The Technobox 2674 is a 32-channel reconfigurable RS422/RS485 digital I/O PMC card engineered for flexible industrial control and data acquisition. Built on an Altera FLEX 10K FPGA, it delivers 46K to 118K usable equivalent gate counts and 128K × 32-bit on-board SRAM accessible from both the FPGA and PCI interface. The card provides 32 general-purpose RS422/RS485 driven digital I/Os with bi-directional control via FPGA output, routed to both front panel (68-pin SCSI connector) and rear PN4 connector. FPGA configuration loads automatically from serial EPROM at power-up and supports dynamic reprogramming from the host processor. A programmable PLL generates clocking frequencies with better than 0.1% accuracy, while the 33 MHz PCI bus clock serves as reference. Front panel I/O termination uses parallel resistance, with individual differential lines optionally disabled via resistor de-population. Optional transition panels (e.g., P/N 3044) break out differential signals to individual connectors such as DB9s. The 32-bit PCI data bus is shared between the FPGA and PCI interface devices. Users can burn custom FPGA applications into an EPC1 device (not supplied). Successor models include the Technobox 4289 and Technobox 8643 XMC (third-generation).
Technical Specifications
• FPGA: Altera FLEX 10K family; standard configuration EPF10K70RC240-4
• Logic Resources: 46K to 118K usable equivalent gate counts
• Digital I/O: 32 reconfigurable RS422/RS485 channels, bi-directional control via FPGA
• On-board Memory: 128K × 32-bit SRAM (single-port, dual-port, FIFO, and linked list architectures supported)
• Clocking: 33 MHz from PCI bus; programmable PLL with >0.1% accuracy
• Front Panel: 68-pin SCSI compatible connector
• Rear Connector: PN4
• Form Factor: PMC (PCI Mezzanine Card)
• Configuration: Serial EPROM auto-load; dynamic FPGA reprogramming from host processor
– Key Features
• RS422/RS485 differential signaling across all 32 I/O channels
• Shared 32-bit PCI data bus between FPGA and PCI interface
• Parallel I/O termination with per-channel disable option
• Programmable clock generation with sub-0.1% accuracy
• Support for multiple memory architectures on integrated SRAM
• Dynamic FPGA reconfiguration without card removal
– Typical Applications
• Industrial control systems requiring reconfigurable serial I/O
• Data acquisition with custom protocol implementation
• Multi-channel differential signal processing
• Legacy serial interface modernization via FPGA logic
– Compatibility & Integration
The Technobox 4289 and Technobox 8643 XMC represent successor platforms, offering upgrade paths for applications requiring enhanced capabilities.
