National Instruments USB-485 Serial Interface Device

The USB-485 (Part Number: 778475-01) is a Serial Interface Device with one port from National Instruments. This device allows users to transform the Universal Serial Bus (USB) port into another type of serial port. This port is called an Asynchronous Serial Port. This transformation enables smooth communication with many Serial Devices. The USB 485 offers the communication of the RS-422 and RS-485 standards. This Serial Interface Device is compatible with several types of OS, including Windows 2000 and Windows XP.  This instrument is functional with standard PC serial ports.

The USB-485 Communication Interface offers many distinguishing features, such as the capability to communicate with as many as 31 devices. The maximum value of the transfer rate for this product is 460.8 kb/s. This instrument also has a software selectable biasing feature. This feature enables the users to switch among the states and includes on and off states for biasing requirements. This function can be performed for each port. The USB-485 National Instruments allows access to different development environments. These environments use standard serial input/output functions for this access. They include Visual Basics, Visual C++, and Excel. The National Instruments software such as LabVIEW can also access these serial ports. The NI device is equipped with a DB-9 male I/O connector and a USB series A plug connector with a captive cable. It has a typical power requirement of 175 mA and a maximum of 500 mA at +5 VDC.

The NI USB-485 weighs 0.26 lb, and measures 1.5 x 1.4 x 0.6 in. in physical dimensions. The device can work at different temperatures. The lower limit of the working temperature for this instrument is 0 degrees Celsius while the upper limit of the working temperature for this instrument is 70 degrees Celsius. Also, it has a non-condensing relative humidity range of 10% to 90%. This Serial Interface Device has an extensive storage temperature range of -40 to 80 degrees Celsius, and a non-condensing storage humidity range of 5 to 95% RH.

The USB-485 is designed to comply with the following electrical safety standards: IEC 61010-1, EN 61010-1, UL 61010-1, and CSA 61010-1.