AMT-70/AMT-73/AMT-75 Installation and Operation
CHAPTER 3 OPERATIONAL FEATURES
3.1 M&C Interface Descriptions
The AMT-70/AMT-73L/AMT-75 series modems include 3 different communications methods through 4
different communications paths.
These include the following:
Front Panel M&C – The modem comes standard with an active front panel that includes a 40
character by 2-line Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD) and a 16-button membrane keyboard.
It also includes LCD status indicators (7 for the AMT-70, 5 for the AMT-73) for a visual
snapshot of modem status.
The active front panel is probably the most convenient means of communicating with the
modem. The display is in English text with few abbreviations and/or acronyms, and several
modem parameters can be entered, displayed, automatically tested, and manually corrected
before actually activating those parameters. Parameters that are out-of-range are automatically
rejected, and an alert message is displayed to the operator (via English text), who then must
manually make the correction before the newly entered parameter(s) are activated.
The active front panel is standard for this modem, however, it can be ordered with a passive
front panel (price compensated) for modems that will only be remotely controlled.
RS-232 M&C Port – The modem comes standard with a rear panel RS-232 asynchronous
serial port that is useful for communicating with the modem using a dumb terminal (a terminal
that has no processing capabilities), such as a VT-100, or the more popular terminal emulation
software, such as HyperTerminal, which is usually included in PC and MAC Windows™
operating software, or Minicom for Linux OS users. Even a PDA (personal digit assistant) with
VT100 terminal emulation software (such as Pilot VT100 software) will work.
Instructions on how to use the RS-232 and the command list is provided in Chapter 5 and
Chapter 6.
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RS-485 M&C Port – The rear panel RS-485 asynchronous serial port provides the capability to
address other AMT-70/AMT-73 modems (or other AdvantechAMT products that include a RS-
485 port) using a single PC (personal computer) and a single daisy-chained cable connecting
all the units.
Provisions within the modem provide an address field of 8 binary bits, allowing up to 256
addresses to be assigned. From a single cable in theory up to 32 devices can be connected.
However, AdvantechAMT recommends a maximum of 15 devices, which allows the cable to be
assembled from ribbon cable.
The RS-485 can be set to operate from either a 2-wire where the differential transmit and
receive signals share the same pair, or can be set up to operate in 4-wire operation, where the
differential transmit and receive signals are on separate lines. The modem is shipped with the
2-wire option, but can be changed by using either the active front panel or the RS-232 port.
The RS-485 port can be set to operate in two different modes. One mode is the Command
Line Interface mode which is nearly identical to the RS-232 dumb terminal approach, but with
addressing capability. Refer to Paragraph 7.2 for more information on how to utilize the CLI
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General