Moxa Technologies TCF-142-M(-T) Folheto

 

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Introduction 
The TCF-142 series (Ver. 3.1 or later) converters are equipped with a 
multiple interface circuit that can handle RS-232, or RS-422/485 serial 
interfaces, and multi-mode or single-mode fiber. The TCF-142 converters 
extend serial transmission distance up to 5 km (TCF-142-M, with 
multi-mode fiber) or up to 40 km (TCF-142-S, with single-mode fiber). 
The TCF-142 must be configured to transmit a particular serial interface 
(e.g., RS-232 and RS-485 signals cannot be transmitted at the same time). 
Why convert serial to Fiber? 
Fiber communication not only extends the communication distance, but 
also provides many advantageous features. 
IMMUNITY FROM ELECTRICAL INTERFERENCE: Fiber is not 
affected by electromagnetic interference or radio frequency interference. 
It provides a clean communication path and is immune to cross-talk. 
INSULATION: Optical fiber is an insulator; the glass fiber eliminates the 
need for using electric currents as the communication medium. 
SECURITY: Fiber cannot be tapped by conventional electric means and 
is very difficult to tap into optically. Furthermore, radio and satellite 
communication signals can be captured easily for decoding. 
RELIABILITY & MAINTENANCE: Fiber is immune to adverse 
temperature and moisture conditions, does not corrode or lose its signal, 
and is not affected by short circuits, power surges, or static electricity. 
Reverse Power Protection 
The Reverse Power Protection feature provides extra protection against 
accidentally connecting the power cables to the wrong terminal. The 
converter is designed to detect automatically which power wire is positive 
and which is negative, and then adjust the power supply accordingly. 
Ring Mode 
To allow one half-duplex serial device to communicate with multiple 
half-duplex devices connected to a fiber ring, you should configure the 
TCF-142 for “ring mode” by setting DIP switch “SW4” to the “On” 
position. The Tx port of a particular TCF-142 unit connects to the 
neighboring converter’s Rx port to form the ring. Note that when one 
node transmits a signal, the signal travels around the ring until it returns 
back to the transmitting unit, which then blocks the signal. Users should 
ensure that the total fiber ring length is less than 100 km when using 
TCF-142 series converters. 

RS-232

RS-232

RS-422

RS-485

TCF-142

TCF-142

TCF-142

Tx

Tx

Tx

Tx

Rx

Rx

Rx

Rx

TCF-142

PWR
Fiber Tx

Fiber Rx

T+

T-

R+/D+

R-/D-

Tx

Rx

GND

RS-422/485

RS-232

12-48V

V+

V-

PWR
Fiber Tx

Fiber Rx

T+

T-

R+/D+

R-/D-

Tx

Rx

GND

RS-422/485

RS-232

12-48V

V+

V-

PWR
Fiber Tx

Fiber Rx

T+

T-

R+/D+

R-/D-

Tx

Rx

GND

RS-422/485

RS-232

12-48V

V+

V-

PWR

FiberTx

Fiber Rx

T+

T-

R+/D+

R-/D-

Tx

Rx

GND

RS-422/485

RS-232

12-48V

V+

V-

 

DIP Switch Selectable Terminator 
The termination resistor for many products of this type is set by a jumper 
located inside the product’s casing. To disable or change the resistor’s 
strength, the user must open the casing to reset the jumper. MOXA offers 
a better solution, since TCF-142’s termination resistor is set with a DIP 
Switch located on the outside of the converter’s casing. 
No Configuration Required for Baudrate Settings 
The TCF-142 works under any baudrate from 300 bps to 921.6 Kbps. The 
TCF-142 simply converts the signal back and forth between serial 
(RS-232, RS-422, or RS-485) and fiber, and since the TCF-142 does not 
need to interpret the signal, it does not need to know the baudrate of the 
transmitting device. For this reason, TCF-142 does not have any DIP 
switches or jumpers for setting the baudrate. 

2. Features 

y 

“Ring” or “Point to Point” transmission 

y 

Extend RS-232/422/485 transmission distance: 
> up to 40 km with single-mode—TCF-142-S 
> up to 5 km with multi-mode—TCF-142-M 

y 

Compact size 

y 

Decrease signal interference 

y 

Protect against electronic degradation and chemical corrosion 

y 

Supports a baudrate up to 921.6 Kbps 

y 

Extended operating temperature from -40 to 75°C (for -T models) 

3. Package Checklist 

Before installing the TCF-142, verify that the package contains the 
following items: 
y 

TCF-142-S or TCF-142-M Fiber Converter 

y 

Quick Installation Guide 

y 

7-contact terminal block connector 

y 

3-contact terminal block connector 

TCF-142 fiber converters are easy to set up and use. The serial terminal 
block of one of the converters connects to your computer, the serial 
terminal block of the other converter connects to your serial device, and 
the two converters are connected by fiber cable(s). 

NOTE  Electrostatic Discharge Warning! 

To protect the product from damage due to electrostatic 
discharge, we recommend wearing a grounding device when 
maintaining TCF-142. 

 

100.4 mm (3.95 in)

22.0 mm

(0.87 in)

21.3 mm

(0.8 in)

42.3 mm

(1.67 in)

67 mm (2.64 in)

78 mm (3.07 in)

12.5 mm

(0.49 in)

25 mm (0.98 in)

O 6 mm

(0.24 in)

O 4 mm

(0.16 in)

O 7 mm

(0.28 in)

90.2 mm (3.55 in)

67 mm (2.64 in)

22.0 mm (0.87 in)

 

Connecting the Power Supply 
Before using the TCF-142, you must first connect the DC power supply 
to the power supply terminal block located on the bottom side of the 
TCF-142. The TCF-142 uses a DC power supply. 
Connecting RS-422 or 4-wire RS-485 Serial Devices 

RS-422/485

Rx

Tx

Rx

Tx

RS-422/485

Tx-

Tx+

Rx-

Rx+

GND

R-

R+

T-

T+

GND

TCF-142

TCF-142

Serial

Device

Serial

Device

T-

R+

R-

GND

T+

Rx-

Tx+

Tx-

GND

Rx+

Copper

Copper

Fiber