Diamond Systems HELIX : HLX1000-2GA PC/104 SBC with Dual-Core Vortex86DX3, 2 GB DDR3 and 16-Bit Data Acquisition

Measurement systems in vehicles and field cabinets need analogue inputs, outputs and a processor on as few boards as possible. The HLX1000-2GA is the 2 GB build with full data acquisition in the Diamond Systems HELIX series: a PC/104 SBC with a dual-core Vortex86DX3, soldered memory and an FPGA-controlled analogue and digital I/O circuit on the same board.

The DMP Vortex86DX3 is a dual-core processor at 1 GHz, paired with 2 GB of DDR3 SDRAM soldered on board, which suits logging, control and protocol software at low power. Graphics cover 24-bit LVDS and VGA, each up to 1920 x 1080, or 1280 x 1024 when both are used together.

The data acquisition circuit gives 16 analogue inputs with 16-bit resolution at up to 100 kHz and a 2048-sample FIFO, four 16-bit analogue outputs with a 2048-sample waveform buffer, 27 digital I/O lines, eight counter/timers and four PWMs, with autocalibration. System I/O covers one 10/100Base-T and one Gigabit Ethernet port on an Intel I210, two RS-232/422/485 and two RS-232 ports, USB 2.0, HD audio on an ALC892 codec, PS/2 keyboard and mouse and a 1.5 Gbps SATA port for a drive or SATA DOM. A PCIe MiniCard socket, shared with mSATA, takes Wi-Fi, CAN, Ethernet or I/O modules. The HLX1000-1GD is the 1 GB digital I/O version.

Input power is +5 V DC ±5%, with a 9 to 36 V DC supply option for industrial and military systems, and consumption of 7.5 W. The HLX1000-2GA runs from -40 to 85 °C under a heat sink with no fan and is MIL-STD-202G shock and vibration compatible. It supports Linux and Windows Embedded Standard 7.