Diamond Systems RUBY-MM-1616AP : RMM-1616AP-XT 16-Channel 16-bit Analog Output PC/104+ Module with Digital I/O

PC/104-Plus stacks built around a PCI host still need analogue outputs for drive references, valve positioning and current loops to process instruments. The RMM-1616AP-XT is the 16-channel analogue output board in the Diamond Systems RUBY-MM-1616AP series, fitting the PC/104-Plus 32-bit PCI connector alongside the PC/104 ISA connectors and carrying 16 outputs at 16-bit resolution.

Every output takes its own range: 0-5 V, 0-10 V, ±5 V or ±10 V, or 0-20 mA, 4-20 mA and 0-24 mA current. Diamond builds the D/A section on an Analog Devices AD5755 16-channel DAC, updates any combination of channels simultaneously from a software command or an external trigger, and runs a multi-channel waveform generator at update rates up to 100 kHz. Each channel is limited to ±5 mA in voltage mode and is calibrated at the factory through its own offset and gain registers.

Digital I/O is handled by an FPGA: 48 lines, 40 byte-wide and eight bit-wide, with programmable direction, plus two 32-bit counter/timers and four 24-bit pulse width modulators. Analogue outputs and the external trigger sit on one 50-pin header and the digital lines on another. The RMM-816AP-XT carries eight outputs on the same board and the RMM-416AP-XT four.

The RMM-1616AP-XT operates from -40 to +85 °C. The PCI connector is not 5 V tolerant, so the host must use 3.3 V signalling on PC/104-Plus; the ISA connector is 5 V tolerant, and the board takes only +5 V from the bus. Diamond’s manual warns that a host with 5 V PCI signalling can damage the board, so we check the host before specifying it. The Universal Driver covers D/A output, waveform generation, calibration, digital I/O and PWM.