PMC Module Delivers 100 Mbits/1-Gbit Ethernet
Ethernet won't go away. It has become a key connection for networking and connectivity. From Cyclone Mi-crosystems, the PMC58 packs 100 Mbits and 1-Gbit Ethernet into a single PMC module. This module makes it easy to add Ethernet connectivity to CompactPCI or VME boards and systems. The board contains a 100/1000BaseT Ethernet port with an RJ-45 connector, and it plugs into a baseboard 64-bit/66-MHz PMC PCI bus. The PMC58 is compatible with VxWorks, and it has a driver for full TCP/IP. Pricing starts at $207 each in 1000-unit lots.Cyclone Microsystems
(203) 786-5536; www.cyclone.comPMC Module Supports 2-Gbit/s Fibre Channel
A base for high-speed connectivity in storage systems has been established by Fibre Channel. SBS Technologies' Fibre Channel PMC modules automatically support 1- or 2-Gbit/s Fibre Channel bus rates. They handle 400 Mbytes/s of full-duplex and 200 Mbytes/s of half-duplex data rates. The FC23-PMC-1C supports a copper line via a high-speed serial data connector (HSSDC) port, and the PC23-PMC-1F supports a fiber port, multimode LC duplex fiber-optic cable. Both modules incorporate a protocol engine and handle remote DMA and SCSI. Device drivers include Solaris, Linux, and Windows NT/2000. Moreover, the modules support 64-bit/66-MHz PMC PCI. The modules cost $1285 and up.SBS Technologies
(651) 905-4700; www.sbs.comCompactPCI Enclosure Mounts Eight 6U Boards In 4U Rack
Putting more in less space is always a goal. One Stop Systems' 4U CompactPCI enclosure mounts up to eight 6U CompactPCI boards horizontally into a 4U high enclosure, saving space. CompactPCI and H.110 versions of the backplane are available. The enclosure accommodates dual 300-W hot-swappable power supplies and two 5.25-in. drive bays. The unit is cooled via front-to-back cooling by two fans on one end of the card cage. It also supports a rear I/O. Prices start at $1295.One Stop Systems
(760) 745-9883; www.onestopsystems.comPC104+ Module Integrates x86, Ethernet, PCI
A resurgence has occurred in the PC104 form factor. Its size is just right for many microcontroller module applications. The MZ104+ from Tri-M builds on the highly integrated ZFx86 CPU module (33, 66, 100, 133 MHz) with up to 64 Mbytes of SO-DIMM SDRAM. It supplies a dual Ethernet 10/100BaseT Ethernet, a PCI bus connection, two RS-232 serial ports, dual USB ports, a parallel port, a DiskOnChip socket, a watchdog timer, and standard PC peripherals. The module is compatible with Windows and Linux. Pricing starts at $300 (100).Tri-M
(604) 527-1100; www.tri-m.com386 SX Runs Industrial STD Bus, SBC
The 386 SX and the STD Bus make a good combination for industrial control. Running at 33 MHz, the 386 SX provides a 32-bit CPU platform, while the STD Bus is deeply embedded in industrial control systems. The LPM-TX from WinSystems integrates an SX with up to 8 Mbytes of DRAM, a flash disk (socket), 48 I/Os, 24 TTL event-sense lines, and a full set of PC peripherals. The SBC's asynchronous bus controller can interface to slower peripherals, and the board has a PC104 socket for I/O expansion. The 5-V board can support −40°C to 85°C industrial temperature operation. It runs $995 and up, with 32 Mbytes of SDRAM.WinSystems
(817) 274-7553; www.winsystems.comMotherboard Provides Fast-Connection, 1-GHz Pentium III
The new ConnectBus standard provides fast connect/disconnect for PC motherboards in industrial settings. Densitron's DPX-81 builds on the ConnectBus connector. Using the socket 370, it integrates Pentium III processors with up to 512 Mbytes of DRAM, video memory, 256 kbytes of battery-backed SRAM, 2 Mbytes of ROM, an LCD/CRT controller, a flash disk socket, a 10/100BaseT Ethernet port, 16-bit stereo audio, two USB and four serial ports, a PC104 or PC104 Plus expansion connector, and a PCI bus controller. It costs $570 and up in lots of 1000.Densitron
(562) 941-5000; www.densitron.comFPGA turns a PC104 card into a universal I/O device that can be programmed via the PC104 bus. Mesa Electronics combines a 100- or 200-kgate Xilinx FPGA with 24-mA drivers and pullup resistors for 64 lines. The rest, as they say, is hardware. Such functions as a 64-channel event-capture card, a four-channel micro-controller-based servomotor controller, and an eight-channel, 32-bit timer/counter are just a few of the premade, downloadable VHDL samples provided. Multiple functions can be programmed. The 4I34 and 4I34M use two 40-pin and 50-pin connectors, respectively. The 4I34 and 4I34M are available for $123 each in quantities of 100. Mesa Electronics
(510) 223-9272; www.mesanet.com486 half-EBX board hosts four serial ports, 64 Mbytes of 72-pin SIMM EDO memory, and up to 288 Mbytes of DiskOnChip 2000 solid-state flash disk. The PCM-48E26's 133-MHz AMD 486 DX5 can also drive the SMC 91C96 10BaseT. The PCM-48E26/V adds a C&T 65550 video chip with 1 Mbyte of on-board DRAM that simultaneously supports a CRT and a flat-panel display at resolutions up to 1024 by 768 pixels with 64k colors. The boards include a keyboard/mouse connector, a PC104 connector, a floppy disk interface, and an EIDE interface. The PCM-48E26 and PCM-48E26/V cost $245 and $320 apiece, respectively.Emac Inc.
(618) 529-4525; www.emacinc.comPentium III drives dual Ultra 3 SCSI and dual Ethernet controllers on Trenton Technology's new ULE single-board computer. The ULE is ideal for routers or redundant network embed-ded file servers. QLogic's ISP12160A Dual Channel SCSI Controller supports SCSI operation of up to 160 Mbytes/s. In addition, the ULE supports compact flash. The 4-Mbyte Intel video interface supports LCD flat-panel displays. Drivers for all on-board devices are available for a variety of popular operating systems. The ULE starts at $2124.Trenton Technology Inc.
(770) 287-3100; www.trentonprocessors.com
Multichannel frame grabber supports PCI, Compact-PCI, and PC104. From Matrox, the Meteor-II/Multichannel board supports sampling rates of up to 30 Hz from up to two RGB, or six monochrome video sources. It has three 256- by 8-bit lookup tables (LUTs), a 4-Mbyte buffer, and trigger input and timer outputs. The boards can support up to 130-Mbyte/s sustained rates for live video-in-a-window displays. The PCI bus master interface handles real-time transfer-to-system or video memory. Drivers for Windows 98/NT/2000 are available. Pricing for the Meteor-II/Multichannel begins at $895.Matrox Inc.
(805) 964-3044; www.matrox.com25-MHz 8051 crams flash, ADC, and timers into 3- by 3-mm. The 8051 is alive and well. Here's a fast 25-MHz microcontroller packed into a 9-mm2 MLP package. It comes with a full range of peripherals. Developed by Cygnal using its proprietary 8051 CPU, the chip provides 256 bytes of RAM and 87 kbytes of flash memory. Most instructions are executed in one or two clocks.
| ULE | |
| Processor | 1-GHz Pentium III with 133-MHz FSB |
| RAM | up to 2 Gbytes with ECC |
| Peripherals | dual serial, parallel, USB, PS/2, flat panel |
| Network | dual 100BaseT |
| Disk | dual Ultra 3 SCSI |
| Bus | ISA, PCI |
| Display | Intel 69030 |
The C8051F300 peripherals include an 8-bit ADC (eight inputs, 500-ksample/s sampling), a comparator, an on-chip debugger (four comparators) with a two-wire JTAG port, eight I/Os, UART and SMBUS serial ports, three 16-bit timer/counters, and a 16-bit PCA array.
Designed for low power, the microcontroller requires 2.7 to 3.6 V. Typical operating current is 5 mA at 25 MHz, and typical Stop Mode current is 0.1 mA. The chip contains an internal oscillator, but it can use an external oscillator, say 32 kHz, for low-power operation. Pricing starts at $3.93 apiece for quantities of 1000.
Cygnal Integrated Products
(877) 929-6625; www.cygnal.com
