Media Converters

Media converters are networking devices that convert a communication protocol (Ethernet) from one cable type to another. They are commonly used for traditional media conversion between RS-232 and RS422/485 in serial networks, however, the demand for conversion between serial and fiber Ethernet communication interfaces has increased. The increase is due to the many benefits that optic fiber cable has over copper cable.
Copper-based Ethernet connections are limited to a distance of 100 meters for data transmission when using a copper cable. By converting to fiber, the distance increases to 80 kilometers or more. The conversion to fiber also results in link speeds up to ten times faster then copper. Copper-based Ethernet connections are susceptible to electromagnetic interference (EMI), which can corrupt data during transmission. Fiber optic cable is unaffected by EMI, resulting in optimal data transmission.
Managed media converters allow operators to manage a network remotely by controlling the bandwidth, data and traffic to achieve and maintain optimal reliability and performance. Unmanaged media converters are easy to install and troubleshoot, however, do not provide the same level of monitoring.
Industrial media converters are designed specifically to operate in harsh industrial settings. They are able to withstand shock and vibrations as well as extreme temperatures. They are often used in applications such as oil and gas drilling, mining and automation.
Products
Serial communication sends data sequentially over a computer bus or communication cable one bit at a time. Parallel communication sends data simultaneously over multiple communication lines in a single bus or cable multiple bits at a time. While it may seem that parallel communication would be the preferred method, this is not always the case. Because of the increased complexity of data transmission in parallel communication, serial communication can provide faster speeds. The speed of serial communication can be altered by adjusting the BOD rate, which increases the number of the bits transmitted per second.
Two of the most common standards that have been created to take advantage of serial based communication in the industrial space are RS 232 and RS 485. RS 232 standard used to be very common, however it had lower transmission speeds, short maximum cable lengths and large voltage swings, making it useful only in certain situations. RS 485 is an improved standard that is still found in many applications today. It fixed many of the issues the RS 232 standard had by providing higher transmission speeds, longer cable lengths and other improvements that increased its usability and performance.