Product category:
Design and Development Hardware
News Release from: Servenger | Subject: PAMs
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 13 August 2004
Modules offer easy analogue array
development
A new hardware development platform gives designers a running start working with field programmable analogue arrays (FPAAs) from Anadigm.
A new hardware development platform gives designers a running start working with field programmable analogue arrays (FPAAs) from Anadigm Servenger's new Programmable Analogue Module (PAM) products are predesigned circuit boards and accessories that allow users to quickly and easily design analogue sensor interfaces, measurement circuits, voice band processing circuits, PID systems, and myriad of other analogue functions that can be implemented in a software-controlled FPAA
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 16 Jan 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Completely compatible with the AnadigmDesigner2 drag-and-drop EDA tool, the Servenger PAM products provide power, control, clocking, input and output analogue buffering, and serial communications to the host computer - allowing designers to use the PAM board straight out of the box as a free-standing evaluation module or as a board-level system component.
"With the PAM-5000R, we're giving designers the opportunity to work smarter with programmable analogue, since we've done all the FPAA setup work", said Steve Wetterling, President at Servenger.
"Take the module out of the box, plug in the included power adapter, and connect it to a PC".
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"That's all the setup that's required to get on the way to speeding up your design cycle and reducing time to market".
In an advance over standard FPAA development kits, the Servenger PAM gives designers the unique ability to format and store the downloaded design configuration file into an onboard EEPROM for later stand-alone operation, making unnecessary the purchase of a separate programmer.
"The new Servenger PAMs are the first third-party development tool that Anadigm has authorised for use with its FPAAs", said Nathan John, Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Anadigm.
"We are extremely pleased with the system that Servenger has created and anticipate that it will be very useful for customers working with FPAAs in a broad range of analogue applications".
The PAM-5000R, the initial product in the new Servenger series, provides: seven analogue inputs and two outputs; an onboard Anadigm AN221E04 FPAA, EEPROM, and power supply; an RS232 interface; and accessories including an AC adapter, serial cable, mating connectors, and quick start guide.
Board dimensions are 79 x 74mm.
An extensive technical user manual is provided on the Servenger website.
The Anadigm AN221E04 FPAA provided on the PAM-5000R can be programmed and reprogrammed to perform an open-ended set of analogue circuit functions.
The AnadigmDesigner2 graphical design environment runs in Microsoft Windows and allows the designer to select from a large library of pretested analogue functions and then place and connect them to create the desired circuit simply by dragging and dropping.
Selecting the "download" button compiles a configuration file and downloads it over the RS232 serial port into the Anadigm FPAA in the Servenger PAM.
The compile and download process takes just a few seconds.
The Anadigm FPAA is completely reconfigurable.
To adjust a parameter or to make a major change, the designer simply downloads a new file.
AnadigmDesigner2 handles all of the internal details of the FPAA configuration.
For system installations requiring a continuous stream of configuration updates (such as a multichannel measurement system with per-channel on-the-fly calibration), AnadigmDesigner2 delivers C-code representations of the analogue functions that can be added to system-level control code.
Beyond its commercial applications, the Servenger PAM-5000R is a compelling tool for education, experimentation, and hobbyists, enabling hands-on demonstrations of a vast range of analogue circuit types as well as a designer's playground of creative do-it-yourself projects from stereo effects to security systems.
Priced at $369, the Servenger PAM-5000R is available now.
Discounted packages of five and ten PAMs are also available.
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