INSTRUCTIONS
USB-to-Ethernet Adapter 4001-096
Acromag Incorporated, 30765 South Wixom Road • Wixom, MI • 48393-2417, USA
Phone: (248) 295-0880 • Fax: (248) 624-9234 • E-mail: sales@acromag.com • On-Line: http://www.acromag.com
Copyright 2009, Acromag, Inc. Printed in the USA. 8500873B
This device is a USB-to-Ethernet adapter that you can use to communicate
with any Acromag Ethernet I/O product for the purpose of reconfiguration
for your application. It is recommended for initial communication with
Acromag Ethernet devices so that you do not have to disrupt your existing
network connection.
Acromag manufactures Ethernet I/O devices with built-in web capability,
which allows you to use your internet web-browser to set them up and
configure them for your application. All Ethernet devices, including the
interface adapter you use to connect to them, must have unique IP address settings. All Acromag Ethernet
devices have their user-programmable IP address preset to 128.1.1.100 from the factory. Additionally, all
Acromag Ethernet devices include an alternate default mode of operation that uses a fixed IP address also set
to 128.1.1.100. If your Acromag unit is factory fresh, you can talk to it at this address in either mode.
However, in order to talk to an Acromag device at IP address 128.1.1.100, your own network interface adapter
has to be set to another compatible address in this range. Then once you establish communication with the
Acromag device, you can change its IP address to something else, compatible with your existing network or its
final application network. Since changing the address of the network adapter already installed in your machine
can be disruptive to your existing network connection, you can use this secondary adapter to instead create
another network that you can use to talk to Acromag Ethernet devices for the purpose of configuring them for
their final application, including changing their factory IP address setting.
Follow these steps to install this Ethernet adapter on your personal computer or laptop:
INSTALLATION: Follow the installation instructions given in the Instruction Manual included with the
USB-to-Ethernet Adapter.
SET THE ADAPTER IP ADDRESS: You now need to change the IP address of your network adapter to an
address in the range of the Acromag default IP address setting of 128.1.1.100. That is, change it to an IP
address of 128.1.1.x, where x is an integer from 1 to 254, except 100. Note that to do this, your account on
your PC must have administrator rights. For our example, we will use 128.1.1.235. From your PC desktop,
click the Start button, then click to select Control Panel, and then double-click on “Network Connections”. You
should see a listing with an icon or entry for the additional adapter you just installed. Click on the adapter icon
it to select and highlight it. Then right-click on this selection and click to select “Properties”. The property
details of this adapter will list several items. Click on the “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)” item to select and
highlight it, then click on the “Properties” button. In the General tab window that pops up, click to select “Use
the following IP address:”, then enter “128.1.1.235” into the “IP address” field (you can use any integer from 1-
254 for the fourth number, except 100). Next, enter “255.255.255.0” into the “Subnet mask” field. Then click
OK, and then click OK again. Your adapter is now set to a static IP address that is compatible with the default
static IP address domain of Acromag Ethernet I/O products.
If your Acromag Ethernet I/O device is powered-up and connected to the USB-Ethernet adapter, you can begin
browsing its internal web-pages using your internet browser set to IP address “128.1.1.100” (i.e. the web
browser URL field is set to http://128.1.1.100). Done correctly, you should be presented with the Home Page
of the particular Acromag Ethernet product you are connected to. Refer to your User Manual for additional
information on how to reconfigure your Acromag device as required for your application.
Note that once you reconfigure the factory IP address of your connected Ethernet device, you will no longer be
able to browse it at IP address 128.1.1.100, unless the Acromag Ethernet product is in its default mode.
Further, depending on the IP Address and Subnet Mask you set, you will have to change the IP address of the
network adapter to another address in the domain of the new IP address and subnet mask settings in order to
Acromag, Inc. Phone: (248) 624-1541 • Fax: (248) 624-9234 - 2 - • E-mail: s[email protected] • On-Line: http://www.acromag.com
reuse the adapter to continue communicating with it. Alternately, you may have to set its properties to obtain its
IP address automatically, as required for its final application network.
Note-this is a common misconception: You cannot communicate with a device at a fixed IP address if the
Network Interface Card or adapter you are using to connect to the device is set to a fixed IP address that is
outside of the address domain established by the IP address and subnet mask settings for the connected
device. This procedure is covered in detail in document 8500-815 shipped with your unit. It is also detailed in
Application Note 8500-734, which you can obtain from the CDROM shipped with your unit, or optionally via
download from our web site at www.acromag.com.
Refer to the User Guide contained on the CDROM packaged with your adapter for more information on the use
and installation of this device.
Optional Method for Changing the Adapter IP Address
If you are not comfortable with the process for changing the IP address settings for this adapter via the
Windows controls, or you do not understand how to do this, we have additionally provided a batch file utility on
the CDROM that is shipped with your Acromag product that you can use to change the IP address setting of a
secondary adapter connected to your PC (NetSet_9600169A.bat). This file can be edited with a simple text
editor and is well commented throughout—you can edit this file to match your own needs, change its address
setting to another IP address, or change the adapter number it addresses if this added adapter is not the
second interface added to your machine.
Simply copy the NetSet_9600169A.bat file from the CD shipped with your Acromag Ethernet product to the
Windows desktop of your PC. Then you can double-click on its icon from the desktop in order to execute it. If
you are using Windows Vista, then you will instead have to right-click on the NetSet_9600169A.bat icon and
select “Run as administrator” to execute it. It is recommended that you print this file out first and review it
before actually running it. If applied improperly, it could inadvertently alter settings of an existing adapter
already installed in your machine. Note that this file makes the following two assumptions:
• It changes the IP address of the secondary network adapter to 128.1.1.235.
• It assumes that the connected USB-Ethernet adapter is the second adapter added to your machine.
If either of these assumptions do not apply to your situation, you can simply edit the last line of this batch file to
adapt it to your needs. For example, you might want the adapter to use an IP address other than 128.1.1.235.
Also, if the added adapter is the only network adapter added to your PC, then you need to edit the string “Local
Area Connection 2” to remove the “ 2”, designating it as the primary network adapter for your PC. Or, if the
USB-Ethernet adapter added to your PC is the third, fourth, or nth adapter added to your machine, them you
have to increment the number from the string “Local Area Connection 2” accordingly.
While this batch file might make establishing communication a little easier at first, you will eventually have to
use the Windows controls to setup the IP address operation of your interface adapter for its final application
with the Acromag Ethernet product set to a non-default IP address and subnet mask. Using Windows to
accomplish this is the recommended approach.
Revision History
Release Date
Version
EGR/DOC
Description of Revision
08 OCT 09
A
BC/KLK
Initial Acromag release.
08 JAN 2018
B
FJM/ARP
Removed the “Connect the Adapter” and “Install the
Adapter Driver” sections and added “Installation” section.
The following table shows the revision history for this document:
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