150 DuBois St. Suite #3
Santa Cruz, Calif. 95060
(831) 457 8891 (831) 457 4793 Fax
Est. 1988


PCI - HARPOON


PCI-Harpoon Front View



PCI-Harpoon is a multi-functional board with capabilites for isolated measurement and control. The initial use of the PCI-Harpoon is to simulate - act as if the PCI-Harpoon was another piece of equipment. The simulation provides a means to test the rest of the equipment without requiring the real [expensive] asset. In addition the PCI-Harpoon can provide status and direct software control of the system.

The hardware is divided into 4 groups - channels. Each channel has the same capabilities and can function independently from the other channels.

Optical Isolation is used to allow for different ground potentials between the PCI-Harpoon and the connected equipment. 5 - 28V DC inputs are provided per channel. The limit resistor on each channel can be changed to provide alternate reference voltages. The base design has direct reister read status for each input. The FPGA can be updated to provide filtering, and/or operation in conjunction with the outputs using a state-machine.

High Side and Low Side Switches are provided. The High Side Switches provide switched power under software control. Each channel has two references that can be controlled with the 7 switches. Optically isolated FETs are utilized for the switching. 1.5A and 60V are the maximum values. The Low Side Switches use the same optically isolated FET and connect the external circuit to ground when enabled by software. The ground is referenced to the IO connector. The 4 channels can be isolated or tied together depending on system requirements.

RS-485 transceivers are provided for serial communication. The 6 transceivers per channel are matched length and differentially routed. Each transceiver has separate direction and termination controls. The termination control can switch in or out the 100 ohm parallel termination. Options for tri-state terminations are available along with the ability to default to a '1' or a '0' value on the differential lines.

The PCI-Harpoon can support multiple channels or group the transceivers together to make a parallel interface. The base design has a combined RX / TX capability. Three of the transceivers are allocated to RX, and 3 to TX on each channel. Data, Clock, and Enable are received to load new data into the PCI-Harpoon. Data can be automatically transmitted out based on the received Enable and Clock. A Master / Test mode feature is provided to allow local loop-back testing or to interface as a master for the bus. Interrupts are supported with programming options for the leading or trailing edge of the transmission.

Each channel has inputs to provide the testing of 115V AC. One 3 phase, and two single phase inputs are provided per channel. The 3 phase inputs can be used for 3 single phase signals if the nuetrals are common. The 115V inputs are transformer coupled [blue boxes in photo], rectified and tested to see if the 115V is present. The capacitor used with the DIODE bridge can be reduced in size to allow for frequency testing if that is desired. The output from the rectifier is optically isolated from the FPGA to provide protection.

PCI-Harpoon is a full size PCI card. The PCI interface is 32/33 and can support DMA. The base design is register accessed. The FPGA is a Xilinx Spartan 3 with plenty of uncommitted gates to expand capabilities and add new features. Windows® driver available. Cables, Breakouts, and custom cables available. Detailed Hardware and Driver manuals [PDF] available for download at the bottom of this page.

  • 1 year warranty
  • Quantity discounts available

    • PCI-Harpoon Features

  • Size
    		•  Full length PCI

  • Channels
    		•  Ports are organized as 4 channels per board

  • 28V inputs
    		•  5 - opto coupled 28V status inputs per channel [20 total]

  • High Side Switches
    		•  7 - opto coupled FET switches per channel 60V, 1.5A max [28 total]

  • Low Side Switches
    		•  4 - opto coupled FET switches per channel 1.5A max [16 total]

  • 115V detection
    		•  1 - 3 ph [common nuetral] and 2 - 1 ph [separate nuetral] 115V detectors per channel [20 total]

  • Differential IO
    		•  6 - RS-485 / RS-422 differential transceivers per channel. Each with programmable termination, direction and data. 40 MHz max rate. [24 total] Optional tristate level control with selective resistor packs and selectable 5V, GND on each side of the differential pair. Matched length routing.

  • Interrupts
    		•  INTA on PCI bus. Each channel can cause interrupts based on programmable configuration for serial or other ports.

  • Power
    		•  5V on PCI connector. Internal voltages generated on board.

  • PCI VIO
    		•  Universal Voltage design

  • IO Interface
    		•  4 - 50 pin Headers provided with 1 channel per header

  • Specification
    		•  PCI specification compliant

  • PLL
    		•  PLL plus FPGA DCM's can be programmed to provide accurate software controlled IO rates.

  • DIP switch
    		•  8 position switch are provided to allow for configuration control.

  • JTAG
    		•  JTAG connections are tied to a labeled header. FPGA programming can be updated in the field.


    PCI - Harpoon Benefits

  • Speed
    		•  The PCI-Harpoon offers PCI speeds and direct register access to each control or status bit

  • Price
    		•  The PCI-Harpoon can save you time and money with easy to use hardware available at a reasonable cost. Custom and off-the-shelf cable systems will help with a low overal system cost. Quantity discounts are available.

  • Ease of Use
    		•  The PCI-Harpoon is easy to use. The driver provides direct access to each of the functions on the PCI-Harpoon. Plug and Play operation with the software and a handy channelized register map for consistent software definitions. The engineering kit provides a good starting point for a new user.

  • Availability
    		•  The PCI-Harpoon is available from stock in most cases. Send in your order and in most cases have your hardware the next day - delivered to you via FedEx. If you need a custom version we can send the base model now, update the VHDL and send a new programming file that can be installed via the built in JTAG FLASH programming capability.

  • Size
    		•  The PCI-Harpoon is a full size PCI board. The width and height are compliant. The front side max component height is .473. The rear max component height is .195. The PCI specification allows .570 front size and .105 rear side. The PCI-Harpoon is within the standard on the front side. There is a minimum of .051 air gap in the PCI specification, meaning that the Harpoon is .039 into the next card´s space to the rear. Multiple Harpoon´s can be installed back-to-back. If the next card is .530 or less no interference will result on the back side. Most card designs do not come to the limit of the front side height.

  • PCI Compatibility
    		•  The PCI-Harpoon is PCI compliant. The PCI-Harpoon can be expected to work in any PCI compliant backplane. The PCI-Harpoon has been tested in multiple backplanes.


    Engineering Kits

    PCI-HARPOON-ENG-DEV
    Engineering Kit for PCI-Harpoon includes: Board level Schematics [PDF], Reference Software [WIN XP/2000 Driver Visual C ZIP file], (4)Ribbon Cable [HDRribn50] and (4)Breakout [HDRterm50]

    PCI-HARPOON-ENG-DRV
    Engineering Kit for PCI-Harpoon includes: Reference Software WIN XP/2000 Driver Visual C ZIP file]

    PCI-HARPOON-ENG-HW
    Engineering Kit for PCI-Harpoon includes: Board level Schematics [PDF], (4)Ribbon Cable [HDRcabl50], and (4)Breakout [HDRterm50]

    Customer Special Versions

    You must have Adobe Acrobat to read our PDF files.
    You can order these too or request that we design one for you

    PCI-Harpoon Base model
    Customer: The USN
    Download the Base Model Hardware manual
    Download the Base Model Windows® manual



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