Octagon PC-600 User manual

1
O C T A G O N
S Y S T E M S
Embedded PCs For Extreme Environments
PC–600 Single Board Computer
User’s Manual
5899 (0303)

2
Copyright
Micro PC™, Cambasic, Octagon Systems Corporation®, the Octagon
logo and the Micro PC logo are trademarks of Octagon Systems
Corporation. FlashFX™ and ROM–DOS™ are trademarks of
Datalight. QNX®is a registered trademark of QNX Software Systems
Ltd. Windows 98™, Windows 2000™ , Windows NT™, Windows XP™
and Windows CE.NET™ are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Hyperterminal ™ is a copyright of Hilgraeve, Inc.
Disclaimer
Copyright 2003—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.
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 warranty 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.
6510 W. 91st Ave.
Westminster, CO 80031
Technical support: 303–426–4521
Telephone: [phone]
FAX: [phone]
Web site: www.octagonsystems.com

3
IMPORTANT!
Please read the following section 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.
Using CMOS circuitry in industrial control
Industrial computers originally used LSTTL circuits. Because many
PC components are used in laptop computers, IC manufacturers are
exclusively using CMOS technology. Both TTL and CMOS have failure
mechanisms, but they are different. Described below are some of the
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.

4
The most common failures on Single Board Computers 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, 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.

5
Failure on powerup: 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 powerup. This type of failure is typical on serial interface
chips but can apply any IC on the card.
Under rated power supply: The board may fail to boot due to
an under rated power supply. It is important that a quality power
supply be used with the PC–600 that has sufficient current
capacity, line and load regulation, hold up time, current limiting,
and minimum ripple. It is extremely import to select a supply that
ramps up in 10ms or less. This assures that all the circuitry on the
Single Board Computer sequences properly and avoids system
lockup.
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.
Avoiding damage to the heatsink or CPU
WARNING!
When handling any Octagon Single Board Computer,
extreme care must be taken not to strike the heatsink (if
installed) against another object, such as a table edge.
Also, be careful not to drop the Single Board Computer,
since this may cause damage to the heatsink or CPU as
well.
Note Any physical damage to the CPU control card is not covered under
warranty.

6
Table of Contents
Copyright.................................................................................................................... 2
Disclaimer .................................................................................................................. 2
Using CMOS circuitry in industrial control................................................................ 3
Avoiding damage to the heatsink or CPU ................................................................... 5
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................6
List of Figures................................................................................................................ 11
List of Tables..................................................................................................................12
Overview: Section 1 – Installation............................................................................... 14
Chapter 1: Overview..................................................................................................... 15
Description .................................................................................................................. 15
PC–600 major hardware features.............................................................................. 15
CPU .......................................................................................................................... 15
SDRAM..................................................................................................................... 15
On-board flash ......................................................................................................... 15
Hard disk, CompactFlash, and floppy disk ports................................................... 16
USB ports ................................................................................................................. 16
Serial ports............................................................................................................... 16
Digital I/O ................................................................................................................ 16
Speaker, keyboard, and mouse ports...................................................................... 16
Video......................................................................................................................... 16
PC/104 and PC/104 Plus interface.......................................................................... 16
Ethernet ................................................................................................................... 17
Multifunctional printer port.................................................................................... 17
Watchdog timer added for safety ............................................................................ 17
Real time calendar/clock with battery–backup ...................................................... 17
SETUP information stored in EEPROM for high reliability................................. 17
Hardware reset ........................................................................................................ 18
Temperature Sensor ................................................................................................ 18
5 Volt operation lowers system cost........................................................................ 18
Rugged environmental operation............................................................................ 18
Size ...........................................................................................................................18
PC–600 major software features................................................................................ 19
Diagnostic software verifies system integrity automatically ................................19
Phoenix BIOS........................................................................................................... 19
Octagon BIOS extensions........................................................................................ 19
Boot sequence........................................................................................................... 19
Chapter 2: Quick start.................................................................................................. 20
Hardware installation ................................................................................................ 20
Installing the PC–600................................................................................................. 25
Installation............................................................................................................... 25
Hardware Mounting ................................................................................................ 25
Power connection ..................................................................................................... 26
Power supply requirements ....................................................................................... 26
Monitor ..................................................................................................................... 27

7
Keyboard and mouse ............................................................................................... 27
Speaker..................................................................................................................... 28
Installing an operating system .................................................................................. 28
Chapter 3: Setup programs .......................................................................................... 30
SETUP......................................................................................................................... 30
Main menu ............................................................................................................... 31
Hard drive submenus ........................................................................................... 32
Advanced menu........................................................................................................ 33
Advanced Chipset Control.................................................................................... 34
I/O Device Configuration submenu...................................................................... 35
Audio Options submenu ....................................................................................... 36
PCI/PNP ISA UMB Region Exclusion submenu ................................................. 37
PCI/PNP ISA IRQ Resource Exclusion submenu ............................................... 38
PCI/PNP ISA DMA Resource Exclusion submenu .............................................38
Power menu ............................................................................................................. 39
Boot menu ............................................................................................................. 40
Expanded Boot screen .......................................................................................... 40
Exit menu................................................................................................................. 41
Chapter 4: Save and run programs ............................................................................. 42
Save and run your programs on the PC–600 ............................................................ 42
Saving programs and support files............................................................................ 42
Adding your application .......................................................................................... 42
Overriding the autoexecution of your application ................................................. 43
Option 1 ................................................................................................................. 43
Option 2 ................................................................................................................. 43
Option 3 ................................................................................................................. 43
Overview: Section 2 – Hardware ................................................................................. 44
Chapter 5: Serial ports .................................................................................................45
Description .................................................................................................................. 45
Serial port configurations........................................................................................... 45
Function and use of serial ports ................................................................................48
COM1 as serial console device ................................................................................48
Mating receptacle............................................................................................... 48
COM Ports as RS–232 I/O.......................................................................................49
COM3 and COM4 as RS–422 and RS–485 networks ............................................ 49
RS–422 ..................................................................................................................... 50
RS–485 ..................................................................................................................... 50
Chapter 6: LPT1 parallel port, LCD and Keypad....................................................... 52
LPT1 parallel port ......................................................................................................52
Printer .........................................................................................................................52
Installing a printer .................................................................................................. 52
Display ........................................................................................................................ 53
Installing a display .................................................................................................. 53
Keypad......................................................................................................................... 54
Installing a keypad .................................................................................................. 54
Chapter 7: Console devices ..........................................................................................55
Description .................................................................................................................. 55
Selecting console devices ............................................................................................ 55

8
Serial console ........................................................................................................... 56
Monitor / Keyboard / Mouse .................................................................................... 57
Chapter 8: CompactFlash, SDRAM, and battery backup ...........................................58
Description .................................................................................................................. 58
CompactFlash ............................................................................................................. 58
Creating a bootable CompactFlash......................................................................... 59
SDRAM........................................................................................................................ 59
Battery backup for real time calendar clock ............................................................. 59
Installing an AT battery..........................................................................................60
Chapter 9: External drives........................................................................................... 61
Description .................................................................................................................. 61
Floppy disk controller.................................................................................................61
Power requirements ................................................................................................ 61
Installing a floppy disk drive ..................................................................................61
Hard disk controller ...................................................................................................62
Chapter 10: Digital I/O..................................................................................................63
Description .................................................................................................................. 63
Interfacing to switches and other devices ................................................................. 65
Opto-module rack interface..................................................................................... 65
Organization of banks ................................................................................................67
Port addressing ........................................................................................................ 67
Base I/O address ...................................................................................................... 68
Pulling the I/O lines high or low................................................................................ 68
Configuring and programming the EZ I/O ports ......................................................68
Programming the EZ I/O......................................................................................... 69
Configuring the EZ I/O............................................................................................ 69
Writing and reading from EZ I/O............................................................................ 70
EZ I/O output program examples ........................................................................... 70
EZ I/O input program examples .............................................................................71
Enhanced INT 17h function definitions .................................................................... 71
Initialize EZ I/O ....................................................................................................... 71
Write EZ I/O.............................................................................................................72
Read EZ I/O..............................................................................................................72
Chapter 11: CRTs and flat panels ................................................................................ 74
Description .................................................................................................................. 74
Video features ............................................................................................................. 74
Connecting a monitor ................................................................................................. 75
Connecting a flat panel display ................................................................................. 76
Flat panels requiring bias voltage .......................................................................... 76
Connecting the flat panel to the PC–600................................................................ 78
Programming the video BIOS .................................................................................... 79
Additional notes on video BIOS ..............................................................................80
Chapter 12: Ethernet.................................................................................................... 81
Description .................................................................................................................. 81
Chapter 13: PC/104 and PC/104 Plus expansion ........................................................ 82
Description .................................................................................................................. 82
Chapter 14: Audio......................................................................................................... 83
Description .................................................................................................................. 83

9
Overview: Section 3 – System management ............................................................... 85
Chapter 15: Watchdog timer and hardware reset ...................................................... 86
Description .................................................................................................................. 86
Watchdog timer jumpers ............................................................................................ 86
Watchdog function definitions using enhanced INT 17h handler ........................... 86
Strobe watchdog....................................................................................................... 87
Hardware reset ........................................................................................................... 87
Chapter 16: Serial EEPROM ....................................................................................... 88
Description .................................................................................................................. 88
Enhanced INT 17h function definitions .................................................................... 88
Serial EEPROM .......................................................................................................... 88
Read a single word from the serial EEPROM........................................................ 88
Write a single word to the serial EEPROM ........................................................... 89
Read multiple words from the serial EEPROM ..................................................... 89
Write multiple words to the serial EEPROM......................................................... 90
Return serial EEPROM size ...................................................................................91
Chapter 17: Temperature sensor and user jumper..................................................... 92
Description .................................................................................................................. 92
Temperature sensor INT17h function definitions .................................................... 92
Write TEMP SENSOR register pointer.................................................................. 92
Read TEMP SENSOR current register .................................................................. 93
Write TEMP SENSOR current register .................................................................94
Read TEMP SENSOR Int Status bit ...................................................................... 94
Read user jumper........................................................................................................ 95
Chapter 18: CPU clock, system jumpers, and BIOS recovery....................................96
Description .................................................................................................................. 96
BIOS recovery jumper ................................................................................................97
BIOS programming using PHLASH.EXE ..............................................................98
Chapter 19: Troubleshooting ....................................................................................... 99
No screen activity–checking console serial communications ................................ 99
Garbled console screen activity...............................................................................99
System locks up on powerup; may or may not respond to reset switch..............100
System locks up after powerdown/powerup ......................................................... 100
LED signaling of “beep” codes............................................................................... 100
Description .......................................................................................................... 100
Technical assistance .............................................................................................. 104
Overview: Section 4 – Appendices ............................................................................. 105
Appendix A: PC–600 technical data .......................................................................... 106
Technical specifications............................................................................................ 106
CPU ..................................................................................................................... 106
Bus clock.............................................................................................................. 106
BIOS .................................................................................................................... 106
SDRAM................................................................................................................ 106
Floppy drive ........................................................................................................ 106
Hard drive ........................................................................................................... 106
On-board flash .................................................................................................... 106
Operating systems .............................................................................................. 106
Serial I/O ............................................................................................................. 106

10
Parallel port ........................................................................................................ 106
Watchdog timer................................................................................................... 107
Bus mastering ..................................................................................................... 107
Power requirements............................................................................................ 107
Environmental specifications............................................................................. 107
Size ...................................................................................................................... 107
Mating connectors............................................................................................... 107
Maps .......................................................................................................................... 108
Jumper settings ........................................................................................................ 110
Connector pinouts..................................................................................................... 113
Appendix B: Software utilities................................................................................... 122
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 122
Support commands ................................................................................................ 122
I17HNDLR.EXE ....................................................................................................... 123
LPT1CON.COM ........................................................................................................ 123
PGMVIDEO.EXE...................................................................................................... 124
PHLASH.EXE........................................................................................................... 125
RESET.COM ............................................................................................................. 125
Appendix C: Accessories............................................................................................. 126
Warranty ...................................................................................................................... 127
Limitations on warranty .......................................................................................127
Service policy ......................................................................................................... 128
Returning a product for repair..............................................................................128
Returns................................................................................................................... 129
Governing law ........................................................................................................ 129