Help for a VME Noobie

[swb1]

Hi,

I need to replace an old VME circuit card due to obselete parts and have no clue where to begin this design. In doing a VME board design, where would you suggest I start?

Thanks,

swb1

 

[MacGyverS2000]

You could start by asking useful (i.e., specific) questions... some may start by hiring someone else to do it.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[itsmoked]

Yikes..

If you have to ask.. You have a large uphill battle before you. It would probably be smart to spend a day searching for an off-the-shelf solution. You could save your company a year of labor by finding something that will work or can be made to work.

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[swb1]

Thanks for your replies! Right now the board that we want to replace is a 6U single board computer that serves as the master in a small chassis that has 5 vme slots where we can place custom interface target cards. This chassis is used as a test suite where we can put custom user test code to debug and test our custom interface cards. Need some guidance as to how to go about looking for an off-the shelf replacement for this 1980's 6U single board computer and bring our new test suite into the new millenium Your thoughts are appreciated!

 

[IRstuff]

Surely, you jest. There must be dozens of manufacturers still around, like CW:

http://www.cwcembedded.com/P/5/3/75.html#6uppc

If you want to replace the chassis as well, then probably National Instruments might a good place to start.

Caveat: both of the above are pricey, so shop around.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[benta]

I would look around for a finished board as well. Kontron might be a possibility.

If all else fails, you need to study the Motorola/Freescale 68000 bus interface first, VME is based on that.
Then you need to find datasheets on obsolete support ICs:
68230
68194
68901

Good luck.

Benta.

 

[swb1]

Thanks for your response. I checked out CW. Our current setup has a Synergy 6U VME single board Computer installed as a bus master with a Xycom XVME-100 Memory Module installed in the chassis, so that we can switch between different test programs that we run to test different interface adaptor cards. What we would like to accomplish is to be able to do away with our old setup and get an updated 6U single board computer, while maintaining our capabilities to be able to switch between the different test programs that we use to test our interface boards. Would the DMV-184 be a good choice? What do I need to pay attention to? Your thoughts are appreciated!

 

[IRstuff]

And how, pray tell, would I be able to do that? Isn't that something that your system designer should be doing? Your replacement needs to duplicate the exact functionality of the software you're running, neither of which you've described. Moreover, even with the same core processor, the peripherals may have sufficiently changed to warrant a spin on the software itself.

TTFN

FAQ731-376