Digi Edgeport and ADICON Bridge don't work together.

[123]

Background

• The ADICON Bridge is an RS-232/RS-485 converter.
• The Digi Edgeport/8 is a USB to serial converter (8 ports).
• ADICON Bobcat modules are sensors (temperature, light, humidity).

The Problem

• If I plug the Bridge into the PC's serial port everything works fine.
• If I plug it into the serial port of the Digi Edgeport/8, communications appear to be unidirectional (i.e. PC to Bridge but nothing in return).

Pictorially speaking, this configuration works:
HA Program <===> PC Serial Port<==RS-232==> Bridge <==RS-485==> Bobcat Modules

and this one does not:
HA Program <===> Edgeport <==RS-232==> Bridge <==RS-485==> Bobcat Modules

What could the Bridge require that the Edgeport cannot provide?

 

[dBeau]

What could the Bridge require that the Edgeport cannot provide?

Just a wild guess, but are the flow control options the same in both cases? Try turning off flow control.

Other stuff to check...
are you using the same rs232 cable in both cases? If not a pin could be broken.
have you tried the edgeport with a different rs232 device and found bi-directional communication to be working?

 

[123]

Yup, that's the head-scratcher ... everything is precisely the same (serial port parameters, cable, PC, bridge, etc). The only difference is where the cable is connected ... into the PC's serial port or the Edgeport.

• I connected another RS-232 device (an X10 CM11A) to the same port on the Edgeport and it worked flawlessly.
• I have other RS-232 devices plugged into the Edgeport and they all work well.
• I tried connecting the Bridge to other ports on the Edgeport and it didn't solve the problem.

There's something about the combination of Edgeport and Bridge that prevents proper communication.

I'll try to get my hands on another RS-232/RS-485 converter and see if that makes a difference.

 

[beelzerob]

I've had a recurring problem where I can't connect some pieces of equipment to my Moxa serial octopus card....I think the Brultech is the latest one. *shrug*

 

[dBeau]

Yup, that's the head-scratcher ... everything is precisely the same (serial port parameters, cable, PC, bridge, etc). The only difference is where the cable is connected ... into the PC's serial port or the Edgeport.

Is flow control disabled? If so, try enabling hardware flow control. If you are using hardware flow control try disabling it.

...other than that, I've got nothin'

 

[Michael McSharry]

Check your voltage levels on RX and TX. Your digi may only be putting out TTL levels (.e.g 0 to 3.5v). Works fine in one direction, but the drive voltage is not what the other side needs. The RS-232 standard is -12v to +12v, but many devices take shortcuts.

 

[pete_c]

I "power" my two Digi USB-RS232 boxes with a Digi USB to 7 port USB box so as not to pull too much from the computers USB port. I did notice a problem a while ago with my WTC box taxing the power a bit. Many years ago (don't recall what happened to it) I had an RS232 breakout box with LED's on it and I would utilize it for diagnostics....not sure if they still sell these.