention when using RS- 232 interface.

At present, the majority of PenMount's controllers are provided with RS- 232 interface while the PnP modes and baud rates supported are quite different. Please see the table below:

All the PnP modes and baud rates tabulated above can be adjusted through the switch on control board. For faster transmission rate, use 19200 bps for baud rate, while for reducing transmission errors, 9600 bps comes in handy. As PnP modes are concerned, if the RS-232 interface of your hardware supports RTS signals, and your operating system also supports the plug and play of serial device, then you are recommended to use PnP mode, so that system can detect PenMount device automatically and activate the device more easily. The table below lists PenMount's PnP supports in commonly-used operating systems:

From the table above, it can be seen that only Windows supports the plug and play feature of RS-232. If your PenMount device runs with non-PnP mode, then there are some variations about installation sequences in different operating systems that need your attention:

1. Microsoft Windows :
   If your PenMount device runs with PnP mode, it will be detected by the operating system when system starts up, and it will be shown in the device manager. On the contrary, if it runs with non PnP, no device of PenMount RS- 232 will be indicated in the device manager until the driver is installed. If the PenMount controller you use is non-PnP, we suggest that you install driver V2.1.0.263 and later versions, while in the mean time also refer to PenMount Controller Installation Guide to make change to the install.ini file so as to configure the COM port you are going to use, then you will be able to successfully complete the installation.
   Presently PenMount's software development team is planning to include the function of automatically detecting non-PnP into next driver edition, which will help you install and configure your touchscreen more quickly.

2. Windows CE :
   Since Windows CE doesn't support the plug and play feature of RS-232 device, users have to manually include the device driver into Windows CE Platform Builder project before they build the system. They also need to assign the number of the serial port that they are going to attach PenMount device to and also the baud rate used in the registry file of the device driver, so as to make the built system successfully drive PenMount device.

3. Linux :
   Under Linux, PenMount devices run with non-PnP mode. In the newest PenMount Linux driver edition, the automatic detection and installation of RS-232 device are provided. If you use an older driver program, refer to PenMount's installation guide to configure your device.

Once your PenMount RS-232 touch controller stop working, we suggest that you first check the settings of IRQ and I/O address of the serial port in use. In most cases, conflicts of resource settings in the system are the cause. Knowing more about the settings of PenMount hardware may help you with clarifying the problem that your are facing. 

PenMount's hardware and software are designed to meet the needs and demands of the market; and if you have any specific requirements of your own, we would be most glad and ready to offer our full support and assistance in your product development.  For more information on the PenMount hardware and software products, you can download its data sheet and drivers via www.salt.com.tw or www.penmount.com. If you have any suggestions or comments, please email us at salt@salt.com.tw or penmount@seed.net.tw.