Astronics OMNIBUS II NI PXIe, User Manual

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OmniBus II NI PXIe User Manual 1-1
1. INTRODUCTION
This manual is the user guide for PXI™ Express (PXIe) models of Astronics
Ballard Technology
®
’s (Ballard) OmniBus
®
II family of products. Throughout this
manual any reference to the PXIe card applies to the OmniBus II PXIe card, and
references to OmniBus and OmniBus II apply generically to all the products in the
designated family. This guide gives the background for the OmniBus II PXIe card,
discusses special features, describes the installation process, and references
programming alternatives.
1.1 OmniBus II Overview
OmniBus II (OB2) is a family of products that enable computer systems to
communicate with avionics databuses for the purpose of testing, simulation, and/or
operation. Each OB2 unit can support more than one protocol and a large number
of channels. They are available as an interface card for popular computer standards
(PCIe, cPCIe/PXIe, etc.) and as a stand-alone bridge to other communications
protocols (USB, Ethernet, etc.). All common avionics databus protocols are
supported, including MIL-STD-1553, ARINC 429, and Discrete I/O. Other
protocols (such as ARINC 575, ARINC 573, ARINC 453, etc.) are also supported.
Upon request, custom protocols can be implemented.
Figure 1.1—OmniBus II PXIe Card
The high-density modular design of the OB2 family provides flexibility that
enables the user to select from many protocol, platform, and channel count com-
binations. Each OB2 product can have at least two modules, and each module has