National Instruments PCI-485I/2 Serial Interface

The National Instruments PCI-485I/2 (Part Number: 777853-02) is a 2-Channel, Isolated Serial Interface. This model is an asynchronous interface that can be used for communications with serial port equipped instruments. The user can attach as many as 31 devices to the PCI-485I/2 through a serial cable. This model has a DB-9 male connector with standard pin allocations for RS232 and RS485 connectors.

The NI PCI-485I/2 offers 460.8 kb/s maximum transfer rate. This Serial Interface comes with 64 Bytes FIFO buffer. The two channels on this device remain optically isolated from one another. This device is designed for 3.3 V and 5 V PCI slots. Since it is a plug-and-play serial interface, the PCI-485I/2 offers a straightforward, switchless configuration experience. In typical operating conditions, it draws 800 mA of current from PCI, while the maximum current drawn is 1300 mA.

The National Instruments PCI-485I/2 can be installed on any Windows 2000/NT/XP/Me/9x based personal computer. Users can utilize this device as a standard serial port through their existing applications. Moreover, development environments including Visual C++, Visual Basic, and NI LabVIEW can also be used with the NI PCI-485I/2. This serial interface features integrated data line ESD protection for up to 15 kV surges.

For the PCI-485I/2, the “I” indicates that this serial interface has isolation capabilities. The standard version, PCI-485/2, (Part Number: 777641-02) is a non-isolated serial interface. There is also a 4-Channel variation, PCI-485/4 (777641-04) and an 8-Channel variation, PCI-485/8. The basic specifications of all PCI-485 variations are similar.