Astronics OmniBusII User manual

OmniBusII PCIe/PXIe
USER'S MANUAL
INTERFACE CARD
to AVIONICS DATABUSES
February 6, 2015
Rev. B0
Copyright 2014-2015
by
Ballard Technology, Inc.
MA203-20150206 Rev. B0
Astronics Ballard Technology
Phone: [phone].829.1553
Email: [e-mail]
www.ballardtech.com

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Copyright  2014-2015 by Ballard Technology, Inc. Ballard Technology's permission to copy and distribute this
manual is for the purchaser's private use only and is conditioned upon purchaser's use and application with the
hardware that was shipped with this manual. No commercial resale or outside distribution rights are allowed by this
notice. This material remains the property of Ballard Technology. All other rights reserved by Ballard Technology, Inc.
SAFETY WARNING
Ballard products are not intended, warranted or certified for any particular use or application or for use in any appli-
cation where failure of the products could lead directly to death, personal injury, or damage to property. Customers,
licensees, and/or users are responsible for establishing and assuring suitability and proper use of Ballard products for
their particular use or application..
INTERFERENCE
This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance
with the instructions manual, may cause interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a resi-
dential area is likely to cause interference in which case the user at their own expense will be responsible for taking
whatever measures may be required to correct the interference.
TRADEMARKS
PCIe® is a registered trademark of PCI-SIG. PXI™ is a trademark of PXI Systems Alliance. CompactPCI® is a
registered trademark of the PCI Industrial Computation Manufacturers Group. Molex® LFH™ is a trademark of
Molex Inc. Windows® is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Ballard Technology®, OmniBus® and
CoPilot® are registered trademarks of Ballard Technology, Inc. BTIDriver™ is a trademark of Ballard Technology,
Inc. All other product names or trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Astronics Ballard Technology
Phone: [phone].829.1553
Email: [e-mail]
www.ballardtech.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 1-1
1.1 OmniBus II Overview ........................................................................................ 1-1
1.2 OmniBus II Configurations ................................................................................ 1-3
1.3 Avionics Databus Protocols ............................................................................... 1-4
1.4 Other Documentation ......................................................................................... 1-4
1.5 Support and Service ........................................................................................... 1-5
1.6 Updates............................................................................................................... 1-5
2. INSTALLATION 2-1
2.1 Step 1: Insert the Card into the System .............................................................. 2-1
2.2 Step 2: Install the Driver Software ..................................................................... 2-2
2.3 Step 3: Set the Card Number and Test the Installation....................................... 2-3
2.4 Step 4: Connect to Databus(s) I/O...................................................................... 2-3
3. OPERATION 3-1
3.1 CoPilot................................................................................................................ 3-1
3.2 User-Developed Software .................................................................................. 3-2
4. OMNIBUS II FEATURES 4-1
4.1 PCI Express Bus................................................................................................. 4-1
4.2 Built-in Test ....................................................................................................... 4-1
4.3 IRIG Timer......................................................................................................... 4-2
4.4 Core Discretes .................................................................................................... 4-3
4.5 Avionics Discretes.............................................................................................. 4-4
4.5.1 Shunt Inputs .................................................................................................. 4-5
4.5.2 Shunt Input Considerations........................................................................... 4-5
4.5.3 Shunt Outputs ............................................................................................... 4-5
4.5.4 Shunt Output Considerations ........................................................................ 4-6
4.5.5 Shunt Discrete Input/Output Usage .............................................................. 4-7
5. OMNIBUS II PXIE SPECIFIC FEATURES 5-1
5.1 Clock Switch (CLK SEL)................................................................................... 5-1
5.2 PXIe Trigger Access .......................................................................................... 5-2
5.3 Protocol Sync and Trigger Support .................................................................... 5-2
5.4 PXIe Status......................................................................................................... 5-4
5.5 Chassis Slot Glyph ............................................................................................. 5-5
6. MODULE CONFIGURATIONS 6-1
6.1 OmniBus II PCIe Boards.................................................................................... 6-1
6.2 OmniBus II PXIe Boards ................................................................................... 6-1
6.3 MIL-STD-1553 Modules ................................................................................... 6-1
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6.3.1 Software-Selectable Bus Termination ...........................................................6-2
6.3.2 Configurable RT Response Time ..................................................................6-3
6.3.3 Variable Transmit Amplitude........................................................................6-3
6.3.4 Zero Crossing Distortion ...............................................................................6-3
6.4 ARINC 429 Modules ..........................................................................................6-4
6.4.1 Parametric Waveform....................................................................................6-5
6.4.2 Configurable Frequency ................................................................................6-5
6.4.3 Output State...................................................................................................6-5
6.5 ARINC 708 Modules ..........................................................................................6-6
6.5.1 Software-Selectable Bus Termination ...........................................................6-6
6.5.2 Variable Bit Length .......................................................................................6-6
6.5.3 Variable Transmit Amplitude........................................................................6-6
6.6 ARINC 717 Modules ..........................................................................................6-7
6.6.1 Variable Transmit Amplitude........................................................................6-7
7. CONNECTOR PINOUTS 7-1
7.1 Interface Connector.............................................................................................7-1
7.2 General Pinout ....................................................................................................7-1
7.3 Module-Specific Wiring .....................................................................................7-2
7.3.1 MIL-STD-1553 .............................................................................................7-3
7.3.2 ARINC 429....................................................................................................7-4
7.3.3 ARINC 708....................................................................................................7-4
7.3.4 ARINC 717....................................................................................................7-6
7.4 Standard Cables ..................................................................................................7-7
7.4.1 PN 16035 Cable Assembly: LFH to LFH......................................................7-7
7.4.2 PN 16036 Cable Assembly: LFH to Two 25-pin D-subs ..............................7-7
7.4.3 MIL-STD-1553 Cable Assemblies................................................................7-9
APPENDIX A COUPLING AND TERMINATION A-1
A.1 Bus Termination ................................................................................................A-1
A.2 Transformer versus Direct Coupling..................................................................A-1
APPENDIX B REVISION HISTORY B-1
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1—OmniBus II PCIe card ................................................................................ 1-1
Figure 1.2—OmniBus II PXIe card ................................................................................ 1-2
Figure 1.3—The two-core architecture of OmniBus II PCIe/PXIe card......................... 1-3
Figure 2.1—PXIe Compatible Chassis Glyphs............................................................... 2-2
Figure 3.1—Sample CoPilot screen................................................................................ 3-1
Figure 4.1—Built-in test and System monitor architecture ............................................ 4-2
Figure 4.2—OmniBus II Discrete Shunt Input Circuit ................................................... 4-5
Figure 4.3—OmniBus II Discrete Shunt Output Circuit................................................. 4-6
Figure 5.1—PXIe On-Board Clock Switch .................................................................... 5-1
Figure 5.2—PXIe Chassis Slot Glyphs........................................................................... 5-5
Figure A.1—Transformer coupling to a dual-redundant databus .................................. A-2
Figure A.2—Direct connection to a dual-redundant databus......................................... A-3
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1—Input and Output IRIG formats.................................................................... 4-3
Table 4.2—Electrical characteristics of the AM IRIG signals........................................ 4-3
Table 4.3—Electrical characteristics of the PCM IRIG signals...................................... 4-3
Table 4.4—IRIG pinout.................................................................................................. 4-3
Table 4.5—Hardware versus software designation of core discretes.............................. 4-4
Table 4.6—Avionics discrete I/O designations .............................................................. 4-7
Table 5.1—PXIe Trigger Signals.................................................................................... 5-2
Table 5.2—PXIe Trigger to Protocol Trigger Mapping ................................................. 5-3
Table 5.3—PXIe Trigger to Protocol Sync Mapping ..................................................... 5-3
Table 5.4—Transitional Protocol Trigger Parameters .................................................... 5-4
Table 5.5—PXIe Status Parameters................................................................................ 5-4
Table 6.1—OmniBus II PCIe Host Part Numbering....................................................... 6-1
Table 6.2—OmniBus II PXIe/cPCIe Host Part Numbering............................................ 6-1
Table 6.3—MIL-STD-1553 Module Part Numbering .................................................... 6-2
Table 6.4—MIL-STD-1553 Level Function Definition.................................................. 6-2
Table 6.5—MIL-STD-1553 ParamAmplitudeConfig Configval.................................... 6-3
Table 6.6—MIL-STD-1553 ParamAmplitudeConfig Output Drive............................... 6-3
Table 6.7—ARINC 429 Module New Applications Part Numbering ............................ 6-4
Table 6.8—ARINC 429 Module Deprecated Part Numbering ....................................... 6-4
Table 6.9—ARINC 429 Parametric Waveform Characteristics ..................................... 6-5
Table 6.10—MIL-STD-1553 Module Part Numbering .................................................. 6-6
Table 6.11—ARINC 708 ParamAmplitudeConfig Configval ........................................ 6-7
Table 6.12—ARINC 717 Module New Applications Part Numbering .......................... 6-7
Table 6.13—ARINC 717 Module Deprecated Part Numbering ..................................... 6-7
Table 7.1—General pin designations.............................................................................. 7-2
Table 7.2—Pinouts for MIL-STD-1553 modules ........................................................... 7-3
Table 7.3—Pinouts for ARINC 429 modules................................................................. 7-4
Table 7.4—Pinouts for ARINC 708 modules................................................................. 7-5
Table 7.5—Pinouts for ARINC 717 modules................................................................. 7-6
Table 7.6—Wiring chart for 16036 cable assembly ....................................................... 7-8
Table 7.7—MIL-STD-1553 cable assembly configurations........................................... 7-9
Table 7.8—Twinax wiring on MIL-STD-1553 cable assemblies................................... 7-9
Table 7.9—D-sub connector pinout for cable assemblies 16037 and 16039 ................ 7-10
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iv OmniBus II PCI /PXIe User’s Manual

1. INTRODUCTION
This manual is the user’s guide for PCIe® and PXI™ Express models of Ballard
Technology’s OmniBus® II family of products. Throughout this manual any
reference to the PCIe card applies to the OmniBus II PCIe card, reference to the
PXIe card applies to the OmniBus II PXIe card, and references to OmniBus and
OmniBus II apply generically to all the products in the designated family. This
guide gives the background for the OmniBus II PCIe/PXIe card, discusses special
features, describes the installation process, and references programming
alternatives.
1.1 OmniBus II Overview
OmniBus is a family of products that enable computer systems to communicate
with avionics databuses for the purpose of testing, simulation, and/or operation.
Each OmniBus unit can support more than one protocol and a large number of
channels. They are available as an interface card for popular computer standards
(PCIe, cPCIe/PXIe, etc.) and as a stand-alone bridge to other communications
protocols (USB, Ethernet, etc.). All common avionics databus protocols are
supported, including MIL-STD-1553, ARINC 429, ARINC 708, and ARINC
717. Other protocols (such as ARINC 575, ARINC 573, ARINC 453, etc.) are
also supported. Custom protocols are implemented upon request.
Figure 1.1—OmniBus II PCIe card
OmniBus II PCIe/PXIe User’s Manual 1-1

INTRODUCTION
Figure 1.2—OmniBus II PXIe card
The high-density modular design of the OmniBus family provides flexibility that
enables the user to select from many protocol, platform, and channel count com-
binations. Each OmniBus product can have at least two modules, and each mod-
ule has its own circuitry to handle the channels and protocols associated with it.
The high channel count and mixed protocol capabilities can be fully exploited
without the risk of overloading the host computer’s processor. IRIG and special
timing circuits allows channels, boards, and computers to be synchronized in
time to each other and to external devices.
OmniBus II is a newer, enhanced generation of the original OmniBus architec-
ture, and though there are similarities, components of the two generations are not
interchangeable. Figure 1.3 illustrates the modular architecture of the OmniBus II
PCIe/PXIe board.
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INTRODUCTION
Figure 1.3—The two-core architecture of OmniBus II PCIe/PXIe card
The easiest way to operate OmniBus products is with CoPilot®, Ballard Tech-
nology’s databus analyzer and simulation software. Alternately, software devel-
opers can write their own software applications using the included BTIDriver™
API (Application Program Interface).
1.2 OmniBus II Configurations
The OmniBus family includes products with many different host platform, proto-
col, and channel count combinations. A given OmniBus part number is produced
in the factory by mounting protocol-specific modules on the required host plat-
form.
Note: OmniBus products are not user-configurable. Do not attempt to
swap one module type for another one with a different part number. If a
module is exchanged, it must be with an identical module. OmniBus
products may be upgraded with additional channels or protocols, but
this must be done at the factory.
The assembly part number characterizes the configuration of an OmniBus prod-
uct. The assembly part number is designated by groups of characters separated by
dashes. The first group of characters in the assembly part number is the part
number of the main board (eg. 212 for a two module PCIe card), the second
group is the part number of the module in the Core A position, and the third
group is the part number of the module in the Core B position. A more detailed
description of the individual part numbers may be found in Chapter 6.
The complete assembly part number is printed on the main OmniBus board. If
the modules are visible, each group of numbers in the assembly configuration
that represent modules should match the part numbers printed on the corre-
sponding modules. The configuration of an installed OmniBus product may be
determined by running the test program described in Chapter 4.
SDRAM
PCIe
Connector
1:2 PCIe Switch
Protocol
Module
B
Core A
FPGA
Core B
FPGA
Flash
SDRAM
Flash
Protocol
Module
A
P1 P2
Avionics
Databuses
Avionics
Databuses
1 Lane PCIe
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INTRODUCTION
For future reference, we encourage you to record the assembly part number and
serial number of your OmniBus product. You may wish to use the space provided
below:
Assembly PN: ________ - ________ - ________
(Board PN) (Core A PN) (Core B PN)
Serial No: __________________
1.3 Avionics Databus Protocols
Avionics databuses interconnect various electronic equipment (navigation, con-
trols, displays, sensors, etc.) on an aircraft, much as a local area network (LAN)
interconnects computers in an office. Data from one device is passed over the
network to other devices that need it. There are a number of military and
commercial avionics databus standards. OmniBus products support the most
common protocols, which are briefly described below:
•MIL-STD-1553 is the protocol for military aircraft and other military and
commercial applications. It is a digital, command-response, time-division
multiplexing databus protocol.
•ARINC 429, one of the most prevalent ARINC (Aeronautical Radio
INCorporated) standards, defines the transfer of digital data between com-
mercial avionics systems. It uses broadcast bus topology and a label
identification method for data words. ARINC 575 is the specification for a
Digital Air Data System (DADS). ARINC 575 includes a databus protocol
almost identical to ARINC 429.
•ARINC 708 defines an airborne pulse Doppler weather radar system for
commercial aircraft. The Transmitter/Receiver unit sends data over the 708
display databus to the Control/Display Unit. Data consists of 1600-bit words
that are preceded and followed by a sync. The display databus is an adapta-
tion of the proposed, but never approved, ARINC 453 databus.
•ARINC 717 includes the databus protocol for interconnecting the Digital
Flight Data Acquisition Unit (DFDAU) and the Digital Flight Data Recorder
(DFDR). Data words are 12 bits long and are nominally transmitted at 64 or
256 words per second in subframes, frames, and sometimes superframes.
ARINC 573, an older equipment specification for flight data recorders, uses
a databus similar to 717.
These and other standards are not limited to use in aircraft. They are used in
many other military and industrial applications such as surface and space vehi-
cles, process control, nuclear research, and oil exploration.
1.4 Other Documentation
Besides this manual, Ballard provides other documentation to facilitate operation
of the OmniBus interface. These include protocol manuals, information on the
software distribution disk, and CoPilot documentation.
Separate BTIDriver API programming manuals are available for each avionics
protocol. These manuals provide information on the specific protocol and include
basic and advanced programming instructions for users who intend to write their
own software. They also contain a comprehensive reference for each function.
1-4 OmniBus II PCIe/PXIe User’s Manual

INTRODUCTION
The software distribution disk accompanying the OmniBus has example pro-
grams, drivers, and driver installation instructions for various operating systems,
and other information, files, and resources.
1.5 Support and Service
Ballard Technology offers technical support before and after purchase. Our hours
are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific Time, though support and sales engineers are
often available outside those hours. We invite your questions and comments on
any of our products. You may reach us by telephone at [phone] or (425)
339-0281, by fax at [phone], on the Web at www.ballardtech.com,or
through e-mail at suppor[email protected].
1.6 Updates
At Ballard Technology, we take pride in high-quality, reliable products that meet
the needs of our customers. Because we are continually improving our products,
periodic updates to documentation and software may be issued. For access to the
most current information and software, please register for a support account on
our website.
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INTRODUCTION
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1-6 OmniBus II PCIe/PXIe User’s Manual

2. INSTALLATION
This chapter explains the procedures for installing an OmniBus II PCIe/PXIe
card. There are four steps to installation:
Step 1: Insert the Card into the System
Step 2: Install the Driver Software
Step 3: Set the Card Number and Test the Installation
Step 4: Connect to Databus(s) I/O
After the installation steps are completed, the PCIe/PXIe card is ready to
communicate on the databus(es).
2.1 Step 1: Insert the Card into the System
In an ESD safe environment, do the following:
For a PCIe System:
•Shut down the system.
•Insert the card into an empty PCIe slot.
•Secure the card with a screw.
•Restart the system.
WARNING
Static Discharge
As with most electronic devices, static discharge may damage or degrade
components on a circuit card. When handling a circuit card, the user
should be grounded (e.g., through a wrist strap). Each circuit card is
shipped in an anti-static bag, and should be stored in a similar container
when not installed in the system.
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INSTALLATION
For a PXIe System:
•Shut down the system.
•On the card, select the required clock by sliding the on-board switch left
or right.
•With the injector handle in the down position, insert the card into an
empty chassis slot marked with one of the following PXIe Chassis
Glyphs:
* replaced with chassis slot number
Figure 2.1—PXIe Compatible Chassis Glyphs
•While pressing the bottom of the handle against the horizontal rail of the
subrack, move the injector handle up to lock the card in place.
•Secure the card with the screw located at the top of the front panel.
•Restart the system.
•If the system fails to boot, the clock select or chassis slot type may be
incorrectly configured. For more information, refer to Chapter 5.
2.2 Step 2: Install the Driver Software
Drivers allow programmatic control of the PCIe/PXIe card(s) from a host
computer.
The driver installation procedures vary depending on your computer’s operating
system. These procedures are kept on disk so they can be easily updated as oper-
ating systems evolve. Before proceeding with the installation, find, print, and re-
view the driver installation procedure for your operating system.
To install the driver software:
•Insert the driver disk in your drive and browse to the folder for your
product
•Print the driver installation instructions located in a README file on the
software distribution disk in a folder specific to your product
•Follow the instructions from the README file
The installation procedure differs for each operating system, but in most cases,
several files are copied to the host computer system and either the system registry
is modified or configuration files are created.
If you encounter problems, have installation questions, or cannot find instructions
for your operating system, please contact Customer Service (see Section 1.5).
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INSTALLATION
2.3 Step 3: Set the Card Number and Test the Installation
You must set a card number on the controlling computer for software to uniquely
identify each PCIe card.
Since many Ballard BTIDriver™-compliant hardware devices (e.g., OmniBus II
PCIe/PXIe cards) can be concurrently connected to the same computer, software
running on a given computer uses a unique card number to designate which hard-
ware device is being accessed. If you have only one BTIDriver-compliant device
connected to the computer, it is recommended that you set it to card number 0
because the example programs included with the driver software assume a card
number of 0. After the card number has been set, you can then test the PCIe/PXIe
card.
In Windows, the BTITST32.EXE test program can be used to assign and manage
card numbers and to test the PCIe/PXIe card (and other BTIDriver-compliant
devices). The test program discovers all connected BTIDriver-compliant devices
and displays important information about each device such as card number,
configuration, serial number, and assembly part number. Running the test
sequence verifies both the device hardware and the interface between the device
and the computer. If the program does not detect any faults, it displays a “passed
test” message.
This program and a README file with instructions are found in the Windows
Test subfolder on the software distribution disk:
PCIe: OMNIBUSDRIVERSOMNIBUS_II_PCIETEST
PXIe: OMNIBUSDRIVERSOMNIBUS_II_PXIETEST
Note: The Windows test program may be used at any time to determine
or reassign the card number.
If you need further assistance, contact Ballard Technology’s Technical Support
(see Section 1.5).
2.4 Step 4: Connect to Databus(s) I/O
Connect the databuses to the PCIe/PXIe card according to the pin assignment
tables in Chapter 7. Be sure to follow the coupling and termination guidelines
discussed in Appendix A.
Connection of the ground pin(s) to the end system(s) is necessary for proper op-
eration of ARINC 429, ARINC 717 and the discrete I/O, and is recommended for
MIL-STD-1553. There is no need to terminate unused signals, and do not con-
nect the reserved pin(s).
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2-4 OmniBus II PCIe/PXIe User’s Manual

3. OPERATION
Software is used to control OmniBus products and to manipulate data. Whether
you use Ballard’s CoPilot® software or develop your own applications using
Ballard’s BTIDriver™ API library, it is easy to operate the PCIe/PXIe card and
to utilize its powerful interface.
3.1 CoPilot
A PC with CoPilot and Ballard’s OmniBus II PCIe/PXIe card makes a powerful,
low-cost databus analyzer/simulator. CoPilot interfaces directly with OmniBus
products, eliminating the need to write custom software. CoPilot greatly simplifies
such tasks as defining and scheduling bus messages and capturing and analyzing
data. CoPilot is a Windows-based program that features a user-friendly GUI
(Graphical User Interface) and many timesaving features. For example, bus
messages can be automatically detected, posted in the hardware tree, and
associated with the appropriate attributes from the database of equipment, message,
and engineering unit specifications.
Figure 3.1—Sample CoPilot screen
CoPilot users can quickly configure, run, and display the activity of multiple
databuses in a unified view. Data can be observed and changed in engineering
units while the bus is running. The Strip View graphically illustrates the history
of the selected data values. Data can also be entered and viewed as virtual in-
struments (knobs, dials, gauges, etc.) that can be created by the user or automati-
cally generated by dragging and dropping an item into the Control View window.
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OPERATION
Because CoPilot can host multiple channels and databus protocols in the same
project, it is the ideal tool for operating OmniBus products. CoPilot can be pur-
chased separately or with an OmniBus product. For more information or a free
evaluation copy, call Ballard at [phone]. In addition, you can learn more
about the latest version of CoPilot at www.ballardtech.com.
3.2 User-Developed Software
Software developers can use the bundled BTIDriver API to create custom appli-
cations. With only a few function calls, a program can operate OmniBus products
and process messages to and from the avionics databus. Functions include rou-
tines for transmitting, receiving, scheduling, recording, data manipulation, and
time-tagging bus messages. Although most tasks require only a few API calls, the
comprehensive library includes a broad range of functions for specialized needs.
Sample programs and utility programs are included with the API on the software
distribution disk. Detailed information about each API function and instructions
on programming for OmniBus products is found in separate manuals for each
protocol (e.g., ARINC 429 Programming Manual for BTIDriver-Compliant De-
vices).
3-2 OmniBus II PCIe/PXIe User’s Manual