Diamond Systems HELIOS : HLV800-256AV PC/104 SBC with 800 MHz Vortex86DX, 16-Bit Analogue I/O and FreeDOS Flash

Logging systems with a tight power budget need analogue inputs on a board that draws little power. The HLV800-256AV is the 800 MHz build with full data acquisition in the Diamond Systems HELIOS series: a low-power PC/104 SBC that combines a single-chip Vortex86DX processor with Diamond’s analogue and digital I/O circuit, and it is the board supplied in the Helios development kit.

The Vortex86DX runs at 800 MHz 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.

The data acquisition circuit gives 16 analogue inputs with 16-bit resolution at up to 250 kHz, a 2048-sample FIFO with programmable threshold and input ranges from ±10 V down to 0 to 1.25 V. Four 12-bit analogue outputs support simultaneous update, and 40 digital I/O lines and two counter/timers handle switching, pulse counting and A/D timing, with autocalibration through the Universal Driver software. 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. The HLV1000-256AV is the same board at 1 GHz.

The HLV800-256AV 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.