A2200 ShareMate User Manual 1 PRODUCT
Contents
1. for the WINDOWS user 5 1 DOS INSTALLATION The dos directory contains a file called READ DOS TXT please read this file for instructions on how to install the DOS software onto your hard disk Following installation of the software you will have four Commands to use with the ShareMate CONNECT TIMEOUT DELJOB and REPORT These Commands are explained below CONNECT Selecting Printer A or B To select Printer A or B in DOS simply use the CONNECT Command From the DOS prompt type CONNECT A to select Printer A or CONNECT B to select Printer B Please note that if the two printers are different then you must select the correct printer driver from within the application software A2200 ShareMate User Manual TIMEOUT Changing Timeout Values The A2200 ShareMate uses a time interval Timeout to distinguish between different print jobs For the majority of cases the factory Timeout of 20 seconds will be fine In special cases where for example a CAD application takes a long time to make calculations before sending more print data then the Timeout value may need to be changed to 40 seconds In this CAD example above to change the Timeout value for all the Computer ports of the ShareMate simply type TIMEOUT 40 at the DOS prompt The allowable values of the Timeout Command are 5 10 20 and 40 DELJOB Deleting Print Jobs There may be times when you have a large print job stored in the buffer of the A22002. on port A and a Matrix printer on B To change the printer name simply click the EDIT box in the Control Software window and type in the new name A2200 ShareMate User Manual Changing Timeout Values The factory pre set Timeout value is 20 seconds This is adequate for nearly all situations in Windows If for some reason you need to change this value then install the DOS software and use the TIMEOUT Command from DOS In nearly all cases you will not need to change the Timeout Value Deleting Print Jobs You may delete all print jobs sent from your computer which are stored in the A2200 ShareMate buffer To do this simply click the DELETE box once A warning will be issued and you may choose to proceed with the delete or cancel Producing a Status Report An A2200 ShareMate Status Report may be produced directly from the Control Software Window To do this click the top left hand corner box once to produce a menu From this menu click the Produce Setup Report item and the report will be generated 6 CABLE INFORMATION Cabling to an A2200 ShareMate is very simple because all the cables between the A2200 ShareMate and the A516 DataMates are the same The cable is a standard flat 8 wire cable with an RJ 45 connector at each end The RJ 45 connectors are assembled in a straight through or pin to pin configuration Only 4 wires are used for communications and they conform to the Premises Distribution System PDS standard Th
3. A2200 ShareMate User Manual PRODUCT FAMILIARISATION The ASeries A2200 ShareMate is an Intelligent Peripheral Sharing Device PSD allowing six computers to share one or two printers automatically The ShareMate is a very fast device and has been designed to work with laser printers and the WINDOWS software environment The main features of the A2200 ShareMate are as follows All the Computer and Printer ports on the ShareMate use the standard RJ 45 socket connector This connector has been wired according to the cabling standard known as the Premises Distribution System PDS An ASeries A516 DataMate is connected to each port on the ShareMate allowing each Computer and Printer to be up to 300 metres away from the ShareMate This removes the restriction of the ShareMate needing to be located next to a particular printer The ShareMate may be located anywhere in a computer room or next to the office administrator it is totally flexible The ShareMate uses the standard flat 8 wire cable to connect the Computer or Printer via the DataMates Cabling becomes both simple and inexpensive The ShareMate may have up to 8Mb of buffer memory using industry standard SIMMs There are two SIMM sockets available in the ShareMate and it will accept any combination of 256K 1Mb or 4Mb SIMMs no switches to set just plug in and use When two printers are connected to the ShareMate they can operate simultaneously All Computers and Printers in the Shar
4. PRINTREPORT P P is the Printer port number range 7 or 8 Print a copy of the A2200 ShareMare Reports to the designated printer This will output the Setup Scratch Pad and I O Error Reports from the A2200 ShareMate Z PRINTREPORT 8 This will produce the A2200 ShareMate Reports on Printer B Command Format Parameter Descniption Example 1 Command Format Description Example 1 A2200 ShareMate User Manual TIMEOUT Z TIMEOUT lt value gt lt value gt is a timeout value from 5 seconds to 60 minutes taken from the following table 5S 5 seconds 10S 10 seconds 20S 20 seconds 30S 30 seconds 40S 40 seconds 50S 50 seconds 1M 1 Minute 2M 2 minutes 5M 5 minutes 10M 10 minutes 20M 20 minutes 30M 30 minutes 40M 40 minutes 60M 60 minutes Set a new Timeout value for all the Computer ports of the A2200 ShareMate Z TIMEOUT 20S This will set the Timeout to 20 seconds for each computer connected to the A2200 ShareMate DELETE Z DELETE This will delete all the data stored in the A2200 ShareMate buffer which has been sent by the PC issuing the Delete COMMAND No other data in the buffer will be affected Z DELETE The PC which sends this COMMAND will have all its data deleted from the A2200 ShareMate buffer A2200 ShareMate User Manual 10 A2200 ShareMate REPORTs The A2200 ShareMate can generate reports showing various aspects of the s
5. ShareMate and decide that you do not want to print it This is easily deleted as long as you send the DELJOB Command from the same computer that sent the original print job This Command will delete all print jobs sent from this computer to the A2200 ShareMate but will not affect print jobs sent from all the other computers To delete your print jobs simply type DELJOB at the DOS prompt REPORT Producing a Status Report The A2200 ShareMate Status Report consists of three separate reports The Setup Report is the one which tells you how the A2200 ShareMate is configured This may be useful if you wish to confirm that your Timeout values have been changed The other two reports are used for diagnostic purposes The I O Error Report for example is useful for detecting problems with cables connected to the A2200 ShareMate To produce a report on Printer A simply type REPORT A at the DOS prompt 5 2 WINDOWS INSTALLATION The windows directory contains a file called READ_WIN TXT please read this file for instructions on how to install the WINDOWS software onto your hard disk Selecting Printer A or B After you double click the A2200 Control Icon printers A and B will be shown in the Control Software window Simply select the appropriate printer and click the CONNECT box once your printer selection is complete Within the Control Software window you may also name your printers For example you may have a Laser printer
6. e pins used on the RJ 45 connector are 1 2 3 and 6 The diagram below shows the standard cable RJ 45 10 RJ 45 Front View Front View 2 oO 9 2 3 oO 8 3 Qo 4 5 5 6 06 056 7 a Pint Ping 8 8 Pin1 Ping Figure 6 1 A2200 ShareMate to A516 DataMate Cable The A516 DataMate will operate at full soeed over a distance of up to 300 metres from the A2200 ShareMate A2200 ShareMate User Manual A2200 ShareMate COMMANDs Overview A2200 ShareMate COMMANDs allow you to perform various functions directly from your computer These COMMANDs are being automatically sent for you each time you use the A2200 ShareMate DOS or WINDOWS Control Software There may be occasions when you would like to control the A2200 ShareMate directly via Batch Files or from a computer program To do this you must use the A2200 ShareMate COMMANDs These COMMANDs may be sent to the A2200 ShareMate using the rules described below Rules for COMMANDs m each COMMAND and its Parameters must be sent in UPPER CASE ASCII E each COMMAND may contain none one or more Parameters E each COMMAND and Parameter must be separated by only ONE space Some special COMMANDs do not have a space E each COMMAND must be preceded by a Lead in sequence e g Z E each COMMAND must be terminated by the semi colon character Using COMMANDs While the A2200 ShareMate is receiving and sending data to various printers it is reading this data looking
7. eMate can be active at the same time and the buffer performs a totally dynamic allocation on a first come first served basis The ShareMate and DataMate operate at a speed of 460 000 bits per second This allows fast transfer of data especially when graphics data from WINDOWS is being printed The ShareMate will generate a set of reports which are useful for setup verification and finding problems with cables The ShareMate has its own COMMAND set This allows the advanced user to control the ShareMate directly from a computer program The ShareMate has been designed for ease of use and top performance in a WINDOWS environment using laser printers The ShareMate is a quality manufactured product designed to give trouble free operation A2200 ShareMate User Manual 2 PRODUCT OVERVIEW Front Indicators a ALFATRON ShareMate for Laser Printers Figure 2 1 A2200 ShareMate Front View The front of the ShareMate has 10 indicator Light Emitting Diodes LEDs which provide dynamic visual information during the operation of the unit The LEDs numbered 1 to 6 represent the six possible computers attached to the ShareMate The LED will flash each time the ShareMate receives data from the computer connected to that port The LEDs labelled A and B represent the two possible printers attached to the ShareMate The LED will flash each time data is being sent to that printer from the ShareMate The LED labelled Buffer will f
8. etup and performance of the unit The reports are generated from the DOS and WINDOWS software refer to Section 5 The three reports generated are as follows Setup Report This shows the current setup of the A2200 ShareMate and may be used to confirm the settings of individual ports Scratch Pad Report This shows any changes made to the A2200 Setup since power up I O Error Report The A2200 ShareMate keeps a record of any problems which occurred with communication between itself and all the A516 DataMates This report can be useful for detecting problems with cabling SIMM BUFFER MEMORY The A2200 ShareMate is shipped from the factory with 256K of buffer memory installed This memory is supplied via a standard 30 pin 256K Single In line Memory Module SIMM The A2200 ShareMate has two SIMM sockets one of which is occupied by the factory shipped 256K SIMM The other socket is free and will accept either a 256K 1Mb or 4Mb SIMM Any combination of SIMMs may be installed into the ShareMate but considerable care should be taken when installing SIMMs Please follow these simple SIMM handling guidelines to reduce the chance of any damage from static electricity E Touch the surface of the anti static bag supplied with the SIMM and while handling the SIMM frequently touch bare metal or the anti static bag E Avoid moving about the work area to prevent the generation of static electricity m Handle the SIMM carefully at all times Avo
9. for valid A2200 ShareMate COMMANDs When it finds a valid COMMAND it will strip it from the incoming data and perform the action requested If the A2200 ShareMate finds that the COMMAND is not valid i e an error was detected in the COMMAND syntax Z then it is passed through as normal data The normal data string is not affected in any way COMMANDs are normally created into individual DOS Batch files Using this method aCOMMAND set may be sent to the A2200 ShareMate to perform various functions and then normal printer sharing resumed The following example demonstrates how to set the Timeout value to 1 minute Z TIMEOUT 1M A2200 ShareMate User Manual Command Format Parameter Description Example 1 Example 2 Command Format Parameter Description Example 1 CONNECT Z CONNECT C P C is an optional Computer port number range 1 to 6 P is the Printer port number range 1 or 2 Make a connection from a Computer to a particular Printer port When two parameters are used the connection will be made from C to P When only the P parameter is used then the connection is made for the PC sending the COMMAND to P Z CONNECT 2 This will connect the PC sending this COMMAND to the A2200 ShareMate Printer B Z CONNECT 4 1 The PC connected to Computer 4 of the A2200 ShareMate will now send all its print data to Printer A PRINTREPORT Z
10. id flexing the SIMM or touching the metal pads Once the SIMMs are installed the A2200 ShareMate is ready for use there are no configuration settings required buffer memory detection is automatic 10 SPECIFICATIONS CPU Computer Ports Printer Ports LED Indicators Power Supply Dimensions Weight Operating Temperature Storage Temperature A2200 ShareMate User Manual 64180 Microprocessor RS 422 operating at 460 000 bps Configured as Input RJ 45 Socket using pins 1 2 3 and 6 RS 422 operating at 460 000 bps Configured as Ouput RJ 45 Socket using pins 1 2 3 and 6 Computer ports 1 to 6 Green Printer ports A and B Green Buffer Full Red Power On Yellow 12V 1A DC Power Adapter Fuse amp Reverse polarity protection Plug jack 5 5mm outer 2 5mm inner Outer Negative O C 208mm x 163mm x 31mm 965 grams 0 to 40 C 20 to 70 C All specifications subject to change without notice 11
11. lash only when the ShareMate buffer is full and cannot receive any more data If this occurs on a regular basis then it indicates that the ShareMate may need more buffer memory for this application The LED labeled Power remains on when the ShareMate is ready to use Rear Panel COMPUTER PRINTER bated bah Figure 2 2 A2200 ShareMate Back View The rear of the ShareMate Figure 2 2 shows the On Off Switch and Power Entry Socket to the left of the unit The six RJ 45 sockets 1 through 6 labelled Computer are the Computer ports A Computer is connected to each port using a DataMate 516 C The two RJ 45 sockets A and B labelled Printer are the Printer ports A Printer is connected to each port using a DataMate 516 P All A516 DataMates may be up to 300 metres away from the A2200 ShareMate A2200 ShareMate User Manual GENERAL INSTALLATION Step 1 Connect a DataMate A516 C to the parallel port of your computer Connect a straight through pin to pin RJ 45 cable between the DataMate A516 C and any Computer port at the rear of the ShareMate as shown in the following diagram COMPUTER PRINTER Diagram 3 1 Connecting a Computer to the ShareMate Step 2 Connect a DataMate A516 P to the parallel port of your printer Connect a straight through pin to pin RJ 45 cable between the DataMate A516 P and a Prin
12. ter port at the rear of the ShareMate as shown in the following diagram ON 12VDC 1A Diagram 3 2 Connecting a Printer to the ShareMate A2200 ShareMate User Manual 4 INSTALLATION FOR ONE PRINTER When connecting only one printer to the ShareMate the installation is simple Connect the computers to the ShareMate as shown in Section 3 but when connecting the printer make sure that it is connected to Printer port A of the ShareMate The six Computer ports are all directed to Printer port A as the factory default Once everything is connected simply power on the equipment and start sharing the printer the ShareMate will take care of the rest INSTALLATION FOR TWO PRINTERS When connecting two printers to the ShareMate install the computers and printers as shown in Section 3 Once the hardware installation is complete it is necessary to install the ShareMate software on each of the computers that share the printers The purpose of the ShareMate Control Software is simply to allow you to print to either printer A or printer B The Control Software is shipped on a DOS format 3 5 disk with files for the WINDOWS and DOS environments ShareMate Control Software Please read the README TXT file in the root directory of the disk as it explains the contents of the disk The disk contains two directories The dos directory contains all files for the DOS user and the windows directory contains all files
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