HP Forum Archive 15

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Xpander Connectivity Kit Message #1 Posted by Wilhelm Loidl on 2 Nov 2005, 7:32 a.m. Hello! Just get my own Xpander! Nice item, but no Connectivity Cable available ;( Can someone tell me the correct jack (I assume: 3.5 mm stereo jack like in an mp3-player) and the correct lines between this jack and the 9-pin serial-jack? Thank you very much! Wilhelm Loidl

Re: Xpander Connectivity Kit Message #2 Posted by Karl-Ludwig Butte on 4 Nov 2005, 3:14 a.m., in response to message #1 by Wilhelm Loidl Hello Wilhelm, I haven't used my Xpander Connectivity Kit, yet. But to help you I examined the original HP cable, which accompanied my Xpander, with an Ohm-meter. To my surprise it seems defect: Only the most outer layer of the stereo jack is connected to pin 5 of the DB9 connector. Pin 5 is "Signal Ground", so the other 2 segments must be "Receive Data" (Pin 2 of DB9) and "Transmit Data" (Pin 3 of DB9). I'm going to find out which signal is connected to which segment in the near future (yes, time is a big problem). You can try the same or wait until I got the result. I saw your same question at www.xpander.org so I'm going to put the answer there, too. Hope this helps Regards Karl

Re: Xpander Connectivity Kit Message #3 Posted by Wilhelm Loidl on 4 Nov 2005, 3:42 a.m., in response to message #2 by Karl-Ludwig Butte Hello Karl! Thank you for the feedback! I don't think, your cable is defect - maybe there is inside an optocoupler (hope, you understand my english interpretation ;) In the next days, I'll try to connect the Xpander with an modifyed hp-49 serial-cable. Thank you again Wilhelm Loidl

Re: Xpander Connectivity Kit Message #4 Posted by Wilhelm Loidl on 5 Nov 2005, 9:26 a.m., in response to message #3 by Wilhelm Loidl Hello! No luck with an hp-49 cable. No luck with an old Garmin RS232 (with optocoupler) cable. I testet all possible pin-configurations (Pin 2,3 and 5 on the 9-pin-jack), made before every try an hardware-reset on the Xpander and changed the COM1/COM2 connection with the modifyed cables. The Connectivity-Software was running on a Windows XP-PC (maybe this is a problem?); The automatic search withe the original Software for an handshake with the Xpander did nothing find... Every help is very welcome! Wilhelm Loidl

Re: Xpander Connectivity Kit Message #5 Posted by Arnaud Amiel on 5 Nov 2005, 2:53 p.m., in response to message #4 by Wilhelm Loidl My Xpander connectivity kit works under Windows XP without problem. I am going to have a look with my voltmeter Here we are: 9 way female D type connector To stereo 3.5mm jack Pin 5 to sleeve (Shield) Pin 3 to sleeve 5kOhm A glitch between Pin 4 and ring I guess this doesn't really help but the serial connector is longer than usual so I guess it contains some form of electronics Arnaud The connector at xpander.org Edited: 5 Nov 2005, 3:58 p.m.

Re: Xpander Connectivity Kit Message #6 Posted by Karl-Ludwig Butte on 6 Nov 2005, 11:59 a.m., in response to message #4 by Wilhelm Loidl Hello Wilhelm, as promised I tested my cable with the Connectivity Kit. It seems, your right, it works perfectly. In the manual I found a notice that no other cable should be used 'cause it is designed especially for the Xpander. Alas, there's no way to open the DB9 jack to look inside. Sorry, that I don't have better news for you. If you'd like to discuss the Xpander in more detail you can write me at LKL_Butte@web.de. Regards Karl

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