Remote programming and operation of the LMR Master is accessed via the Ethernet or USB interface. The following paragraphs provide information about the interface connections, cable requirements, and setup for remote operation.

Remote access to your LMR Master may be restricted. This function is valid only with Master Software Tools (MST) v2.21.1 or later. The purpose of the password is to protect the LMR Master from unauthorized access when it is connected to the Internet.

After setting the password from the front panel of the instrument, reboot the instrument (normal power OFF then ON) to provide remote access security. Thereafter, only one user has remote access at any one time.

The password is first set into the instrument, then used via Master Software Tools. When prompted in MST, enter the password into the password text box.

The S412E fully supports the IEEE‑802.3 standard. Most S412E functions (except power on/off) can be controlled via an Ethernet connection to a PC connected directly (with an Ethernet cross‑over cable) or through a network. The S412E software supports the TCP/IP network protocol.

Ethernet networking uses a bus or star topology in which all of the interfacing devices are connected to a central cable called the bus, or are connected to a hub. Ethernet uses the CSMA/CD access method to handle simultaneous transmissions over the bus. CSMA/CD stands for Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection. This standard enables network devices to detect simultaneous data-channel usage, called a collision, and provides for a contention protocol. When a network device detects a collision, the CSMA/CD standard dictates that the data are retransmitted after waiting a random amount of time. If a second collision is detected, the data are again retransmitted after waiting twice as long. This is known as exponential back off.

The TCP/IP setup requires the following:

Interface between the LMR Master and other devices on the network is via a category five (CAT‑5) interface cable connected to a network. This cable uses four twisted pairs of insulated copper wires terminated into an RJ45 connector. CAT‑5 cabling is capable of supporting frequencies up to 100 MHz and data transfer speeds up to 1 Gbps, which accommodates 1000Base‑T, 100Base‑T, and 10Base‑T networks. CAT‑5 cables are based on the EIA/TIA 568 Commercial Building Telecommunications Wiring Standard developed by the Electronics Industries Association. A pinout diagram is shown in Table: 8‑pin Ethernet RJ45 Connector Pinout Diagram.

TCP/IP connectivity requires setting up the parameters described at the beginning of this section. The following is a brief overview of how to set up a general LAN connection on the S412E.

The RJ45 connector is used to connect the LMR Master to a local area network. Integrated into this connector are two LEDs. The amber LED indicates the presence of LAN voltages (a live LAN connection) while the green LED flashes to show that LAN traffic is present. The instrument IP address is set by pressing the Shift key, then the System (8) key followed by the System Options soft key and the Ethernet Config soft key. The instrument IP address can be set automatically using DHCP, or manually by entering the desired IP address, gateway address and subnet mask.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is an Internet protocol that automates the process of setting IP addresses for devices that use TCP/IP, and is the most common method of configuring a device for network use. To determine if a network is set up for DHCP, connect the LMR Master to the network and select DHCP protocol in the Ethernet Config menu.

Power cycle the LMR Master. If the network is set up for DHCP, then the assigned IP address should be displayed briefly after the power‑up sequence.

To display the IP address of the instrument, press the Shift key, then the System (8) key, then the System Options soft key and the Ethernet Config soft key.

 

The Universal Serial Bus (USB) architecture is a high‑performance networking standard that is considered “plug and play” compatible. The USB driver software is automatically detected and configured by the operating system of the devices that are connected to the bus. The S412E conforms to the USB 2.0 standard and is a USB “full‑speed” device that supports data rates of up to 10 Mbps with the following restrictions:

To run the following example, you must have NI‑VISA 2.5 or later installed on the controller PC, and you must select the VISA library (visa32.dll) as a reference in a Visual Basic project. For remote USB control, the controlling PC needs to have a version of VISA installed that supports USBTMC (USB Test and Measurement Class) devices.

The USB 2.0 Mini‑B device connector can be used to connect the S412E directly to a PC. The first time that the S412E is connected to a PC, the normal USB device detection is performed by the computer operating system. The CD‑ROM that is shipped with the instrument contains a driver for Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista. The driver is installed when Master Software Tools is installed. Drivers are not available for earlier versions of the Windows operating system. During the driver installation process, place the CD‑ROM in the computer drive and specify that the installation wizard should search the CD‑ROM for the driver.