Octagon PC-600 User manual

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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)

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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List of Figures
Figure 2–1 PC–600 component diagram (also see table, page 24) ......................... 21
Figure 2–2 PC–600 center-to-center hole dimensions (inches, thousandths)........ 22
Figure 2–3 PC–600 center-to-center hole dimensions (millimeters)...................... 23
Figure 2–4 Power connector, J9 ............................................................................... 26
Figure 5–1 Null modem adapter and VTC–20F/VTC–20M cable .......................... 49
Figure 5–2 Typical RS–422 four-wire interface circuit........................................... 50
Figure 5–3 Typical RS–485 half duplex interface circuit ....................................... 51
Figure 5–4 Typical RS–485 full duplex interface circuit ........................................ 51
Figure 6–1 LPT1 as a printer port ........................................................................... 53
Figure 6–2 LPT1 as a display or keypad port.......................................................... 54
Figure 7–1 The PC–600 and a serial console........................................................... 56
Figure 7–2 VTC–20F cable and null modem adapter ............................................. 57
Figure 10–1 Typical EZ I/O configurations ............................................................... 64
Figure 10–2 Organization of banks............................................................................ 67
Figure 11–1 The PC–600 and a VGA monitor........................................................... 75
Figure 11–2 The PC–600 and a flat panel display .................................................... 79
Figure 13–1 Typical PC/104 module stack ................................................................ 82
Figure 14–1 Audio cable ............................................................................................. 84

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List of Tables
Table 2–1 PC–600 connector functions .................................................................. 24
Table 2–2 Power connector pinout ......................................................................... 26
Table 5–1 Serial port configurations ...................................................................... 46
Table 5–2 COM1, COM2, COM3 and COM4 connector pinouts........................... 47
Table 5–3 COM3 and COM4 jumper settings........................................................ 48
Table 8–1 CompactFlash configuration jumpers, W13 ......................................... 58
Table 8–2 Battery connector: J19.......................................................................... 60
Table 10–1 EZ I/O connectors: J6 and J13............................................................... 63
Table 10–2 EZ I/O opto-rack interface ..................................................................... 66
Table 10–3 EZ I/O port address................................................................................ 67
Table 10–4 EZ I/O pull-up/pull-down jumpers: W2 and W4 .................................. 68
Table 10–5 EZ I/O port byte...................................................................................... 69
Table 11–1 J18, CRT connector ................................................................................ 76
Table 11–2 J14, flat panel connector........................................................................ 77
Table 11–3 J16, flat panel backlight connector ....................................................... 77
Table 11–4 Display jumpers W6, W9, W12.............................................................. 78
Table 12–1 Ethernet LEDs ....................................................................................... 81
Table 14–1 J20, Audio connector.............................................................................. 83
Table 15–1 W10, watchdog timer jumpers............................................................... 86
Table 18–1 W1, CPU clock speed jumper................................................................. 96
Table 18–2 W12, system jumpers............................................................................. 97
Table 19–1 BIOS beep codes................................................................................... 102
Table A–1 PC–600 DMA map................................................................................ 108
Table A–2 PC–600 I/O map ................................................................................... 108
Table A–3 PC–600 interrupt map ......................................................................... 109
Table A–4 PC–600 memory map........................................................................... 109
Table A–5 W1, CPU clock speed ........................................................................... 110
Table A–6 EZ I/O pull-up/pull-down jumpers: W2 and W4 ................................ 110
Table A–7 W3, W5, W7, W11 – COM3 and COM4 jumper settings.................... 111
Table A–8 Display jumpers W6, W9, W12............................................................ 111
Table A–9 W10, watchdog timer ........................................................................... 112
Table A–10 W12, system jumpers........................................................................... 112
Table A–11 CompactFlash configuration jumpers, W13 ....................................... 112
Table A–12 J4, J5 – COM1, COM2, COM3 and COM4 connector pinouts........... 113
Table A–13 EZ I/O connectors: J6 and J13 (arranged by function) ...................... 114
Table A–14 EZ I/O connectors: J6 and J13 (arranged by pins) ............................. 114
Table A–15 J8 – LPT1 ............................................................................................. 115
Table A–16 J9 – Power connector pinout ............................................................... 115
Table A–17 J10 – PS2 Keyboard Mouse ................................................................. 115
Table A–18 J12 – Floppy drive................................................................................ 116
Table A–19 J14, flat panel connector...................................................................... 117
Table A–20 J16, flat panel backlight connector ..................................................... 117
Table A–21 J17 – EIDE ........................................................................................... 118
Table A–22 J18, CRT connector .............................................................................. 118

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Table A–23 J19 – Battery connector....................................................................... 119
Table A–24 J20 – Audio connector.......................................................................... 119
Table A–25 J600 – PC/104 connector...................................................................... 120
Table A–26 PC/104 Plus connector ......................................................................... 121
Table C–1 Cables and terminal board .................................................................. 126
Table C–2 LCD displays and keypads .................................................................. 126
Table C–3 Miscellaneous part numbers ............................................................... 126

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Overview: Section 1 – Installation
Section 1 provides installation and programming instructions, startup
options, and system configuration program examples. The following
chapters are included:
Chapter 1: Overview
Chapter 2: Quick start
Chapter 3: Setup programs
Chapter 4: Save and run programs

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Chapter 1: Overview
Description
The PC–600 Single Board Computer is intended for higher–
performance embedded control applications. The PC–600 integrates
serial communication, IDE hard disk port, CompactFlash socket,
floppy disk port, a multifunctional parallel port, a keyboard/mouse
port, a video interface, two USB ports, an audio port, two 10/100BaseT
Ethernet ports, and 48 digital I/O lines. The PC–600 can be used in a
stand–alone mode or expanded through a PC/104 or PC/104 Plus
interface.
The PC–600comes with a BIOS loaded on a flash device for easy
updates. It is fully compatible with most popular operating systems.
Since the PC–600 uses the same functional blocks as the Micro PC™,
the circuitry has been fully proven as reliable and the software is
compatible with the software in the Micro PC series.
PC–600 major hardware features
CPU
The CPU is a high–performance, low–power National Semiconductor
Geode GX1 CPU with a maximum clock speed of 300 MHz. It uses the
CS5530A companion chip for some of the peripherals. The PC–600 has
an ISA bus speed of 8.33 MHz.
SDRAM
The memory socket can accept up to 512 MB capacity SO-DIMM
modules.
On-board flash
On board is a 512 KB SMT boot flash that contains the BIOS drive
and a suite of embedded software.

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Hard disk, CompactFlash, and floppy disk ports
The IDE hard drive port is terminated with a 44–pin, 2 mm connector
and supplies power to 2.5” hard drives. CompactFlash appears as an
IDE device and has a locking type interface. The BIOS supports up to
three IDE drives. The floppy drive port is terminated with a standard
34–pin connector and up to two floppy drives are supported.
USB ports
The CS5530A companion chip supports two USB channels, which are
available when using an operating system that supports USB. Both
channels are open HCI compliant.
Serial ports
The PC–600 has four serial ports with combinations of RS–232C, RS–
422, and RS–485 interfaces.
Digital I/O
The 48 digital I/O lines will interface with logic devices, switch inputs,
LEDs and industry standard opto module racks. The I/O lines are 0–
5V logic compatible. They can be individually programmed as inputs
or outputs.
Speaker, keyboard, and mouse ports
The audio connector has a speaker output, which is PC compatible.
The keyboard controller accepts an AT style keyboard and has a PS–2
type connector. The mouse port is combined with the keyboard port
and is accessed with a “y” cable. Neither the keyboard nor the mouse
is required for operation.
Video
CRTs and flat panel displays are supported up to 1024 x 768
resolution.
PC/104 and PC/104 Plus interface
The PC/104 interface accepts an 8– or 16–bit PC/104 expansion board.
The PC/104 Plus accepts industry-standard PC/104 Plus boards.
PC/104 expansion boards are available from several manufacturers.

17
Up to two PC/104 or one PC/104 Plus expansion board may be stacked
on the PC–600.
Ethernet
The PC–600 provides two 10/100BaseT Ethernet ports and supports
the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard.
Multifunctional printer port
The PC–600 incorporates the latest enhanced parallel port and
includes unidirectional, bidirectional, ECP and EPP modes.
The following represent applications in the multifunctional parallel
port:
LPT1 for PC compatible printers
17 general purpose digital I/O lines
Up to a 4 x 4 matrix keypad
4–line alphanumeric display
Watchdog timer added for safety
The watchdog timer resets the system if the program stops
unexpectedly. The watchdog is enabled, disabled, and strobed by
software control. The time–out period is jumper-selectable from
approximately 0.5 to 64 seconds.
Real time calendar/clock with battery–backup
The real time clock is fully AT compatible and uses the standard DOS
calls. An optional off–card battery powers the real time clock when the
5 volt supply is removed. A connector is provided for the external
battery.
SETUP information stored in EEPROM for high
reliability
Loss of SETUP data is serious in industrial applications. Most PCs
store SETUP information in battery–backed CMOS RAM. If the
battery fails or is replaced during routine maintenance, this
information is lost. Without a keyboard and monitor in embedded
applications, time consuming re–initialization is required. The PC–
600 stores the system SETUP information in nonvolatile RAM so that

18
it is still available if the battery backup fails or is not used. There is
1024 bytes available to the user. Software routines to use this
available memory come with the PC–600.
Hardware reset
A hardware reset ensures complete reset of the system and all
attached peripherals. A hardware reset can be done by any of the
following methods:
An expired watchdog timer cycle
Depressing the reset switch or pulling the reset pin to ground
Cycling power
Power supervisor reset
Temperature Sensor
A serial temperature sensor is located on the card. It is accessed
through INT17 calls.
5 Volt operation lowers system cost
The PC–600 operates from a single 5V ±5% supply.
5V ±5%
+12V (if connected to power connector) supplied to PC/104
connector; not required for PC–600 operation
Rugged environmental operation
Operating temperature –40° to 70°C
Nonoperating temperature –55° to 95°C
Relative humidity 5% to 95% noncondensing
Altitude –100 to 10,000 m
Shock 40g, 3 axis
Vibration 5g, 3 axis
Size
5.75" x 8.0" x 0.80"

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PC–600 major software features
Diagnostic software verifies system integrity
automatically
The PC–600 has built–in diagnostic software that can be used to
verify on–card I/O and memory functions. On powerup, a series of
tests is performed. If a problem occurs, the failed test can be identified
by a flashing LED. The test is performed automatically every time the
system is reset or powered up. Memory verification does not require
software, test equipment, monitor, keyboard, disks, or test fixtures.
See the “Troubleshooting” chapter for a complete listing of tests and
failures and their descriptions.
Phoenix BIOS
The PC–600 has a Phoenix BIOS with Octagon BIOS extensions. The
BIOS extensions support the INT17 functions.
Octagon BIOS extensions
On–board BIOS extensions allow easy access to digital I/O, watchdog
timer functions, etc.
Boot sequence
A PC–600 can be configured to boot from a CompactFlash, a floppy
disk, a hard disk, or a CD ROM.

20
Chapter 2: Quick start
This chapter covers the basics of setting up a PC–600 system. Refer to
the PC–600 component diagram (Fig. 2-1) for the location of the
various connectors. The following topics are discussed:
Mounting the PC–600
Installing an operating system
Loading files to the PC–600 and running a program.
Hardware installation
WARNING!
The PC–600 contains static-sensitive CMOS components.
To avoid damaging your card and its components:
Ground yourself before handling the card
Disconnect power before removing or inserting a PC/104
expansion board.