10
M3i.48xx / M3i.48xx-exp Manual
Additional options
Introduction
Additional options
Star-Hub
The star hub piggy-back module al-
lows the synchronization of up to 8
M3i cards. It is possible to synchro-
nize cards of the same type with each
other as well as different types.
Two different versions of the star-hub
module are available. A minor one
for synchronizing up to four boards of
the M3i series, without the need for
an additional system slot. The major
version (option SH8) allows the syn-
chronization of up to 8 cards with the
need for an additional slot.
The module acts as a star hub for
clock and trigger signals. Each board
is connected with a small cable of the
same length, even the master board.
That minimizes the clock skew be-
tween the different cards. The figure shows the piggy-back module mounted on the base board schematically without any cables to achieve
a better visibility. It also shows the locations of the available connectors for the two different versions of the star-hub option.
The carrier card acts as the clock master and the same or any other card can be the trigger master. All trigger modes that are available on
the master card are also available if the synchronization star-hub is used.
The cable connection of the boards is automatically recognized and checked by the driver when initializing the star-hub module. So no care
must be taken on how to cable the cards. The star-hub module itself is handled as an additional device just like any other card and the pro-
gramming consists of only a few additional commands.
BaseXIO (versatile digital I/O)
The option BaseXIO is simple-to-use
enhancement to the cards of the M3i
series. It is possible to control a wide
range of external instruments or
other equipment by using the eight
lines as asynchronous digital I/O.
The BaseXIO option is useful if an
external amplifier should be control-
led, any kind of signal source must
be programmed, if status informati-
on from an external machine has to
be obtained or different test signals
have to be routed to the board.
In addition to the I/O features, these
lines are also for special functions.
One line can be used as an refe-
rence time signal (RefClock) for the
timestamp option.
The BaseXIO MMCX connectors are
mounted on-board. To gain easier access, these lines are connected to an extra bracket, that holds eight SMB male connectors. For special
purposes this option can also be ordered without the extra bracket and instead with internal cables.