iButton Products: 1-Wire Adapters

Because iButtons use the company's 1-Wire protocol, the hardware needed for communicating with an iButton is inexpensive. Any PC, PDA or other computing device with the necessary ports and software can easily communicate to any iButton through our 1-Wire port adapters.

PC 1-Wire Connectivity

The DS1402D Blue Dot Receptors are iButton reader/probes that provide a convenient pipeline into the PC for iButton-to-PC communication. The receptor's cable connects to a USB, serial, or parallel-port 1-Wire adapter, whichever type of port you wish to use. The receptor itself easily affixes to any accessible spot on the front of the PC. The user can elect a quick information transfer with a momentary touch of the iButton to the Blue Dot. For hands-free operation the iButton can be snapped into the Blue Dot and remain there. Each receptor contains two Blue Dots to accommodate instances where multiple iButtons are required for a transaction. A company's policy may, for example, require both an employee and a supervisor to authenticate access to sensitive data stored on a network server. Several adapters are available that actually hold iButtons. Each adapter/iButton combination becomes a self-contained security device perfect for software authorization solutions.

USB Port Adapters
We offer two 1-Wire USB Port Adapters, the DS9490R and the DS9490B, both of which connect to any standard universal serial bus (USB) port. The DS9490R is designed to connect multiple 1-Wire/iButton devices to a PC or handheld through its RJ-11 connector. Attaching the DS1402D-DR8 Blue Dot Receptor to the RJ-11 connector is a popular way to interface a PC to a 1-Wire network comprised of multiple iButtons.

The DS9490B, in contrast, is designed to hold a single iButton, perfect for software authorization solutions. The DS9490 family of 1-Wire USB port adapters comes with the following features:

DS9490R USB port Internal 64-bit address Communicates to all iButtons; can read but not write to DS198x EPROM iButtons RJ-11 out; compatible with DS1402D-DR8 Blue Dot Receptor
DS9490B USB port Internal 64-bit address Single iButton holder Can be used as a key-chain fob Ideal choice for software authorization solutions

Serial-Port Adapters
The DS9097U RS-232 Serial Port Adapters and the DS1402D-DR8 Blue Dot Receptor connect to any standard RS-232-C serial port. The DS9097U connects to the serial port and then the DS1402D-DR8 connects to the DS9097U through a RJ-11 connection. The DS9097U is not a pass-through device. A serial port must therefore be dedicated to perform iButton communication.

The DS9097U RS-232-C COM Port Adapter comes in three versions:

DS9097U-S09 9-Pin RS-232-C port Communicates with all iButtons; can read but not write to DS198x EPROM iButtons   DS9097U-009 9-Pin RS-232-C port Has internal 64-bit address Communicates with all iButtons; can read but not write to DS198x EPROM iButtons

Please note that other serial-port adapters are available, including some that can physically hold an iButton. These adapters are perfect for software authorization solutions. We also offer passive serial-port adapters for legacy systems. To examine our complete line of serial-port adapters, please visit the associated parametric tables.

Parallel-Port Adapter
 

The DS1410E Parallel-Port Adapter and the DS1402D-DB8 Blue Dot Receptor combine to form a PC interface that consumes no other resources. The parallel-port signal lines pass through the DS1410E when iButton communication is not occurring. Peripherals, such as printers, can be reattached by first connecting the DS1410E to the PC parallel port, and then by connecting the peripheral cable to the other end of the DS1410E. The DS1410E also comes with an internal 64-bit address and can hold up to two iButtons for software authorization solutions.