Appendix A: QCard Electrical Specifications
General specifications
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CPU |
Freescale 68HC11F1 microcontroller with 16 MHz clock speed and 4 MHz bus speed. Paged memory expands the processor’s address space to 1 Megabyte. |
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Onboard Memory |
512K on-chip Flash 128K RAM or optional 512K RAM 320 bytes of EEPROM optional battery backup of 128K RAM |
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Real-Time Clock |
Optional battery-backed real-time clock |
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Interrupts |
21 interrupts support the 68HC11’s on-chip I/O subsystems |
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Communications |
Serial 1: |
RS232 or RS485 hardware UART at up to 19.2 Kbaud |
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Serial 2: |
RS232 software UART at up to 4800 baud |
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SPI: |
Fast synchronous serial peripheral interface (SPI) at up to 2 Megabaud |
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Power |
5 VDC at 150 mA max, 100 mA typ. applied directly or by a PowerDock +8-26V may be required by WildCards |
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Timer-Controlled Digital I/O |
CPU Port A provides 8 bitwise programmable I/O lines, including: • 3 or 4 input capture functions facilitate accurate detection of pulse edges and measurement of pulse widths with a resolution of 2µs • 4 or 5 output compare functions make it easy to create complex waveforms and pulse-width modulated signals up to 20KHz at 50% CPU load, and • A pulse accumulator facilitates frequency measurement and pulse counting up to 2MHz Two lines of Port A are optionally used for a 2nd serial port. |
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Analog to Digital Conversion |
CPU Port E provides 8 input channels of 8-bit resolution analog to digital conversion
at up to 100 kHz sampling rate, 0-5 V input range. These inputs may alternately be used as digital inputs.
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Connectors |
WildCard Port Connector: |
24-pin, 0.1” pitch, dual row |
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Field Connector: |
24-pin, 0.1” pitch, dual row |
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Serial Connector: |
10-pin, 0.1” pitch, dual row |
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Power (and JTAG) Connector: |
7-pin, 2mm pitch, single row |
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Runtime Security |
A watchdog timer and clock monitor ensure orderly reset or restart after an error |
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I/O Expansion |
The QCard Controller Single Board Computer (SBC) directly hosts up to 4 WildCards that perform instrument control and automation functions. If mounted on a PowerDock, the QCard hosts up to 8 WildCards, including: Ethernet or WiFi GPS 4 x 20 character display and 5 x 4 keypad 16- or 24-bit resolution A/D 12-bit D/A Isolated AC or DC solid state relays Compact Flash memory, over 64 Mbyte Logic level, high voltage, and high current digital I/O Fully buffered dual RS232, RS422 or RS485 UARTs at up to 56 Kbaud Pre-coded C-language and Forth device drivers support the Wildcards |
Power
Your PowerDock (which optionally provides power for your QCard) includes a high-efficiency switching regulator with surge suppression, transient filtering, and EMI/RFI filtering to provide clean supplies for the onboard analog and digital electronics. You need only supply regulated or unregulated DC power in the range of 8 to 26 volts. The power efficiency of the PowerDock is appx. 85%.
Surge suppression
The raw input is protected by a "varistor" rated at 33 Volts DC. This metal oxide surge suppresser protects a QCard powered by a PowerDock by clamping high voltage spikes before they have a chance to do any harm. The varistor has no effect if the input voltage is less than the maximum specified, or 26 volts. Above 33 volts the device starts to conduct current, and it acts like a short circuit to high voltages, thus clamping the voltage spikes. To prevent this varistor from consuming current, you should make sure that the maximum DC voltage supplied is always less than 26 volts.
EMI/RFI filter
Additional protection is provided by an electro-magnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) filter that prevents high frequency noise from invading the circuitry via the power input, and also prevents EMI from propagating back to the external power supply. The EMI filter is implemented by a two stage PI network of inductors and capacitors. The output of the first stage filter, called V+raw, is passed to the Wildcard module bus for supply to Wildcard modules that require their own unregulated DC power. This unregulated voltage is free of high-frequency and high-voltage transients. If you design custom add-on Wildcard boards, we recommend that you use V+raw as the input for local 5 Volt regulators. It is good design practice to place local voltage regulators on each board, as this minimizes noise problems and improves modularity.
The QCard Controller and PowerDock assembly is designed for reliable low noise operation. It is implemented as a state of the art 6-layer surface-mount board. Two inner layers are dedicated ground and power planes, providing low-impedance return paths for digital current spikes.
| Parameter | Min | Typ. | Max | Units | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input Voltage | 8 | 26 | Volts | ||
| Power Usage | 0.75 | Watts | No Wildcards | ||
| Power Usage – per Wildcard | 0.5 | Each Wildcard |
Operating conditions
| Parameter | Min | Max | Units | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating Temperature Range – Electronics | 0 | 70 | °C | Industrial Temp also available (-40 to 85°C) |
| Humidity | 0 | 95 | % Relative Humidity | At 0 to 45°C, no condensation |
Memory
| Parameter | Standard | With –MM Option | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flash | 512 | 512 | KBytes |
| RAM | 129 | 513 | KBytes |
| EEPROM | 512 | 512 | Bytes |
| Battery-Backed RAM | 128 | KBytes (with –BB option) | |
| Compact Flash Wildcard | 64-256 | MBytes |
CPU I/O (CPU Ports A, D, E)
| Parameter | Min | Max | Units | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I/O Voltage Range | -0.1 | 5.3 | Volts | |
| Input Low Voltage | 1.0 | Volts | 0.2 x VDD | |
| Input High Voltage | 3.5 | Volts | 0.7 x VDD | |
| Input Leakage Current | ±1 | μA | ||
| Output Low Voltage | 0.4 | Volts | at 1.6 mA | |
| Output High Voltage | 3.7 | Volts | at –0.8 mA and VDD=4.5 V | |
| Output Source | 25 | mA | <65 Ω output drive impedance, one pin at a time, observing max power dissipation limits. | |
| Output Sink | 25 | mA | <65 Ω output drive impedance, one pin at a time, observing max power dissipation limits. | |
| Note: We recommend limiting total package power dissipation accruing from I/O current to 800 mW or less, to assure that the junction temperature remains below 125ºC. | ||||
8-bit analog to digital (ATD) conversion
| Parameter | Min | Typical | Max | Units | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Input Channels | 8 | ||||
| Sampling Frequency | 100,000 | Samples per second | |||
| Input Voltage Range | -0.1 | 0.0 to 5.0 | 5.1 | Volts | |
| Nonlinearity | 1 | LSB | |||
| Absolute Accuracy | 2 | LSB |
Size and weight
| Weight: | 31 gram |
|---|---|
| Size : | 2" x 2.5" x 0.365" top height1) x 0.335" bottom height (50.8mm x 63.5mm x 9.3mm) |