Communications converter FOI-2191

serialRS-232fiber optics

The FOI-2191 and FOI-2911 both provide complete electrical isolation for RS- 232 communications. For compatibility with MIL-STD-188C, the transmit and receive data (TD and RD) can be inverted through either unit by a switch. The units are transparent to all handshaking protocols and can accept data and clock signals up to a maximum rate of 128 kbps. A regeneration switch on the FOI-2191 allows users to toggle between synchronous applications that require Send Timing (ST) and asynchronous or synchronous applications that require Terminal Timing (TT). They support tail circuit and null modem functions for DCE to DCE or DTE to DTE communications. This requires two of the same FOI units. An alternate interface (V.35 or RS-422) may be installed at the opposite end, allowing the user to create a link between two electrically incompatible interfaces without requiring a separate interface converter. The units can be used in areas of high electrical noise or in and out of RF shielded enclosures. The fiber optic cable is not susceptible to interference caused by impulse noise, crosstalk, or EMI. Privacy of communications is also enhanced because the fiber optic cable does not radiate any emissions. FiberPlex recommends “R” units for high security applications because they have added filtering and shielding for RFI suppression. In addition, fiber optic cable offers much longer transmission distances than traditional RS-232 cabling. Multimode optics on the units can extend the distance to 2km, while singlemode optics can further extend the distance to 20km.