CED Power1401-3 User guide

The CED Power1401-3 Owners Handbook
Copyright Cambridge Electronic Design Limited 2013
Neither the whole nor any part of the information contained in,
or the product described in, this guide may be adapted or
reproduced in any material form except with the prior written
approval of Cambridge Electronic Design Limited.
1st edition (1.1) September 2012
2nd edition (1.2) June 2013
3rd edition (1.3) July 2014
Published by:
Cambridge Electronic Design Limited
Science Park
Milton Road
Cambridge
CB4 0FE
UK
Telephone: [phone]
USA & Canada Toll Free: 1-800-345-7794
Fax: [phone]
Web: www.ced.co.uk
Email: [email protected]
Trademarks and Tradenames used in this guide are
acknowledged to be the Trademarks and Tradenames of their
respective Companies and Corporations.
i

Table of contents
Preface Publishing information.................................................................i
Table of contents........................................................................ ii
Typographic conventions...........................................................iv
Use of symbols...........................................................................iv
Potential for Radio/Television interference................................v
Power1401-3 vs Power1401 mk II.............................................vi
Life support ................................................................................vi
Getting started
with the
Power1401-3
Fast installation guide .................................................................1
Introduction.................................................................................2
Confidence check........................................................................3
Installing the Power1401-3 .........................................................4
Storage and operating environment ............................................4
Application software...................................................................5
Installing the
USB interface
Overview.....................................................................................6
Software installation ...................................................................6
Hardware installation ..................................................................6
Test software Installing test & diagnostics........................................................9
Windows diagnostics ................................................................10
Application
software: Spike2
& Signal
Running the Power1401 with Spike2 .......................................12
Running the Power1401 with Signal ........................................13
Inputs and
outputs
General ......................................................................................14
Waveform input ........................................................................15
Waveform output ......................................................................17
The rear-panel analogue connector...........................................18
Clocks........................................................................................19
Event inputs...............................................................................21
Digital input and output ............................................................22
USB port ...................................................................................26
Synchronization port.................................................................26
RS232........................................................................................27
DC power inlet ..........................................................................27
ii

Table of contents
Hardware
expansion
The ADC16 top-box: 16 waveform inputs............................... 28
The PGA16 top-box: 16 programmable-gain ADC inputs ...... 29
The Signal top-box: 4 extra DACs........................................... 30
The Spike2 top-box: digital BNC connections ........................ 31
The PGF8 top box: 8 programmable filter channels................ 32
The battery box......................................................................... 33
Mechanics of the
Power1401-3
Construction ............................................................................. 34
Earthing .................................................................................... 35
Upgrade by users ...................................................................... 35
Maintenance
operations
Introduction .............................................................................. 36
Taking the lid off...................................................................... 36
Switch settings.......................................................................... 36
I/O components ........................................................................ 37
Adjustable components & other features ................................. 38
Memory upgrades..................................................................... 39
Setting the ADC input range .................................................... 40
Flash ROM ............................................................................... 41
Analogue calibration ................................................................ 42
Cleaning the Power1401 .......................................................... 43
Trouble shooting Overview .................................................................................. 44
Stand-alone test ........................................................................ 44
LED diagnostic patterns ........................................................... 45
Calling the CED Help Desk ..................................................... 46
Index ......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Index User notes ................................................................................. 50
Specification Specification ............................................................................. 51
EC declaration of conformity................................................... 52
iii

General information
Typographic
conventions The following conventions apply to the text in this manual:
Ordinary text is in Times New Roman
Titles of chapters, other manuals and other publications,
including CDs, are in Times New Roman italics
Labels and identifiers appearing on the equipment described
in this manual are in Arial
Menu items, buttons, and other contents of computer
displays are in Arial italics
Names of files, drives, paths and directories are in Courier
New
Signal names are in Times New Roman, SMALL CAPS
Use of symbols Where applied, the following symbols have the meanings
below:
This symbol declares that the equipment passes the relevant
clauses of EU directives on safety and EMC emissions; see the
certificate reproduced on page 52
Observe precautions against electrostatic discharge
The CED
Power1401-3 is lead-free and conforms to the EU
RoHS directive
The CED Power1401-3 is subject to the EU WEEE regulations
and may be returned to CED Ltd for recycling
Attention, consult accompanying documents
The DC symbol indicates that the Power1401-3 chassis is
powered from a DC-only supply
The earth symbol indicates a metallic contact at mains earth
potential
iv

General information
The Power1401-3 generates and uses radio frequency energy
and may cause interference to radio and television reception.
Your Power1401-3 complies with the Specification in Subpart J
of Part 15 of the Federal Communications rules for a Class A
computing device. These specifications provide reasonable
protection against such interference in a residential installation.
However there is no guarantee that interference will not occur
in a particular installation. If the Power1401-3 does cause
interference to radio or television reception, which can be
determined by turning the Power1401-3 mains supply off and
on, you can try to eliminate the interference problem by doing
one or more of the following:
Potential for
Radio/Television
Interference
(USA only)
Re-orient the receiving antenna
Re-orient the position of the Power1401-3 with respect to the
receiver
Move the Power1401-3 away from the receiver
Plug the Power1401-3 into a different outlet so that the
Power1401-3 and the receiver are on different branch circuits
If necessary, consult CED or an experienced radio/television
technician for additional suggestions. You may find the
booklet, prepared by the Federal Communications Commission,
helpful: How to Identify and Resolve Radio/TV Interference
Problems. The booklet is available from the US Government
Printing Office, Washington DC 20402, Stock no. 004-000-
00345-4.
To comply with FCC rules, Part 15 B Class A Computing
device, use only shielded interface cables.
v

General information
Power1401-3 vs
Power1401 II
The Power1401-3 is the evolutionary successor to the
Power1401 II. Upgrades and enhancements include:
Completely redesigned computational core using the
Marvell 78100 microprocessor
Circuit board designed with provision for dual-core
operation using the Marvell 78200 microprocessor
Processor clock speed increased from 800 MHz to 1 GHz
Maximum internal memory increased from 1 GByte to
2 GByte DDR RAM
DDR RAM clock rate increased from 200 MHz to 400 MHz
FPGA upgraded from XC2S330E (6,912 equivalent logic
cells) to XC6LSX45 (43,661 equivalent logic cells); bus
clock increased from 66 MHz to 200 MHz
Flash memory address space increased from 23 to 24 bits,
allowing future enlargement of flash
USB2 port integral to processor permitting a significantly
faster data transfer rate (from 27 MByte/sec to 47 MByte/sec
to host; from 10 MByte/sec to 45 MByte/sec to 1401)
New de-glitched DAC
DAC offset & gain calibration by software
Life support CED products are not authorized for use as critical
components in life support systems without the
express written approval of the chairman of the board
of directors of CED.
Life support systems in this context are systems which support
or sustain life, and whose failure to perform, when properly
used in accordance with instructions for use provided, can be
reasonably expected to result in a significant injury to the user.
A critical component in this context is any component of a life
support system whose failure to perform can reasonably be
expected to cause the failure of the life support system, or to
affect its safety or effectiveness.
vi

Fast installation guide
Step 1 Install the software first: either your CED application
or the CED 1401 installation CD. CED software currently runs
on Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8. If you have
an earlier version of Windows, it will need to be upgraded
Step 2 Set up your hardware:
Power-up the computer and the Power1401
Connect the USB data cable
USB hardware is recognized and correct driver located
automatically. On some versions of Windows, the device
driver has to be approved by the user, which requires various
OK boxes to be clicked
For details, see page 6
Step 3 Check the installation:
Run the TRY1401 utility installed with your CED software.
Click on All On to select all tests, click on Run Once to run
the tests
Running the tests should take only a few seconds and give no
errors
Step 4 Your Power1401 is now ready for use
1

Getting started with the Power1401-3
Introduction This manual will guide you through the initial check and
installation of your Power1401-3 (hereafter referred to as the
Power1401 except where it differs from the previous model). It
introduces you to the external inputs and outputs, and
expansion options. It also describes maintenance and diagnostic
procedures. This manual does not cover 1401 programming or
the use of application programs with the 1401.
Examples of screen dumps and user dialog are taken from
Windows 7 unless mentioned to the contrary. Details will differ
slightly in earlier versions of Windows, but the operations are
all very straightforward and users should not experience any
difficulty.
Windows version
The installation kit for your Power1401 comprises:
Checklist
A Power1401, with optional rack-mount kit
A power brick with attached DC supply cable
A mains cable for the power-brick suitable for your country
A USB data cable
An installation disk
This manual
2

Getting started with the Power1401-3
The power brick will run
with no adjustment on any
mains voltage from 100 V
to 240 V, 47 Hz - 63 Hz,
drawing a maximum of
1·6 A. It has no switch,
being controlled simply by
plugging in and switching
on at the mains socket. A
green LED indicates when
the brick is powered up.
The power brick
The front-panel push-
switch actuates a relay
inside the Power1401 that
switches DC power to the
rest of the circuitry. For
complete electrical iso-
lation, mains power must
be disconnected from the
power brick.
The power brick:
PowerSolve PSE60-312 shown
Confidence
check Your Power1401 was soak-tested at CED before shipping. To
pass the test, a Power1401 must not generate a single error in at
least 96 hours of testing. The next procedure checks that the
1401 hardware is in the same state as it left the factory.
Ensure that the front-panel DC switch, marked , is off, with
the button protruding from the panel. Insert the power-brick
output plug into the DC Power In socket. Check that the Mode
selector is in position 1. Do not connect the data cable. Switch
the Power1401 on. The switch button should light red, while
yellow LEDs flicker. The button should then turn green, while
the yellow LEDs continue to flicker. You can now connect the
data cable. If the button flashes red and green, turn to Trouble
shooting on page 44.
3

Getting started with the Power1401-3
Installing the
Power1401 Once the Power1401 has passed the confidence check, you
should turn to the section which deals with installation for your
computer, starting on page 6. The remainder of this section
deals with general topics. he section starting on page 14
describes the signal inputs and outputs. Following sections deal
with expansion options, maintenance and troubleshooting.
Storage and
operating
environment
The Power1401-3 must be kept in the temperature range of 5°
to +50°Celsius, at a humidity of less than 95% saturation, non-
condensing. The Power1401 is suitable for continuous
operation. The Power1401 is not protected against ingress of
water or dust. There are no hazardous voltages inside the
Power1401. The Power1401 complies with relevant EU and
USA requirements for electromagnetic interference. The
Power1401 can be recycled: please contact CED for further
details.
When choosing a permanent position for your Power1401, note
that it prefers the same sort of environment as suits the host
computer. The Power1401 normally stands on its base, but it
will work on its side or upside down, if required.
Position
To deal with the heat generated by the microprocessor, the
Power1401-3 is equipped with a small fan. This runs
continuously, venting to the rear. Be careful not to obstruct it.
There should be a clear space at least 150 mm behind the case.
The fan
If the fan should fail or be obstructed, a temperature sensor
inside the Power1401 will shut off power to the
microprocessor. The over-temperature condition is indicated by
the LED in the power switch turning off, and the eight ADC
LEDs and two DAC LEDs all turning on. If caused by an
obstruction, removing it and switching the Power1401 off and
on again should restore normal operation.
Over-temperature
state
Over-temperature display: note power LED is off
4