9323 Hamilton Mentor, Ohio 44060 - USA Tel:+1-440-357-1400 Fax:+1-440-357-1416

Scientific Solutions ^® Inc.

BaseBoard ^® / PCI

Product Description

The BaseBoard / PCI provides flexible, programmable digital input/output for your computer.  From 96 up to 384 lines of TTL compatible digital I/O are added to your computer using a small low-profile PCI card that is installed in your computer.  The PCI card then connects to a convenient BaseBoard DeskTop Unit using a single quick-connect cable.  The DeskTop Unit contains circuitry providing 96 digital I/O connections with easy accessible front panel connections.  Up to four DeskTop Units can be connected to a single PCI card providing up to 384 digital I/O signals.  For even more digital I/O, you can install multiple BaseBoard / PCI cards in your system.

Existing customers of the BaseBoard / ISA will find upgrading to the BaseBoard / PCI an easy process.  The BaseBoard / PCI can run existing BaseBoard / ISA software without modification.  Also, the BaseBoard DeskTop Unit provides the same connection and pin out of the ISA product allowing you to use your existing cable arrangement.

The BaseBoard / PCI has hardware interrupt capability when handshaking configurations are enabled. Optional plug in opto-isolation boards provide both over-voltage protection to +2500V and buffer/driver capability to +30V and +80mA.

Our Solution Includes

• BaseBoard / PCI interface card for your computer
• BaseBoard / PCI DeskTop Unit
• Software including 
• DOS support to run your existing BaseBoard software without modification
• LabPac32 for Windows - Kernel Mode 32-bit Device Driver and LabPac32 Dynamic Link Library
• Test software and example programs
• On-line manual maintained and updated on Scientific Solutions web site

Key Features

• From 96 up to 384 lines of TTL compatible input/output with a single small PCI card
• DeskTop units provide easy quick-connect cable attachments
• Compatible with ISA version so users can upgrade to PCI without changing their software or cabling
• Multiple BaseBoard / PCI cards can be installed in your computer.  Four cards provide 1536 Digital I/O signals!
  
• I/O lines programmable in sets (ports) of 8
• Eight ports can be used with two-wire handshaking
• Four ports can be used as bi-directional I/O with four-wire handshaking
• Supports hardware interrupts
• Optional plug-in opto-isolation modules

Applications

• Energy Management
• Social-Psychological Research
• Physiological Experimentation
• Test and Measurement
• Process Automation
• Relay Control
• Switch On/Off Detection
• BCD Data Transfer
• Programmable Controller
• Stepper Motor Control

Functional Description

The Scientific Solutions BaseBoard / PCI adds up to 384 Digital I/O signals to your computer. The Digital signals are programmable as either Input, Output or Bi-directional and are typically used for process control or monitoring environments.

The Scientific Solutions BaseBoard / PCI consists of a small PCI card (Approximately 2” x 3”, 51mm x 76mm) that installs in your computer. This card has a single connector that is used to connect the card to an external BaseBoard Digital I/O DeskTop Unit. The DeskTop Unit is approximately 11” wide by 2” tall by 7” deep (280mm x 51mm x 178mm) and provides easy connection to the Digital I/O signals.

A single DeskTop Unit provides 96 Digital I/O connections. Up to four DeskTop units can be connected to a single BaseBoard / PCI card. Each additional unit adds another 96 Digital I/O signals.

• One PCI card + one external unit = 96 Digital I/O
• One PCI card + two external units = 192 Digital I/O
• One PCI card + three external units = 258 Digital I/O
• One PCI card + four external units = 384 Digital I/O

The BaseBoard / PCI is 100% software compatible with the original BaseBoard / ISA product. Also, the BaseBoard DeskTop unit provides the same connector and pin out as the BaseBoard / ISA. This permits users of the BaseBoard / ISA to upgrade to the BaseBoard / PCI with little or no change to their current wiring or software.

The BaseBoard Digital I/O lines are accessible from the front of the DeskTop Unit and are arranged in four groups of 24 lines. Each group has its own 40 pin connector which provides for direct connection of the Digital I/O to the outside world.  The 40pin connector is the same type and pin out of the BaseBoard / ISA product for compatibility with customers existing cable arrangements.  The DeskTop Unit is very versatile in its design and can be easily changed from the 40pin connector to a 50pin connector providing a connector and pin out compatible with industry standard solid-state relay racks.

Digital Input/Output (DIO)

The Digital I/O signals of the BaseBoard are addressed in groups of 24 lines and can be programmed for a number of different configurations:

• 24-Input
• 24-Output
• 8-Input / 16-Output
• 16-Input / 8-Output
• l2-Input / 12-Output
• 16-Input with strobes and handshaking
• 8-BiDirectional with strobes and handshaking / 8 Input or Output

All outputs are latched. Simple input is unlatched while strobed input is latched. The 24 bits of digital I/O are programmed through four locations. One location is a command register to configure the 24 lines. The three data locations are contiguous in the I/O space.

The BaseBoard / PCI fully supports the following Digital I/O modes:

• Mode 0 - Basic Digital Input and Output
• Mode 1 - Fully handshaked strobed Digital Input and Output
• Mode 2 - Fully handshaked strobed Bi-Directional Digital Input and Output

The BaseBoard / PCI is equipped with Dynamic Digital Buffering (DDB). This provides automatic digital buffering for ALL of the Digital I/O modes - mode0, mode1 and mode2. The DDB provides for 64/15ma of sink/source current while also providing advanced ESD and Over-voltage protection with fast 6nSec switching.

Signal Conditioning Modules

The BaseBoard / PCI can accommodate the same signal conditioning modules as used with the BaseBoard / ISA. These modules plug directly onto internal connectors of the DeskTop Unit.  The BaseBoard / PCI allows you to customize your setup by adding up to 4 modules of your choice. An unlimited array of modules can be created by the user including relay control, SCR, voltage control, etc.

Scientific Solutions offers multiple module options which are described on the following link:

Link to BaseBoard Modules

Interrupts

Hardware interrupts allow the computer's processor to react to special events when they occur. The BaseBoard / PCI provides software enabled sources for hardware interrupts using a handshake signal of the strobed or bi-directional I/O modes. This allows for externally connected equipment to "push" data into the BaseBoard / PCI registers which causes an Input Buffer Full (IBF) interrupt to occur.  In reaction to this interrupt, the application software can then retrieve the data.  Likewise, the BaseBoard can latch output data for external equipment and receive an interrupt when the external equipment has read the data (Output Buffer Full - OBF interrupt).  Interrupt levels are assigned automatically using the PCI Plug-and-Play feature.

System Resources

The BaseBoard / PCI occupies a single PCI slot and is a short low-profile board for today's smaller computer cases. The connection from the computer to the outside world is thru a single DB25 connector.

The BaseBoard / PCI occupies 16 (with a single DeskTop Unit) or 64 (with multiple DeskTop Units) locations in the I/O space of the computer. The address of the card is automatically assigned by the PCI Plug-and-Play BIOS of your computer and so there is no "address switch" to set.

For DOS users, Scientific Solutions provides a DOS setup program that allows you to set the card to a particular address that is required by your DOS software.

Besides the Base Address I/O space, the BaseBoard / PCI can also use Interrupt resources of you computer. These resources are automatically assigned by the PCI Plug-and-Play feature of your computer.

The BaseBoard / PCI provides 100% compatibility with the original ISA version. It adds features, but is a much smaller size for today's slim low-profile computers. The following picture compares the size of the original BaseBoard / ISA to the new BaseBoard / PCI card.

Technical Specifications