Acromag announced today an addition to their PCIe-based AcroPack® Series. The AP225 offers a 12-bit D/A converter and the AP235 features a 16-bit D/A converter voltage waveform output model. These mPCIe (Mini PCI Express) based boards provide output signals to drive up to 16 devices. Each output channel has its own 12 or 16-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The benefit of individual DACs is they are faster, and they eliminate glitches typically caused by the re-acquisition process of sample and holds found on multiplexed output boards. A 64K sample memory is shared between the sixteen channels for waveform storage on board. A down-facing plug-in 100 pin connector ensures a secure connection for the I/O without any cabling. These modules plug into AcroPack® PCIe, VPX, and XMC carriers in any combination for embedded applications running on Linux®, Windows®, or VxWorks® operating systems. AcroPack AP225 and AP235 modules start at less than $1,100 and carriers at $750.

Key Features & Benefits

• PCI Express Generation 1 interface
• Independent 12-bit D/A converters per channel
• Waveforms can be continuously output from onboard memory without host intervention
• DMA controller provides for streaming waveform data from host memory
• Mix countless I/O combinations in a single slot
• Per channel configurability of bipolar and unipolar output ranges
• Sample software and diagnostics
• Configurable FIFO sizes up to 64K samples offer flexible waveform lengths
• Built-in calibration coefficients
• Flexible trigger, operating modes, and memory allocation
• Independent selectable output ranges
• Outputs reset to 0 volts
• Internally stored calibration coefficients ensure accuracy.
• Synchronization of multiple modules using an external trigger
• Solid-down connector I/O interface