Quad UART Integrates 3.3V PCI Interface

The OXmPCI1954 integrates four UART channels, a 3.3V PCI interface, 8-bit local bus, and an IEEE 1284 parallel port into a single 160 LQFP. Targeting PCI and Mini PC serial and parallel add-in cards, the chip handles data rates up to 15 Mb/s in asynchronous mode and up to 60 Mb/s in synchronous mode. Function zero accesses the four UART channels while function one provides either the local bus or parallel port that supports SPP, EPP, and ECP protocols. For cards that might require more than four UART channels, the chips can be daisy chained to provide up to 20 channels. The UARTs include 128-byte transmitter and receiver FIFOs with shadowed FIFO levels, a global interrupt source register, and a data-good status indicator. Software drivers include Windows 98 and later plus Linux. Price is $11.68 each/1,000. OXFORD SEMICONDUCTOR INC., Mission Veijo, CA. (949) 348-1235.