Octagon 4010 User manual

4010 User’s Manual
Doc. #03810 Rev. 0198
OCTAGON SYSTEMS CORPORATION®
6510 W. 91st Ave. Westminster, CO 80030
Tech. Support: 303–426–4521
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COPYRIGHT
Copyright 1994, 1998—Octagon Systems Corporation. All rights
reserved. However, any part of this document may be reproduced,
provided that Octagon Systems Corporation is cited as the source.
The contents of this manual and the specifications herein may
change without notice.
TRADEMARKS
Micro PC, PC SmartLink, Octagon Systems Corporation®, the
Octagon logo and the Micro PC logo are trademarks of Octagon
Systems Corporation. QuickBASIC® is a registered trademark of
Microsoft Corporation. ROM-DOSis a trademark of Datalight.
NOTICE TO USER
The information contained in this manual is believed to be correct.
However, Octagon assumes no responsibility for any of the circuits
described herein, conveys no license under any patent or other
right, and makes no representations that the circuits are free from
patent infringement. Octagon makes no representation or war-
ranty that such applications will be suitable for the use specified
without further testing or modification.
Octagon Systems Corporation general policy does not recommend
the use of its products in life support applications where the
failure or malfunction of a component may directly threaten life or
injury. It is a Condition of Sale that the user of Octagon products
in life support applications assumes all the risk of such use and
indemnifies Octagon against all damage.
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Using CMOS Circuitry – 1
IMPORTANT!
Please read before installing your product.
Octagon's products are designed to be high in performance while
consuming very little power. In order to maintain this advantage,
CMOS circuitry is used.
CMOS chips have specific needs and some special requirements
that the user must be aware of. Read the following to help avoid
damage to your card from the use of CMOS chips.
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Using CMOS Circuitry – 2
Using CMOS Circuitry in Industrial Control
Industrial computers originally used LSTTL circuits. Because
many PC components are used in laptop computers, IC manufac-
turers are exclusively using CMOS technology. Both TTL and
CMOS have failure mechanisms, but they are different. This
section describes some of the common failures which are common
to all manufacturers of CMOS equipment. However, much of the
information has been put in the context of the Micro PC.
Octagon has developed a reliable database of customer-induced,
field failures. The average MTBF of Micro PC cards exceeds
11 years, yet there are failures. Most failures have been identified
as customer-induced, but there is a small percentage that cannot
be identified. As expected, virtually all the failures occur when
bringing up the first system. On subsequent systems, the failure
rate drops dramatically.
■Approximately 20% of the returned cards are problem-free.
These cards, typically, have the wrong jumper settings or the
customer has problems with the software. This causes
frustration for the customer and incurs a testing charge from
Octagon.
■Of the remaining 80% of the cards, 90% of these cards fail due
to customer misuse and accident. Customers often cannot
pinpoint the cause of the misuse.
■Therefore, 72% of the returned cards are damaged through
some type of misuse. Of the remaining 8%, Octagon is unable
to determine the cause of the failure and repairs these cards at
no charge if they are under warranty.
The most common failures on CPU cards are over voltage of the
power supply, static discharge, and damage to the serial and
parallel ports. On expansion cards, the most common failures are
static discharge, over voltage of inputs, over current of outputs,
and misuse of the CMOS circuitry with regards to power supply
sequencing. In the case of the video cards, the most common
failure is to miswire the card to the flat panel display. Miswiring
can damage both the card and an expensive display.
■Multiple component failures - The chance of a random
component failure is very rare since the average MTBF of an
Octagon card is greater than 11 years. In a 7 year study,
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Using CMOS Circuitry – 3
Octagon has never found a single case where multiple IC
failures were not caused by misuse or accident. It is very
probable that multiple component failures indicate that they
were user-induced.
■Testing “dead” cards - For a card that is “completely
nonfunctional”, there is a simple test to determine accidental
over voltage, reverse voltage or other “forced” current
situations. Unplug the card from the bus and remove all
cables. Using an ordinary digital ohmmeter on the 2,000 ohm
scale, measure the resistance between power and ground.
Record this number. Reverse the ohmmeter leads and
measure the resistance again. If the ratio of the resistances is
2:1 or greater, fault conditions most likely have occurred. A
common cause is miswiring the power supply.
■Improper power causes catastrophic failure - If a card
has had reverse polarity or high voltage applied, replacing a
failed component is not an adequate fix. Other components
probably have been partially damaged or a failure mechanism
has been induced. Therefore, a failure will probably occur in
the future. For such cards, Octagon highly recommends that
these cards be replaced.
■Other over-voltage symptoms - In over-voltage situations,
the programmable logic devices, EPROMs and CPU chips,
usually fail in this order. The failed device may be hot to the
touch. It is usually the case that only one IC will be
overheated at a time.
■Power sequencing - The major failure of I/O chips is caused
by the external application of input voltage while the Micro PC
power is off. If you apply 5V to the input of a TTL chip with
the power off, nothing will happen. Applying a 5V input to a
CMOS card will cause the current to flow through the input
and out the 5V power pin. This current attempts to power up
the card. Most inputs are rated at 25 mA maximum. When
this is exceeded, the chip may be damaged.
■Failure on power-up - Even when there is not enough
current to destroy an input described above, the chip may be
destroyed when the power to the card is applied. This is due
to the fact that the input current biases the IC so that it acts
as a forward biased diode on power-up. This type of failure is
typical on serial interface chips.
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Using CMOS Circuitry – 4
■Serial and parallel - Customers sometimes connect the serial
and printer devices to the Micro PC while the power is off.
This can cause the failure mentioned in the above section,
Failure upon power-up. Even if they are connected with the
Micro PC on, there can be another failure mechanism. Some
serial and printer devices do not share the same power (AC)
grounding. The leakage can cause the serial or parallel signals
to be 20-40V above the Micro PC ground, thus, damaging the
ports as they are plugged in. This would not be a problem if
the ground pin is connected first, but there is no guarantee of
this. Damage to the printer port chip will cause the serial
ports to fail as they share the same chip.
■Hot insertion - Plugging cards into the card cage with the
power on will usually not cause a problem. (Octagon urges
that you do not do this!) However, the card may be dam-
aged if the right sequence of pins contacts as the card is
pushed into the socket. This usually damages bus driver chips
and they may become hot when the power is applied. This is
one of the most common failures of expansion cards.
■Using desktop PC power supplies - Occasionally, a cus-
tomer will use a regular desktop PC power supply when
bringing up a system. Most of these are rated at 5V at 20A or
more. Switching supplies usually require a 20% load to
operate properly. This means 4A or more. Since a typical
Micro PC system takes less than 2A, the supply does not
regulate properly. Customers have reported that the output
can drift up to 7V and/or with 7-8V voltage spikes. Unless a
scope is connected, you may not see these transients.
■Terminated backplanes - Some customers try to use Micro
PC cards in backplanes that have resistor/capacitor termina-
tion networks. CMOS cards cannot be used with termination
networks. Generally, the cards will function erratically or the
bus drivers may fail due to excessive output currents.
■Excessive signal lead lengths - Another source of failure
that was identified years ago at Octagon was excessive lead
lengths on digital inputs. Long leads act as an antenna to pick
up noise. They can also act as unterminated transmission
lines. When 5V is switch onto a line, it creates a transient
waveform. Octagon has seen submicrosecond pulses of 8V or
more. The solution is to place a capacitor, for example 0.1 µF,
across the switch contact. This will also eliminate radio
frequency and other high frequency pickup.
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iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE.........................................................................1
Conventions Used In This Manual .................................................... 1
Symbols and Terminology .................................................................. 2
Technical Support ............................................................................... 4
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW...............................................5
Description .......................................................................................... 5
Major Features .................................................................................... 5
Where to go from here: ....................................................................... 7
CHAPTER 2: QUICK START........................................11
Hardware Installation ...................................................................... 11
Panel Mounting the 4010 .......................................................... 11
Using a Micro PC Card Cage .................................................... 13
Establishing Communications with the 4010 ................................. 16
Transferring Files between 4010 & YourPC................................... 18
Downloading Files to the 4010 ................................................. 19
CHAPTER 3: EPROMS.................................................21
Description ........................................................................................ 21
SSD1................................................................................................... 21
To Install an EPROM ................................................................ 21
DRAM................................................................................................. 22
CHAPTER 4: SETUP ....................................................23
Description ........................................................................................ 23
Running SETUP ................................................................................ 24
SETUP Example ............................................................................... 28
CHAPTER 5: SAVE & RUN PROGRAMS....................29
Save and Run Your Programs on the 4010 ..................................... 29
Saving Program and Support Files ................................................. 29
Autoexecuting Your Program ........................................................... 32
Overriding Program Autoexecution from SSD1 ............................. 32
Running SETUP Again.............................................................. 33
Removing Jumper W3[3–4] ....................................................... 34
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CHAPTER 6: SERIAL PORTS......................................35
Description ........................................................................................ 35
COM1 as Console I/O........................................................................ 36
COM1 as RS–232 I/O ........................................................................ 37
Disabling Interrupts ......................................................................... 37
Using QuickBASIC to Communicate Via COM1............................ 37
Systems with a video card......................................................... 38
Systems without a video card ................................................... 38
Using Turbo C ............................................................................ 40
CHAPTER 7: WATCHDOG TIMER...............................41
Description ........................................................................................ 41
CHAPTER 8: LPT1 PRINTER PORT............................43
Description ........................................................................................ 43
Printer................................................................................................ 43
Display ............................................................................................... 44
Keypad ............................................................................................... 44
CHAPTER 9: SERIAL EEPROM ..................................45
Description ........................................................................................ 45
Reading the Serial EEPROM ........................................................... 45
Writing to the Serial EEPROM ....................................................... 45
CHAPTER 10: VIDEO/KEYBOARD/SPEAKER...........47
Description ........................................................................................ 47
Using a Video Monitor and Keyboard ............................................. 48
Saving a Program to the 4010................................................... 48
Transferring Files to the 4010 .................................................. 49
Transferring Files from the 4010 ............................................. 50
CHAPTER 11: EXTERNAL DRIVES ............................51
Description ........................................................................................ 51
Floppy Disk Drives ........................................................................... 51
Power Requirements.................................................................. 51
Hard Disk Drive................................................................................ 55
Power Requirements.................................................................. 56
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CHAPTER 12: PC/104 ..................................................57
CHAPTER 13: USING YOUR OWN DOS.....................59
Description ........................................................................................ 59
Getting Started ................................................................................. 59
Selecting Boot, Memory, and Drive Options................................... 60
Booting the 4010 from a Floppy/Hard Disk Drive .................. 60
Booting from SSD1 with/without a Floppy Drive ................... 61
CHAPTER 14: TROUBLESHOOTING..........................63
CHAPTER 15: TECHNICAL DATA...............................67
Technical Specifications ................................................................... 67
Jumper Settings ................................................................................ 70
Connector Pinouts ............................................................................. 71
Micro PC Bus Pinouts....................................................................... 77
APPENDIX A:.................................................................79
Introduction ....................................................................................... 79
COM1CON.COM............................................................................... 80
DISKSAVE.EXE................................................................................ 81
DISKSEND.EXE ............................................................................... 84
FAST.COM ........................................................................................ 86
LPT1CON.COM ................................................................................ 87
MEMDRIVE.SYS .............................................................................. 88
RESET.COM...................................................................................... 91
SETUP.COM ..................................................................................... 92
SLEEP.COM ...................................................................................... 94
SLOW.COM ....................................................................................... 95
TRANSFER.EXE............................................................................... 96
APPENDIX B:.................................................................99
Programming Standard EPROMs ................................................... 99
Custom Communication Cable......................................................... 99
Power Supply................................................................................... 100
Uploading Files from the 4010....................................................... 100
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vi
Assigning Drive Designators.......................................................... 101
Example .................................................................................... 102
Extended Memory ........................................................................... 102
Interrupts ........................................................................................ 104
Disabling Interrupts ................................................................ 105
Using Microsoft Windows 3.1 ........................................................ 105
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Preface – 1
PREFACE
This manual provides all the information required to install,
configure, and operate the 4010 Micro PC Control Card. It is part
of Octagon’s Micro PC user manual series. To receive the Micro PC
User Manual Binder, please return the reply card included with
your Control Card.
By using this manual, you will be able to:
• Interface the 4010 Control Card to your PC and the Micro PC
expansion cards.
• Set up communications between the 4010 card and a PC.
• Gain an understanding of the operation and various options
allowed in the 4010 Control Card.
CONVENTIONS USED IN THIS MANUAL
1. Information which appears on your screen (output from your
system, commands or data that you key in) is shown in a
different type face.
Octagon 4010 BIOS Vers x.xx
Copyright (c) 1994 Octagon Systems, Corp.
All Rights Reserved.
2. Italicized refers to information that is specific to your particu-
lar system or program, e.g.,
Enter filename
means enter the name of your file.
3. Warnings always appear in this format:
The warning message appears here.
4. Paired angle brackets are used to indicate a specific key on
your keyboard, e.g., <ESC> means the escape key; <CTRL>
means the control key; <F1> means the F1 function key.
5. All addresses are given in hexadecimal.
WARNING:
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Preface – 2
SYMBOLS AND TERMINOLOGY
Throughout this manual, the following symbols and terminology
are used:
W[ – ] Denotes a jumper block and the pins to
connect.
Autoexecution Automatic execution of a program on power–
up or reset.
BIOS drive The solid–state disk which contains the
system BIOS and ROM–DOS.
Console Port Video card or COM1 where BIOS and DOS
messages appear and keyboard input is
available.
Control Card Contains the CPU, memory, and operating
system and controls the operation of all the
extension cards.
DRAM Dynamic Random Access Memory devices.
DRAMs provide volatile memory with
unlimited read and write cycles.
Expansion Card The expansion cards add I/O functions to the
Micro PC system, such as analog input/
output, digital input/output, motion control,
display, and so on.
Flash memory Electrically erasable EPROM which allows
approximately 10,000 writes.
Memory device The type of static RAM, DRAM, flash memory
or EPROM specified for either volatile or
nonvolatile memory.
PC SmartLINK A serial communications software package
designed by Octagon for use with the 4010
Control Card. Refers to all versions of PC
SmartLINK.
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Preface – 3
ROM Read Only Memory devices. ROMs provide
nonvolatile memory, have a limited number of
write cycles, and include EPROMs,
EEPROMs, and flash memory.
ROM–DOS DOS operating system included in Micro PC
ROM.
Solid–State Disk A simulated disk using a high speed solid–
(SSD) state memory device, for example flash
memory, EEPROM, or static RAM.
Static RAM Static Random Access Memory device. Static
RAMs provide volatile memory with unlim-
ited read and write cycles. They may be used
with a battery back–up module.
TTL Compatible Transistor transistor logic compatible; 0–5V
logic levels.
Virtual Drive A disk created in DOS or extended memory
which emulates an actual disk. Provides
temporary storage for files. When power to
the computer is turned off the virtual drive
disappears.
XMODEM A communications protocol which allows
transfer of files between two computers.
XON/XOFF A communications protocol for asynchronous
connections. The receiver can pace the sender
by sending the XOFF and XON characters to
stop and continue the data flow.
H The suffix “H” denotes a hexadecimal num-
ber. A decimal number has no prefix or
suffix. For example, 1000H and 4096 are
equivalent.
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Preface – 4
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
If you have a question about the 4010 Control Card and cannot find
the answer in this manual, call Technical Support. They will be
ready to give you the assistance you need.
When you call, please have the following at hand:
Your 4010 Control Card User’s Manual
A description of your problem.
The direct line to Technical Support is 303–426–4521.
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Overview – 5
CHAPTER 1 OVERVIEW
DESCRIPTION
The 4010 is a low cost, single board PC for use in a wide variety of
embedded applications. The 25 MHz 386SX and 486SLC
processors have enough processing power for most control and data
acquisition applications.
Despite its small size, the features include: DOS 5.0 in ROM; two
serial ports; a parallel port; a dual floppy drive port; a hard drive
port that supports 2.5 in. hard drives; a watchdog timer; 2 MB of
DRAM; 512K of flash memory with integral programmer or 1 MB
of standard EPROM; keyboard and speaker ports; two solid–state
disks; and ISA and 8/16–bit, PC/104 connectors.
The card can be used in a stand–alone mode or installed in a
passive ISA bus backplane. For very small systems one or two
PC/104 expansion cards may be stacked on the 4010. The 4010 can
also be installed in three or four slot card cages.
MAJOR FEATURES
Instant DOS
The 4010 is an “instant DOS” system. The card includes 5.0
compatible DOS in a solid–state disk. The system boots and
operates the same way as your desktop PC.
Watchdog Timer
The watchdog timer resets the system if the program stops
unexpectedly. The watchdog is enabled under software control.
The timeout is 1.2 seconds.
Calendar/Clock
The 4010 has a built–in, AT style calendar/clock. An external AT
clock battery plugs into the card and powers the clock during
power–down.
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Overview – 6
Solid–State Disk Options
SSD0 contains the BIOS and DOS 5.0 in ROM. SSD1 is used for
storage of the applications program. 128K or 512K flash memory
(5V) may be used. The flash memory programmer is built–in
allowing reprogramming locally or through a serial port. Standard
EPROMs up to 1 MB may also be used. The solid–state disks look
like disks to the user. All the necessary software is provided.
Speaker and Keyboard Port
The 4010 accepts any AT keyboard and has the small PS–2 style
keyboard connector. The speaker port is a 3–pin connector for use
with any external speaker from 8–50 ohms.
Mounting
There are several ways to mount the 4010:
1. Plug it directly into a Micro PC card cage.
2. Use the optional PC mounting bracket and plug it into any
passive backplane.
3. Panel mount it using the four mounting holes. A screw
terminal connector is used to supply the 5V power.
4. Stack it with other Micro PC cards.
COM1 and COM2 Serial Ports
COM1 and COM2 serial ports are 16C450 compatible. The baud
rates are programmable from 150 to 115K baud. Both ports have a
RS–232 interface. RS–232 voltages are generated on–card.
LPT1 Parallel Port
The LPT1 parallel port can be used for a printer port or for general
purpose I/O. For embedded applications an interface board and
software are available to interface with a 4–line LCD display and a
16–position keypad. The port can also be connected to the
MPB–16PC, a 16–position opto module rack for driving high
current AC and DC loads.
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Overview – 7
Floppy and hard disk support
The dual floppy port supports all 3.5 in. and 5.25 in. drives up to
1.44 MB. The hard drive interface is a 16–bit IDE controller with
a 2 mm. connector for 2.5 in. drives.
Setup stored in serial EEPROM
The 4010 stores the setup information in nonvolatile EEPROM; as
a result it is immune to battery or power failure. The user can also
store additional information in the EEPROM. Up to 1,892 bytes
are available.
Hardware Reset
You can reset the system without turning off the power using the
hardware reset button or the RESET command. It also provides a
more complete reset than the <CTL> <ALT> <DEL> method.
Boot sequence
A system can execute from the on–card, solid–state disk, floppy or
hard disk.
Where to go from here:
Before you can begin developing your application program for the
4010, we recommend you read Chapters 2–4. These chapters give
instructions for hardware installation, downloading and saving
your program, and autoexecuting your application.
Chapter 2 Covers the basics of setting up
Quick Start a 4010 system. This chapter de-
scribes how to install the 4010 into
the card cage, how to establish a
serial communications link with your
PC and how to download files to the
4010.
Chapter 3 Configuring and installing EPROMs.
EPROMs
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Overview – 8
Chapter 4 Running the SETUP configura-
SETUP tion program.
Chapter 5 How to save your program files
Save & Run and autoexecute them from the
Programs 4010.
Chapter 6 Using COM1 and COM2. Setting
Serial Ports COM1 as the main console I/O for
serial communications with your PC.
Chapter 7 Enabling the watchdog timer
Watchdog Timer and configuring the timeouts.
Chapter 8 Using the LPT1 parallel port for a
LPT1 Parallel Port printer, display or keypad.
Chapter 9 How to read and write to the serial
Serial EEPROM EEPROM.
Chapter 10 Configuring the 4010 with a
Video/Keyboard/Speaker video, keyboard and speaker.
Chapter 11 Configuring the 4010 with a
External Drives floppy drive or hard drive.
Chapter 12 Using a PC/104 module.
PC/104
Chapter 13 Configuring the 4010 with a
Using Your Own DOS version of DOS other than ROM–
DOS.
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Overview – 9
Chapter 14 Problems encountered when
Troubleshooting using the 4010.
Chapter 15 Technical specifications,
Technical Data jumper configurations and connector
pinouts.
Appendix A Description and operation of
Software Utilities software utility programs and device
drivers.
Appendix B Using non–Octagon cables, program-
ming EPROMs, uploading files from
the 4010, assigning drive designators
and using interrupts.
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Overview – 10
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