RTC Magazine

Tiny Logic Module Cuts Development Time

Development time can be reduced by weeks or even months with the use of smart logic systems-on-module (SOMs). A series of reconfigurable, fully self-contained logic SOMs from Advanced Knowledge Associates is based on industry-standard programmable logic platforms and includes processor cores as well as the necessary I/O and peripheral circuitry.

Measuring just 2 in. x 2 in. with 419 pins, the LM125 runs Linux and includes standard interfaces such as dual 1553RT, dual CAN, dual RS232, USB, SPI, I2C and 10/100 Ethernet, as well as over 200 high-speed GPIOs. Based on Xilinx’s high-density Spartan IIE FPGA and employing a Xilinx microBlaze soft CPU core, the LM125 incorporates 256 Mbytes of SDRAM and 512 Mbytes of flash to handle multiple boot images for logic and software applications, while supporting a wide variety of standard interfaces.

The LM125’s modular architecture facilitates the simple integration of user logic and custom peripheral sets. It contains all components needed to support processing and I/Os, including clocks, reset circuitry, temperature, power and passive components, totaling over 200 parts. Onboard programmable clock generation, voltage regulation and power monitoring further ease system integration. In quantities of 1,000, it is priced at $800 for commercial-grade modules.

Advanced Knowledge Associates, Santa Clara, CA. (408) 431-0735. [www.advancedknowledgeassociates.com].

Connected and Flexible FPGA-Only AMC Card

An FPGA-only Advanced Mezzanine Card (AMC) is based on the Altera Stratix II GX FPGA, which has been specifically designed for serial I/O-based applications. The GXAM from BittWare provides up to 20 full-duplex multi-gigabit transceivers supporting PCI Express, XAUI, Gigabit Ethernet, Serial RapidIO, SerialLite II and other standards. The Stratix II GX device interfaces to three ports (1, 2 and 3) in the AMC commons options region, and eight ports in the AMC fat pipes (4 - 11). These 11 ports provide a network data and control switch fabric interface on the AMC connector, configurable to support PCI Express, Serial RapidIO, GigE, or XAUI protocols. Sixteen LVDS pairs (8 IN, 8 OUT) are provided for rear panel I/O via the AMC connector (ports 12 - 15, and 17 - 20), and all AMC clocks are also connected to the Stratix II GX FPGA. For additional flexibility, the Stratix II GX FPGA provides four SerDes and 76 pairs of LVDS I/O to a BittWare front-panel I/O mezzanine site. The GXAM also implements the standard Module Management Control Interface (IPMI).

BittWare offers a complete suite of development tools that provide host interface libraries, a wide variety of diagnostic utilities and configuration tools, and debug tools. This tool set is comprised of BittWare’s DSP21k Toolkit, DSP21k Porting Kit and BittWare Target. The GXAM will be available in May 2007 priced at $3,500 in OEM quantities.

BittWare, Concord, NH. (603) 226-0404. [www.bittware.com].

5-Slot VPX Backplane Compliant to VITA 46 Specification

A new 5-slot VPX backplane features a mesh topology with a theoretical slot-to-slot bandwidth of over 5,000 Mbytes/s. The backplane from Elma Bustronic was designed with a 20-layer controlled-impedance stripline design and signal integrity analysis was performed on the backplane to ensure optimal performance. Additionally, Elma Bustronic fabricated the backplane with the higher grade material commercial FR408 in order to allow optimal performance even at high signal frequencies.

The VPX backplane technology is expected to be used in various applications, particularly Military/Aerospace where the rugged form-factor, VME compatibility and high performance are key requirements. Pricing for the 5-slot VITA 46 backplane is under $2,000 depending on volume and configuration requirements. The lead time is 4-6 weeks ARO.

Elma Bustronic, Fremont, CA. (650) 490-7388. [www.elmabustronic.com].

Secure Serial-to-WiFi Module Protects M2M Apps

A secure, serial-to-WiFi embedded device server quickly and easily connects devices running machine-to-machine (M2M) applications to 802.11b/g wireless LANs and protects them from network attacks. The Socket iWiFi module from Connect One uses the company’s iChipSec CO711AG Internet Protocol (IP) communication controller chip—which includes the latest encryption, security and IP protocols—to act as a firewall and WiFi controller for the onboard Marvell 88W8385 WiFi chipset.

Socket iWiFi enables devices that use communication modules in the industry-standard SocketModem form-factor to be integrated into a wireless LAN network with a minimum amount of programming. Connect One’s iChipSec and high-level AT+i API offload the WiFi drivers, WPA supplicant, security and networking protocols, and communication tasks from the host application.

Included are 10 simultaneous TCP/UDP sockets; two listening sockets; SMTP, MIME, POP3, FTP, Telnet and HTTP clients; a Web server with a Web site for the application and one for configuring iChipSec; and serial-to-IP bridging. Socket iWiFi supports 64-/128-bit WEP encryption, the SSL3/TLS1 protocol for a secure client socket session and a secure FTP session, and WPA1. The module operates at 3.3 volts over an extended temperature range of -20° to 70°C. Pricing is $95 in quantities of 100 to 999 units. An evaluation board, the II EVB- 361MS, costs $275.

Connect One, Kfar Saba, Israel. +972-9-766-0456. [www.connectone.com].

Human Machine Interface Solutions Are Rugged, Lightweight

The extreme environmental conditions of both military and industrial automation operations call for workstations and displays that are both rugged and versatile, two characteristics not always found together in the same system. A new series of human-machine interface (HMI) solutions from Kontron America are rugged, lightweight and flexible. The Barracuda series includes easily transportable workstation and stand-alone touchscreen displays with flexible mounting options.

The Kontron Barracuda offers a sunlight-readable, 15-in. XGA touchscreen display in a corrosion-proof, NEMA-4, IP 65 aluminum enclosure that operates in a 0° to 50°C environment, with a -30°C option. Optional water- and dust-tight, circular, military-rated connectors allow for harsh environment connectivity. The displays can be utilized in military command, control, communications and computers (C4) operations where equipment must withstand harsh vehicle shock and vibration. A small footprint and VESA hole pattern allow easy mounting in space-constrained areas.

Features include UPS battery backup, as well as optional modular AC/DC sealed power supply and an optional built-in, high-gain wireless antenna. The Barracuda DS offers a full military-hardened MIL-STD 810F and Protection Classification IP 65-compliant touch-screen display. The Barracuda WS provides an Intel Pentium M processor workstation with a removable hard drive or CompactFlash device. Pricing starts at $6,500.

Kontron America, Poway, CA. (858) 677-0877. [us.kontron.com].

Low-Cost 16-bit PCI DAQ Card Integrates Simple Motion Control

A low-cost, multi-function 16-bit resolution DAQ card features a sampling rate up to 250 kS/s. The PCI-9221 from Adlink Technology also provides a programmable I/O supporting digital I/O (TTL), general-purpose timer/counters, motor encoder inputs and pulse width modulation (PWM) outputs for simple motion control. The PCI-9221 combines data acquisition and motion control, providing an attractive combination of analog and digital I/O with motion control capabilities for test and measurement system integrators and laboratories. Operating temperature is 0 - 45°C.

The PCI-9221 card offers two 16-bit analog outputs that are suitable for applications requiring DC voltage output control. A single button auto-calibration feature ensures reliable performance and accurate measurements, regardless of the environment. The PCI-9221 card comes with a WDM driver for C/C++, Visual Basic, Delphi, C++ Builder and .NET programming languages and full device drivers for Matlab and LabView. Single quantity price for the PCI-9221 is $295.

Adlink Technology, Irvine, CA. (970) 377-0385. [www.adlinktech.com].

Rugged PCI-104 CPU Breaks the 1 GHz Barrier

Breaking the 1 GHz barrier for rugged PC/104-size modules, a new CoreModule 800 from Ampro fits a complete CPU subsystem with I/O, PCI-104 bus expansion and network interfaces without violating the required 3.550” x 3.750” (90 x 96 mm) board outline. It features the 1 GHz Intel Celeron M 373 processor from -40° to +85°C without CPU cooling fan on a 0.120” thick PCB with optional conformal coating.

Up to 1 Gbyte of DDR 333 RAM is supported, along with two RS-232/422/485 serial ports, two USB 2.0 ports, Intel 82541 Gigabit Ethernet, integrated graphics with LVDS LCD support, IDE, a shared parallel / floppy port, PS/2 keyboard and mouse interface, and AMI BIOS. Bus expansion is provided by the standard PCI-104 connector (PCI bus). For use with off-the-shelf PC/104 (ISA bus) modules, Ampro offers MiniModule ISA, which contains a PCI-to-ISA bridge

QuickStart Kits for these products include cables, I/O board with PC-style connectors, 512 Mbyte DDR RAM, plus device drivers and Board Support Packages (BSPs) for Windows XP, Windows XP Embedded, Windows CE, QNX, VxWorks and a full Linux 2.6 distribution. Prices for the 800 MHz and 1 GHz models range from $800s to $1,000s in production quantities.

Ampro Computers, San Jose, CA. (408) 360-0222. [www.ampro.com].

Rabbit 4000 Module Enables ZigBee Networking

Connecting industrial control and building automation systems to the Internet via wireless networks has just gotten a lot easier with the RCM4510W ZigBee/802.15.4 module from Rabbit Semiconductor. Based on the RabbitCore 4000 microprocessor, the RCM4510W enables the use of low-cost, low-power ZigBee wireless sensor networks.

The module is pin-compatible with existing RabbitCore 4000 modules, including serial, wired Ethernet and wireless Ethernet/Wi-Fi versions, so engineers can support numerous applications with the same motherboard design by changing the RabbitCore module. The RCM4510W’s Rabbit 4000 runs at 29.49 MHz. Features include up to 49 GPIO lines shared with six serial ports and four channels of analog inputs, hardware DMA, quadrature decoders, PWM and up to four levels of alternate pin functions. Operating temperature range is -40° to +85°C.

A development kit for the RCM4510W contains the appropriate full-featured wireless RabbitCore, a development board, the latest Dynamic C integrated development software with hundreds of samples and libraries, and all accessories needed. The RCM4510W is priced at $72 in quantities of 100. The RCM4510W Development Kit is priced at $199.

Rabbit Semiconductor, Davis, CA. (530) 757-8400. [www.rabbit.com].

Gigabit Ethernet Boards Support OpenWare Management, IPv4 and IPv6

The first members in a family of fully managed layer 2/3+ Gigabit Ethernet switches have debuted as three products from GE Fanuc. The Neternity family is designed to handle the demanding requirements of a broad range of applications including military, telecommunications and commercial. The three new products feature the OpenWare switch management environment. OpenWare is portable across switch fabrics and processor environments, is easy to customize using the familiar Linux command line interface and is designed to make switches easy to deploy and easy to manage.

The Neternity RM921 is an IPv6-enabled 6U VME Gigabit Ethernet switch with either 12 front I/O (single-slot solution) or 24 front I/O ports (dual-slot solution). It also offers support of IPv4. Port configuration can be all copper, all fiber or combinations of both. Also optionally available are 100BaseFX ports so that both 100BaseFX and Gigabit Ethernet interfaces can be supported on the same Network Interface Card. The Neternity RM922RC is an ROHS-compliant IPv6-enabled 6U VME fully managed layer 2/3 Gigabit Ethernet switch with 24 copper ports (single-slot solution) via rear I/O. The Neternity CP921RC is an RoHS-compliant PICMG 2.16 6U CompactPCI fully managed layer 2/3 Gigabit Ethernet switch with 24 copper ports, and is hot-swappable, minimizing potential system downtime. It is also compliant with PICMG 2.1 and PICMG 2.9.

GE Fanuc Embedded Systems, Albuquerque, NM. (505) 727-1553. [www.gefanucembedded.com].

FPGA Acceleration Board Uses HyperTransport Slots

The first complete, off-the-shelf hardware/software compiler design bundle for high-performance computing (HPC) using industry standard HyperTransport (HTX) slots combines an intellectual property core for HTX-compliant connectivity, an FPGA-based HTX acceleration card and a comprehensive software programming environment. Part of Celoxica’s family of Accelerated Computing products, the solution enables algorithm acceleration in computing systems with AMD Opteron processors.

The Celoxica RCHTX acceleration card includes two Xilinx Virtex-4 FPGAs, 24 Mbytes of dedicated QDR SRAM and a range of I/O. The main coprocessor FPGA is a reprogrammable, high-density 16 million-gate device. The second FPGA is configured as a bridge, containing Celoxica’s HTX IP core. It provides the HyperTransport interconnect between the FPGA coprocessor and the entire host processor system and memory space.

Celoxica’s DK Design Suite delivers an IDE and compiler for programming the FPGA coprocessor and allows HPC programmers to use familiar software languages and legacy code. Celoxica’s technology compiles high-level, C-based code directly to the user FPGA device. A board support package and software API are provided for the RCHTX card. The RCHTX card is priced at $15,000 in single quantities.

Celoxica, Austin, TX. (512) 795-8170. [www.celoxica.com].

6U cPCI Server Blade Features Dual-Core Xeon Processors

In high-performance industrial, mobile and harsh environment applications where fast and reliable communication is required, the combination of multiple processors and multiple memory variants can make a big difference. The new 6U CompactPCI D7 server blade from MEN Micro is equipped with either one or two 1.66 GHz Intel Xeon dual-core processors and the Intel E7520 server chipset, as well as ECC DDR-2 DRAM, non-volatile FRAM or SRAM.

The hot-swappable blade can be used as a peripheral slot board, a 64-bit/66 MHz PCI system or a 64-bit/133 MHz PCI Extended (PCI-X) system on the CompactPCI bus using one or two slots. The PCI Express (PCIe) links connect to the two front-panel Gigabit Ethernet interfaces and are used to attach up to two XMC modules. The D7 also supports 12 Gigabit Ethernet connections. Additional I/O includes USB, XMC/PMC, two PATA interfaces, two SATA interfaces and optional VGA/COM.

The D7 offers an FPGA for configuration of application-specific I/O functions such as additional serial interfaces, graphics, Fieldbus interfaces and digital I/O, in addition to typical PC functions such as USB and UARTs. The board also comes with a passive heatsink for forced-air cooling. Pricing is $5,010.

MEN Micro, Ambler, PA. (215) 542-9575. [www.menmicro.com].

Fanless PC/104-Plus SBC Runs Hot and Cold

A new PC/104-Plus-compatible single board computer runs a 500 MHz Pentium-class processor while supporting video, Ethernet, USB and four COM channels. Based on the low-power, high-integration AMD GX500@1W processor, the PPM-GX from WinSystems operates throughout the temperature range of -40° to +85°C without the need for a fan. The board integrates the CPU, video, Ethernet, USB, COM, LPT, mouse, audio and keyboard controllers onto one board.

The AMD GX500@1W processor supports an x86-native instruction set and 32 Kbytes of integrated L1 cache that efficiently runs Windows CE, Windows XP embedded, Linux and other x86-compatible operating systems such as VxWorks and QNX. The PPM-GX supports up to 512 Mbytes of SDRAM and also offers support for both rotational and solid-state disks. Two floppy disk drives and two UltraDMA 66 IDE drives can be connected. Additionally, there is a socket for a CompactFlash card, which can support up to an 8 Gbyte device.

A graphics controller is integrated into the processor that supports both CRT and flat panel displays. Other peripheral functions supported include a battery-backed real-time clock, precision power-fail reset circuit, and programmable watchdog timer. Additionally, it supports PC/104 or PC/104-Plus expansion I/O modules that are available from vendors worldwide. The PPM-GX draws typically 1.5A at +5V (≈ 8W) during normal operation. List price is $495.

WinSystems, Arlington, TX. (817) 274-7553. [www.winsystems.com].

PC/104-Plus 8-Channel Serial Communications Module for PCI-Based Systems

A high-performance 8-channel multi-protocol serial communications PC/104-Plus module depends solely on the PCI bus for its processor interface. The Emerald MM-8Plus from Diamond Systems offers significantly improved performance over traditional PC/104 (ISA bus-only) solutions. The module offers eight serial ports with RS-232/422/485 capability with speeds up to 1.832 Mbits/s when using the RS-422 or RS-485 protocols. The board also offers 8 digital I/O lines. Protocol selection is via jumper selection. Address and interrupt selection is via the PCI bus plug and play functionality. The board operates over an extended operating temperature range of -40°C to +85°C.

The Emerald MM-8Plus is the latest in a family of six PC/104 and PC/104-Plus Serial Communications boards, supporting from two to eight ports. Some models include up to 48 digital I/O lines while another model offers optical isolation on the serial ports. The Emerald MM-8Plus is priced at $250.

Diamond Systems, Mountain View, CA. (650) 810-2500. [www.diamondsystems.com].

PC-Based Data Recorder Achieves 400 Mbytes/sSustained

A high-speed, portable, PC-based recorder that’s also reliable and rugged enough for use in the field is high on the wish list of engineers working in many scientific research and defense applications. Housed in a rugged portable chassis, the Big River P440 data recorder from Conduant achieves over 400 Mbytes/s of sustained recording or playback performance in a portable, self-contained unit.

The P440 features an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Gigabit Ethernet connectivity and expansion PCI slots for optional third-party high-speed acquisition I/O boards. It includes a high-resolution, flat panel screen display, keyboard with touchpad mouse and support for FPDP, LVDS and Serial FPDP (optical) interfaces. Capacities of up to 3.2 Terabytes are available.

The data recorder incorporates Conduant’s StreamStor Amazon SATA disk controller, as well as 16 high-capacity 2.5-in. notebook disk drives. The disk controller utilizes a wide range of popular interface options such as FPDP, Serial FPDP, FPDP II, LVDS or the PCI bus for direct-to-disk recording and features data forking and circular buffer recording. Pricing for the Conduant Big River P440 ranges from $35,000 to $40,000.

Conduant, Longmont, CO. (303) 485-2721. [www.conduant.com].

StackableUSB CPU with LCD/Touch Interface and Ethernet for Extended Temps

The newest addition to Micro/sys’ StackableUSB single board computers, the SBC1496 is a RoHS-compliant controller that operates from -40° to +85°C and provides I/O expansion via StackableUSB peripherals. In addition to PC-compatible features, such as SVGA and dual serial ports, the new model also includes four USB 2.0 high-speed (480 Mbit/s) ports, two USB 1.1 full-speed ports and 100BASE-T Ethernet support.

The SBC1496 is implemented with the STPC Atlas processor, which offers speeds up to 133 MHz, on-chip cache, 64-bit DRAM access, hardware floating point, digital I/O and AT-compatible EIDE, interrupt, timer and DMA controllers. The SBC1496 includes COM1, COM2, SuperVGA, keyboard, and mouse. The SuperVGA includes hardware acceleration and drives CRT monitors and LVDS TFT flat panel displays with resolutions to 1024 x 1024.

When I/O expansion is needed, the StackableUSB interconnect architecture enables the control of up to five StackableUSB peripheral devices in a rugged, bolt-together platform. The CompactFlash socket can be used as solid-state storage. Micro/sys installs a ready-to-run firmware system on the SBC1496 at no cost. Alternatively, the module can boot DOS, Linux, Windows CE, VxWorks and other PC-compatible operating systems. A development kit that includes cables, sample software and full documentation is available. The basic SBC1496 starts at $385 in single quantity. The industrial temperature (-40° to +85°C) version is available starting at $435.

Micro/sys, Montrose, CA, (818) 244-4600. [www.embeddedsys.com].

ETX System-on-Module Supports CRT/LVDS, LAN and Audio

The combination of a small CPU system-on-module with a separate baseboard can provide a flexible design platform for developing a number of small systems, such as those used in medical imaging/monitoring, kiosk/POS, gaming, industrial control and security monitoring. With that in mind, WIN Enterprises has released the MB-0014 System-on-Module (SOM) ETX CPU module and the companion IP-06051 5.25-in. disk-size ETX baseboard.

The MB-0014 SOM ETX CPU module has an onboard 600 MHz Intel Celeron M or Pentium M processor, 512 Kbytes of BIOS flash, the Intel 852GM/855GME + ICH4 chipset, the SMSC SCH3112 I/O chipset, a DDR SO-DIMM socket supporting up to 1 Gbyte (266 MHz), a 10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet interface, one bi-directional parallel port, two RS-232 interfaces, four USB 2.0 ports, CRT and 18-bit LVDS and AC’ 97 audio (852GM chipset). The SOM’s compact ETX form-factor measures only 114 mm x 94 mm. System drivers are available for Microsoft Windows XP/XPe/CE and Linux

The IP-06051 5.25-in. disk-size ETX baseboard features VGA/LVDS/LCD, LAN, CardBus, TV-out and audio. With the Celeron M processor, an MB-09014 is priced at $276 for a single unit. Single units of the IP-06051 are priced at $167 each. Quantity discounting is available.

WIN Enterprises, N. Andover, MA. (978) 688-2000. [www.win-ent.com].