Isolated quad RS232 serial comms modules are rugged
More modules have been added to the AcroPack rugged I/O modules available from Acromag, as the company adds the AP512 module.
The modules are based on the PCI Express mini card (mPCIe) standard and the AP513 is a new isolated RS232 communication module. It has four individually isolated RS232 serial ports on a compact 30 x 70mm board.
Each port is isolated to 250V from digital circuitry and 100V from the other three ports. The isolation protects equipment and signal integrity in electrically noisy environments with potential for high common model voltages, harmful transient signals, and ground loops. Designed for COTS applications, these mPCIe mezzanine modules deliver a SWaP-optimised solution for military, aerospace, and industrial systems performing data collection, control, test, and simulation functions.
There is a variety of carrier cards available to host up to four AcroPack I/O modules on PCI Express, VPX, CompactPCI-Serial, or other small form factor computer platforms.
Software configuration helps users set baud rates, character-sizes, stop bits, and parity. For more efficient data processing, each serial port is equipped with large 256-byte FIFO buffers on the transmit and receive lines to minimise CPU interaction. Programmable triggers, extensive handshake support, interrupt controls, and a 16550-compatible UART provide additional flexibility, adds the company.
The AP513 can be used for high-density computing systems requiring a mix of I/O signal interfaces.
The AcroPack mezzanine modules improve on the mini PCI Express architecture by adding a down-facing 100-pin connector that securely routes the I/O through a carrier card without any loose internal cabling, explains Acromag.
Carrier cards for rack-mount, field-deployable, industrial chassis, desktop, and small mezzanine computing platforms allow user to combine up to four I/O function modules on a single computer board. More than 25 models are available for data acquisition, signal processing, test and measurement, command/control, and network communication applications.
Software tools support embedded applications running on Linux, Windows, or VxWorks operating systems.
