Amplicon Liveline PCI230+ User manual

PCI230+ & PCI260+
PCI230+ & PCI260+
MULTI-FUNCTION
ANALOG AND DIGITAL
INPUT/OUTPUT
BOARDS
This Instruction Manual is supplied with the PCI230+/260+ to provide the user with sufficient information to utilise the
purchased product in a proper and efficient manner. The information contained has been reviewed and is believed to be
accurate and reliable, however Amplicon Liveline Limited accepts no responsibility for any problems caused by errors or
omissions. Specifications and instructions are subject to change without notice.
PCI230+/260+ Instruction Manual Part Nº 9605 2504 Issue A3
© Amplicon Liveline Limited
Prepared by N. Stubbs
Approved for issue by A.S. Gorbold, Operations Director

PCI230+ & PCI260+

PCI230+ & PCI260+
PCI230+ & PCI260+
MULTI-FUNCTION ANALOG AND DIGITAL INPUT/OUTPUT BOARDS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................6
1.1 The Amplicon 200 Series .........................................................................................................6
1.2 The Products Described in this Manual.....................................................................................6
1.3 Features of the PCI230+/260+ .................................................................................................6
1.4 General Description .................................................................................................................7
1.4.1 Enhanced Features...........................................................................................................7
1.4.2 The Hardware ...................................................................................................................8
1.4.3 The Software ....................................................................................................................9
1.5 What the Package Contains ...................................................................................................10
1.6 The Amplicon Warranty Covering the PCI230+/260+..............................................................10
1.7 Contacting Amplicon Liveline Limited for Support or Service...................................................11
1.7.1 Technical Support ...........................................................................................................11
1.7.2 Repairs ...........................................................................................................................11
2 GETTING STARTED ....................................................................................................................12
2.1 General Information ...............................................................................................................12
2.2 Host Computer Requirements ................................................................................................12
2.3 Installing the Board ................................................................................................................12
2.3.1 Power Supply Jumper .....................................................................................................12
2.3.2 Hardware Installation.......................................................................................................13
2.4 Software Installation...............................................................................................................13
2.4.1 Windows 95/98 Installation..............................................................................................13
2.4.2 Windows NT 4.0 Installation ............................................................................................14
2.4.3 Windows 2000/XP Installation .........................................................................................14
2.5 Card Configuration .................................................................................................................15
2.5.1 Base Address Selection ..................................................................................................15
2.5.2 Interrupt Level Selection (IRQ) ........................................................................................15
2.6 Application Software ..............................................................................................................16
2.7 LabVIEW Software.................................................................................................................16
2.8 Installation Testing .................................................................................................................16
2.8.1 Verifying Installation for Windows 95/98 ..........................................................................16
2.8.2 Verifying Installation for Windows NT 4.0.........................................................................16
2.8.3 Verifying Installation for Windows 2000 ...........................................................................17
2.8.4 Verifying Installation for Windows XP ..............................................................................18
3 MAKING THE CONNECTIONS ....................................................................................................19
3.1 PCI230+/260+ User Interface Connector pin assignments......................................................19
3.2 Pin Descriptions .....................................................................................................................20
3.2.1 Power and ground connections .......................................................................................20
3.2.2 ADC Acquisition Control signals ......................................................................................21
3.2.3 ADC Input signals ...........................................................................................................21
3.2.4 PCI230+ Digital to Analog converter Outputs...................................................................21
3.2.5 PCI230+ Digital I/O signals..............................................................................................21
3.3 Signal Termination Assemblies ..............................................................................................22
3.3.1 PCI230+ Screw Termination Assembly............................................................................22
3.3.2 PCI260+ Screw Termination Assembly............................................................................22
3.4 Analog Inputs.........................................................................................................................23
3.5 Use of Shielded Cables..........................................................................................................23
3.6 The Ground Connections .......................................................................................................23
4 USING THE PCI230+/260+...........................................................................................................25
4.1 Analog Inputs.........................................................................................................................25
4.2 Analog Input Voltage Range...................................................................................................25
4.3 Analog Input FIFO..................................................................................................................25

PCI230+ & PCI260+
4.4 Analog Input Modes ...............................................................................................................26
4.4.1 Software Controlled Sampling .........................................................................................26
4.4.2 Hardware Controlled Sampling ........................................................................................26
4.4.3 Sampling Multiple Channels (Channelling) ......................................................................27
4.4.4 Advanced Acquisition Trigger ..........................................................................................28
4.4.5 External Digital Trigger....................................................................................................28
4.4.6 Analog Trigger ................................................................................................................28
4.4.7 Analog Trigger Hysteresis ...............................................................................................28
4.4.8 Pre-Trigger......................................................................................................................28
4.4.9 Automatic offset calibration .............................................................................................28
4.4.10 ADC Transfer Functions..................................................................................................29
4.5 Analog Outputs (PCI230+ Only) .............................................................................................30
4.6 Analog Output Modes (PCI230+ Only)....................................................................................30
4.6.1 Software Controlled D/A Conversion ...............................................................................30
4.6.2 Interrupt Controlled D/A Conversion ................................................................................30
4.6.3 Power Supplies ...............................................................................................................31
4.7 PPI Digital Inputs and Outputs (PCI230+ Only).......................................................................31
4.7.1 PCI230+ PPI Port Shared I/O Connections......................................................................32
4.7.2 Digital Input/Output Conditions ........................................................................................32
4.7.3 Intersil 82C55 Differences from Oki 82C55......................................................................33
4.7.4 Digital Input/Output Connections .....................................................................................35
4.7.5 Counter Timer Connections.............................................................................................35
4.8 Multiple PCI230+/260+ Boards in a Single Application............................................................35
4.9 Testing and Troubleshooting ..................................................................................................35
A PCI230+/260+ TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS............................................................................36
A.1 HARDWARE SPECIFICATION ..............................................................................................36
A.1.1 ANALOG INPUT .............................................................................................................36
A.1.2 ANALOG OUTPUT (PCI230+ Only) ................................................................................38
A.1.3 COUNTER / TIMER ........................................................................................................39
A.1.4 DIGITAL INPUT/OUTPUT (PCI230+ Only) ......................................................................40
A.1.5 PC INTERFACE..............................................................................................................40
A.2 SOFTWARE SPECIFICATION...............................................................................................41
A.3 Environmental Conditions.......................................................................................................42
A.4 Order Codes ..........................................................................................................................42
A.5 Optional Accessories..............................................................................................................42

PCI230+ & PCI260+
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE TITLE PAGE
FIGURE 1-1 PCI230+ BLOCK SCHEMATIC......................................................................................8
FIGURE 1-2 PCI260+ BLOCK SCHEMATIC......................................................................................8
FIGURE 3-1 PCI230+ SK1 50 WAY USER INTERFACE PIN DESIGNATIONS................................19
FIGURE 3-2 PCI260+ PL1 25 WAY USER INTERFACE PIN DESIGNATIONS................................20
FIGURE 3-3 ANALOG INPUT/OUTPUT WIRING.............................................................................24
FIGURE 4-1 INPUT VOLTAGE RANGES ........................................................................................25
FIGURE 4-2 MULTI CHANNEL ACQUISITION WITH FIVE CHANNELS ENABLED.........................27
FIGURE 4-3 ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERTER OUTPUT CODES..............................................29
FIGURE 4-4 PCI230+ PPI PORT SHARED I/O CONNECTIONS .....................................................32

PCI230+ & PCI260+
Page 6
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Amplicon 200 Series
The Amplicon 200 Series of Personal Computer based data acquisition products provides very
high performance, affordable hardware with user sympathetic software. The 200 Series is
designed for users requiring fast or complex data input/output to the host PC and comprises a
range of boards and software to handle most analog and digital signal types.
When a large scale system is required, multiple boards can be added from the 200 Series without
conflict.
1.2 The Products Described in this Manual
The PCI230+/260+ range of boards share some common circuitry and features and are referred to
in this manual either generically or individually:
PCI230+/260+ Refers to both boards
PCI230+ Refers to the PCI230+ only
PCI260+ Refers to the PCI260+ only
1.3 Features of the PCI230+/260+
The PCI230+/260+ range of boards are designed to meet stringent performance requirements and
ease of use.
x PCI Bus, Universal, Plug and play interface
x Device driver software compatible with Windows & Linux providing continuous conversion
rates up to 500,000 samples per second
x 16-channel multiplexed analog to digital conversion with selectable input voltage ranges
x True differential input capability
x 4096-sample FIFO memory for analog to digital conversions allowing up to 4096 samples for
one channel or 256 samples for 16 channels to be stored on the board
x Automatic ADC offset null calibration on power up
x Advanced ADC acquisition trigger modes including; analog trigger (edge or level) with
hysteresis and pre-trigger facility and acquisition trigger on external TTL input
x Three, Intel 82C54 compatible, 16-bit counter/timers with on board 10 MHz crystal oscillator
timing source
x PCI230+ only, 2-channel, 12-bit digital to analog conversion with output voltage ranges of
±10V bipolar or 0 to +10 V unipolar
x PCI230+ only, 1024-sample FIFO memory for digital to analog conversions allowing up to
1024 samples for one channel or 512 samples for two channels to be stored on the board for
smooth waveform generation
x PCI230+ only, DAC FIFO wrap mode allowing arbitrary waveforms to be stored on the board
and played continuously from the DAC outputs
x PCI230+ only, 24-bit flexible, Intel 82C55 compatible, programmable digital input/output
x Interrupt controlled operations, with the facility for interrupts to be generated by the end of a
conversion, by a regular timer/counter output, on FIFO status or by an external signal
x Example software
x LabVIEW compatible, including advanced acquisition trigger modes
x PCI230/260 backward compatible

PCI230+ & PCI260+
Page 7
1.4 General Description
The PCI230+/260+ range of boards provide multi-channel data acquisition functions for any PC
that supports PCI bus version 2.1.
All models are supported by Windows 98, NT, 2000, and XP drivers. These drivers allow the
advanced features of the boards to be fully utilised by the application software. The Windows 98
driver is also compatible with Windows 95.
Linux Comedi drivers are available from www.comedi.org.
PCI230+ Provides 16 channel, FIFO buffered, 16-bit analog-to-digital input facilities and two-
channel, FIFO buffered, 12-bit, digital-to-analog output with interrupt control. It also
provides 24 bits of parallel digital input/output and three 16-bit counter/timers.
PCI260+ Provides 16 channel, FIFO buffered, 16-bit analog to digital input facilities and three
16-bit counter/timers only.
1.4.1 Enhanced Features
The PCI230+ and PCI260+ support all relevant features of the earlier ISA bus products, i.e. the
PC30AT and the PC26AT. In addition the PCI230+/260+ have many advanced features.
In common with the earlier PCI230/260, the PCI230+ and PCI260+ both have a 4096-sample
FIFO for buffering input samples from the A/D converter. The boards can be set up to store
samples in the FIFO autonomously until the FIFO is full, at which time the board will issue an
interrupt to the PC. In many cases this will give vast performance advantages allowing the
processor much more time between requests to service the board.
To further enhance acquisition flexibility, the PCI230+/260+ have advanced acquisition triggering
modes that support an analog trigger on specified input (edge or level) with hysteresis and pre-
trigger facility. Acquisitions can also be triggered from an external TTL input. These features
greatly improve LabVIEW compatibility.
The PCI230+/260+ boards have true differential input capability. They can either have eight
differential or 16 single-ended inputs.
Input signal protection was an option on earlier boards, the PCI230+/260+ boards include
protection circuits on all analog and digital inputs as standard making them more tolerant of
external fault conditions.
The PCI230+ now has a 1024 sample DAC FIFO that works to reduce the demands on the PC in
the same way as the ADC FIFO. The DAC FIFO has a FIFO wrap mode that can be used to replay
the same samples time and again allowing the card to be used for arbitrary waveform generation.

PCI230+ & PCI260+
Page 8
1.4.2 The Hardware
PCI BUS
INTERFACE
8/16
CHANNEL
MUX
DAC
1&2
TIMER
0 TO 2
24-bit
PPI
FPGA
data aquisition
control logic
and ADC
sample FIFO
USER
INTERFACE
CONNECTOR
DATA
CONTROL
ADDRESS
ANALOG
ADC INPUT
BUFFER
&
GAIN
CONTROL
FIGURE 1-1 PCI230+ BLOCK SCHEMATIC
PCI BUS
INTERFACE
8/16
CHANNEL
MUX
TIMER
0 TO 2
FPGA
data aquisition
control logic
and ADC
sample FIFO
USER
INTERFACE
CONNECTOR
DATA
CONTROL
ADDRESS
ANALOG
ADC INPUT
BUFFER
&
GAIN
CONTROL
FIGURE 1-2 PCI260+ BLOCK SCHEMATIC

PCI230+ & PCI260+
Page 9
1.4.3 The Software
Software is supplied with the PCI230+/260+ on the SOFTMAN CD-ROM Part No 8698 6559 as
part of the standard package. This package comprises Windows drivers and application examples
and is documented in the Amplicon ADIO manual elsewhere on the CD ROM.
The distribution software is supplied on compact disk. Optional
software is packed and supplied separately.
The Comedi drivers for Linux, available from www.comedi.org also support the PCI230+/260+
boards.
Languages supported Borland C/C++ V4.5 or later
Microsoft Visual C/C++ V4.2 or later
Borland Delphi V3.0 or later
Visual Basic V5.0 or later
Visual Basic.NET Framework 1.1 or later
Borland C++Builder V2.0 or later
Excel VBA Office97
Agilent VEE V5 or later
LabVIEW 6.0 or later
C#.NET Framework 1.1 or later
Functions supported Initialisation
Analog Input
Analog Output
Analog and Digital Trigger
Digital I/O
Counter / timer operations
Interrupt Handling with buffer transfers as per the Windows 32
DIO Driver version 4.0 or later
LabVIEW Analog input: scope (with trigger), meter, chart recorder.
LabVIEW Analog output: function generator.
LabVIEW Counter timer: count events, generate pulse, generate
frequency, generate strobes, simple frequency
measurement
Example programs Delphi, Visual Basic, VB.NET, Agilent VEE, LabVIEW, DAX,
C#.NET
For the latest information on all software including example programs, functions, operating
systems and languages supported, refer to the Amplicon website.

PCI230+ & PCI260+
Page 10
1.5 What the Package Contains
!CAUTION
Some of the components on the board are susceptible to electrostatic discharge, and proper
handling precautions should be observed. As a minimum, an earthed wrist strap must be
worn when handling the PCI230+/260+ board outside its protective bag.
Full static handling procedures are defined in British Standards Publication
BSEN100015/BSEN10015-1:1992
When removed from the bag, inspect the board for any obvious signs of damage and notify
Amplicon if such damage is apparent. Do not plug a damaged board into the host computer.
Keep the protective bag for possible future use in transporting the board.
The package as delivered from Amplicon Liveline Ltd. contains:-
1. The plug-in card as ordered, in a protective bag. The model will be one of the following, and is
identified by the type number printed on the board.
PCI230+ PCI Bus Analog input/output card Part Nº 9605 2503
PCI260+ PCI Bus Analog input card Part Nº 9605 2513
2. The included distribution software and manual on CD Part Nº 8698 6559
3. Any additional accessories (mating connectors, software etc.) may be packed separately.
1.6 The Amplicon Warranty Covering the PCI230+/260+
This product is covered by the warranty as detailed in the Terms and Conditions stated on the web
site at www.amplicon.co.uk.