Subject:  Upgrading a GEMLink system to QLink hardware

Products Affected:  GEMLink and QLink

In our ongoing efforts to offer the very latest technology to our customers, Q-COM has developed QLink.  QLink is a new hardware platform which has many improvements over earlier hardware systems.  Most notably, QLink offers improved communication speeds, greater numbers of inputs and outputs, along with much greater flexibility.  Many other enhancements will soon follow.

If you have an existing GEMLink system and you are adding or upgrading QLink hardware, you will need the following:

• GEMLink version 2.xx.xx software
• A DL-400 Data-Link to interface with your QLink hardware & its associated communications software
• A twisted-pair communication cable run to each QLink module

Follow these installation steps to activate the QLink communications network:

Install & Setup the DL-400  Data-Link
The DL-400  is an internal serial communications interface card that is installed in a spare PCI slot inside your computer.  If your computer has been supplied or set up by Q-COM, the necessary software and serial card are already installed.  If you are installing your own, follow the instructions in the manual provided by the card’s manufacturer.  The manual is called GETTING STARTED WITH YOUR PCI SERIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE FOR WINDOWS ME/9X .  Chapter 2 of the manual details the installation of the communications software .

Verify Hardware Installation
This is a very important step in the installation process.  When Windows  loads, it should automatically detect your new hardware and display a NEW HARDWARE FOUND  dialogue box.  Refer to Chapter 2 of the manual for more details.  Here is an outline of the verification  process:

• Complete Steps 1 through 7 (step 6 is NOT optional in GEMLink as it says in the manual) as outlined on pages 2-5 to 2-7 of the manual.

• NOTE: During Step #6 of verification , double-click on each COM port , click the PORT SETTINGS tab, and make note of the ‘PORT x’ value listed to the right of the serial number.  You will need to relate each COM PORT to each PORT on the DL-400 later in GEMLink.

• IMPORTANT NOTE: While performing the step mentioned above, make sure you also click the ADVANCED button and select 2-wire TxRdy in the TRANSCEIVER MODE drop-down list and click OK.

Install GEMLink
GEMLink is relatively easy to install.  Just follow these few steps:

• Turn on your computer so that it starts Windows .
• Close any programs that you may have open.
• Insert the GEMLink CD-ROM  into the CD drive.
• Click the START button on your taskbar and then click on RUN.
•  On the dialogue box that appears is a field called OPEN.  Type D:\SETUP (substitute your computer’s CD drive letter for D: if yours is different; for example E:\SETUP) in the OPEN field and then click OK.
•  Follow the on-screen instructions to install GEMLink.
• Restart Windows  and GEMLink should load itself.

Set Up GEMLink for QLink Communications
After GEMLink starts, complete these steps to enable QLink communications:

Click the OPTIONS>SYSTEM selection and make sure the QLink checkbox is checked in the COMMUNICATION INTERFACE area of this dialogue box.  If you are told you must restart GEMLink, do so and then go on to the next step.

• Select OPTIONS  from the file menu bar then click QLink COMMUNICATION SETTINGS.

• Using the ‘PORT x’ information you made note of earlier, associate the COM ports to the physical ports on your DL-400 .

• Click OK to save your settings.

You are now ready to connect your communications cable  to the DL-400 .

Connecting Your Communications Cable(s)
CLICK HERE for detailed installation instructions for the twisted-pair communications cable.