Introduction
The new PCI Trainer from Flite Electronics comprises a PCI bus expansion card, an experiment unit, three additional plug-on experiment modules, and a 68-way link cable. The PCI bus expansion card sits inside the PC system unit and connects to the experiment unit using the link cable. This brings the PCI bus address, data and control lines out of the PC, allowing them to be used to control the various input/output devices on the experiment unit.
These I/O devices include :-
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16x16 dot matrix LED display
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Six 7-segment displays
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16x2 character LCD display
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Buzzer
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Eight data switches
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4x4 matrix keypad
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8-bit analogue to digital converter
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Two 8-bit digital to analogue converters
Three separate modules, which are designed to plug onto the experiment unit and are included in the package, additionally provide a DC fan, a temperature sensor, and a stepper motor. The user manual provided with the PCI Trainer demonstrates software control of these I/O devices and includes programs written in assembly language and C.
12 UNIQUE ADVANTAGES
Everything in one box
Designed for fast learning
Superb documentation
Save time & money
12 worked examples
All experiments ready-to-go
Examples in assembly language and C
Wide range of pre-wired input/output devices
Supplied with additional plug-on modules
Sturdy construction
PCI bus interface card and cable provided
12-month guarantee
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Most PC-based interfacing and I/O experimentation has traditionally been based on the ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) bus. However, since this bus became obsolete a number of years ago, it has become necessary for many educational establishments to either retain some old PCs on which to continue this area of their curriculum, or to give up PC-based I/O practical lessons altogether. This is because ISA’s successor, the new PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus, makes it much more difficult for users to interface their own circuits directly to the PC. However, the new PCI-LAB from Flite Electronics International Limited rectifies this situation enabling the same sort of experiments once conducted using the ISA bus to be carried out via the PCI bus.
WHAT DOES IT DO?
The PCI-LAB provides a solution for teaching PC-based interfacing to various I/O devices on modern PCs using the PCI bus. By hiding the complexities of the PCI bus, it enables experiments to be conducted in much the same way as with the earlier and simpler ISA bus.
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A COMPLETE TRAINING PACKAGE
To the instructor, one of the main advantages of the PCI-LAB is its completeness. The kit consists of:
- Hardware – in the form of the PCI-LAB experiment platform and plug-in PCI-IO interface card.
- Software – full drivers are provided for Windows 98/ME/NT4/2000/XP as well as a PC assembler program.
- Experiments – 12 ready-to-go, pre-wired experimentation circuits.
- Documentation which is clear, comprehensive and easy to follow.
The PCI-LAB package also includes a PC connection cable to link the PCI-LAB with the PCI-IO interface card, and three extra plug-on modules to add even more features to the PCI-LAB platform.
CLEAR, ENJOYABLE & COMPREHENSIVE
The 12 pre-written experiments cover I/O devices from switches and 7-segment displays to DC and stepper motors, and A/D and D/A conversion. Most importantly, they are specially designed to be enjoyable, readily-understandable, and applicable to “real world” situations.
STEP BY STEP LEARNING
The package starts by introducing the new user to PC interfacing and the PCI bus, and then ‘steps’ through a series of experiments and exercises covering various I/O devices and their applications.
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PCI-LAB CONTENTS
Hardware
The two main parts of the PCI-LAB are the main experiment platform, which contains a wealth of input/output devices, and the PCI-IO card comprising the PCI bus interface circuitry based on the popular PLX 9052 integrated circuit. Three small plug-on modules are also included, which add a DC fan, stepper motor, heater and temperature sensor to the main unit.
The main experiment platform consists of:
- 6 seven-segment displays
- Buzzer
- LCD display
- 16x16 LED dot matrix display
- 8 pushbutton switches
- 4x4 button keypad
- A/D and D/A converters
- DC fan plug-on module
- Stepper motor plug-on module
- Heater & temperature sensor plug-on module
Software
A CD-ROM included in the system provides
- PCI-LAB drivers
- Assembler program
- Example programs written in assembly language and C
Documentation
The excellent documentation has been written to provide a complete introduction to PC interfacing. It discusses various PC interfaces and shows how to connect a range of common I/O devices. It takes the user through the series of 12 experiments, with their program listings in assembly language and C, based on the PCI-LAB’s pre-wired circuits.
Plus more
Additional software and application notes as they become available!
EXPERIMENTS
Twelve experiments are presented with code for the PC in assembly language and C. Full circuit diagrams are provided so that the hardware involved may also be examined. The list of programs and some of the topics they present are:
- “7 segment display” – simple output
- “Multiple displays” – multiplexed output
- “Sound generation” – outputting square waves to generate sound
- “Simple input” - acting upon input conditions
- “DC fan” – controlling a DC motor
- “Stepper motor” – controlling a stepper motor
- “Temperature sensor” – controlling a heater
- “Dot matrix display” – multiplexed outputs
- “Matrix keypad” – keypad driving and scanning
- “LCD display” – controlling the LCD display
- “D/A” – outputting analogue signals
- “A/D” – inputting analogue signals
