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When the CompactPCI (News - Alert) (cPCI) standard for PCI-based telecom (and industrial) computers was formulated back in the 1990s, it was made an electrically compatible superset of the familiar desktop PCI-bus computers, but with a different physical form factor. In particular, CompactPCI uses the Eurocard form factor first popularized by the earlier VME bus. CompactPCI defines both 3U (100mm by 160 mm) and 6U (160mm by 233 mm) card sizes. 3U systems immediately became quite popular, since they were not too much thicker than the 1U and 2U “pizza boxes” then coming into vogue, and they cost less than more spacious 6U boards (which obviously tend to run hotter, owing to their size).

 

Recently, MEN Micro Inc., a well-known name in embedded computing and I/O solutions for industrial, mobile and harsh environment applications, introduced yet another new ruggedized 3U CompactPCI family consisting of two single board computers (SBCs) and a rack. All three are said to perform reliably in temperatures ranging from -40C to +85C.

 

MEN Micro’s offers a standard convection-cooled F50P SBC, but the new line also includes the conduction-cooled F50C which in turn fits nicely into MEN Micro’s new conduction-cooled rack (Model # 0701-0054). The new rack accommodates less costly 3U cards designed for ventilated systems, when mounted within conduction-cooled adapter frames. Convection-cooled SBCs are fitted with tailored heat sinks that are necessary for the boards to function in high temperatures. When integrated into dedicated CCA (circuit card assembly) frames, they become conduction-cooled (F50C series) boards, available for standalone use up to +85C or for installation in the new conduction-cooled rack. This frame design maintains 20% to 30% more usable card space than more expensive card designs conforming to VITA 30.1.

 

Both the F50P and F50C SBCs can be configured with either the MPC8548 or MPC8543 PowerPC processors running at speeds up to 1.5 GHz. The boards can hold up to 2 MB of SDRAM, 2 MB non-volatile SRAM, 128 K non-volatile FRAM and up to 16 GB of Flash solid state disk storage.

 

Each board provides varied front- and rear-connection I/O options including a minimum of 4 USB ports, up to three 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet channels and up to two SATA ports. Additional FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array)-controlled I/O, a standard on conduction-cooled models and optional on convection-cooled models, enables support for up to 62 additional I/O lines for user-defined functions in application-specific needs such as graphics, touch screens, serial interfaces, fieldbus controllers and binary I/O.

 

Both SBC have soldered components that can withstand shock and vibration, and will accept additional protection in the form of an optional conformal coating. Each supports system expansion via the full cPCI interface, or they be used as a busless stand-alone board with power supplied from the backplane. All versions run popular Linux, VxWorks, QNX, INTEGRITY and OS-9 operating system software.

 

As for the conduction-cooled cPCI rack, it’s a heat-dissipating enclosure designed to run in environments with temperatures ranging from -40C to +85C (-40F to +185F). It is IP-65 compliant, hermetically sealed against environmental impacts and uses wedge locks and MIL-C-38999 connectors to offer excellent vibration and shock resistance. The 200 mm x 350 mm x 145 mm unit is equipped with three 3U cPCI slots for one CPU board with a side card and one I/O board, as well as a PSU slot with an H15 connector. It accommodates both front and rear I/O wiring of boards installed within the enclosure.

 

Other MEN Micro 3U cPCI boards, from the F14 (Celeron M) to the power-saving F18 (Core 2 Duo) boards, are also adaptable with CCA frames, which makes for an affordable way to implement standard boards within the new conduction-cooled rack unit.

 

Pricing starts at $1,637 for the F50C and USD $2,322 for the F50P. The conduction-cooled rack is $5,473.