Solidus Integration offers two hardware target platforms for developing and deploying LabVIEW Real-Time ETS (LVRT) applications. These platforms are essentially toolkits for building stand-alone instruments with custom functionality. Both targets have a look and feel of a complete instrument, including a liquid-crystal display, a keypad, and communications ports (RS232 and Ethernet).

Both instruments can communicate with other equipment and computers through an Ethernet port and an RS232 port accessible on the back panel. The RS232 port can be used for communications with an external computer (e.g. with the Hyperterminal or with a control program) or for controlling another stand-alone instrument (in the latter case, a null-modem is required). The Ethernet port allows the user to utilize FTP and HTTP servers that are part of LVRT and to set up the instrument from Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX). LabVIEW drivers for programming the LCD and keypad are provided.

front view SI-LVRT-PCI back view	front view SI-LVRT-104 (back view coming soon)

SI-LVRT-PCI is built around a single board computer with a Pentium-class CPU and a passive PCI backplane. The unit has two expansion slots for half-size PCI boards. It has a graphical LCD with 240x64 resolution and a 16-key keypad.

SI-LVRT-104 is built around a PC/104 form-factor single board 486-class computer and a PC/104 multifunction data acquisition board. This miniature unit has an alpha-numerical LCD capable of displaying 2 lines, 20 characters per line and a 7-key keypad. It has no moving parts whatsoever.

Frequently asked questions:

1. Do the packages include a LabVIEW RT run-time license?

   The packages do not include run-time licenses. Depending on National Instruments decision, we may be able to preinstall LabVIEW RT components on the system (including the OS, NI-DAQ and NI-VISA), but the user is still responsible for having a valid LabVIEW RT (ETS) deployment license for each target. For more information, please contact National Instruments.

    

2. Will there be room for adding more expansion PC/104 boards to SI-LVRT-104?

   No definite answer yet, but probably yes. Most likely, there will be enough space to add at least one standard PC/104 board. If you need a different expansion board in this system, please let us know - we can build a custom system that will use the board of your choice, including writing a LabVIEW RT driver for the board.

    

3. Does SI-LVRT-104 support PC/104+ boards?

   Only if they are compatible with PC/104 (ISA) bus. The CPU board does not have PC/104+ (PCI) bus functionality. In the future, we may release another version of this product that will be built around PC/104+.

    

4. Do you have a motion controller board or an encoder board available for these products?

   The SI-LVRT-PCI supports National Instruments motion controller boards. Additionally, you can implement motion control functionality using an M-Series board and SoftMotion. In order to implement motion control using SI-LVRT-104, you may want to consider Galil DMC-1200 Series PC/104 boards. Please contact us for more information on using these boards.