Product category:
VMEbus Boards and Assemblies
News Release from: Pentek | Subject: Model 6256
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 28 July 2004
Front-end module offers more A/D and
FPGA gates
Pentek has developed a high-performance software radio front end with two 105MHz 14bit A/D convertors and two user-configurable Virtex-II Pro FPGAs.
Pentek has developed a high-performance, software radio front end with two 105MHz 14bit A/D convertors and two user-configurable Virtex-II Pro FPGAs This VIM-2 module targets computing-intensive engines found in applications such as real-time wideband processing, radar and wireless
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 14 Apr 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Upgraded VME board has more power and peripherals
Due to strong demand for the industry's first onboard, one-slot Fibre Channel VME board, Pentek now offers additional I/O, memory and real-time processing options.
Up to two Model 6256s can be mounted on Pentek's VIM baseboards featuring Texas Instruments' C6000s or Motorola's G4 PowerPCs while maintaining a single-slot configuration.
This single-slot, dual 6256 combination boasts four A/D channels and an unprecedented 24 million FPGA gates.
This module offers a unique second-slot option to increase the number of A/D channels to up to eight without requiring an additional baseboard.
Further reading
Speedy sampling for VMEbus DSP board
A new single-channel 6U VMEbus board features one of the fastest 12bit A/D convertors in the market with sampling rates to 210MHz.
Mezzanine board puts FPGA signal processing on VME
A novel configurable logic VIM-2 (Velocity Interface Mezzanine) module features dual FPGAs from the new high-density Xilinx Virtex-II Pro family, including Models XC2VP20 and XC2VP50.
Multiband receivers made for CompactPCI systems
Pentek has made its first foray into the cPCI market with 16- and 32-channel multiband-receiver boards featuring 14bit A/D convertors and Virtex-II FPGAs for signal processing.
The second-slot option not only saves the user development dollars, but also delivers optimum data throughput, processing and system efficiencies.
In addition, the Model 6256 can be easily combined with a multitude of compatible COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) PMC and VIM I/O modules, including high-speed A/Ds, D/As, digital up-convertors, digital down-convertors and various digital I/O modules such as FPDP-II.
"The Model 6256 extends the processing power and gate density of our most popular board - the Model 6236 - by as much as four times the horsepower".
"By boosting the base system to four A/D channels with the power of the Virtex-II Pro FPGAs, we offer our customers the highest-density board in the industry", notes Rodger Hosking, Vice President of Pentek.
"Plus, the 6256 system configurations are extremely flexible, allowing two to eight A/D channels and 12 to 24 million FPGA gates, depending on the needs of the user".
"This allows customers to pay only for what they need in their system".
The Model 6256 also provides a performance boost for Pentek's RTS development platforms.
New systems are soon to be released.
For large multichannel beam-forming systems, Pentek's Model 9190 timing generator drives up to eighty 6256 modules (totalling 320 A/D channels) to share common clocking and synchronisation signals for simultaneous capture and signal processing.
Featuring Xilinx Virtex-II Pro Model XC2VP20 and XC2VP50 FPGAs, the Model 6256 includes factory-installed functions for data formatting, channel selection, timing and triggering with ample room for custom configurations or off-the-shelf FPGA algorithms.
The Model 6256 includes 84 interconnects between the two FPGAs to boost internal data communications.
The module also supports dedicated FPGA paths from each A/D pair to allow for more efficient and faster processing.
Model 6256 FPGAs are each equipped with 64Mbyte SDRAM connected with separate address and data buses, allowing independent access from each FPGA.
This SDRAM supports digital delay and transient data capture functions, which are critical for many real-time applications such as signal intelligence tracking receivers.
In addition, 16Mbyte of Flash memory is attached to each FPGA to handle boot and program code for the internal PowerPC processors.
The FPGA outputs connect directly through the VIM (Velocity Interface Mezzanine) to the 32bit synchronous FIFO on the VIM processor board, where it is buffered for efficient block transfers.
Pentek's GateFlow FPGA design kit streamlines custom FPGA development tasks to take advantage of the generous FPGA resources available in the Virtex-II Pro devices.
Ideal for customer implementation of signal processing functions such as convolution, framing, pattern recognition and decompression, the design kit includes VHDL source code for all board interfaces, project files and utilities so the developer can easily implement his algorithm.
GateFlow Installed Cores feature Pentek's streamlined FFTs (fast Fourier transform), digital receivers and pulse-compression algorithms.
These specialised functions save development time and offer highly optimised, ready-to-use solutions.
For example, using proprietary block memory architecture, the GateFlow FFT executes a pipelined complex 4k-point radix-4 FFT in less than 10us, which is four times the real-time rate.
A 1k-point version of the FFT is also available.
As these GateFlow FFT execution speeds are more than ten times faster than an optimised FFT algorithm running on a 500MHz G4 PowerPC, they can offload tasks from the processor to dramatically slash system costs.
Pentek's ReadyFlow board support library is composed of C-callable device functions that simplify board operation and setup.
Functions include mezzanine board control, DMA data transfers, data formatting and interrupt resource management.
Pentek also offers device drivers for Linux.
Third-party and Pentek software development tools are available for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux and Solaris.
The Model 6256 is immediately available starting at $7195 with ARO of approximately 8-10 weeks.
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