PC/104 and Small Form Factors Buyer’S Guide

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Volume 10 • Number 5

COLUMNS FEATURES 8 PC/104 Embedded Consortium HARDWARE: Storage and networking Runaway technology threatens our future By Jonathan Miller 16 Net-centric military operations connect with PC/104, 10 Fundamentals 101 Mobile IP Choices, choices, choices By Mike Southworth, Parvus By Joel Huebner 14 European Technology 20 Surviving oil pipeline pigging operations with Speeders busted on film E-Disk SSDs By Hermann Strass By Jun Alejo, BiTMICRO 54 Editor’s Insight Rugged SFFs ... Windows ate my homework ... 24 What’s big in small storage and why I won’t buy another iPod By Don Dingee By Chris A. Ciufo TECHNOLOGY: Taking the heat DEPARTMENTS 26 Micro thermofluidic technology cools rising heat 13,36,50 Editor’s Choice Products By George Meyer, Celsia Technologies By Don Dingee 53 Advertiser Index SPECIAL: Small form factors in outer space 32 SPACE-104: A stackable solution for space electronics By Dr. Robert Hodson, NASA E-CASTS MicroTCA – A Powerful New Standard for Cost Effective BUYER’S GUIDE Carrier Grade Equipment November 16, 2 p.m. EST 38 2007 PC/104 and Small Form Factors Buyer’s Guide www.opensystems-publishing.com/ecast

EVENTS E-LETTER electronica Winter: www.smallformfactors.com/eletter November 14-17  XTX versus COM Express – the gloves come off New Munich Trade Fair Centre Munich, Germany By Colin McCracken, Ampro Computers www.global-electronics.net/id/20308  Cooling takes on smaller forms

On the cover: By Martin Mayer, Advanced Digital Logic The Gecko EPIC-format SBC from VersaLogic Corp. coordinates communication with the central server and GPS system inside a futuristic media display module that changes advertising messages to correspond with the location WEB RESOURCES of the taxi it’s mounted on. Pictured: Vert Intelligent Display Subscribe to the magazine or E-letter at: courtesy of Vert Inc. www.opensystems-publishing.com/subscriptions Industry news: Read: www.smallformfactors.com/news Published by: OpenSystems Submit: www.opensystems-publishing.com/news/submit Publishing™

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/ Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors

A n O p e n S y s t e m s P u b l i c a t i o n Military & Aerospace Group n DSP-FPGA Product Resource Guide n DSP-FPGA.com n DSP-FPGA.com E-letter n Military Embedded Systems n Military Embedded Systems E-letter n PC/104 and Small Form Factors n PC/104 and Small Form Factors E-letter n PC/104 and Small Form Factors Resource Guide n VMEbus Systems n VMEbus Systems E-letter Group Editorial Director Chris Ciufo [email protected] Contributing Editor Don Dingee [email protected] Associate Editor Jennifer Hesse [email protected] Senior Editor (columns) Terri Thorson [email protected] Assistant Editor Sharon Schnakenburg European Representative Hermann Strass [email protected] Art Director Steph Sweet Senior Web Developer Konrad Witte Graphic Specialist David Diomede RSC# 01 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc Circulation/Office Manager Phyllis Thompson [email protected]

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Publishers John Black, Michael Hopper, Wayne Kristoff Vice President Editorial Rosemary Kristoff Communications Group Editorial Director Joe Pavlat Assistant Managing Editor Anne Fisher Senior Editor (columns) Terri Thorson Technology Editor Curt Schwaderer European Representative Hermann Strass Embedded and Test & Analysis Group Editorial Director Jerry Gipper Editorial Director Don Dingee Technical Editor Chad Lumsden Associate Editor Jennifer Hesse Special Projects Editor Bob Stasonis European Representative Hermann Strass

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RSC# @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc Runaway technology threatens our future

Praise the good old days of PC/104! the board designer as well, from changes could ever need more than 640K?”) Yes, The ISA bus was the expansion method in the underlying CPU technology. By but even on today’s latest processors we of choice, processors consumed modest designing to a common bus interface see the LPC bus, a de facto admission power levels, and chips boasted long life (ISA), I/O board makers could avoid wor- that PCI and PCI Express are not one size cycles. Board developers and their cus- rying about what CPU would drive the fits all. A low-cost, low-speed, simple tomers could count on a stable technol- system, and system designers could rely address/data bus is still optimal for many ogy base, so they designed products with on the fact that virtually all I/O boards functions on a CPU board. the confidence that they could recoup the would work on virtually all CPUs. ISA cost of their investment and not spend too was easy and cheap. A simple $1 PAL much time in redesign or requalification. device was enough to implement a basic A new approach register-map interface for many I/O boards. Then a certain pair of companies had a Then came PCI with its higher bandwidth is needed to big idea: Advance technology as fast and corresponding complexity. PC/104 as possible to outrun the competition responded by adding a new connector for incorporate the latest and keep customers coming back every the new bus. But the interface required a two years when their current products larger and significantly more costly logic bus technology into become obsolete. In the consumer and device. Now board vendors and custom- office market, this concept caused enough ers had to choose between two buses, and a common platform headaches, with nonhomogeneous in- the situation started to get more complex: stalled bases making it difficult to keep My PC/104-Plus Ethernet card won’t for the future that can track of who had what, who needed to work with your PC/104 CPU. match PC/104 in its upgrade, and how to make everything work together. In the embedded market This two-bus complexity could be man- simplicity, reliability, where longevity was critical to compa- aged, but it was only a sign of things to nies’ product life cycles and regulatory come. Now, as technology vendors con- and proliferation requirements such as FDA, this runaway tinue their push into the stratosphere, technology philosophy spelled disaster. ISA and PCI are disappearing and a third of vendors and bus, PCI Express, is taking their place. But Board developers have done a good job the extremely high-frequency signaling products. of keeping up by providing reasonable of PCI Express places serious constraints migration paths from old products to new. on connector choices and board layout And to be fair the core technology sup- and interface logic design. Furthermore, So where does this line of inquiry lead pliers (processors and operating systems) with two connectors on the PC/104 board us? Two conclusions: have done their share to make their new already, there isn’t room to add a third products largely backwards compatible connector. In any case, why should we? First of all, as ISA disappears from almost with the old ones, minimizing upgrade Since when must PC/104 serve all custom- all new processors, the very existence of difficulties. But today the situation is get- ers in all applications and be compatible PC/104 is threatened. A long-term solu- ting out of hand. By the time a CPU com- with all existing products? tion is needed now to maintain the viabil- pany comes to market with the latest Intel ity of this hugely successful market and chipset, they are two generations behind. And who needs PCI Express anyway, integrate products that we have developed Core Duo, and now Core Quattro (what’s with its added cost in complex board for the past 15 years. The PC/104 indus- next: Core Centennial?) chips are already design and layout as well as power- try must consider how to address this on the market, while many (if not most) hungry processors that prevent I/O boards threat head on to ensure the survival of PC/104 and PC/104-expandable CPU from being stacked on top due to the need PC/104, or we risk losing the momentum suppliers are still in the early stages of for larger heat sinks and fans? Yes, many and spotlight we have justifiably earned. introducing their Pentium M/945 prod- applications can use the higher bandwidth Secondly, a new approach is needed to ucts. How can board suppliers keep up? and processing power, but a huge market incorporate the latest bus technology And should they even try? still exists of down-to-earth applications into a common platform for the future where an 8 MHz bus clock is more than that can match PC/104 in its simplicity, The beauty of PC/104 was that it isolated enough still. (I know what you’re think- reliability, and proliferation of vendors the system designer, and to a great extent ing: Didn’t someone once say, “Who and products.

/ Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors These two goals do not necessarily coin- cide. The best response to the current situation may be to split the market into two segments: Legacy and New Technol- ogy. The various proposals to combine ISA, PCI, and/or PCI Express on to a PC/104-like form factor all come with their own ideologies and corresponding trade-offs. We can argue day and night about which features are more important than others, and which compatibility must be maintained and which can be sacrificed. However the key issues to focus on are reliability (so that customers will accept the new technology), availability (multiple vendors designing to the same standard so that customers have a wide enough choice of products to attract them to the technology), and affordability (so that the concept of a mix-and-match multiboard solution is economically competitive).

That reminds me of another famous saying: “United we stand, divided we fall.” In reality the number one benefit of PC/104 was the fact that it was universal. All vendors designed to the same standard. The resulting selection of compatible products was so large that it provided a compelling reason to select PC/104 in spite of its many drawbacks. We will never have the perfect solution. But in order for any solution to succeed, we need unity.

Some people argue for evolution: Let the various solutions enter the market, and may the best one win. But evolution takes too long. I prefer intelligent design – vendors actively work together to create the best approach from day one, avoiding the cost and time that evolution exacts on us all. Isn’t that, after all, the true meaning of that term? And isn’t that one of the core purposes of the PC/104 Consortium?

For more information, contact the consortium: PC/104 Embedded Consortium 505 Beach Street, Suite 130 San Francisco, CA 94133 Tel: 415-674-4504 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.pc104.org

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PC/104 and Small Form Factors Winter 2006 / Internal system cabling 101 By Joel Huebner Choices, choices, choices

Today’s embedded design engineers face is what type of processing unit will be processor also is the most versatile for a multitude of decisions during the design employed. The system design team’s the amount of programming languages of an embedded system that determines familiarity and background experience available to the software engineer. All of the final success or failure of a project. heavily influences this decision. Certain today’s high-level computer languages But it is the initial selection of the pro- performance or systems requirements can be compiled to just about any varia- cessor type to be utilized that will have will automatically dictate which type of tion of microprocessor. This software the most dramatic impact on the overall processor must be utilized. But in many selection capability and the fact that the system design. embedded designs, the decision of which microprocessor is the most familiar of type of processor is the best choice is not the processor choices makes it the most All embedded system designs require that obvious. The risk of the embedded popular choice for embedded systems. some type of central processor to control design team selecting the wrong proces- the inputs, outputs, and internal com- sor for a particular application can be Microcontroller putation of the entire system. Some detrimental to the project. Typically, when The microcontroller is a basic version of embedded systems may only require a this realization occurs during design it the microprocessor. As the clock speeds signal internal processor or potentially cannot be corrected and can jeopardize and internal capabilities of the micro- multiple processors. An embedded the overall success of the project. processor became more advanced over design engineer can choose a micropro- time, a market demand for the simplistic, cessor (CPU), microcontroller, DSP, or Microprocessor or CPU straightforward processor capabilities of FPGA as the processor for an embedded The microprocessor is by far the most the original 4- and 8-bit microprocessors system. Table 1 compares the pros and popular variant of the processor choices. remained. The microcontroller meets this cons of each processor. The system design requirements for an need. The master clock speed, processing embedded operating systems such as capabilities, and maximum internal/ The first step Windows, Linux, DOS, and VxWorks external memory access typically limits The absolute first decision that must be (just a name a few) will automatically the type of embedded systems that micro- made at the beginning of a system design require a microprocessor. The micro- controllers are ideally suited for.

Processor type Pros Cons Microprocessor • The most popular, most understood type of processor • Generational advancements in OSs and updated drivers can lead • Multiple types of OSs are available to difficulty supporting legacy products • Can be programmed from a multitude of high-level languages • Microprocessor families can be the most prone to obsolescence • OS typically prevents signals from being processed in real time Microcontroller • The most simplistic type of processor • The clock and memory access limitations target this processor • The most cost-effective type of processor for only low-end embedded system usage • Typically has the most abundant online programming hardware • Very minimal, if any, OSs available support information • Programming languages are custom to each microcontroller manufacturer DSP • Extremely efficient in processing math-intensive functions • Embedded applications that truly benefit from a DSP can • Is ideally suited for performing digital signal processing in be limited real time • OS utilization within a DSP is custom and limited • Versatility and capabilities are continuing to advance • An in-depth knowledge of digital signal processing is required to get the full potential of DSP ICs FPGA • Multiple instances of all other types of processors can be • FPGA text-based programming languages are limited to VHDL replicated within the FPGA or Verilog • The individual signal and processor routing within the FPGA is • Power-supply requirements for embedded applications can completely user configurable and reprogrammable be steep • Can be programmed with a graphical schematic representation, • The choice of OS for virtual microprocessors programmed within state-machine diagram, and/or a text-based programming an FPGA is limited language

Table 1

10 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors RSC# 11 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc PC/104 and Small Form Factors Winter 2006 / 11 RSC# 12 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc Digital media: It’s all in the image DSP Digital media processing is now critical to many applications beyond entertainment, including The DSP is a variation of the micropro- medical, simulation, security, and others. Compression rates in standards such as MPEG-4 cessor developed specifically for digital and H.264 call for processing suited for the task. But assembling the hardware and software signal processing applications. DSP’s necessary to get started can be a complicated task. true strength is processing math-intensive Combining a Texas Instruments TMS320DM642 DSP-based digital media processor at applications in real time. Processing p c s 720 MHz and a Xilinx Virtex-4 FX-60 FPGA, the SMT339 packs huge compute power into a

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1 o video signals, audio signals, signal fil- 0 t small development board. Software support includes TI’s Code Composer Studio Integrated 4 c a tering, data compression, and artificial a f Development Environment (IDE) and 3L’s Diamond FPGA. Interfaces include serial ports or the nd m ¸ sm l for neural networks in real time are all prime al Rocket Serial Link. Used with a TIM carrier such as the SMT130 for PCI-104 or stand-alone, examples of the types of digital signals EDITOR’S CHOICE designers can be up and running quickly. and signal processing optimally suited PRODUCT Sundance Multiprocessor Technology Ltd. www.sundance.com RSC# 32034 for a DSP.

FPGA The FPGA is the most versatile of all processor types. Single or multiple

instances of all the previously defined processor types can be replicated within p

c s

/ r an FPGA. The reconfigurability of the 1 o 0 t 4 c a FPGA allows it to be utilized in the most a f nd m diverse of embedded applications. The ¸ sm l for al FPGA allows for customized parallel digital signal processing and can be adapted EDITOR’S CHOICE to almost any digital application. Today’s PRODUCTS FPGA can be configured with advanced DSP functions or programmed with 4, 8, 16, or 32-bit virtual microprocessors. The advantage of the FPGA is the capability of being a user-configurable digital system on chip. For example, a single FPGA can be programmed with multiple 32-bit microprocessors performing parallel processing and separate DSP signal manipulation in addition to custom digital signal manipulation.

Ensuring success In today’s embedded market, having design experience with all processor variations and knowing their individual strengths and weaknesses based on previous successful embedded system designs is crucial. Customers rely on the embedded design team’s expertise to select a processor that provides the most efficient signal processing and ensures success in a system design.

Joel Huebner is president of Jacyl Technology, Inc. and can be reached at [email protected]. Visit the Jacyl website at www.jacyltechnology.com.

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PC/104 and Small Form Factors Winter 2006 / 13 Speeders busted on film

ESM drives vehicle-monitoring sophisticated algorithms. Data about license plate number on the car because camera offenders are compressed, encrypted it is not legally possible to fine a car or Drivers do not always obey speed limits. to become tamperproof, and then auto- its owner without facial and license plate This is not just a peccadillo, especially matically downloaded to the office of the identification. The driver at that point in near schools and dangerous crossings or law-enforcing authority. Violators are time must be identified. under bad road conditions. Obeying the sent an appropriate letter and invoice for speed limit helps utilize available road a fine. In Europe, the face of the driver The EM4N uses an MPC8245 PowerPC space more efficiently if every car trav- must be identified in addition to the microprocessor because it must operate els at the same speed. Authorities are reliably under adverse environmental con- using permanently installed and mobile ditions. Conformal coating and extended speed camera systems to catch offend- temperature versions (between -40 °C ers and warn other drivers to heed traffic Today, if a driver and +85 °C) can be supplied if required signs and general speed limits. Today, if by the application. The CPU includes a a driver gets caught violating the speed gets caught floating-point unit and a memory man- limit, it may be due to a sophisticated agement unit. Two Fast Ethernet and two speed control digital camera operated violating the speed COM ports standard on this ESM board by an Embedded System Module (ESM) communicate with the outside world. made by MEN, Germany (MEN Micro in IP loaded into an FPGA generates other the United States). limit, it may be due I/O and specific functions (for example, camera control, separate watchdog, and In this system, the first camera con- to a sophisticated interrupt controller). The FPGA on the trolled by an EM4N takes time-stamped EM4N implements the camera interface, pictures of passing cars at a point on frame grabbing, compression, and encryp- the road, while the second camera takes speed control digital tion without loading the processor. time-stamped pictures at another point about 500 m (1,600 feet) to 100 km camera operated by The EM4N complies with a long list of (60 miles) farther down the same road. environmental standards (EN, IEC, CE, Figure 1, courtesy of MEN, Germany, an Embedded UL, and so on). ESM boards are very shows a speed control camera taking small 149 mm x 71 mm (5.8" x 2.8") pictures of oncoming traffic. to fit inside the camera housing. ESMs System Module ... are complete computers based on PCI A driver may have slowed down when seeing the first camera and accelerated again after passing it. Even if drivers slowed down again after seeing the second camera, they may have been driving too fast between these two points. The vehicle arrived too early at the second camera, considering the specific speed limit in place between the two points. This type of monitoring has been used for many years in Australia, where traffic officials observe trucks driving to and from major cities or towns with hundreds of miles of flat, desert-like countryside in between without ever leaving their air-conditioned office.

The cameras can monitor several lanes in parallel day and night. Control software in the back office automatically compares pictures of the two cameras using Figure 1

14 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors that operate stand-alone (busless) or as processor modules on popular platforms like CompactPCI or VME. ESM spe- cifications are available for download at the MEN websites www.men.de and www.menmicro.com.

Other European small form factor news Kontron has received UL 60950 certification from the United States and CSA C22.2 No. 60950 certification from Canada for their COM board families, which include boards for the ETX, ETX 3.0, ETXexpress/COM Express, DIMM-PC, microETXexpress, and X-board platforms. Kontron believes itself to be the first company to receive UL certification for COM-type module products. Listings are available at www.ul.com. The company achieved European certification under EN 60950 some time ago.

Digital-Logic, Switzerland has developed a waterproof mini PC for outdoor usage available in IP54 or IP65 protection versions. A Pentium M 738 powered CPU with all the typical PC I/O interfaces and additional galvanically isolated digital and analog I/O is inside the waterproof enclosure. Either a 2.5" hard disk or two CompactFlash memory cards can be installed. Expansion is available via a PC/104-Plus socket. The computer works within a temperature range between 0 °C and +50 °C. With an optional preheat function, the unit can start working at temperatures of -40 °C and higher.

For more information, contact Hermann at [email protected].

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PC/104 and Small Form Factors Winter 2006 / 15 Hardware Storage and networking Net-centric military operations connect with PC/104, Mobile IP

By Mike Southworth

The Mobile IP specification allows IP networks to be much more flexible, introduction of RFC 2002, when a mobile not only wireless, but also roaming – a key requirement of the network- node moved from one local network into centric operations environment. Combined with commercial PC/104 another, the node’s IP communications networking equipment and transformed into rugged equipment able to channel with the wide area network ter- survive transportation, easier IP communications has become a reality. minated. The new network’s router then Mike explains the background of the rugged Mobile IP system. had to establish its own communications channel and assign a new IP address to the node. This not only interrupted the The military’s trend toward net-centric wire-line, spread-spectrum Radio mobile node’s communications through operations – linking field resources to- Frequency (RF), optical, and satellite the network, it changed the return path gether using Internet Protocol (IP) based links address so that other nodes on the wide networking – requires that ruggedized n Be based on COTS technology to network could no longer find the mobile IP nodes and routers be available for meet budget constraints of the modern node. All such links had to be reestab- constructing the network. Further, these military lished each time the mobile node changed units must be portable and capable of local networks. utilizing many different communications As a result, the distinctive advantages of channels. Fortunately, a Commercial Off- PC/104 – its compact size, PC compat- Mobile IP allows for a mobile node to The-Shelf (COTS) solution to mobile ibility, strong vendor support, stackable roam across multiple local networks networking that provides rugged IP net- design, low-power requirements, envi- while maintaining continual communi- working elements for mobile applications ronmental durability, and simple main- cations with and a consistent IP address has arisen. tenance – make it an ideal foundation for for the wide network (see Figure 1). This Mobile IP networking. attribute greatly facilitates communica- The U.S. military services see net-centric tions among nodes by giving each node operations as a compelling mechanism Untethering with Mobile IP a unique address that does not change for coordinating diverse resources in field The beginnings of the COTS solution to with movement. It prevents the continual operations. Using IP-based communica- net-centric applications arose with the breaking of and need to reconnect links tions, virtually every vehicle, plane, and 2002 introduction of the Mobile IP speci- between nodes. The mobile node thus can soldier becomes a node in the network fication (RFC 2002) by the Internet Engi- roam seamlessly across networks, effec- and can share data. This massive data neering Task Force (IETF). Prior to the tively behaving as though stationary. sharing could allow field and strategic commanders to obtain real-time situation awareness for tactical planning, give deployed units immediate access to intelligence information, and allow the track- ing of both troop and enemy movement across an entire battlefield. It would also allow for direct, secure Voice over IP (VoIP) between any two members of the network despite differences in the communications platforms being utilized.

Not an easy task Networking equipment that can meet the demands of battlefield deployment must satisfy several criteria: n Ruggedness; able to handle temperature extremes as well as severe mechanical shock and vibration n Portability; both space and weight are significant concerns in military equipment n Compatibility with a wide range of communications platforms, including Figure 1

16 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors Hardware Storage and networking

Packing it into PC/104 at the NASA Glenn Research Center in The creation of the Mobile IP specifica- Cleveland, Ohio. tion allowed Cisco Systems to develop the Cisco 3200 Series Wireless and “The value of this technology is that it can Mobile Router for mobile applications. be deployed wherever there is a need for Collaborating with NASA, Cisco origi- mobile data communications. That could nally invented this mobile router platform include commercial and military aircraft, using VME hardware in 2000. They then ground vehicles such as tanks, ambulances, pursued a redesign to the PC/104-Plus and police cars, and of course space- form factor to provide a rugged, more craft. This software-based technology compact, and lower-cost version of this also addresses the need for flexibility. miniature router launched in late 2002. Network-centric operations must allow diverse elements to tie in and exchange Cisco 3200 Series routers (Figure 2) data. These elements could include sen- run Cisco IOS Software and allow the sors, video, VoIP devices, and computers networking of multiple wireless devices – anything that’s input or output.” running any variety of communications links. The routers, for instance, can tie Rugged, outdoors types nodes using cellular telephony, Wi-Fi The next stage in enabling ruggedized IP (IEEE 802.11 wireless Ethernet), and communications came when Parvus took satellite communications into a single Cisco’s PC/104 modules and packaged network. The nodes are free to roam them in an enclosure designed for the anywhere these links provide coverage, hostile environment that equipment faces switching links as needed without losing in public transportation installations. their unique IP addresses. This ruggedized Mobile IP access router, known as the DuraMAR (Figure 3), is based on PC/104 stacking architecture and includes an internal 150 W power supply that accepts a wide range of input DC and provides isolation against voltage spikes and transients. While created for use in transportation equipment such as metro commuter trains, it is equally applicable to use in military transport.

Because a router by itself is not enough to provide a network link, the ruggedized system features a distributed architecture Figure 2 that enables the connection of peripheral devices to provide the radio and other These PC/104 components from Cisco communications links as well as end are well suited to the unique require- user nodes. This architecture uses Power ments of Mobile IP networking where Over Ethernet (POE) and Power with shock, vibration, and other environmen- Serial (PwS) to supply power to these tal extremes would otherwise destroy a peripherals, otherwise known as nodes, system based on open desktop technology. simplifying their installation and use in a Its PC/104-Plus form factor easily accommodates specialty add-on modules to enable customizable functionality such as the stringent military communications standards imposed by the National Security Agency. RSC# 17 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc “We wanted a product that met our requirements for power, volume, and mass while maintaining full compliance with open standards to ensure interoperability with existing network devices,” says Phillip E. Paulsen, project manager in the Space Communications Office Figure 3 Hardware Storage and networking

variety of configurations. A node can be links it currently has available. a long-range communications channel to The need to break communications the main network, a LAN controller for to switch channels or to another creating a local wireless network, or a type of equipment is eliminated. “PC/104 enables piece of peripheral equipment that needs n Central facilities can use the a network connection. network to monitor the status of the use of application- field equipment in order to provide This ruggedized Mobile IP networking just-in-time support as needed, is a proven concept. These systems have such as scheduling refueling for specific functionality … seen field trials with a major metropolitan vehicles and aircraft. transit authority for linking trains into a n Remotely piloted and autonomous to create a distributed network. The systems replace a modem surveillance vehicles can broadcast connection on the train and provide their data to the network, allowing connections to sensors and monitoring field troops to access real-time architecture for systems in the train. This allows central intelligence about battlefield dispatch to monitor the trains’ conditions conditions, including live video, mobile networking in real time as they move through the rail as they need it. network, helping ensure passenger safety and providing early warning of mainte- With its modular architecture, PC/104 that supports a nance requirements. enables the use of application-specific functionality such as a wireless modem, Industry-standard environmental tests have Ethernet switch, Wi-Fi interface, or wide variety of been conducted, including temperature, MIL-STD-1553 interface card to create shock, and vibration, as well as shallow a distributed architecture for mobile net- applications.” immersion. Through conductive cooling working that supports a wide variety of and the elimination of all moving parts, not applications. only will the system withstand these harsh environments, but also the Mean Time All about the IP network provide the nucleus of systems that can Between Failure (MTBF) will be consid- Because all equipment connects together then link that equipment to the network erably higher than previous solutions. over the IP network, it does not have to be through any of the multiple communica- directly compatible. Thus, a Wi-Fi laptop tions channels and maintain that connec- Ready for military service can serve as the communications instru- tion while moving. Both field and base The availability of COTS-based rugged- ment connecting command to field troops, units remain connected in a network ized Mobile IP networking opens a wide regardless of the type of radio being used that can flex and range across the battle- range of possibilities for military appli- in the field as long as each can connect to field, but structurally remains intact and cations. For example, the DuraMAR is the network in its own way. unchanged. ➤ being deployed aboard U.S. Army heli- copters for equipment monitoring and Eliminating the need for direct compat- Mike Southworth secure communications using IPSEC ibility also allows ruggedized Mobile IP serves as director and other encryption modes. Shipboard networking to support legacy systems by of marketing for applications are also under evaluation. creating a bridge device. Systems using Parvus Corporation, Other potential applications include: buses such as CAN, MIL-STD-1553, where he oversees and LonWorks can then connect through the company’s n A vehicle such as a Humvee can be the IP network, reducing the need for product manage- outfitted to provide a mobile Wi-Fi cabling and extending the useful system ment and marketing hotspot for field communications, lifetime. Connection through the Mobile communications programs. He holds a giving human-transported field IP network also extends the legacy sys- BA in Public Relations from Brigham equipment the opportunity to use tem’s flexibility by providing data and Young University. Wi-Fi as its basic link and connect to being controlled by remote operators and the network through satellite or other other, previously incompatible informa- long-range links the vehicle may be tion systems. offering. This eliminates the need for To learn more, contact Mike at: equipment to be retrofitted as long- With IP-based equipment offering seam- range links change and prevents the less roaming across networks, Mobile IP Parvus Corporation field equipment from being burdened sets the stage for net-centric operations in 3222 South Washington Street with multiple communications military applications. Using IP as the base Salt Lake City, UT 84115 choices. protocol, any equipment that can connect Tel: 801-483-1533 n Aircraft can use VoIP for voice to the network can then connect with any E-mail: [email protected] communications with central other equipment on the network. Rugged- Website: www.parvus.com command, utilizing whatever radio ized mobile routers, such as DuraMAR,

18 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors RSC# 19 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc Hardware Storage and networking Surviving oil pipeline pigging operations with E-Disk SSDs

By Jun Alejo

Industrial applications often put disk drives in harm’s way, but with flash Solid-State Disks (SSDs) data can be kept safe. Jun shares some examples of flash SSDs at work in oil pipeline operations and discusses where technology for flash SSDs is heading in the near term.

With no moving parts that can lessen a intelligent pigs, electronic caliper logging device’s reliability and durability, nonvol- tools, and cleaning pigs (bidirectional atile flash SSDs are by far the best storage pigs, caliper cleaning pigs, magnetic solution for industrial applications. This preparation pigs, magnetic cleaning pigs, Figure 2 case study shows a messy application and universal pigs) for the inspection where SSDs excel – pigging an oil pipe- of oil and gas pipelines up to 56 inches the drive booted normally after it was con- line – and offers a peek into the future of in diameter. nected to a desktop PC, two bad sectors solid-state storage. were found. Upon performing a low-level Spetsneftegaz performs defect assess- format operation using the BiTMICRO Electromechanical pigs at work ment, repair prioritization, and overall Specific Erase Command and restoring Pipeline inspection equipment, known pipeline fitness evaluation according to the data, the drive was recommissioned as pigs, is subjected to some of the most international standards. The company and has worked flawlessly ever since. extreme operating environments on land. executes up to 16,000 km of magnetic In gas pipelines, pigging operations have in-line inspection per year. Spetsneftegaz In a separate incident, one of Spetsneft- been performed under high-pressure (up claims that its proprietary inspection egaz’s experimental pigs featuring an to 1,000 psi) and high-temperature con- technology makes it possible to detect active moving control function got ditions. In addition, data recorders inside and locate all types of defects in main oil stuck in the pipeline and was struck by pigs are subjected to severe shock and and gas pipelines. another piston pig. The force of impact vibration. Pigging equipment uses an was so strong that all of the mechanical onboard power supply and data acquisi- After evaluating various storage options, parts were broken despite the presence of tion system to record hours’ worth of data Spetsneftegaz identified SSDs as the best shock absorbers. A 3.5-inch single board while being transported throughout the storage solution for these applications computer was dislodged from its mount- pipeline using the moving product (gas because the ruggedness of SSDs elimi- ing after all of its corners broke off. or oil) for propulsion. In-line inspection nates the need to conduct second or third tools, or smart pigs, are essential in ensur- runs through the pipe, thereby minimiz- Engineers found that the installed E-Disk ing the integrity and safety of pipelines ing operating costs. Spetsneftegaz relies flash drive (a 2.5-inch ATA model with against mechanical damage and corrosion on BiTMICRO’s E-Disk flash SSDs (see 9 GB capacity) also tore off its fastenings, (see Figure 1, courtesy of the National Figure 2) to store information gathered broke out of the surrounding aluminum Grid Transco). by its pig units. Two incidents validate frame and electronic assembly, slamming the E-Disk SSD’s reputation for dura- directly into the pig’s explosion-proof bility and reliability. external steel casing. The E-Disk drive survived the incident with just minor SSDs survive squeezing, smashing dents and scratches. All of the data stored In one instance, the airtight seal of the in the drive remained completely intact, instrumentation compartment in one and not a single bad sector was found. of the pig units was damaged. At that time, company engineers estimated the “In both instances, the E-Disk drives that gas pressure inside the compartment at survived the accidents have been installed about 60 atmospheres. After recovering in other equipment and continue to the pig, engineers discovered the bat- remain in operation,” says Sergey Yartsev, tery was completely squeezed, and the a Spetsneftegaz executive. Figure 1 power supply module and other components were crushed. Moreover, the Revolutionizing industrial storage Established in 1991, Spetsneftegaz Scien- pig’s central computer failed to boot after Data recorders are not the only indus- tific & Production Association (NPO) the accident. trial application that would benefit from Joint Stock Company is one of the lead- the rugged capabilities of flash SSDs. ing in-line inspection service companies However, the engineers were amazed to Like a proverbial last piece in a jigsaw in Russia. The company develops and discover that the installed E-Disk SSD puzzle, rugged mobile computers need produces high-resolution magnetic flux (a 2.5-inch ATA model with 17.4 GB flash SSDs to create a robust, 100 per- leakage and transverse flux inspection capacity) remained operational. Although cent solid-state computing solution for

20 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors RSC# 21 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc RSC# 22 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc Hardware industrial users. This fact is bolstered E-Disk architecture to support high- by a recent In-Stat study that reveals the density semiconductor memory and high level of value mobile computer users faster sustained transfer rates. EDSA- assign to SSDs. When respondents were powered drives are projected to carry asked to rate improved durability, battery about a terabyte of capacity in a standard life extension, and faster boot times with low-profile 3.5-inch drive, much bigger SSD, at least 60 percent rated SSDs’ dif- than the current record holder in the HDD ferentiating factors a 4 or 5, with 5 being segment, Seagate’s 750 GB Barracuda the highest/most important. 7200.10. In addition, increased bandwidth in EDSA may even lead to further By 2010, In-Stat forecasts SSDs to be improvements in sustained transfer rates. deployed as main storage devices in about 14 percent (24.3 million units) of HDD R&D may have already reached its mobile computers. By 2014, the market pinnacle with perpendicular recording research firm expects market share to technology, while SSDs are expected to gobble up half of the market. This is con- get even denser (and better) as memory sidered very strong industry performance wafer fabs implement finer manufactur- for a four-year period, though Hard Disk ing technologies. With higher capacity, Drives (HDDs) will still control half of better transfer speeds, affordable cost, the market thanks to users who require and rugged features expected to be imple- high-capacity storage. mented in the near future, SSD makers such as BiTMICRO seem to have the Though industrial-grade storage leans bases covered with regard to the needs of more toward ruggedized features, high industrial storage. ➤ storage capacity brings a host of benefits to data recorders and rugged computers. Jun Alejo is High capacity means fewer reconnais- marketing com- sance flights for unmanned aerial vehicles munications officer and longer runs for pipeline inspection for BiTMICRO pigs. Hard drives seem to have an advan- Networks, Inc. tage in this aspect, especially following Prior to joining the release of perpendicular recording BiTMICRO, he drives from Toshiba and Seagate, which was news editor for further increased storage capacity in Electronic Engineering Times-Asia and magnetic disks. Global Sources Electronic Components. He received his MBA from De La Salle SSDs getting denser, faster University. BiTMICRO Networks, a major SSD player since the 1990s, is pioneering To learn more, contact Jun at: Research and Development (R&D) efforts that seek to meet cost and capac- BiTMICRO Networks ity issues head on. The company is 47929 Fremont Blvd. in the process of developing a major Fremont, CA 94538 enhancement to its current-generation Tel: 510-623-2341 products, in particular the fabrication of E-mail: [email protected] the EDSA DMC ASIC, a chip that will Website: www.bitmicro.com allow BiTMICRO’s current-generation

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the October edition of our sister magazine electronic newsletter, Industrial Embedded Systems E-letter. Deployed in gas pipeline pigs, nonvolatile flash SSDs demonstrate the resilience of small storage devices in extreme operating environments. RSC# 23 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc

PC/104 and Small Form Factors Winter 2006 / 23 What’s BIG in Small Storage? By Don Dingee, Contributing Editor

Electronic media storage can be added to a small form factor board or system, or even yourself – without having to sacrifice size for performance. In devices ranging from chip-level Storage to personal data storage products, technologies such as Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR) and package-on-package are allowing more and more data to be stored in smaller sizes. This is just a sample of a few devices we found.

mobiBlu Q-Bling Spansion flash Uniquely styled Cube MP3 player Package-on-package stacks flash is both storage and jewelry on other devices www.mobiblu.com www.spansion.com

Seagate ST1.3 A 1" hard drive with big 12 GB capacity via PMR Sony Compact Vault www.seagate.com 8 GB of capacity on a CompactFlash Type II hard drive www.sony.net

SanDisk mini SD HC Breaking the limits, SD 2.0 high- SimpleTech Bonzai capacity devices are now at 4 MB Upgradeable USB 2.0 storage www.sandisk.com Micron Managed NAND using SD flash cards Flash with MultiMediaCard www.simpletech.com controller integrated for simpler interfacing www.micron.com Microsoft Zune The long-awaited Microsoft entry into portable media devices www.microsoft.com

Toshiba 0.85" HDD MemTech AT1830 Mustang Smallest commercial hard disk drive Solid-state flash drive in a very yet at 0.85" diameter using PMR small 1.8” IDE form factor www.toshiba.com www.memtech.com

24 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors Storage 25

Winter 2006 / 2006 Winter a USB interface USB a www.swissbit.com www.siliconsystems.com 8 GB of portable hard disk with with disk hard portable of GB 8 Swissbit s.valigetta classic s.valigetta Swissbit SiliconSystems SiliconDrive Module Module SiliconDrive SiliconSystems PC/104 and Small Form Factors Factors Form Small and PC/104 Up to 4 GB of storage on a vertical 40-pin module module 40-pin vertical a on storage of GB 4 to Up www.lexar.com Adtron I25FB Flashpak I25FB Adtron drive flash solid-state IDE 2.5" disks hard replaces directly www.adtron.com Lexar LDP-200 Lexar uses SD card storage card SD uses Economical MP3 player player MP3 Economical G3 OC iver H10 iver Hitachi 3K8 3K8 Hitachi www.msystems.com R www.hgst.com i Seagate the using player MP3 drive hard ST1 www.iriver.com msystems mD msystems mounts directly to boards to directly mounts

512 MB embedded flash drive drive flash embedded MB 512 An 8 GB, 1" hard drive with ZIF ZIF with drive hard 1" GB, 8 An connector for direct board mounting board direct for connector www.corniceco.com www.corniceco.com ornice Dragon Series Dragon ornice C Thin 1" hard drive with 10 GB GB 10 with drive hard 1" Thin Wearable USB hard drive based based drive hard USB Wearable disk 0.85" Toshiba on www.imation.com Imation Micro Hard Drive 4GB Drive Hard Micro Imation capacity and Crash Guard features Guard Crash and capacity Technology Taking the heat Micro thermofluidic technology cools rising heat

By George Meyer

Small form factor designs don’t leave much room for cooling, but it’s an essential element to get the most performance. A cooling solution More than just a phase that helps minimize size and weight would be welcome. Enter new Thermofluidic technology puts liquid technology: nano and microscale thermofluidic heat spreaders that phase-change properties to work in nano or microscale structures. With no moving transfer heat more efficiently while reducing size and weight. parts, a thermofluidic heat-spreader design sandwiches alternating liquid Here’s a question: How much design has not kept pace with the scope of the and vapor channels together to form a energy do most engineering teams put problem. Conventional cooling designs three-dimensional heat transfer structure, into cooling their product? Thermal for small form factors often fall short. shown in Figure 1. management is one of the most pressing Active cooling devices such as fan sinks problems in small form factor designs, add size and weight, and the required yet the average cooling solution accounts airflow may not be available in the for just 2 percent of the product cost. And system. Exotic spray-cooling and liquid- the problems designers face are getting cooling techniques also tend to run large “... a thermofluidic more complex; for instance, many graph- and heavy. ics processors now have greater thermal heat-spreader output than the microprocessor driving With continuing increases in thermal the system. power density and decreases in the size design sandwiches of electronics, a new breed of technology Cooling solutions require much more is needed to tackle the cooling essential alternating liquid attention, but until now the technology for delivering fast, reliable systems. and vapor channels together to form a three-dimensional heat transfer structure ...”

With no mechanical parts, thermofluidic heat spreaders are noise and vibration free, eliminating the need to reconfigure product design to accommodate the cooling device. Within the plate or tube is an extensive network of micro channels through which pure water moves rapidly, changing from water to vapor and back to water, removing excess heat. The spreaders can be attached directly to the heat source to enhance cooling capability.

A heat spreader built using a thermofluidic sandwich approach can be con- structed very thin and very light. The scale of the sandwich shown in Figure 1 starts at just over a millimeter of thickness. Thermofluidic structures can be adapted to the size and shape of the area to be cooled, as the razor thin plates or tubes can be fabricated to fit a variety of small and large devices. They can also be shaped to work with other cooling solu- RSC# 26 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc tions such as fans and fins. The structures

26 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors can bend with a minimum radius on the Cooling results order of 10 mm. With this clear size and weight advantage, designers may wonder about cooling effec- The construction of the thin slices of tiveness. Thermofluidic heat spreaders are material with capillary structures in very efficient conductors of heat. Demon- the sandwich substantially reduces the strations have shown thermal conductivity weight of a heat spreader made with this of more than 5,000 watt per meter Kelvin approach. Compared to a solid copper (W/mK). This gives them a heat transfer structure at 8.9 g/cm3, these heat spread- capacity 25 times greater than aluminum ers average 3.6 g/cm3 but deliver better and 13 times greater than copper, the two thermal performance than higher mass most commonly used metal heat conduc- solid structures. tors, as illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 1

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Figure 2

PC/104 and Small Form Factors Winter 2006 / 27 RSC# 28 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc

Technology Taking the heat

With this type of efficiency, thermofluidic heat spreaders in a given application can increase the cooling system’s performance by 25 to 60 percent over other industry solutions.

Putting it to work The electronics industry needs effective, compact, and inexpensive cooling solutions to keep pace with increasingly small and mobile electronic devices. Celsia’s patented micro thermofluidic design (Figure 3) shows potential for increasing a computer’s processor speed and cutting lighting energy costs by an order of mag- nitude. Initial products measure as small as 1.4 mm thick and weigh only 25 g, creating a heat spreader with a 28 percent reduction in thickness and 33 percent Figure 3 reduction in weight over conventional heat-sink solutions for a comparable example of coupling with fan technology application. to provide powerful cooling solutions, the new Iceon1000C (Figure 4) is one of Besides the obvious application of cool- the first high-volume commercial appli- ing CPUs, thermofluidic heat spreaders cations for thermofluidic heat-spreader also can apply to graphics processors technology. and DLP projection devices, reducing or eliminating the need for bulky and noisy LEDs are now commonly used in areas fans by improving cooling efficiency. An such as architectural lighting and large- Figure 4

RSC# 30 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc

30 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors Technology George Meyer thermal management. George is Celsia graduated from Penn State University Technologies’ chief with a degree in Communications format signage, reducing energy usage marketing officer and holds an International Business by 80 percent compared to incandescent for the Americas Certificate from Franklin and and 50 percent compared to fluores- and Europe and Marshall College. cent bulbs. These savings can add up development quickly. Beginning in 2001, the Cali- director. He is a To learn more, contact George at: fornia Department of Transportation proven thermal management industry installed more than 160,000 LED mod- veteran with nearly three decades of Celsia Technologies ules, creating 8 MW of energy savings experience driving global growth at 1395 Brickell Avenue, Suite 800 and reducing energy costs by more than Thermacore International, Inc. He Miami, Florida 33131 $5 million. When cooled with thermoflu- has extensive in-depth market and Tel: 305-529-6290 idic heat spreaders, LED device life can technical knowledge and holds eight E-mail: [email protected] be improved by 10 to 15 times. Figure 5 patents in the field of electronics Website: www.celsiatechnologies.com shows an LED utilizing a thermofluidic heat spreader.

Figure 5

The future is cool In the near term, Celsia is focused on applications in the PC, graphics, and lighting markets. But the potential for thermofluidic heat spreaders extends into a number of markets, such as telecommu- nications, defense, home appliance, and automotive markets.

The thermofluidic heat spreader rep- resents new cooling technology that is compact, inexpensive, efficient, silent, and vibration free. These heat spreaders not only improve cooling efficiency and reduce weight and complexity compared to conventional cooling solutions, but also improve system costs and extend system life. As designers continue to innovate with these structures, more advanced applications will continue to emerge. ➤

RSC# 31 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc

PC/104 and Small Form Factors Winter 2006 / 31 Special Small form factors in outer space SPACE-104: A stackable solution for space electronics

By Dr. Robert Hodson

Space may be the final frontier for stackable Dose (TID) that changes the transistor threshold voltage in electronic modules, but no industry standards semiconductor devices. This same shielding, which is often alu- support challenges of the environment. Dr. Hodson minum, can also be used as an EMI shield if designed properly. describes an effort at NASA that looked at current stackable technologies and made some unique Other considerations when designing and choosing materials for space include effects such as: choices to extend capability, making stacks suitable for space electronics. Based on PCI-104, the n Material out-gassing. In a vacuum, materials can outgas proposed SPACE-104 form factor is a noteworthy and leave residue on surrounding objects. Consider the effect solution. of residue on a neighboring object, such as the lens of a $100 million telescope. n Tin whiskers. These electrically conductive crystalline The launch and space environments present unique challenges structures grow from surfaces where tin is used as a final for avionics. Many existing avionics designs are modified finish. Whiskers can cause shorts, arcing, and/or debris 3U or 6U CompactPCI systems. Stackable technologies are rare contamination. For more information, visit for space systems, in part due to the lack of a standard that suffi- http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker. ciently addresses space environment issues. This is strange given the acceptance of stackable systems in the embedded computing community. Stackable systems have demonstrated ruggedness “This new stackable form factor ... adds in harsh terrestrial environments but have not been extended for space applications. structural support, conduction cooling,

To address the technology gap between terrestrial and space venting, and other features to help overcome stackable avionics systems, a team at NASA’s Langley Research Center has extended the PCI-104 standard to meet the needs of the challenges for NASA’s future missions.” the space community. This new stackable form factor, internally dubbed SPACE-104, adds structural support, conduction cooling, venting, and other features to help overcome the challenges Meeting the challenges of space for NASA’s future missions. Engineers at NASA wanted to leverage terrestrial stackable technologies to address these challenges while targeting the Obstacles for avionics in space shortcomings of existing solutions for space systems. They The first order of business for space avionics is to arrive in orbit deemed backwards compatibility with existing standards such as or on some celestial body in one piece. Avionics are subjected to PCI-104 desirable. This would reduce the cost of ground support acoustic shock, pyrotechnic shock (due to rocket stage separation), equipment that could be used for space system test and develop- and vibration. These loads are significant; for example, an average ment. Choosing PCI as the interconnect lets engineers implement random vibration load in excess of 10 g is not uncommon. Circuit PCI interfaces with existing radiation-hardened FPGAs that tend boards can flex and sometimes oscillate, causing cracked traces to run slower than commercial parts but still meet performance or devices to lift pads. Additionally, as a rocket leaves the atmo- requirements. sphere and moves from the pressurized surface atmosphere of the Earth to the vacuum of space, undesirable pressure can build up The SPACE-104 form factor, like the EPIC and EBX form in a sealed enclosure. This can cause an oil canning effect if not factors, is larger than PC/104. This choice was made to accom- properly addressed through avionics packaging. modate larger devices and additional I/O. It is not uncommon for space-qualified parts to be in relatively large packages such If the avionics system makes it to space in one piece, it won’t run as ceramic quad flat packs or ceramic for long in the vacuum of space without proper cooling. The typi- column grid arrays. cal finned heat sink or processor fan does no good without air to Additional board area carry the heat away. A thermally conductive path must exist from is also required to power dissipating ICs on the circuit board to somewhere outside remove heat from the of the avionics. Excess heat is then typically radiated away from system, as discussed the spacecraft into deep space. later in the thermal design section. For these Space radiation due to galactic cosmic rays, solar flares, or reasons a form factor of trapped particles in the Earth’s magnetic field can cause a vari- 112 mm x 156 mm was ety of undesirable effects on avionics. These effects range from selected with support for transient functional failures to permanent device failure. Adding PCI-104 compatibility shielding to an enclosure design can reduce the Total Ionizing (see Figure 1). Figure 1

32 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors RSC# 33 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc Special Small form factors in outer space

Mechanical design sectional area should be used throughout the thermal path. Copper, The mechanical design for SPACE-104 used in the circuit board, and aluminum, used in the frame, consists of several elements to make up a retainer, and end caps, are both excellent thermal conductors. To rugged stack, seen in Figure 2. The cir- further reduce the thermal resistance between electronic devices cuit boards are supported by aluminum and the stack’s base plate, unused areas in the circuit board’s frames that provide structural support, copper layers are flooded. Also on the top and bottom layers of a conductive path for removing heat, the board, a copper band is laid out under the frame edge and the and a shield for both electromagnetic retainer, serving as both a thermal connection for heat transfer and radiation and TID from the space an electrical connection to ground the board frames. environment. Figure 2 A worst-case steady-state thermal analysis was performed Circuit boards with their associated frames stack on an 18 W board and an integrated SPACE-104 stack (see together as shown in Figure 3. The boards Figure 4). Devices with significant power dissipation were are held to the frames by a retainer modeled directly, and the power of other components was (shown in red). The edges of the accounted for through even distribution across the board. aluminum frames are stepped Assumptions central to the analysis were that conduction was to provide an interlock be- the only form of heat transfer in the system and that the base tween neighboring frames plate would be held to 40 °C. Taking a conservative approach, that serves as an EMI gasket. NASA engineers modeled the system with relatively low contact The frames have vent holes, pressures at the frame/board, frame/frame, and frame/end cap which are also stepped for EMI connections. The results of this analysis show that even in the protection. The venting holes case of maximum power output, none of the components exceed Figure 3 serve two purposes: their maximum operating temperature of 125 °C. n To vent pressure on the ascent phase of space missions n To serve as an attachment point for a disassembly tool

The circuit board frames and end caps form an enclosure for the stack. Bolts pass through the stack and are threaded into the end caps, holding the assembled stack together. The end caps have tabbed feet for mounting the assembled stack to a base plate. One end cap also serves as a mounting surface for power converters.

To ensure rigidity of the stack, NASA engineers performed finite element analysis at both the board and stack levels. Loads that envelope the Delta II and Delta IV launch environment with margins for safety were applied to the model. Engineers mod- Figure 4 eled loads of 45 g on all axes to determine maximum deflections and Von Mises stress. In all cases, deflections were small enough to eliminate risk of any problematic contact. Calculated stresses Electrical and power design were consistently well within the tensile strength of the mate- The electrical standard for SPACE-104 is the same as PCI-104 with rial. Modal analyses performed on a board and stack revealed only minor modifications. The 32-bit PCI bus running at 33 MHz the first mode for the board was 140 Hz, while the stack level is supported. An optional second 120-pin connector can be added analysis calculated a first mode of 194 Hz. Typically in space to support 64-bit bus transfers if desirable. The second connector systems, a fundamental frequency above 100 Hz will not affect can also provide additional interstack user-defined I/O. A serial surrounding systems. I2C bus is also defined for low rate system health and status.

Thermal design The power module converts an external supply voltage, typi- In the vacuum of space, heat energy generated by avionics can cally 28 Vdc for spacecraft, to PCI-supported levels (3.3 V, 5 V, be removed through conductive and/or radiant transfer. Within a ±12 V). Space for power conversion and conditioning is provided SPACE-104 stack the primary method of thermal management by an end cap, where converters are mounted, and is conductive cooling. The power dissipated by electronics will the adjacent circuit board. A power connec- generate excessive temperatures that may damage electronics tor is used to bring down-converted or reduce device life if not conducted away. Devices mounted voltages into the conditioning to circuit boards are the heat sources in the stack. A thermally board, and then the stan- conductive circuit is created from device die to package, circuit dard PCI connector is board, board frame, and eventually the base plate, which must used to drive the power be maintained at a temperature low enough to ensure device rails for the PCI bus. temperatures do not exceed manufacturer ratings. Figure 5 shows the end cap of a power module design. To improve the heat flow within the stack, materials with high The adjacent power condition- thermal conductivity and preferably a large thermal cross- Figure 5 ing board is not pictured.

34 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors Next steps in development Acknowledgements Initial SPACE-104 hardware has been developed at NASA and The ongoing SPACE-104 development has been successful through continues to mature as additional analysis and testing proceed. the efforts of Kevin Laferriere, Kevin Somervill, Charles Boyer, Figure 6 shows a completed SPACE-104 stack. Mechanical Kevin Kempton, Kaitlin Keim, Benjamin Nesmith, and others at designs, structural models, and thermal models have validated a the NASA Langley Research Center. NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) provided the initial funding for this stackable solution for space systems. The next step is disseminat- effort through the Reconfigurable Scalable Computing (RSC) ing information about SPACE-104 to a broader community for project. feedback and then formally documenting this approach through a public standard. It is also envisioned that the avionics community can share the engineering effort, designs, and models used to Dr. Robert F. Hodson is the chief develop SPACE-104 to reduce nonrecurring engineering costs on engineer of the Electronic Systems Branch future government and commercial projects. Finally, a standard at NASA Langley Research Center. He is for space avionics will facilitate interoperability among vendors, the principal investigator on the Recon- allowing system designers more flexibility in the design of future figurable Scalable Computing project, space systems. ➤ which developed the SPACE-104 form factor. Robert’s expertise is in computer architecture and avionics. He holds a dual BS degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Connecticut, an MS in Computer Engineering from the University of Central Florida, and a PhD in Computer and Information Science from Florida State University.

To learn more, contact Robert at:

NASA Langley Research Center M/S 488 Hampton, VA 23681 E-mail: [email protected] Figure 6 Website: www.larc.nasa.gov

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PC/104 and Small Form Factors Winter 2006 / 35 p

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1 o 0 t 4 c a a f nd m ¸ sm l for Dual core packs Falling or rolling? al Mini-ITX with punch Here’s how to tell EDITOR’S CHOICE Packing more processing in a MEMS accelerometers get smaller and smaller, targeting PRODUCT smaller space is vital to success devices such as microdrives and handheld consumer electronics. Predictions for many applications. Mini-ITX indicate more than 1.5 billion devices will ship by 2010. A new generation motherboards continue to increase of devices is combining small size, light weight, and low power with better in density and processing power, programmability. while still offering a small The LIS302 sensors provide three axis motion sensing in a tiny 3 mm x 5 mm footprint for embedded designs.

x 0.9 mm plastic package. With power consumption around 1p mW, these devices

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/ r 1 The G5C100-N-G Mini-ITX motherboard measure acceleration of ± 8 g, and feature an SPI/I2C digital interface and o 0 t 4 c a utilizes the Mobile Intel 945GM Express chipset supported under two independent programmable a f nd m ¸ sm l for Intel’s Embedded Architecture program. It accepts a wide performance range interrupt signals. With these al of Intel mPGA 479 packaged processors including the Intel Core Duo processor, interrupts, either two different giving it dual core processing power without an increase in footprint. With other states or two different thresholds EDITOR’S CHOICE

p PRODUCTS c s onboard features including dual GbE ports, eight USB can be monitored, giving the / r

1 o 0 t 4 c 2.0 ports, two SATA ports, and graphics and audio, it device more flexibility for a a f nd m packs the right performance punch for many embedded designers to distinguish between ¸ sm l for al applications. states such as free fall and rolling. EDITOR’S CHOICE ITOX www.itox.com RSC# 31471 STMicroelectronics

PRODUCT www.st.com RSC# 32036 p

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1 o 0 t 4 c a a f nd m ¸ sm l for al EDITOR’S CHOICE PRODUCTS

RSC# 3601 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc RSC# 3602 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc

36 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors RSC# 37 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc 2007 BUYER’S GUIDE BitsyX General Standards Corporation ...... 42 Applied Data Systems ...... 39 Mesa Electronics ...... 44 Micro Technic A-S ...... 44 COM Express Micro/sys, Inc...... 44 Congatec ...... 39 MOXA Technologies, Inc...... 44 EEPD North America, Inc...... 39 Octagon Systems ...... 44 PEAK-System Technik GmbH ...... 44, 45 Development Environment RAF Electronic Hardware ...... 45 Freescale Semiconductor ...... 39 RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc...... 45, 46 SCIDYNE ...... 48 EPIC SECO ...... 48 Arcom Control Systems, Inc...... 39 Signal Forge, LLC ...... 48 Diamond Systems Corporation ...... 39 Signalogic, Inc...... 48 Technologic Systems ...... 48 Kontron ...... 40 WinSystems, Inc...... 48 Lanner Electronics Inc...... 39 Woodhead ...... 48 Micro/sys, Inc...... 40 Zendex ...... 48 WinSystems, Inc...... 40 PC/104-Plus ETX Aaeon ...... 49 ADLINK Technology, Inc...... 40 Asine Ltd...... 49 AEWIN Technologies Co., Ltd...... 41 Axiomtek ...... 49 Congatec ...... 41 DIGITAL-LOGIC AG ...... 49 Kontron ...... 41 EMAC, Inc...... 49 VersaLogic Corp...... 49 ETX-PC/104 Western DataCom ...... 49 ACCES I/O Products, Inc...... 41 Zendex ...... 49

ETX/XTX PCI-104 Ampro Computers, Inc...... 41 Acrosser Technology ...... 49 RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc...... 50 Mini PCI Evalue Technologies Inc...... 41 RTOS Ardence, Inc...... 50 Mini-ITX ITOX Applied Computing ...... 41 SoC iWave Systems Technologies Pvt Ltd ...... 50 PC/104 ACCES I/O Products, Inc...... 42 Testing Advanced Digital Logic, Inc...... 42 Agilent Technologies ...... 50 Aprotek, Inc...... 42 Arcom ...... 42 XTX Diamond Systems Corporation...... 42 Congatec ...... 50

38 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors 2007 BUYER’S GUIDE PC/104 and Small Form Factors

BitsyX Development Environment

Applied Data Systems Freescale Semiconductor Model: BitsyXb Model: DEMO9S08QD4 RSC No: 32005 RSC No: 31775 The DEMO9S08QD4 is a demo board for the MC9S08QD4 8-bit MCU featuring 32-bit, 520 MHz Intel a high level of integration and 5 V support within a compact, 8-pin package PXA270 RISC processor for a variety of small appliances • Application development is quick and easy with • Graphics: video interface the integrated programmer/debugger tools (USB-BDM) and software (CodeWarrior) up to XGA (1024 x 768) color LCD interface included • A 32-pin connector allows connecting the DEMO9S08QD4 board to an (driven by the PXA270) • Backlight connector expanded evaluation environment • MC9S08QD4 MCU, 8 PDIP Socketed • 4 kB flash • 256 bytes with PWM + ON/OFF controlled by software RAM • 4 kB inputs • 4 GPIO, 1 input only, 1 output only • Internal Oscillator Trimmable to 0.2 percent • 4- or 5- wire resistive touch screen inter- • 1-channel, 16-bit, timer/pulse width modulator • 2-channel, 16-bit, timer/pulse width modulator face (Burr Brown chip, 10 bits) • BitsyXb with • 4-channel, 10-bit analog to digital converter • 32 kHz, internal clock source • Low-voltage detect Intel PXA270, power-stingy product provides with reset or interrupt • Integrated USB-BDM • BDM_PORT header for BMD cable support (not dynamic (variable) speed and voltage regula- installed) • 5 V or +3.3 V operation tion, five low-power modes, and is ideal for www.freescale.com handheld, wearable, and unmanned apps • Five low-power modes • Intel PXA270 processor • Dynamic speed • Power-stingy • Windows CE or Linux, software up to API EPIC EPIC • Quick capture vision sensor interface

www.applieddata.net Arcom Control Systems, Inc. Diamond Systems Corporation BitsyX • COM Express Development Environment EPIC Model: Zeus-PXA270 SBC Model: Poseidon EPIC SBC RSC No: 30044 RSC No: 31795 COM Express An ultra-low-power, Poseidon is a high- EPIC-size single board performance EPIC single board Congatec computer based on the Intel 520 MHz computer combining a state-of-the- PXA270 XScale RISC processor • Is an imple- art CPU and peripheral technology with high Model: conga-B945 mentation of the ARM-compliant, Intel XScale accuracy data acquisition on a single board RSC No: 32045 microarchitecture combined with a compre- • Low-power PC/104-Plus expandable SBC Dual Core COM Express hensive set of integrated peripherals, including with choice of 1.0 GHz VIA Eden ULV or module with dual-channel a flat-panel graphics controller, multiple high- 2.0 GHz VIA C7 CPUs • 400 MHz FSB with up to memory support • The conga-B945 speed serial ports, USB controller, interrupt 512 MB DDR2 DRAM • Fully featured, including features the latest Intel Core Duo processors controller, and real-time clock • Up to 128 MB Gigabit Ethernet, CRT, and LVDS support, up to 2x 1.66 GHz with 2 MB shared cache of soldered SDRAM • 64 MB of flash • 256 kB USB 2.0, 4 serial ports, and SATA/IDE • Data • It offers a rich feature set including 3x1 of battery-backed SRAM • Display controller: acquisition features include 32 16-bit A/D PCI Express and 1x16 PCI Express graphic TFT/STN/LVDS flat-panel support up to 800 x 600 with autocalibration, 4 12-bit D/A, 24 DIO and lanes • Dual-channel memory support pro- in 24-bit color • Network: Dual 10/100BASE-TX two counter/timers • Extremely rugged, with vides top of the line DRAM performance • The Ethernet controller (Davicom DM9000A) • USB: soldered RAM and fanless -40 °C to +85 °C “basic” version, based on the COM Express Dual USB host ports – v1.1 and USB v1.1 client operating temperature at 1.0 GHz type 2, measures only 95 mm x 125 mm port • Serial ports: seven serial ports – three www.diamondsystems.com • Pins and mechanics are defined at the RS-232 (one RS-485), one RS-422/485 port PICMG COM Express specification • The for wireless modem, port for GPS and IEEE conga-B945 features Gigabit Ethernet via 802.15.4/ZigBee • Expansion: PC/104, SDIO, and the COM Express connectors to enable fast CF+ (CompactFlash) • I/O: Eight buffered digital communication links • RoHS • Two serial ATA inputs/eight buffered digital outputs (+5 V Lanner Electronics Inc. drives can be connected as fast mass storage tolerant), CANbus, and I2C • PSU: Wide-input Model: EM-9761 devices • 8x USB 2.0, 2x SATA, 3x PCI Express DC power supply (10-30 V) • Industry-standard RSC No: 31779 lanes, PCI Express graphic, PCI, I2C EPIC form factor with easy-to-use connectors EPIC Via Luke www.congatec.us www.arcom.com single board computer with VGA, LCD, Audio, Mini PCI, USB, COM, Ethernet, and CompactFlash • Onboard VIA Luke/Luke-lite processor with integrated graphics controller EEPD North America, Inc. • Supports 2-channel 24-bit LVDS LCD Model: P45 COM Express RSC No: 30231 • 10/100M BASE-T Ethernet and AC’97 Audio A COM Express module • Intel Core Duo processor T2500 and the Mobile • Type I/II CompactFlash socket • 4 COMs/1 Intel 945GM Express chipset • Integrates graphic functions to support TV, analog parallel / 4 USBs/1 IrDA • PC/104-Plus and VGA, serial DVO interfaces, and LVDS display interfaces • Ethernet connectivity options • Six x1 Mini PCI expansion slot PCI Express lanes • Up to 4 GB memory • High-definition AC’97 audio with S/PDIF output, line in, line out, www.lannerinc.com mic in, CD in, and headphone out • Two serial ATA interfaces, one parallel ATA interface, and eight USB 2.0 ports • Customized and OEM versions available upon request • Lead-free design www.eepd.com

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EPIC EPIC EPIC

Kontron WinSystems, Inc. Micro/sys, Inc. Model: EPIC/PM Model: Low Power EPIC SBC Model: SBC4685 RSC No: 30248 RSC No: 25683 RSC No: 30134 A member of the Kontron EPIC The EPX-C3 single board A Celeron EPIC computer for GUI applications SBC family • Intel Pentium M 745 1.8 GHz, computer provides a processor- • Ready-to-run Celeron/Pentium III multimedia 2 MB L2 (Dothan) • Intel ULV Celeron M 373 and I/O-intensive solution for demanding computer • 400, 650, or 700 MHz • Color flat- 1.0 GHz, 512 kB L2 (Dothan) • Intel Mobile applications in robotics, COTS/military, panel support; AC’97 audio interface • Quad Celeron processor 600 MHz, 0 kB L2 transportation, pipeline, and machine control serial ports • Dual 10/100BASE-T Ethernet • • Intel 855GME/ICH4 chipset with integrated • AMD Geode GX500 @ 1.0 W processor Dual USB • CAN bus interface • CompactFlash Intel Extreme Graphics 2 engine 2 x 32 MB • x86-compatible, EPIC-compliant (4.5" x 6.5") connector • EPIC form factor • PC/104 and VRAM UMA – driving independent panel SBC • 32 to 512 MB of system PC2700DDR PC/104-Plus expansion • Boots DOS, Windows XP/CE, VxWorks, and Linux • 2 x DDR RAM SODIMM for up to 2 GB SDRAM supported in a 200-pin SODIMM • 4 x COM (1 x RS-232/DSUB and 3 x RS-232 socket • 10/100 Mbps Ethernet and two www.embeddedsys.com interface with 1 x RS-422/485) • 6 x USB 2.0 USB 2.0 ports • 4X AGP, video controller with (4 x external, 2 x internal) • Dual 10/100BASE-T CRT and LVDS flat-panel support • 48 bidir- Ethernet and 9 x GPIO • CRT and LCD/LVDS ectional TTL digital I/O lines • Four RS-232 and DVO interfaces • Motherboard-type serial ports with FIFO, COM1, and COM2 with ETX front with 5.1 sound, keyboard, mouse, LPT, optional RS-422/485/J1708 support • Two dual 4 x USB, 2 x LAN, COM, VGA • PC/104 (ISA) Ultra DMA/100 EIDE hard drive connectors • ADLINK Technology, Inc. and PC/104-Plus (PCI) expansion • Long-life Bidirectional LPT port supports EPP/ECP Model: ETXexpress-IA533 availability • Supports Windows CE, Windows XP embed- RSC No: 25297 www.kontron.com ded, Linux, and other x86-compatible operating systems such as VxWorks and QNX • -40 °C to A Pentium or Celeron M ETX module +85 °C operating temperature range • Intel 915GM chipset • PCI Express/PCI/LPC • Gigabit LAN, SATA, USB2.0 • LVDS/SDVO/ www.winsystems.com TV-out • Dual-channel DDR2-533 www.adlinktech.com EPIC • ETX

RSC# 40 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc

40 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors 2007 BUYER’S GUIDE PC/104 and Small Form Factors

ETX ETX-PC/104

AEWIN Technologies Co., Ltd. ACCES I/O Products, Inc. Model: CM-6120 Model: NANO I/O Server rSC No: 30354 RSC No: 31613 A small embedded motherboard for industrial I/O using both ETX CPUs and PC/104 An AMD Geode-based modules • Wide range of CPUs up to 1.8 GHz Pentium M • Small size – 120 mm x 125 mm module with SOM-ETX form (4.72" x 4.92") • Full PC/104-Plus I/O expansion • Four rear-mounted USB 2.0 ports • VGA, PS/2 mouse factor • Contains an AMD and keyboard • One RS-232 and one RS-232/422/485-selectable COM ports • 10/100 Ethernet LAN Geode LX800 500 MHz processor • Flat-panel, IDE, and CompactFlash support and AMD Geode CS5536 companion www.accesio.com device • One 200-pin DDR SODIMM socket supports up to 1 GB • 10/100 Mbps Ethernet interface • Supports CRT, TTL TFT/LVDS LCD, and TV-out interface • AC’97 audio • 2x SATA, ETX/XTX 1x Ultra ATA-133, 1x CompactFlash www.aewin.com.tw Ampro Computers, Inc. Model: XTX and ETX COMs RSC No: 30219 Rugged and nonrugged ETX and XTX modules • ETX 802 is for rugged, high-performance applications that require full notebook-style power management Congatec • ETX 700 is a rugged, mid-performance processor module with networking and high-performance Model: conga-E855 graphics in a modular format • ETX 610 is a low-cost, low-power Geode LX 800 module with ACPI RSC No: 32038 support for nonrugged applications • XTX 800, a new form factor, is a modular, ultra-high-performance COM that plugs into the existing ETX baseboard • XTX 820 is a small, ultra-high-performance product The conga-E855 is based on for applications requiring full notebook-style power management • XTX 830 is a small, ultra-high- ETX spec 2.7 and can be easily performance dual core processor module • A choice of CPUs ranging from 1.8 GHz Pentium M 745 to

integrated into any existing ETX design 500 MHz Geode LX 800 to CoreDuo T2500 2.0 GHz • Either ISA and PCI or PCI Express 4 x 1, PCI and ETX • ETX-PC/104 ETX/XTX Mini PCI Mini-ITX • Intel Celeron M 600 MHz up to Intel LPC (XTX 820, XTX 830) • Choice of four USB 1.1 (ETX 700), four USB 2.0 (ETX 610, ETX 802), or six Pentium M 745 1.8 GHz, 2 GB memory USB 2.0 (XTX 800, XTX 820, XTX 830) • 10/100BASE-T Ethernet; excellent OS support • Both rugged • Intel Celeron M 600 MHz up to Intel and nonrugged modules available Pentium M 745 1.8 GHz • Max 2 GB DDR333 • 2x EIDE • PCI, ISA, I2C • 10/100BASE-T www.ampro.com • 4x USB 2.0 • Floppy/LPT • 2x COM (TTL) • Keyboard/mouse • Integrated graphics, EPI support • CRT/LVDS 1x18/TTL/TV-out • Max 1024x768 • AC’97 Rev. • Line in, line out, mic Mini PCI • ACPI 2.0 • Board controller • TPM 1.1 option www.congatec.us Evalue Technologies Inc. Model: ECM-3711 RSC No: 31778 3.5" VIA CN700 Eden V4 1 GHz micro module • Onboard VIA Eden V4 1 GHz CPU • VIA CN700 VT8251 chipset • One SODIMM up to 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM • 2-channel Kontron LVDS, dual view • 5.1 channel audio • Dual Realtek RTL8111B PCIe Gigabit LAN • 1 Mini PCI, type I/II CF • 2 SATA, 2 COM, 4 USB 2.0, 16-bit GPIO • Single power input Model: ETXexpress-CD • Fanless operation RSC No: 30225 www.evalue-tech.com ETXexpress is the module concept of the new open standard COM Express by PICMG • With Intel Core Duo processor and Intel Core Solo pro- Mini-ITX cessor • Two serial ATA for high-speed drives, eight USB 2.0 for fast peripherals • Up to five PCI Express x1 lanes and PCI Express graphic ITOX Applied Computing x16 lanes • GbE for high connectivity Model: G5C100-N-G rSC No: 31797 www.kontron.com G5C100-N-G Mini-ITX motherboard with Mobile Intel 945GM Express chipset supporting the Intel Core Duo and Solo processors, as well as the Intel Celeron M processor in PGA479 • Optimized for the Intel Core Duo processor featuring dual core architecture • Up to 4 GB of DDR2 533 MHz or 667 MHz dual-channel memory in two 200-pin SODIMM sockets • Dual onboard PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller • VGA (2048 x 1536) and LVDS digital flat-panel (1600 x 1200) interfaces featuring Intel GMA 950 graphics • Two serial ATA interfaces and one Ultra ATA 100 interface • CompactFlash Type II socket www.itox.com

PC/104 and Small Form Factors Winter 2006 / 41 2007 BUYER’S GUIDE PC/104 and Small Form Factors

PC/104

ACCES I/O Products, Inc. Diamond Systems Corporation Model: USB-CTR-15 RSC No: 31344 Model: GPIO-MM USB/104 digital module provides 15 independent counter/timers • High-speed RSC No: 30419 USB 2.0 device, USB 1.1 compatible • 15 independent 16-bit counter/timers A highly flexible and (5 x 82C54-10) • Clock, gate, and output signals from all 15 channels buffered and reconfigurable PC/104 digital accessed via one connector • PC/104 module size (3.550" x 3.775") and mounting compatibility I/O module based on a Xilinx • Standard configuration adapter preconfigured for event counting, frequency measurement, pulse Spartan II FPGA • Provides width measurement, or frequency generation • Removable screw terminal board for easy wiring • User 64 digital I/O signals, 10 16-bit counter/ wiring adapter card provided for flexible yet easy counter concatenation/configuration • Rugged, timers, and the ability to reconfigure in the small-sized (4" x 4" x 1.25") steel industrial enclosure • OEM (board only) version available field • Uses onboard flash memory to store www.accesio.com FPGA code • Memory may be reprogrammed using a JTAG interface • Initial release of the module includes FPGA code to configure GPIO-MM with 48 programmable-direction digital I/O pins based on 8255 cores, eight Aprotek, Inc. fixed-input signals, eight fixed-output signals, Model: #8XX0 Series Modems RSC No: 30221 and 10 16-bit counter/timers based on 9513 cores, supported by a 40 MHz clock • Three Data/fax modems deliver performance and quality for applications that require dial-up pin headers provide a total of 100 I/O pins modem functions • Conexant chip technology assures the highest connect speeds over • Onboard EEPROM provides 256 bytes of varying line conditions • 8-bit PC/104 bus • Full AT command set/S registers • Caller ID • +5 V-only user-accessible storage, typically used for operation • Four industry-standard COM ports, jumper-selectable, with IRQ 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 9 • Two-year configuration information • Extended operating warranty • Lifetime customer support temperature range of -40 °C to +85 °C www.aprotek.com www.diamondsystems.com

General Standards Corporation Diamond Systems Corporation Model: PC104P-24DSI12 RSC No: 32074 Model: Janus MM 12-channel 24-bit delta-sigma PC104P analog input board • 12 differential 24-bit analog RSC No: 30420 input channels • Delta-sigma converter per channel, with linear phase digital antialias An expansion module that filtering • Sample rates from 2 kSps to 200 kSps per channel • 100 dB dynamic range to 100 kSps incorporates dual CAN bus • 93 dB SINAD • Low power consumption – 6 W typical • Only +5 Vdc required from PCI bus • Also interfaces and optional GPS available on PMC, PCI, and CompactPCI and/or wireless modem capa- www.generalstandards.com bility on a single board • Utilizes only a single slot in a PC/104 stack • Enables the creation of compact, vehicle-based applications that can communicate on the Arcom vehicle network, determine the vehicle’s location, and exchange information with a central Model: Viper PXA255 SBC RSC No: 31783 location • Applications can be found in trucks, The VIPER is an ultra-low-power PC/104-compatible SBC based on the Intel 400 MHz buses, trains, delivery vehicles, police cars, PXA255 XScale RISC processor • Low-profile, industry-standard PC/104 form factor • All soldered ambulances, and fire trucks • Can be used memory for improved reliability • Battery-backed SRAM for high-speed nonvolatile storage • Available with a Diamond Systems Prometheus, Athena, in standard and wide operating temperature versions • Available with ready-to-run operating system Hercules, Morpheus, or Poseidon CPU card or development kits • Ultra-low-power for battery operation any of the dozens of PC/104-expandable single www.arcom.com board computers available today in PC/104, EBX, EPIC, or other form factors www.diamondsystems.com

Advanced Digital Logic, Inc. Model: MSM800SEV RSC No: 25331 An embedded computer board based on the new AMD processor Geode LX800 on a PC/104 board size • Runs with a fanless AMD Geode-LX800 CPU • 500 MHz • 256 MB DDR RAM, max. 1 GB • Incorporates PC/104 USB V2.0, graphic, LAN, and the possibility of expandable functions via PC/104-Plus (ISA and PCI) • Up to three parallel displays (VGA, DVI, LVDS) may show three similar or two different pictures • Two serial interfaces available as V24/RS-232C • Video controller supports 240 x 320 quarter-TFT-VGA up to high-definition resolution 1080i • Maximal 16 MB video memory is UMA shared with DDR-RAM • 10/100BASE-T LAN-Ethernet • COM1, COM2, LPT1 • RTC and watchdog timer • AC’97 sound interface (in and out) • Single 5 Vdc power supply • PC/104-Plus bus connector www.adlogic-pc104.com

42 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors RSC# 43 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc 2007 BUYER’S GUIDE PC/104 and Small Form Factors

PC/104

Mesa Electronics Octagon Systems Model: 4C81 PC104-PCI CPU RSC No: 31108 Model: XMB-1 A low-cost, low-power ARM-based PC104-PCI CPU • Designed for networked RSC No: 31692 applications, features two 10/100base-T Ethernet interfaces and a slot for a Wi-Fi card Rugged computer with expandable or other Mini PCI device • Type 3 Mini PCI for wireless/modem • Optional Spartan 3 I/O and fanless operation • CPU: VIA Eden FPGA for custom I/O • 32 MB RAM, 32 MB flash, Linux, or NetBSD ESP • COM 1: RS-232, 8-wire • Processor www.mesanet.com speed: 733 MHz or 1.0 GHz • COM 2: RS-232 8-wire, RS-422/485 4-wire • BIOS: Gen- eral software, AT compatible • LPT1: no • Watchdog timer: 10, 60 sec • USB ports: 4, rev. 2.0 compliant; 2 internal rev. 1.1 • Boot Micro Technic A-S flash (BIOS): 512 kB • Digital I/O: 24 lines, Model: Blackbird RTU RSC No: 30228 bit programmable • SDRAM supplied: 128, 256, A unique combination of GSM/GPRS modem and I/O signals in one basic low-power or 512 MB • Ethernet: Two 10/100BASE-T PC (386 to Pentium) system • RTU/data-logger with GSM/GPRS modem • SMS messages, • PCI bus: 33 MHz • PC/104 • ISA bus: 8.33 MHz alarms, and inquiries • TCP/IP over GPRS – always online • Control via AT commands • PC/104-Plus • Front side bus: 133 MHz • Free data-logger software, EagleLog • One RS-232 port (standard COM port) • CPU available • Power: 8-36 Vdc input, 2.5 A max. @ 24 V from 386 to Pentium class • DIN rail mountable sheet metal chassis • Integrated I/O: Eight • OS included: no • Temp. range: -40 °C to 85° C digital inputs, opto-isolated; seven digital outputs, opto-isolated; eight isolated analog inputs, • Embedder kits: Linus and XPe • Shock: 40 g, 12-bit • Wide temperature range: -20 °C to +70 °C • PC/104 architecture system • Low power 3 axis • EIDE hard drive: 2 • Vibration 5 g, 3 consumption, low cost axis • CompactFlash: 1 or 2 GB option • Size (inches): 6" (W) x 4.2" (H) x 10.8" (D) • CRT: www.micro-technic.com 1920 x 1440 • Size (mm): 152.4 x 106.68 x 274.32 • Flat-panel: LVDS • Mini PCI: 1 • Keyboard/ mouse • PS/2 www.octagonsystems.com Micro/sys, Inc. Micro/sys, Inc. Model: SBC1491ET Model: SBC1586 RSC No: 30722 RSC No: 15979 Ready-to-run 486/586 computer Compact PC/104 footprint PEAK-System Technik GmbH • Small PC/104 format • DiskOnChip, • Low-Power Pentium, 166 or Model: PCAN-ISA-PC/104 64 MB RAM • Onboard accelerated VGA 266 MHz • Up to 256 MB SDRAM RSC No: 30247 • COM1, COM2, KBD, mouse • 10BASE-T • CompactFlash connector • Four serial An adapter that makes it Ethernet port • PC/104 expansion • -40 °C to ports • One USB port • 10/100BASE-T Ethernet possible to use and operate +85 °C operation available • PC/104 expansion PC/104 cards in PCs with an ISA www.embeddedsys.com www.embeddedsys.com slot • Can be used to operate multiple PC/104 cards by plugging them in one above the other • Screw terminals can be used to tap into the various voltage supplies on the MOXA Technologies, Inc. MOXA Technologies, Inc. card (±5 V, ±12 V, and GND), while four control LEDs display the status • Contacts for the Model: CA-104 Model: CA-132/132I multipoint connector on the PC/104 bus are RSC No: 31784 RSC No: 31785 also fed out on the underside of the mother- CA-104 is a 4-port RS-232 PC/104 PC/104, 2-port RS-422/485 multiport board • A PCI to PC/104-Plus version available multiport serial board that meets the serial boards • Works with PC/104 CPU boards • Two-layer motherboard with gold-plated embedded PC standard • Works with PC/104 that accept the PC/104 expansion interface ISA contacts • PC voltages may be tapped via CPU boards that accept the PC/104 expansion • Two RJ-45 ports and optional DB9 or DB25 screw terminals • LED status display • PC/104 interface • Four RJ-45 ports and optional connection cables • On-chip hardware flow contacts fed out on motherboard backplane DB9 or DB25 connection cables • Built-in control • Built-in 15 kV ESD surge protection www.peak-system.com 15 kV ESD surge protection • Jumper and • Jumper and DIP switch selectable IRQ, DIP switch selectable IRQ, I/O settings I/O settings • Onboard Tx, Rx LED indicators • Onboard Tx, Rx LED indicators for each port for each port • Supports RS-485 ADDC • Works perfectly with all major operating (Automatic Data Direction Control) intelli- systems • Drivers provided for all major gence • Built-in termination resistors operating systems enabled by DIP switch PC/104 www.moxa.com www.moxa.com

44 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors 2007 BUYER’S GUIDE PC/104 and Small Form Factors

PC/104

PEAK-System Technik GmbH RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc. Model: PCAN-PC/104 CAN Model: Autonomous SmartCal and Analog I/O rSC No: 30242 RSC No: 24818 SmartCal dataModules and analog I/O • 12-bit or 16-bit resolution A/D and D/A PC/104 CAN card • 1 or converters • Fast operating system and driver-independent, multirange autocalibration 2 channel including drivers by onboard DSP (< 300 bms) • 1 k/8 k FIFOs for data buffers and channel-gain table • 16/32 single-ended for Win98SE/ME/NT/2000/XP/ or 8/16 differential inputs with programmable gains of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, or 64 • Versatile triggering for LINUX • LabVIEW driver, QNX advanced sampling, including SyncBus for multiboard simultaneous sampling • Analog input ranges: optional • Baud rate settings up to 1 Mbaud ±5, ±10, +10 V; analog output ranges: ±5, +5, ±10, +10 V • High-speed McBSP serial port interface to • Two can be configured totally independently dspModules • aDIO with event and match interrupts and three 16-bit user timer/counters • Critical SJA1000 CAN controller with 16 MHz clock analog layout and precision low-drift parts yield excellent low-noise characteristics • Windows, frequency • 82C251 CAN transceiver • CAN bus Windows CE, DOS, Linux, and various RTOSs • Architecture: PC/104, PC/104-Plus, and PCI-104 connection via Sub-D, 9-pin (to CiA DS102-1) • Operating temperature: -40 °C to +85 °C • Hardware can be reset via software • Mul- www.rtdusa.com tiple PC/104 cards can be operated in parallel (interrupt sharing) • Choice of 14 different port addresses and eight different interrupt addresses • Optional: electrical isolation to 500 V • The card package includes software RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc. and sources for in-house programming Model: Communications Modules RSC No: 19361 • Samples in VB, C, C++, C#, VB.NET, DELPHI 10 Mbps and 10/100Base-T Ethernet adapters • Single- and dual-channel www.peak-system.com boards available • Supported connections: RJ-45 twisted pair, MT-RJ fiber, 10Base-2, and AUI • Most Ethernet utility modules also support network booting for diskless environments www.rtdusa.com PEAK-System Technik GmbH Model: PCAN-PC/104 Power RSC No: 24819 PC/104-compatible power packs • PC/104 switch-mode power pack with max. 5 A output current at an output voltage of 5 V • Input voltage range: 9 - 35 V (9 - 55 V for the PC/104 Power II versions) • Integrated protective circuit in the event of defective output voltage • Integrated, temperature-dependent PWM output for ventilator fan hookup • Choice of two different startup modes • Digital versions only: software-driven power-down available, temperature monitor and six digital inputs available www.peak-system.com

RAF Electronic Hardware Model: Male-Female Stacking RSC No: 30218 Male-female stacking spacers that help overcome space limitations that may occur PC/104 when PC/104 or PC/104-Plus bus drives are installed • Nylon or aluminum (mating screw and hex nut available for either material) • Length: 0.600"; diameter 3/16"; round and hexagon profiles • 3/16" long, 4-40 male thread on one end • 1/4" deep, 4-40 internal thread depth • Precision manufactured for perfect fit www.rafhdwe.com

RSC# 45 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc

PC/104 and Small Form Factors Winter 2006 / 45 2007 BUYER’S GUIDE PC/104 and Small Form Factors

PC/104

RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc. RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc. Model: cpuModules RSC No: 19384 Model: Frame Grabbers Intel Celeron, VIA Eden, AMD Geode, and Intel 486DX processors operating and Video Controllers and from 66 MHz to 1.0 GHz • Up to 512 MB onboard, surface-mount SDRAM, real-time Video Input/Output clock, and watchdog timer • Power consumption as low as 4.5 W • RTD Enhanced RSC No: 30241 AMI BIOS with Fail Safe Boot, USB boot, quick boot, ACPI 1.0, APIC, and nonvolatile CMOS settings Frame grabbers and video controllers without battery • MultiPort – BIOS selectable parallel port, floppy, 18-bit aDIO with match/event/ • Philips SAA7133HL video decoder with strobe interrupts and bit masking • SVGA display controller supporting TTL or LVDS flat panel Philips SAA6752HS MPEG encoder • Philips • BIOS-selectable USB 2.0, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, RS-232/422/485 serial, AC’97 audio, keyboard/ SAA7146A multimedia bridge with Samsung mouse, EIDE controller supporting UltraDMA 100 • Two-pin socket for DiskOnChip, SRAM, flash, S5D0127 video decoder • 30 FPS video capture EPROM, or ATA/IDE Flash Disk Chip • Advanced thermal management with thermal throttling, auto fan with NTSC input and 25 fps with PAL/SECAM control, and temperature monitor for CPU and board temperature • Windows, Windows CE, DOS, Linux, inputs • Fully licensed hardware MPEG-2 and various RTOSs • Architecture: PC/104 and PC/104-Plus • Operating temperatures: • -40 °C to +85 °C compression • Stereo audio input and output – IDAN, HiDAN, HiDANplus • -40 °C to +85 °C – 400, 733, 1,000 MHz • -40 °C to +80 °C – 650 MHz channels • Dual independent channels support www.rtdusa.com capture of simultaneous A/V input streams with opto-isolated digital I/O for camera control • PCI video controller with 4 MB integrated video memory and ISA video controller with RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc. 1.5 MB integrated video memory • TTL digital flat panel, DVI, or analog VGA interfaces Model: Digital I/O Controllers RSC No: 30238 with 1600 x 1200 maximum output resolution Bit or byte programmable advanced digital I/O • Digital I/O with advanced interrupts • BIOS support for broad range of flat-panel • Pattern match interrupt and bit change interrupt • 16-bit counter/timers • Pulse width types • Windows, Windows CE, DOS, Linux, modulator • Incremental encoder • MOSFET, opto-isolated, and relay I/O • High-voltage/ and various RTOSs • Architecture: PC/104 and high-current I/O • Drivers and example programs • Windows, Windows CE, DOS, Linux, and PC/104-Plus • Operating temperature: -40 °C to various RTOSs • Architecture: PC/104 and PC/104-Plus • Operating temperature : -40 °C to +85 °C +85 °C video controllers; 0 °C to +70 °C frame www.rtdusa.com grabbers www.rtdusa.com

RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc. RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc. Model: dspModules RSC No: 20930 Model: Rugged Systems DSP accelerators/coprocessors with RTD dspFramework SDK • 500 MHz /1 GHz TMS320C6416 at 4000/8000 MIPS • 250/300 MHz TMS320C6202 at 2000/2400 MIPS RSC No: 30240 • 200 MHz TMS320C6713 at 1600 MIPS/1200 MFLOPS • JTAG emulator connector • All IDAN, HiDAN, HiDANplus, DSP resources accessible from PCI bus • Watchdog timer • Boot from PCI or onboard flash • 32, 128, or and FieldPad systems and 256 MB SDRAM • 2 MB flash • PCI-104 or PC/104-Plus compliant form factor • Rugged passive heat sink computers with standard PC or • Operating temperature -40 °C to +85 °C user-defined MIL-C-38999 I/O www.rtdusa.com connectors • Structural heat sinks and heat pipes for fanless operation • High impact- resistant milled aluminum construction using 6061 Temper-T6 alloy with clear chromate coating • Integrated tongue and groove ORing RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc. RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc. for environmental sealing and EMI suppres- Model: Power Supply and UPS Modules Model: Wireless Telematics sion • Breather valve to equalize internal RSC No: 20984 RSC No: 20933 and external pressure • 100-pin stackable board-to-board I/O signal raceway • Quick High power capacity of Siemens MC35 dual-band interchangeability using any combination of 30 W to 100 W • Wide input 900/1800 MHz GSM engine RTD PC/104, PC/104-Plus, and PCI-104 modules voltage range • Reverse polarity, • Siemens MC45 tri-band 900/ • Custom wire harnesses and customer- transient, short circuit, and over- 1800/1900 MHz GSM engine defined I/O connectors • Many mounting load protection • High efficiency at full • Triorail TRM:1 tri-band GSM-R/900/ options for customized integration • Optional load with models that exceed 90 percent 1800 MHz engine for railway systems MIL-SPEC paint, shock-mount, and cooling • Low input ripple current for enhanced • GPRS multislot class 8/class 10, mobile fins • Windows, Windows CE, DOS, Linux, and reliability • Filtered avionics power supplies station class B • 12-channel Fastrax iTrax02 various RTOSs • Operating temperatures: PC/104 • Remote ON/OFF operation • Low output ripple GPS receiver • SMS and SMS cell broadcast -40 °C to +85 °C IDAN, HiDAN, and HiDANplus voltage • Input ranges: 8-32, 18-36, 33-72, and • NMEA and binary protocols • 4G Atherus systems; -20 °C to +70 °C industrial and tactical 16-50 Vdc • Available output voltages are AR5004 WLAN chipset • 3.3 V and +5 V antenna FieldPad with panel +5, -5, +12, -12, and +3.3 Vdc • Available output support • Up to 85.6 kbps downlink speed • power is 30 W, 50 W, 75 W, 83 W, and 100 W 2.4, 4.8, 9.6, 14.4 kbps data rate • Output power www.rtdusa.com • Operating temperature -40 °C to +85 °C class 4 (2 W) GSM900, class 1 (1 W) GSM 1800 www.rtdusa.com www.rtdusa.com

46 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors RSC# 47 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc 2007 BUYER’S GUIDE PC/104 and Small Form Factors

PC/104

SCIDYNE Signalogic, Inc. Model: GPIO-104 Model: SigC641x-PTMC RSC No: 31493 RSC No: 23534 PMC form factor • Adds modular functionality to PCI, CompactPCI, or VME boards Analog I/O and digital I/O in a single • 4" x 6" • PICMG 2.15 compatible, including GbE port on PN4 • 10/100 front-panel interface low-cost module • Eight 12-bit multirange • PCI 32/33 interface directly to processors • Support for PTMC configurations 2, 3, and 5 • Scalable, analog inputs (±10 V, ±5 V, +5 V, +10 V) • Up including processors and power consumption • Stand-alone capability, including boot flash EEPROM to 100 kSps throughput • Self-timed or user- • Flexible reprogrammable logic options controlled acquisition • Four 12-bit multirange www.signalogic.com analog outputs (±5 V, +5 V, +10 V) • 24 digital I/O channels using familiar 82C55 chip • Interrupts fully support sharing and access to all PC/104 bus IRQs • Single +5 V power requirement Technologic Systems www.scidyne.com Model: TS-7300 RSC No: 31792 TS-7300 high-security Linux FPGA SBC with 1.69 seconds fast bootup to Linux • 200 MHz ARM9 CPU with 32-128 MB SDRAM • User-programmable Altera 2C8 Cyclone II FPGA with reprogram Linux utility • 10 RS-232 serial ports (more possible if SECO TTL only) • 55 DIO ports (up to 35 TS-XDIO capable on FPGA) • Two 10/100 Ethernet ports, 2 USB Model: M685R CM&PM-ATI M9 2.0 compatible OHCI ports (12 Mbps max) • TS-VIDCORE VGA video-out wit 8 MB dedicated video RAM RSC No: 31776 • Matrix keypad and text mode LCD support • Two SD card flash sockets • Optional Linux-supported ETX Celeron M and Pentium M USB 802.11g Wi-Fi transceiver, optional battery-backed real-time clock • 1.8 W power (CPU/SDRAM full with ATI M9 graphic controller for speed, Ethernet on but unplugged, all serial ports on, and with default FPGA bitstream) • OS bootloader high graphic performances • Chipset: starts in under half a second, 1.69 seconds boot time (to Linux shell prompt) Intel 855GME • DRAM: up to 1 GB DDR RAM www.embeddedarm.com on SODIMM modules supporting 200, 266, 333 MHz • Graphic controller and video: ATI M9 controller with 64 MB integrated video DDR memory • VGA video output • LVDS double-channel video output • USB: WinSystems, Inc. 4 x USB 2.0 serial ports: 2 x RS-232 full modem Model: PCM-MIO rSC No: 30336 (TTL signals) • Parallel: LPT bidirectional EPP A high-density analog and digital PC/104 I/O card that operates from -40 °C to or ECP • Ethernet: Fast Ethernet 10/100BASE-T +85 °C • Two standard configurations available: 16-bit A/D, 12-bit D/A, 48 DIO or • IDE interface: ATA-133 channels 12-bit A/D, 12-bit D/A, 48 DIO • No adjustment potentiometers or calibration needed • Software- www.seco.it programmable interrupt configuration • Free software drivers in C, Windows, and Linux • Conversion speed: up to 100 kSps, throughput about 85 kSps (processor dependent) • Analog input ranges: 0-5 V, 0-10 V, ±5 V, and ±10 V • 48 bidirectional TTL-compatible DIO lines with 24 capable of event-sense interrupt generation Signal Forge, LLC www.winsystems.com Model: Signal Forge 1000 RSC No: 31492 A signal generator that provides the Woodhead capabilities of a sweep generator and a function generator • 1 GHz Frequency Range Model: SST Profibus PC/104 RSC No: 31782 • AC-coupled output for RF testing • Differential Brad Communications SST PC/104 card connects a PC/104-based application and digital outputs for testing clock-based (PC control, HMI/OI/SCADA) to PROFIBUS DP • OPC Server, DLL driver, and diagnostic systems such as serial interface ICs • Sine software • Supports PROFIBUS master DP-V1 class 1 and 2, PROFIBUS master DP-V0 class 1 and 2, and square wave generation • Waveform PROFIBUS slave DP-V0 and FDL Layer 2 protocols • Connect a PC/104-based application to PROFIBUS modulations include: FM, AM, frequency DP • 9.6 kbps to 12 Mbps supported • PC/104 cards available for other industrial networks including sweep, FSK, ASK, OOK, arbitrary • Small form DeviceNet, Control, and DH+/RIO • Other bus formats supported including PCI, CompactPCI, PCMCIA, factor (8.5" x 5.6" x 1.5") USB, and VME www.signalforge.com www.woodhead.com

PC/104 Zendex Model: ZXE-855 RSC No: 31986 The ZXE-855 is a multipurpose full-function single board computer aimed at the high-performance embedded market, designed to deliver the rich visual multimedia experience • Intel P4 M or Celeron M up to 2 GHz with the Intel 855 chipset • 6x USB 2.0 USB ports, 10/100 Ethernet • 2 XGA video ports • Full passive I/O backplane • Supports Windows XP, 2000, XP Embedded, and Linux • Low profile, low noise, low power, and a fully passive backplane zendex.com

48 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors 2007 BUYER’S GUIDE PC/104 and Small Form Factors

PC/104-Plus

Aaeon DIGITAL-LOGIC AG Model: PFM-550s Model: MPCX47 RSC No: 25105 RSC No: 32076 Waterproof Mini PC suitable for applications in vehicles, ships, trains, and airplanes, Onboard VIA Mark processor • Supports in the outdoor area (sports, military, construction, tunneling, surveying, and alignment) for multimedia 18-bit TTL and 18/36-bit LVDS TFT LCD • 2 COM/ PCs and multidisplay systems (vending desks, advertising panels, checkout systems, POS, and POI) 4 USB ports • 10/100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet • 1.4 GHz Intel Pentium M 738 processor • i855GME chipset • 2,045K L2 cache • 512 MB DDR RAM • Supports Type I CompactFlash • PC/104-Plus (optional 1 GB) • Two PS/2 ports for keyboard and mouse, and interfaces for printer, COM1, and expansion bus • +5 V only operation COM2 • Stereo line in/outputs • Microphone and headphone connector • 20 GB 2.5-inch hard disk www.aaeon.com • 10/100BASE-T (RJ-45) or WLAN 802.11b/g • PC/104-Plus extension socket • CompactFlash Type II slot • Offers a series of opto-isolated input/output ports • Available with GPS and GSM option • Windows XP, QNX, and Linux • 10 Vdc to 30 Vdc • 0 °C to +50 °C standard operating temperature, -40 °C to +50 °C extended • 300 mm x 160 mm x 66 mm www.digitallogic.com Asine Ltd. Model: ASR3104 RSC No: 31786 Rugged PC/104-Plus system • Pentium M EMAC, Inc. Zendex • Full MIL-STD airborne and automotive Model: PCM-3116 Dual Slot Model: ZXE-UFE/104P • USB 2.0, RS-232/422/485, 1553, ARINC 429, MiniPCI Module RSC No: 31985 CAN • Fibre Channel, 1 GbE, FireWire 1394 RSC No: 22976 The Zendex ZXE-UFE/104P is a • Windows 2000/XP/9X/CE, Linux/RT/ Supports two Mini PCI devices PC/104-Plus add-on card that provides Embedded, VxWorks, RT kernels • Up to • High-performance PC/104-Plus • Compliant high-speed USB 2.0, IEEE 1394 FireWire, and 180 GB removable flash disk with PCI version 2.1 • Ideal for wireless and 10/100 Mbps Ethernet connections for any www.asinegroup.com wired network expansion • For use with PC/104-Plus application • Four USB 2.0 ports Linux, Window 98, XP, 2000, and CE operating • Two IEEE 1394 FireWire ports • One 10/100 systems Ethernet port • PCI interface (master) for fast www.emacinc.com connectivity • Standard 0.1" headers optional Axiomtek for all ports • Fully PC/104-Plus compliant zendex.com Model: AX12270 RSC No: 32017 VersaLogic Corp. A PC/104-Plus form factor CPU module Model: Puma with low power and fanless VIA V4 Eden CPU PCI-104 • PC/104-Plus form factor • Low power and RSC No: 30337 fanless VIA V4 Eden CPU • 256 MB of onboard New low-power draw, RoHS-compliant DDR2 memory • USB Disk on Module • +5 V PC/104-Plus single board computer featuring Acrosser Technology only power input the AMD GX500 • High-performance video: Model: AR-B1622 www.axiomtek.com analog and LVDS flat-panel outputs for 18- and RSC No: 31787 24-bit displays • Network support: 10/100 Low-power PCI-104 AMD LX800 Ethernet • Four USB 2.0 ports • CompactFlash CPU with CRT/LCD, LAN, PCI-104, socket • Fanless operation: no moving parts 4 x COM, 4 x USB (2.0) • Low-power PCI-104 PC/104- required for CPU cooling • Watchdog timer 500 MHz CPU • Supports 24-bit and 18-bit VersaLogic Corp. provides hardware-level safety control for LVDS LCD • LCD inverter power connector application runaway conditions • Three COM Model: Cheetah • Supports 3.3 V and 5 V LCD • 4x RS-232, ports (1-RS-232, two RS-422/485) and one LPT RSC No: 30338 4x USB 2.0, PCI-104 expansion port with SPP and enhanced modes A high-performance PC/104-Plus www.versalogic.com www.acrosser.com Plus SBC featuring the 1.6 GHz Pentium M • Extreme Graphics 2 video: high-speed rendering and MPEG-2 support • SODIMM • PCI-104 Memory Socket accommodates up to 1 GB of Western DataCom DDR RAM • Onboard sound, two USB 2.0 ports, two COM ports (one 422/485/232 configurable), Model: MobileCom XE RSC No: 31777 IDE interface • TVS protection, which provides EVDO CDMA cellular modem • PC/104-Plus design operates on Sprint, Verizon, or any enhanced ESD resistance • CompactFlash cellular carriers supporting speeds of 3.1 Mbps down and 1.8 Mbps speeds up • Cisco 3200 socket • Embedded BIOS • 400 MHz compatible • CDMA WVDO Rev. A data throughput 1.8 Mbps to 3.1 Mbps • Power requirements 4 Vdc processor-side bus provides improved to 40 Vdc • Environmental operating temperature -40 °C to 85 °C system throughput www.western-data.com www.versalogic.com

PC/104 and Small Form Factors Winter 2006 / 49 2007 BUYER’S GUIDE PC/104 and Small Form Factors

PCI-104 SoC

RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc. iWave Systems Model: RTD Pentium M RSC No: 32009 Technologies Pvt Ltd Pentium M and 1.0 GHz Celeron M processors – Pentium M internal L2 cache: Model: iW-86SOC 2 MB – Celeron M internal L2 cache: 512 kB • 256 or 512 MB 333 MHz surface-mount RSC No: 31796 DDR SDRAM with single-bit error correction and double bit error detection (ECC) • RTD enhanced iW-86 SoC design AMI BIOS with USB boot, quick boot, APIC, and nonvolatile storage of CMOS settings without battery provides instruction set • MultiPort – BIOS selectable parallel port, floppy, 18-bit a DIO with match/event/strobe interrupts and compatibility to 80186 bit masking • BIOS-selectable USB 2.0, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, RS-232/422/485 serial, AC’97 audio, type design with multiple keyboard/mouse, EIDE controller supporting UltraDMA 100 • LVDS flat-panel and analog SVGA control- peripherals fit in to a single ler with 3D accelerator and 64-bit AGP graphics accelerator • 32-pin socket for onboard ATA/IDE flash Spartan-3 series FPGA • Multiprotocol serial drive • Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology reduces CPU speed and core voltage when idle • ACPI controller equivalent to Z8530 • 8254 program- 2.0 power suspend modes featuring wake from aDIO, Ethernet, power button, USB, or RTC • Advanced mable timer • PCI Host/Master/Target control- thermal management enabling thermal throttling, auto fan control, and temperature monitor for CPU ler with on-chip memory • Peripheral/Memory and board • Windows, Windows CE, DOS, Linux, and various RTOSs • Operating temperatures: -40 °C to bus interface • iW-86 CPU core with bus inter- +85 °C IDAN, HiDAN, HiDANplus; -40 °C to +85 °C, 1 GHz; -40 °C to +75 °C, 1.4/1.0 GHz face unit, bus arbitration unit, wait control unit, www.rtdusa.com refresh control unit • CPU on-chip peripherals • Programmable 16-bit timer similar to 8254 • Serial controller unit similar to 8251 • Interrupt controller unit similar to 8259 • DMA controller RTOS unit similar to 8237 www.iwavesystems.com Ardence, Inc. Model: Phar Lap ETS RSC No: 24196 The Phar Lap ETS real-time operating system provides system designers Testing with the most reliable, highest performing, and easy to deploy hard real-time development environment • Based on x86 architectures, ETS offers a com- Agilent Technologies prehensive suite of tools that smoothly integrate into the well-known Microsoft Model: N4903A Visual Studio IDE – minimizing development and debugging time • With support for all standard RSC No: 30432 BIOS implementations and the industry’s smallest operational footprint, the Win32 API compliant Phar Lap ETS RTOS enables developers to install, configure, and start developing within 2-4 hours A serial bit error ratio tester • ETS has proven itself in thousands of demanding environments, such as: multimedia streaming • Performs jitter-tolerance solutions, ocean vessel location systems, submicron scanning systems, and RFID products • Real-time testing, J-BERT, at rates up to 12.5 Gbps File System: high-speed media access with FAT16 and FAT32 support • Fully Win32 compliant: no need • Provides built-in and calibrated jitter to use code wrappers for API mapping • Complete IA32 x86 support: 386, 486, Pentium I, II, III, 4, 4 Multi- composition for stressed eye testing of core, M, Xenon, as well as AMD CPUs • Smallest operational footprint: < 500 kB with I/O graphics and receivers with sources for PJ, RJ, BUJ, ISI, TCP/IP • Support for all standard BIOS implementations: including ACPI compliant PIC and uniproces- and sinusoidal interference • Complex serial sor APIC • Integrated WinSock compliant real time TCP/IP stack: fully Windows independent patterns can be analyzed, and multiple line www.Ardence.com/Embedded/RTX.htm training sequences can be simulated • Built-in clock data recovery • Spread-spectrum clock- ing • Accurate characterization evidenced by supporting and displaying the cleanest eye diagrams, with 20 ps transition times and 50 mV analyzer sensitivity • Supports PCI Express, SATA, Fibre Channel, FB-DIMM, CEI, GbE, and XFP www.agilent.com Saving power with suspend-to-RAM XTX Designers are being pressed more and more to find and implement energy-saving solutions. Too many embedded systems spend time idling when they should be saving power by sleeping. While some boards implement power-saving functions, without the right software, they can be difficult Congatec to access and manage. Model: conga-X945 VersaLogic’s Puma PC/104-Plus platform with the AMD GX 500 has recently been enhanced with the addition of RSC No: 32043 General Software’s Embedded BIOS2000. Features include a very fast 85 ms POST, which minimizes boot time, Dual Core XTX embedded CPU module with PCI-104 • RTOS SoC Testing XTX

p and suspend-to-RAM (ACPI S3), which manages creation of a RAM image allowing the four PCI Express lanes and SATA – XTX

c s

/ r 1 system to sleep, wake up, restore power to all onboard components, and resume exactly module with Intel Core Duo processor • The o 0 t 4 c a where it left off. The Puma consumes less then 1 W of power in Suspend-to-RAM mode conga-X945 features the latest Intel Core Duo a f nd m ¸ sm l for – fantastic news for battery-operated and low-power applications. processors up to 2x 1.83 GHz with 2 MB shared al General Software, Inc. cache • It offers all XTX features including EDITOR’S CHOICE www.gensw.com 4x x1 PCI Express lanes PRODUCT RSC# 32035 www.congatec.us

50 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors p

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1 o 0 t 4 c a a f nd m ¸ sm l for al EDITOR’S CHOICE PRODUCTS RSC# 51 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc PC/104 and Small Form Factors Winter 2006 / 51 RSC# 52 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc OpenSystems Publishing™ OpenSystems Publishing

Advertising/Business Office 30233 Jefferson Avenue St. Clair Shores, MI 48082 Tel: 586-415-6500 n Fax: 586-415-4882 ADVERTISER INFORMATION Vice President Marketing & Sales Patrick Hopper [email protected] Page/RSC# Advertiser/Product Description Business Manager Karen Layman 30 A cces I/O Products, Inc. – Analog, Digital, Relay and Serial I/O Products 22 Advantech Corporation – SOM Modules Sales Group Dennis Doyle 56 Ampro Computers, Inc. – Embedded Solutions Senior Account Manager 3501 Aprotek, Inc. – PC/104 Modems [email protected] 7 Arcom Control Systems, Inc. – ZEUS Tom Varcie Account Manager 31 Axiomtek – Embedded Small Form Factors [email protected] 2 Diamond Systems Corporation – Poseidon EPIC SBC Doug Cordier Account Manager 43 DIGITAL-LOGIC AG – Microspace PC/104-Plus Family [email protected] 13 Embedded Planet – AMCC PowerPC 405 Processor Barbara Quinlan Account Manager 19 Excalibur Systems, Inc. – Avionics Communications [email protected] 21 GE Fanuc Automation Americas, Inc. – Embedded Systems Andrea Stabile 3601 ICP America, Inc. – GoPC-Mobile Advertising/Marketing Coordinator [email protected] 55 Jacyl Technology Inc. – PC/104 FPGA Circuit Boards Christine Long 33 Kontron – ETXexpress Modules E-marketing Manager [email protected] 47 LiPPERT Automationstechnik GmbH – Embedded PC’s

5 Micro/sys, Inc. – CPU Boards 37 Microbus Inc. – Elcard Wireless LAN Modules Regional Sales 3502 MPL AG – MIP470 PowerPC Board Jane Hayward Regional Manager – California 601 MPL AG – MIP405T PowerPC Board [email protected] 45 Radian Heatsinks – EZ Snap Mounting Clips Phil Arndt Regional Manager – East Coast 3602 Radicom Research, Inc. – PC/104 Modem [email protected] 1501 RAF Electronic Hardware – Electronic Hardware Richard Ayer Regional Manager – West Coast 28 RTD Embedded Technologies, Inc. – HighRel PC/PCI-104 [email protected] Modules and Systems 602 SCIDYNE – PC/104 Peripherals 26 Sealevel Systems, Inc. – PCI and PC/104 Serial Solutions International Sales Stefan Baginski 40 Sensoray Co., Inc. – PC/104, PC/104-Plus Solutions European Bureau Chief 51 Servo Halbeck GmbH – POSYS Motion Controllers [email protected] 17 Technologic Systems – Tiny WiFi Controller Dan Aronovic Account Manager – Israel 52 Toronto MicroElectronics, Inc. – Embedded Computer Solutions [email protected]

9 Toronto MicroElectronics, Inc. – Peripherals/5831 1502 Toronto MicroElectronics, Inc. – DVR301 Reprints and PDFs 23 Tri-M Systems Inc. – PC/104 Multitech Socket Module Carrier Board Call the sales office: 586-415-6500 27 Tri-M Systems Inc. – Two-channel, Multi-protocol Adapter 12 VersaLogic Corp. – Embedded Applications 11 WDL Systems – Embedded Products Source 3 WinSystems, Inc. – Fanless EBX 733 MHz P3 www.smallformfactors.com/rsc Rugged SFFs ... Windows ate my homework ... and why I won’t buy another iPod

I hate seeing good technology tossed out, so four years ago I purchased a used IBM Rugged SFFs: an iPod’s not a good choice 233 MHz Pentium 2 MMX PC for use as a home music server. At the time, the On pages 24 and 25 you’ll note our snapshot of Small Form Factor (SFF) machine was already surplus, so this tower storage doodads. Of course, an iPod can also store stuff – in either flash is now about 8 years old – an eternity in (Shuffle, Nano) or disk (Mini, G4 Photo, G5 Video) versions. And according to PC years. In fact, the machine originally the commercials, they’re pretty rugged. All offer a disk mode so you can save shipped with a unique-to-IBM version of regular files on the device plus music. But my year-old, just-out-of-warranty Windows 98, but I had upgraded it to a $400 G4 Photo iPod recently died at my desk, taking all my files with it. I used bare-bones version of Windows XP and it as a backup device, taking home critical files just in case the office PC erupted while it was sluggish, it still ran well in flames some day. enough for remote desktop to manage But an iPod is not a “regular” disk. It has an OS, firmware, a boatload of Apple the disks. It’s a tank-like machine, with a proprietary code, and an impenetrable plastic case – so nix the idea of yank- key locking case, and PCI slots and bays ing the hard disk and using SpinRite or other recovery software. Worse, I had aplenty. failed to encrypt the files so sending the unit out for repair would expose all our corporate files to the repair shop. Sadly, my iPod is a write-off.Word to the Of course, the stable XP Pro on this wise: don’t use an iPod as a rugged SFF disk. I didn’t find it very rugged, nor machine was way before Windows XP SP2, recoverable when something went terribly wrong. widespread malware, zombie computers, Windows Genuine Advantage, and monthly OS updates. Madly trying to delete unnecessary As I write this, I’m frantically moving programs during the install like a brush files across the LAN from the old IBM Unused for a while, I recently decided to firefighter with too small a shovel, I could to one of my other machines for fear the boot it to see if it even worked anymore. tell it was a losing battle. The updates Windows Update process will soon crip- After scrounging around for peripherals would soon exceed the disk size (couldn’t ple the machine. Sure, I could remove (who uses PS/2 keyboards and mice these Microsoft have figured that out before the disks or even reinstall Windows XP days?) it booted “headless” and I could it started downloading?). I was forced to on a bigger disk, but I’d still have a slow navigate across the LAN to the 200 GB abort the process mid-install, for fear I CPU trying to cope with an OS in an era worth of four shared drives via Network would trash the OS entirely and lose access it wasn’t designed for. Neighborhood. I was so excited at the to the shared disks. So much for winning prospect of bringing these disks back the battle; clearly I was losing the war. I think this is finally the excuse I need to online and hearing some forgotten tunes give Linux a try. I’ve been studying SUSE that I decided to play it safe and update Of course, this isn’t Microsoft’s fault, and Ubuntu Linux distributions for months XP to SP2 et al before I connected it to though some readers would rush to blame and know how efficiently Linux runs on the Internet for good. Bad decision. the good folks from Redmond. In the two an older, low-resource machine. As soon and a half years since I last updated this as I finish emptying those disks across the After downloading some 56 Microsoft machine the Internet has moved – as a LAN, I’ll feel comfortable saying good- updates since 2004 it was clear that my recent Consumer Reports article stated – bye to the old Windows-based IBM, and then-massive 4 GB “C” drive could no from the Old West to more like gangland hello to a “new” Linux-based machine. longer hold the OS. Think about it: the Chicago in the Al Capone era. All these Like I said, I hate throwing things out. upgrade from Win98 to XP (SP1) had run updates and patches are required and part fine within some 2 GB, but the upgrades, of doing business on the Internet with a patches, and fixes to obtain XP SP2 – and PC. Even Apple has released an unprec- all the other patchware for things like edented number of updates to OS X this Chris A. Ciufo Outlook Express and Windows Media year, so evidently the Mac isn’t a much PC/104 and Small Form Factors Audio – exceeded the original OS plus safer option either. (But just in case, I have www.smallformfactors.com all of the applications on the disk. a Mac server, too.) [email protected]

54 / Winter 2006 PC/104 and Small Form Factors RSC# 55 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc RSC# 55 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc RSC# 56 @ www.smallformfactors.com/rsc