Max Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Anyone do any fairly long serial connections, such as 500+ feet? While I have connectivity, it isn't stable and significantly past what is recommended for serial connections.Anyone use any serial extenders or wifi serial extenders with C4 that you would recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henniae Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Global Caché (http://www.globalcache.com/) makes an Ethernet/serial device that might be what you need. It integrates great with C4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoGo Delicious Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Hi,What you need is a "RJ45/DB9F Modular Adapter". We use these all the time BUT we have never had a run longer then 225 feet so I can not say how well it will work for you. As far as reliability at 250' or less it's great NO ISSUES at all. Once we get into the 200'+ range we look at other options/solutions.You can check out a RJ45/D9 Modular Adapter at PC Connection. You can also Google "RJ45/DB9F Modular Adapter"Hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanE Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 500 feet is too long to try and do serial RS-232.The serial spec is 75 feet max, I believe.You should put a Control4 controller or a serial port extender like the B&B Electronics units or Global Cache' at the end of the run.RyanE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil12011 Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 ryan, this would take the commands over ip and then execute at the end as serial, correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henniae Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 ryan, this would take the commands over ip and then execute at the end as serial, correct?This is correct. If you use a C4 controller or the Global Cache device both will transmit the commands over the IP network. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slemay Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 "The RS-232 spec. has an official limit of 50 ft for RS-232 cables. Realistically they can be much longer. The book Managing UUCP and Usenet by O'Reilly and Associates has a table that they credit to Technical Aspects of Data Comminications by McNamara (Digital Press, 1992). It lists the maximum distances for an RS-232 connection.Baud Rate Max Distance (Shielded Cable) Max Distance (Unshielded Cable)110 5000ft 3000ft300 5000ft 3000ft1200 3000ft 3000ft2400 1000ft 500ft4800 1000ft 250ft9600 250ft 250ftPlease note that baud is correct in this case, because we're speaking of the transmission line itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanE Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Of course, many devices that communicate with a Control4 system do it at a rate faster than 9600 baud, which somewhat limits the usefulness of the table. Most devices keep it at or under 9600 baud, but there are definitely some exceptions:ELK: 115200 baud !!!Key Digital: 19200 baudGE Networx: 38400 baudAprilaire: 19200 / 9600 baudAnyway, bottom line is that 500 feet is probably pushing it.RyanE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slemay Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Anyway, bottom line is that 500 feet is probably pushing it.RyanEWhich the table CLEARLY shows! 9600 baud limit is 250 feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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