Special Feature
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Bridging PCI to PCI: Filling in the missing elements
In the past, engineers had to make due with PCI-to-PCI bridge chips that only solved a portion of their embedded application design problems. However, Force’s universal, single-chip PCI-to-PCI bridge chip combines the functionality of an embedded...
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Powering CompactPCI systems - Dos, dont's, and common pitfalls
A CompactPCI system integrator may view the power supply as a ‘black box’ that just has to fill the allotted space when the whole system is already designed. This ‘box’ is expected to power the system, fit the budget, and otherw...
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Flexible connector systems from board to fieldbus
For a modern bus system such as CompactPCI to succeed and keep up with the ever-increasing range of products at the system end, having the proper components such as connectors, backplanes, boards, and housing systems readily available is a basic requir...
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What every engineer should know about standard packaging for VMEbus, VME64, VME64x, VIPA, and CompactPCI systems
IEEE 1101.1: Mechanical Core Specifications for Microcomputers Using IEC 603-2 Connectors IEEE 1101.10: Additional Mechanical Specifications for Microcomputers Using the IEEE 1101.1 Equipment Practice IEEE Draft P1101.11: Mechanical Rear Plug-in Unit...
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Thermal management of CompactPCI systems
Losing your cool is not uncommon when designing CompactPCI systems with redundant configurations and/or hot swap capability. With a limited amount of space in which to provide cooling fans, and with higher-than-ever component densities on CompactPCI bo...
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Using simulation to determine the optimum 66 MHz CompactPCI backplane slot count
In the past, simulation studies have played a vital role in developing both the 33 MHz PCI standard and the 33 MHz CompactPCI standard. Existing 33 MHz PCI bus interfaces have been run at 66 MHz with point-to-point signal connections between two devise...
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How to extend the CompactPCI backplane to 21 slots
Despite the rapidly growing popularity of the CompactPCI backplane standard, its acceptance has been hampered by the fact that a CompactPCI backplane only supports eight slots. In this article Drew explores this problem and then describes an innovativ...
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Techniques for reducing CompactPCI backplane EMI
The high-speed IC’s used in today’s high-performance CompactPCI systems inject high-current, high-frequency transients into the backplane’s Vcc and ground planes. Unless the backplane is designed to provide adequate high frequency de...
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Providing the foundation for hot swap: The mechanical requirements
Software is the most complex portion in the hot swap process, and many more CompactPCI manufacturers are focusing on this area. However, advances in hot swap software are of little value without a reliable mechanical foundation, and potential hot swap ...
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The quest for a new generation analyzer
The design and testing of a card for the CompactPCI bus is only the first part of the process of successfully integrating the card into a complete CompactPCI system. It is actually not the hardest part. Far more difficult, and more often than not inc...
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Prototyping with CompactPCI
So, your boss has given you your first CompactPCI design assignment and wants the board/backplane/software done yesterday. You’re pretty comfortable with PCI designs and high speed signaling, but CompactPCI is a bit new to you. What do you do?...
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Managing DC power transients in the design of CompactPCI backplanes
PCI technology (upon which CompactPCI bus is based) is a power-saving CMOS technology. While this does simplify some system design issues (such as thermal dissipation) it does not relieve the designer of the need to carefully design the DC power distr...
Christoph Adam, Force Computers
Manfred Schock, ERNI Elektroapparate GmbH
Ken DuBois, Rittal
Robert Cutler,
