schultz@mmm.UUCP (John C Schultz) (11/26/87)
I have several requests for info on *-VME bus repeaters of late and will pass
along what little information I have. Be aware that I am only in the process
of specifying one, I have no first hand experience.
There seems to be 2 major players in the something to VME or VME to something
bus converter arena.
The first (in no particular order) is Bit 3 based in MN.
The second is Performance Technologies based in ???.
They both appear to have A24:D16 products currently available with at lesat
BIT 3 having a A32:D32 product in the first half of 1988.
I "heard" that Performance Technologies' product had some problems but that
the newer boards have been fixed.
As far as I can determine these are all simple drop in and it works pieces
of hardware.
Bit 3 does make a PC-AT to VME and a Multibus (I I assume) to VME converter
which would be an advantage if you need to talk to several buses.
One interesting item that was not clear in Bit 3's literature was whether
all levels of VME bus interrupt were supported.
The Bit 3 product logically separates the bus so that multi-master systems
can happily proceed independently. This is very nice in many cases such as
hanging lots of hardware off a SUN.
Hope these ramblings are of some help
John C. Schultz
{ihnp4, rutgers, umn-cs, tundra}|mmm|schultzdje@datacube.UUCP (11/29/87)
We use VME Bus repeaters often. We started with the PT-901 (A24 D16). Then we switched to the PT-902 (A32 D32). Then we switched to the Hal Versa repeater. The cabling of the PT-902 did not work in our system. It uses round cable, about 0.5" in diameter and large D connectors. These did not fit in our box or in the Sun-3 at the other end. While we (and P-T) were busy redesigning complex cables to fit both ends, the Hal-Versa unit came out and solved the problem for us. They use special controlled-impedance flat cables with standard ribbon headers on the ends. The Hal-Versa also has about 1/3 the number of chips and is therefore cheaper than the PT-902. They all work fine though. Dave Erickson ---------------------------------------------- ------ Datacube Inc. / /| 4 Dearborn Rd. ------ | Peabody, Ma 01960 || \| | ihnp4!datacube!dje || /|/ Human:(617)535-6644 ------ Fax: (617)535-5643
allan@didsgn.UUCP (allan) (11/30/87)
In article <1524@mmm.UUCP>, schultz@mmm.UUCP (John C Schultz) writes: > I have several requests for info on *-VME bus repeaters of late and will pass > along what little information I have. HVE Engineering makes various bus-to-bus adaptors including a VME-to-VME bus repeater. This system seems to work quite well and supports interrupts across buses. The bus adaptors include most (if not all) combinations of Multi-bus/VERSAbus/VMEbus mixtures. For more information, contact HVE at (408) 370-4666. > Hope these ramblings are of some help Allan G. Schrum ..!gatech!rebel!didsgn!allan Digital Design, Inc.
michael@mcdchg.UUCP (Michael Bodine) (11/30/87)
John C Schultz (schultz@mmm.UUCP) writes: > I have several requests for info on *-VME bus repeaters of late and will pass > along what little information I have. Be aware that I am only in the process > of specifying one, I have no first hand experience. > ... Another long-existing player making this type of product is Hal-Versa Engineering (HVE) 1684 Dell Ave. Campbell, Ca 95008 (408) 370-4666 (800) TRANSL8 They make a wide variety of VME-to-X backplane connections, and many have reported successful use of same, though my own experience is only through hearsay. Also note that the most current issue of the VMEbus Compatible Products Directory from VITA (10229 N. Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, Az 85253, (602) 951-8866) includes 8 manufacturers of VME-VME connectors and a total of 27 manufacturers of VME-X connectors, where X includes Multibus, DEC busses, STD, PC, Versabus, GPIB and others. Also, FYI, PT is based in East Rochester, NY -- VITA directory listings include product listings, addresses, phones, marketing contacts, etc. Standard disclaimer.
berger@datacube.UUCP (12/02/87)
We have had some very good luck with the HVE-2000. This is a true
A32/D32 bus extender. The Performance Tech 902A also works very well.
They are both higher performance than the Bit 3 since they both support
A32/D32 and the Bit 3 is only A24/D16.
The HVE-2000 is literally twice as fast as the PT-902A in terms
of data transfers. The main drawback is that you must use special
cables supplied by HVE. These cables must be continuous between
the two ends, you can not have intermediate bulkhead connectors.
The PT-902A is half the speed of the HVE because it actually
recreates the VME bus Master and must reclock all the signals adding
a significant prop delay. This has one advantage in that you can
electronically decouple crates. Also the PT-902A uses 4 50pin normal
ribbon cables so cabling is a bit easier.
Bob Berger
Datacube Inc. Systems / Software Group 4 Dearborn Rd. Peabody, Ma 01960
VOICE: 617-535-6644; FAX: (617) 535-5643; TWX: (710) 347-0125
UUCP: berger@datacube.COM, rutgers!datacube!berger, ihnp4!datacube!berger
{cbosgd,cuae2,mit-eddie}!mirror!datacube!berger