BENEDICT COMPUTER
DLM150 Release Notes
And User Tips
4/2005
(See page 9 for other Benedict Computer Products)
HOW TO SETUP FOR CAPTURE OF DATA
Using any RS-232 cable, place the DLM125 in line between two cables OR use a single cable to the DLM150 with a male and a female connector at the other ent to “T” cable to either side of the DLM150. It is not necessary to run data through the DLM150.
DLM150 keyboard features not in the manual
- OUTPUT DATA, BERT/LOOP, AUTOCONFIGURE TD, AND AUTOCONFIGURE RD commands have been added to the keyboard to reduce keystrokes for simple tests.
- Descriptive legends have been added to the keyboard.
- AUTOCONFIGURE has been speeded and improved.
- TD/RD search and SHIFT functions have been removed from keyboard.
- Moved SEARCH and SHIFT to the new TOOLS menu. To access TOOLS hit [MENU], hit [BACK], hit [SET] until you find the tool you want, then hit [ENTER].
Add defaults to [MENU] options: 1) Output default is ASCII, 2) BERT default is ASCII. and BERT automatically turns off FLOW control when BERT 511 or 0-FF is selected.
MONEY SAVING CAPABILITIES
The DLM150 has 2 unique to the DLM150 money saving capabilities. The first is the LOOP/BERT test. This measures the speed of data running through a circuit which can be used to determine which communications equipment can pass the most data per minute. This is useful for testing the performance of dedicated circuits, compression modems, and multiplexers . See page 62 in manual for more information. Also see back of this document for explanation of theory of DLM150 BERT.
The second capability is the RESPONSE TIME AVERAGING. This is option in the TIMER test. See the menu pages 27 and 92. Use of the CONTINUOUS setting displays to average response times to the start and stop triggers.
NEW CAPABILITIES
The DLM150 now supports 57.6k AND 38.4k ASYNCHRONOUS. The DLM150 now has better key touch on multiple push functions. Pushing the [OUTPUT DATA] key combination will now output all ASCII characters from the right hand connector while simultaneously capturing returned data.(pg. 48)
SCROLLING VERSUS PAGING EXPLAINED AND HOW TO VIEW CAPTURED DATA
The DLM150 has a 2 line by 40 character screen. This small screen keeps the size and cost down and the battery life up to 40 hours. There are 3 special features which we have provided to make working with a small screen easier.
The first special feature is the DLM150 can scroll characters across the screen slower than actual date is being captured (multitasking). This scrolling rate can be slowed by pushing [BACK] or speeded by pushing [FWD] while in scroll mode. There are 4 scrolling rates, the fastest being real time (see page 35). When the [SCROLL CURSOR/PAGE CURSOR] is pushed then the MODE changes to a single page (one full screen) per push of the [FWD] OR [BACK] buttons. This also “freezes” the screen so that you can view the data without it scrolling away from you. Hit [PAGE] to resume full speed scrolling or [SCROLL]+[FWD] to get to the end of the buffer. The variations in scrolling do NOT affect the capture of data. To get to the beginning of the capture buffer hit [SCROLL]+[BACK]. NOTE that the DLM150 can be capturing data, but nothing happening on the screen. To find out if any data is being captured, pushing the [VIEW LOCATION] button will show you the current amount of data captured and the value will increase while you watch it if data is being captured. The second feature is the jump to buffer location documented in [VIEW LOCATION] and on page #39 of the manual. The third function gives you a complete view of all captured data is the HEX DUMP which is found in the [MENU]. Push [MENU] then push [BACK] until you see HEX REPORT. Push [SET] then [ENTER] and a full report will be output to the serial printer or other serial communications device (manual pg. 24 and appendix C).
AUTO CONFIGURE
Automatically determine baud rate, word size and parity. The auto configure will first sample the speed of the line and inform you. Then it will try different parity and wordsize settings until it stops getting errors, and then it will begin capturing data. It works best with constant data running through it to analyze. Push the [AUTOCONFIGURE TD] or [AUTOCONFIGURE RD] (see pages 40,42). If the baud rate, word size and parity match the current settings, you will start capturing and viewing data. If you get framing errors on the TD line, then push [BACK] [INTERFACE SIGNAL] to auto configure TD (pin 2) on the DLM150.
ADVANCED FEATURES-THE [VIEW LOCATION] KEY
This screen shows the location in the capture buffer of the cursor when [INTERFACE SIGNAL] was entered, the viewing page number, the number of bytes in the capture buffer, the current code (ASCII/EBCDIC/BAUDOT), and the Current state of the 6 interface signals. Note that hitting MENU from the [INTERFACE SIGNAL] screen shows the state of the interface signals when the byte at the current location was posted to memory (HISTORICAL). The DLM150 can go to (jump) to a specific character, for example, the 102 ND character received. Note that the cursor location is in HEX notation. To jump to a location from the [INTERFACE SIGNAL] screen push [FWD] or [BACK] to change the cursor location number. push [SET] to change the digit that changes. When you exit [INTERFACE SIGNAL] the cursor will be placed on the location corresponding to the number on the screen.
HOW TO EXAMINE CAPTURED DATA IN HEX
To change from TEXT (current code) to HEX, just press the TEXT/HEX button. The cursor will be placed on the hex value of the character the cursor was on when the button was pushed.
START CAPTURING DATA ON TRIGGER STRING
You can set a start trigger on a 1 TO 80 BYTE (WILD CARDS INCLUDED). It also possible to capture data on any INTERFACE SIGNAL (e.g. DTR or RTS) pattern. A STOP trigger can be set in the same manner using a trigger string or signal pattern(see page 14)
SEND A PROGRAMMABLE STRING
Example: send a user defined string, wait for: interface signal, or character, or user defined number of 250 ms pauses, transmit a BREAK and do it again. (see page 48)
ANSWER BACK THE STOP TRIGGER
Send the stop trigger when start trigger is received. (see page 32)
HOW TO CREATE OR EDIT A STRING
Refer to page 51 of the DLM150 manual for a description of how to create a start or stop (trigger strings).
Theory of the BERT/LOOP test
The BERT/LOOP tests in this machine operate in their own unique, and we believe, superior way. The traditional BERT may require 2 analyzers with each one blindly sending out the selected pattern while examining the returned data to discover bit errors in the selected pattern. This works well if the chosen pattern, usually an analog CCITT pattern such as 511, truly simulates the users data. Our contention is that this is not necessarily so. Therefore, these products allow the user to select a pattern, even a sample of actual user data up to 10k bytes, and use it to test the circuit. This makes sense because what the user really wants to know is that his data will pass through the circuit intact. Additionally, these products measure to the millisecond the round trip time for this pattern. To do this ONLY ONE unit is used and the remote modem is looped back. This allows the computation of the ROUND TRIP TIME. This elapsed time is averaged so the throughput of the circuit can then be calculated. This feature will identify changes in circuit speed which the user will see, but the traditional BERT will never discover! For this reason we call our BERT test a BERT/LOOP test. Circuit speed may vary between multiplexer, modem, bridge, or common carrier. Armed with the information these products can provide you, it is possible to get more throughput for your dollar by discovering which venders products work better.
other products from Benedict Computer
DLM400
1 megabyte of memory, 4 times faster than a DLM200 . Speeds to 230.4K (half duplex), 115.2k (full duplex) RS422/ RS423/ RS232 Menu selectable now with MIL-Std-188-114 monitoring and Testing and RS485 simulation on DLM400
DLM125
A compact cost effective asynchronous data line monitor/ tester speeds to 38.4K
DLM150
async/sync DLM125 plus BERT/ Differential Timer/ Performance tester
DLM200/300
A compact data analyzer with 8 line display, 64 keys plus PC style keypad, 128K NVRAM
DLM250/350
Same as DLM200 with 256K RAM 9 Tristate LED's and higher data rates
DLMVIEW
Windows program used to capture, log, export, and view data from a DLM200/400 series Monitor
BOB100DLX Deluxe Break out Box
Please visit our web site or call for more information and pricing on these products.
email:
800-346-5186
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(650-323-0156 FAX
Benedict computer DLM150 Release notes page number 1