Q. Is
Mini PCI supported on the TabletCARD?
A. Yes. The TabletCARD
supports a Mini PCI socket that permits
user definable I/O expansion. The reserved
pins on the Mini PCI socket are connected
to USB 2.0 signals that allow combo
cards such as a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Mini PCI combo card to be used with
the TabletCARD.
Q. Is CardBUS
supported on the TabletCARD?
A. Yes. The TabletCARD
supports dual CardBus PC Card slots
using the Texas Instruments PCI4520
IEEE 1394a & CardBus controller.
The CardBus PC Card slots permit
user definable I/O expansion.
Q. Can
I use the CardBus PC Card slots simultaneously
with the Mini PCI socket and vice versa?
A. The CardBus PC Card slots
cannot be used simultaneously when using the
Mini PCI socket. The cage of the CardBus PC
Card slots has to be removed to permit insertion
and use of a Mini PCI card in the Mini PCI
socket. To use the The TabletCARD supports
a Mini PCI socket that permits user definable
I/O expansion. The reserved pins on the Mini
PCI socket are connected to USB 2.0 signals
that allow combo cards such as a Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth Mini PCI combo card to be used with
the TabletCARD.
Q. Which Ethernet
PHY is supported on the TabletCARD?
A. The TabletCARD implements
Fast Ethernet LAN using an Intel® 82562ET
10/100 Base-T PHY that connects directly
to the Ethernet MDI interface on the Plug-N-Run
G3 module. As the Intel® 855GME chipset
on the Plug-N-Run G3 module integrates
an Ethernet MAC, a separate Ethernet controller
is not required on the TabletCARD.
Q. Is
Boot-Over-LAN supported on the TabletCARD?
What are the benefits of using Boot-Over-LAN?
A. Yes. The TabletCARD supports
Boot-Over-LAN using the integrated PXE code
in the Plug-N-Run G3 Flash ROM to facilitate
booting from a remote boot server. This allows
for diskless operation and central administration
of operating systems and application software.
Therefore lowering total cost of ownership
and cost price.
Q. Is
Ethernet network connection status available
on the TabletCARD?
A. Yes. The LAN activity
and link speed network connection status
is available from LEDs integrated in the
RJ45 Ethernet connector.
Q. Where
can I download the Ethernet device drivers?
A. The Ethernet devices
driver package for the Intel 82562ET is downloadable
from PFU Systems' website. For details on
device driver installation, please refer
to the TabletCARD user manual.
Q. How
many USB 2.0 ports are available on the TabletCARD?
What is the maximum data rate of the USB
2.0 ports?
A. The TabletCARD supports
three USB 2.0 ports for external use. The
TabletCARD also has an additional three USB
2.0 ports allocated for internal use by the
touch panel controller, fingerprint sensor
and the Bluetooth adapter. The data rates
supported by the USB 2.0 ports are 1.5Mbps,
12Mbps and 480Mbps.
Q. Which
type of FireWire is supported on the TabletCARD?
A. The TabletCARD supports
the IEEE 1394a standard. This standard allows
for a maximum of 400 Mbps data rates. The
TabletCARD does not support the IEEE 1394b
standard.
Q. Which
IEEE 1394a controller is used on the TabletCARD?
A. The TabletCARD uses the
Texas Instruments PCI4520 IEEE 1394a & CardBus
controller.
Q. What
are the data rates supported by the IEEE
1394a ports on the TabletCARD?
A. The IEEE 1394a ports
on the TabletCARD provide for differing
performance requirements by supporting
real time data rates of 100, 200 and 400
Mbps.
Q. Do
peripherals connected to IEEE 1394a ports
on the TabletCARD require a separate power
supply?
A. All the two fully independent
IEEE 1394a ports on the TabletCARD support
power sourcing through the 6-pin 1394 connectors.
Q. Why
is IEEE 1394a preferred over USB 2.0 for
industrial imaging applications?
A. The IEEE1394a is preferred
over USB 2.0 for industrial imaging applications
for the following reasons:
- IEEE 1394a is a proven technology whereas USB
2.0 is a recent introduction.
Availability of a wide choice of IEEE 1394a imaging
solutions such as industrial cameras, mass storage
solutions and consumer electronics products.
- IEEE 1394a is a peer-to-peer system whereas USB
2.0 is a host-client design that always requires
a host.
- Though both IEEE 1394a and USB 2.0 support isochronous
data transfers, the latter is not truly isochronous
due to its reliance on host/client architecture.
- IEEE 1394a can power peripherals with 1.5 amps
@ 8V ~ 40V whereas USB 2.0 can provide only up
to 0.5 amps @ 5V per port.
- IEEE 1394a supports flexible topologies such
as daisy chain and tree topologies whereas USB
2.0 only supports a star topology.
- IEEE 1394a for imaging applications enjoys a
larger installed base of application software whereas
imaging application software for USB 2.0 is still
in an early stage.
Q. What
are the key features of the IEEE 1394a serial
bus?
A.
- IEEE 1394a supports data rates
of 100/200/400 Mbps
- True plug-and-play. Each device connected to
the 1394a supports hot plugging and automatic configuration
- Guaranteed bandwidth for real-time applications
using isochronous data transfers
- Freeform daisy chaining and branching for peer-to-peer
communication. 1394 devices can communicate with
each other without needing a host system
- Power sourcing of 1394a peripherals
- No terminator or device IDs required, as with
SCSI
- Enables high frame rates over USB cameras for
better image quality.
- Removes the need for costly analog video computer
frame buffers to capture digital video.
- Flexible topology allowing up to 63 devices with
a maximum of 16 cable hops of up to 4.5 meters
between each 1394a device.
- The Digital VCR Conference (DVC) has accepted
IEEE 1394 as the standard digital interface
- The European Digital Video Broadcasters (DVB)
has endorsed IEEE 1394 as their digital television
interface
Q. Which
miscellaneous signals are available on the
TabletCARD and how do I access them?
A. The TabletCARD brings
the LPC Bus/SMBus/GPIO and power signals
to the mezzanine expansion and power headers
respectively to facilitate user low performance
I/O expansion and control, system management,
GPIO driven devices control, etc.
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