Z88 - 2 Speed Operation

The speed of the transfer depends on the following:-

Popdown	Normal 9600 BPS		OZ	Full 38400 BPS

The desktop end of Eazylink2 (v1.0 B6 and later) has been changed allowing faster communication to be achieved using OZ 4.5 or above.

Eazylink Popdown

Existing Mac & PC Link II Users

If you have an existing copy of

• PC Link II, the PC to Z88 cable can be used. 
• Mac Link, the Mac to Z88 cable could be modified by cutting off the 8 pin DIN plug and fitting a 9 way 'D' plug. In practise, this may be discarded and a PC to Z88 cable would be needed separately

The 32K EPROM may be reprogrammed to store the Eazylink popdown.

Contact Rakewell for details.

PC Link II mode

PC Link II Protocol		Eazylink popdown		EazyLink2 Desktop Client

.

Display (bottom left-hand corner) showing 9600 Baud rate and PC Link II mode.

OZ 4.5

Eazylink is included in the suite of applications so no additional cards are required.

OZ mode

Display (bottom left-hand corner) showing 38400 Baud rate and the 5.4 (version number) and -09 (protocol number) OZ mode.

Z88 to Desktop Cable

Z88 End	PC End

There are two types of PC to Z88 Cables available that can be used on all the Desktop computer  platforms.

1. Z88 9 way male to 9 way female (Later PC Standard)
2. Z88 9 way male to 25 way female (IBM PC standard)

Using Adapters

If you use the Z88 9 way male to 25 way female cable, you will need to use a 25 to 9 way adapter to use the 9 pin plug on the modern Desktops or USB Adapters.. Please ensure that all the 9 way pins are connected. Some adapters only connect 3 of the pins, sometimes the only way to tell is to buy one and test the connections with a meter before use.

Desktop

RS-232 Serial Port

If your Desktop has a hardware RS-232 port, the cable can be used with it. If it hasn't, you can either elect to

Fit a 2 Port PCI RS232 Serial Adapter Card with 16550 UART

or use a 

Serial to USB converters

Most desktops now have USB and not Serial ports. EazyLink2 will only work with a Serial to USB converter that the flow control supports 'hardware handshaking' and a driver available for the Operating System you are using. The cable type puts less strain onto the connectors than the adapter type.

Caution

This program has been designed to work with different Operating Systems, with different Serial/USB cables. Please help us update the 'Truth Table' below, with your results.

The Keyspan device has been shown to be tolerate on all Desktops.

Just because a Serial / USB cable works with another program does not mean it will work with this one.

Are the latest drivers being used?

The following tables show what has been tested, using the protocol test feature in the Eazylink2 application. The table shows

    = tested (complete protocol test passed for 9600 BPS and 38400 BPS)

    = tested, but protocol test failed

Blank = not tested

Tested configurations of EazyLink2 client connecting to Eazylink popdown in OZ 4.5:

	Hardware	USB Serial Cables
	RS-232
	PCI2S550 or other RS-232 H/W	FT232R	FT232R CHIPI-X10 P24597 V1027	FT232R P24577 V1027	CH340 P29987 V6790	PL2303 HXD HX Rev D)	PL2303RA P8963 V1659	USA-19HS USA-49WG
Drivers
Driver comments			Mac OSX: VCP 2.2.18 Linux / rPi: Built-in					Linux / rPi: Built-in
Suppliers
OS									USER REPORT
x86_64	not avail.								GS
x386 / x86_64									GS
Arm 32bit									GS
x86_64									VG
x386									VG GS
Price 26 Jun 2014		£8.32			£2.21	£11.59		£26.02	VG
Price 30 Jun 2015	£26.25	£6.95 +£9.95	£12.36 + Post	£10.99	£1.37	£12.95	£7.49	£25.86	VG

Tested configurations of EazyLink2 client connecting to Eazylink Popdown (for all OZ versions) v5.2.3-06:

Hardware	USB Serial Cables
	RS-232
	PCI2S550 or other RS-232 H/W	FT232R	FT232R CHIPI-X10 P24597 V1027	FT232R P24577 V1027	CH340 P29987 V6790	PL2303 HXD HX Rev D)	PL2303RA P8963 V1659	USA-19HS USA-49WG
OS									USER REPORT
x86_64	not avail.
x386 / x86_64
Arm 32bit
x86_64									VG
x386

Update Drivers

xp Example Device Manager without correct driver installed.

A disk with the manual and drivers are normally supplied with the converter, but these drivers can be years out of date. You are advised to read the manual to see which driver it uses. Then use Google to search for the latest driver. Some operating systems will automatically find the latest's driver it requires when the USB Adapter is used - e.g. Windows 8.1

For example - this driver is dated 04/11/2011

this driver is dated 03/06/2009

Manufacturers update their drivers during the life of the product. These updates may need to be obtained manually. It is a good idea to periodically check these sites to see if a later and improved driver is available.

 Windows Update can update the drivers if they are manually selected. They do not get updated when automatic updated are used.

Device Manager (Optional)

	Before running the program, it can be useful to know the device name that the operating system has allocated to the serial port you are using to connect to the Z88. This is either a physical number that is on the computer e,g, COM.1 COM.2 (device names on Windows), or a virtual one (see below). If you are using a Serial to USB converter the driver will automatically allocate a new serial port device name. Please refer to the manufacturer's instructions for details how to find out that name (COM port number on Windows). This COM port may also be examined or changed in the Device Manager. Original software for the Z88 could only select COM.1 or COM.2, so if they are required, here is how to change it from COM3 (the automatic choice that was selected in this case) to COM.1. Select the Device Manager Ports (COM & LPT) Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port (COM3) (or whatever device you are using). Properties Port Settings Advanced ... Change COM Port No to COM1 OK Note: The parameters shown in the 'Advanced Settings' are ignored by this program.
Mac Users
	On the Mac selection of the COM port uses tty. Just select the correct name that your driver uses.