GE Intelligent Solutions PMC422/FP PMC serial, front I/O 8-channel connection

GE PMC422/FP
pmc	powerpc	v. 4.0
Market:	military and aerospace

The PMC422/FP provides a uniquely effective solution for integrating serial I/O requirements into a VMEbus or CompactPCI system. Implemented on a single PMC card, the PMC422/FP is fully compatible with the current generation of VMEbus and CPCI Single Board Computers, as well as any special purpose processor that includes a PMC connector. In addition, card edge PCI systems can be accommodated using GE Intelligent Solutions Embedded Systems' PMC239 adapter for rapid prototype and development.

• 8 general purpose inputs
• PMC/PCI form factor
• Eight ports routed to the front utilizing a 68-pin SCSI connector
• Data transfer in byte, word, and double-word
• Read/write burst operation
• Baud rate from 150bps - 6.25Mbps
• Selectable RS232, RS422 & RS485 (full duplex and half duplex)
• All ports fully independent (16C550 compatible registers)

Traditional single and multi-port serial interfaces place a high overhead on the host processor by requiring per-character-attention (i.e. each received and transmitted character generates interrupts and programmed I/O from the host). Seven features of the PMC422/FP remove this overhead:

• Data transfer in byte, word, and double-word, capable of read/write burst
• FIFO buffers to avoid data overrun (64 Bytes on each port)
• Transmit and receive FIFO level counters
• Automatic RTS/CTS or DTR/DSR flow control
• Automatic Xon/Xoff software flow control
• Interrupt source register for all 8 ports
• RS485 half-duplex control with selectable delay

Each of the two ports has individually programmable line drivers to set any of the most popular signaling types: RS232, RS422 and RS485 (full duplex & half duplex with termination or non-termination option). The signaling characteristics are set with on-board switches. The baud rate of each serial port is separately programmable: supported rates are from 150bps to 6.25 Mbps.

In addition, the PMC422/FP has a 16-bit general purpose timer/counter with eight general purpose inputs. The 8 bits can be set with switches on-board and read by the host. A total of 256 combinations are possible.

External connection

The PMC422/FP offers both front and rear I/O. The front I/O is a high density 68-pin connector which mates with a separate cable to provide standard connection to 8 DB-9 male connectors. For applications that require rear I/O, the ports are wired to the J4 connector of the PMC422/FP. Custom cables can be fabricated by GE Intelligent Solutions Embedded Systems on request.

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