Diamond Systems HELIOS : HLV1000-256DV PC/104 SBC with 1 GHz Vortex86DX, Digital I/O and VGA/LCD Video

Legacy control systems built around DOS software still need a board that boots quickly, runs cool and fits a PC/104 stack. The HLV1000-256DV is the 1 GHz digital I/O build in the Diamond Systems HELIOS series: a low-power PC/104 SBC with a single-chip Vortex86DX processor, soldered memory and VGA and LVDS video, without the analogue circuit.

The Vortex86DX runs at 1 GHz with 256 MB of DRAM soldered on board. Graphics cover a CRT (VGA) output and an LVDS LCD interface for a local flat panel. An on-board 2 MB bootable flash drive comes with FreeDOS installed, so the board can start without extra storage, which saves cost in DOS applications and lets engineers check a board quickly by connecting a keyboard, monitor and power.

System I/O covers four USB 2.0 ports, two RS-232 and two RS-232/422/485 serial ports, a 10/100Base-T Ethernet port, PS/2 keyboard and mouse, an IDE UDMA-100 port and a flashdisk socket for up to 4 GB. Digital I/O handles status inputs and switching, and a watchdog timer is built in. The HLV1000-256AV adds 16-bit analogue inputs and 12-bit analogue outputs to the same board, and the HLV800-256DV runs at 800 MHz.

The HLV1000-256DV runs fanless from -40 to 85 °C under a heat sink, with its DRAM soldered to the board. I/O modules stack on the PC/104 ISA bus in the standard PC/104 form factor. Hardwired jumpers, latching connectors and conformal coating are available as options for extra resistance to shock, vibration and moisture. FreeDOS comes installed on the on-board flash drive, and Diamond offers a Linux software development kit.