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Need help to identify this board or find a replacement

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steve_rb

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The attached board is a 4 channel DB37 pci card with Altera Cyclone II chip (the large one) for high speed data receiving and transferring to the software. A friend said it is a Comm-Tech card but I am not sure. I couldn't identify the 4 chip (U4,U6,U8 and U9) close to the DB37 connector. These are identical and can help to find a similar replacement card. Anyone can identify these 4 chips?
Is this a 4 channel RS-232 or RS-422/RS-485?

thx
 

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Hi,

I couldn't identify the 4 chip (U4,U6,U8 and U9) close to the DB37 connector.
Why can´t you identify them? Just read what´s written on them:
I assume: AM26LV32C

If so, then they are RS422/RS485 receivers

Klaus
 

Well done. I was able to read only partially and couldn't find the datasheet. :thumbsup:
Any replacement suggestion for this card?
 

4-port cards are hard to find but 2-port ones are plentiful, if you have a spare PCI slot you could use two 2-port cards instead. The Cyclone II is a FPGA so its quite likely the original card is custom made for a specific purpose and no direct replacement may be available.

Brian.
 

This card has both ISA and PCI versions. Each version has its own DLL and a SAXAD.sys file which software uses these files as driver I think to communicate with the card and capture data. Data comes from a PDC (position decoding circuit) and PDC capture position data from a detector and after decoding send decoded data to the card through its DB37 pin connector. Replacement card got to have a DB37 connector.

@betwixt

Brian
There are plenty 4 port cards. Foe example Look here:

h**ps://fastcomproducts.com/product-cat/universal-pci/

I am not sure these are right replacement cards though.
 
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I am not sure these are right replacement cards though.
We know even less. Presently it's not clear if the board is just a 4-port communication card or has additional features. Even in the former case, the addressed replacement boards must not necessarily fit the software interface.

What's your exact problem? Repair or getting additional boards to upgrade your instrument? Can you get still support from the original system vendor?

If you have at least one board with healthy configuration memory, the board can be recreated. Cyclone II is presently still on stock.
 

There are plenty 4 port cards. Foe example Look here:
Adding to what FvM wrote, only one of the cards on that web page is a quad 422/485 type. They may all have 4 ports but most are LVDS or RS232 interfaces.

Brian.
 

We don't have the board and it is very old and original vendor does not have it. Either I should find a replacement or a used one. We only have a photo of it I have uploaded. There is a DLL and a sys file we have which software uses these files for driving the card. In a document I found it says "Set the switches to address 340 by setting A6,A8 and A9 to open or down. All others are up. EMBEDED MSPhotoEd.3".
 
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Strange it has address select links but has a PCI bus interface.
I would guess, the FPGA is nothing more than an address decoder and four UARTS. Finding a drop-in replacement will be hard if it doesn't follow PCI enumerator rules but you might be able to get a standard 4-port serial card that uses generic drivers and add your own RS422/485 driver ICs to it. It depends on what exactly the card connects to and whether is contains circuits specific to one task.

Brian.
 

Brian,

This card has an ISA version too. Probably what I found in that document was talking about ISA version. Could this be a possibility?
 

I found a file with the following lines inside:

; x86 platform, Win9x, Windows 2000 and later
[DeviceList]
"Interface_PCI"=Install, PCI\VEN_2321&DEV_0002&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_01

; x64 platform, Windows XP x64 edition and later
[DeviceList.NTamd64]
"Interface_PCI"=Install, PCI\VEN_2321&DEV_0002&SUBSYS_00000000&REV_01

It seems Vendor ID is 2321 and device ID is 0002. Could these information give a clue about the original company made this card?
 

Any knows what is a "FAD interface" is? It seems this is a FAD interface card. Siemens has such cards.
 

It seems this is a Fast Analogue-to-Digital converter card. Knowing this anyone is that possible to find a replacement?
 

The original card in post #1 is surely no AD interface. What should be its purpose related to the said PDC application?
 

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