Issue
146 September 2002
Internet
Enabling Made Easy
by
Fred Eady
Attaching data-transferring devices to the Internet
can be a burdensome task for IT whizzes and novices
alike. However, Cermetek’s 2124 Internet Appliance
Modem makes the process a lot easier and affordable,
regardless of the project’s complexity.
Start
• 2124 Evaluation Board •
2124 Modem • iNetWizard
• Getting Online • Applying
the 2124 • Fish or Flying Lessons
• Sources and PDF
Do your remember
all of the time you spent trying to figure out data
rates, bit counts, parity settings, and modem command
strings before you made that first successful machine-to-machine
connection? Odds are that after you figured all of that
out, you had to deal with a not-so-friendly piece of
terminal emulator software as well. These days, Internet
appliances are reality, and attaching a device to the
Internet can be just as confusing as that first attempt
at getting online if you don’t have the right tools
to accomplish the task.
Using the Internet
for control and data acquisition is becoming more prevalent
every day. Cermetek has taken many of the gotchas out
of attaching electronic and mechanical devices to the
Internet. The Cermetek 2124 Internet Appliance Modem
is a true out-of-the-box solution that doesn’t require
you to have in-depth knowledge of dial-up and Internet
protocols.
As you can see in
Photo 1, the 2124 modem is a self-contained device that
houses a modem, agency-approved data access arrangement
(DAA), microprocessor complete with external inputs,
flash memory, point-to-point protocol (PPP), and Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) stack. This
combination of an internal modem and Internet-oriented
subsystems allows the 2124 modem to operate as a stand-alone
Internet device or as an Internet device that’s controlled
by an inexpensive external microcontroller.
|
|
| Photo 1—The Cermetek 2124 is a
true black box. Everything you ever wanted in a
modem is encapsulated in this little black brick.
The pins of this Internet appliance modem are on
0.1² centers and can be soldered or socketed to
the mother ship PCB. |
Thus, with the introduction
of the 2124 modem, the traditional personal or SBC,
along with the associated dedicated terminal and communications
software, are eliminated as required Internet appliance
components. Everything the 2124 modem needs to connect
to the Internet and transfer e-mail messages is contained
within its 1.95² × 1.4² × 0.54² encapsulated body.
Changes to the 2124
modem’s operating parameters are made easily with iNetWizard,
a software application that you may download for free
from the Cermetek web site. For those of you with no
fear, the 2124 modem can be controlled and programmed
by just about any standard terminal or terminal emulator
application (e.g., HyperTerminal or TeraTerm Pro).
Using the 2124 modem
can be as easy or technically sophisticated as you wish.
Therefore, the power afforded by the device can be seen
and used by those of you with the appropriate set of
skills, or hidden and used by those who just want the
darned thing to work. If you’re interested in the down
and dirty details of the 2124 modem, I suggest logging
on to the Cermetek web site and studying the application
notes and datasheets. Cermetek has gone to great lengths
to provide in-depth documentation for the users of their
modem products. If you want to take a virtual test drive,
read on as I describe how to put a 2124 modem to work
on the Internet.
