PCM-C418/Best Practices
v1.0
www.winsystems.com
Page 50
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Never use screws with oversized heads. The head could come in contact with
nearby components causing a short or physical damage.
•
Never use self-tapping screws; they compromise the walls of the mounting hole.
•
Never use oversized screws that cut into the walls of the mounting holes.
•
Always use all of the mounting holes. By using all of the mounting holes, you pro-
vide the support the embedded computer module needs to prevent bending or flex-
ing.
Plug or unplug connectors only on fully mounted boards
—Never plug or unplug
connectors on a board that is not fully mounted. Many of the connectors fit rather
tightly and the force needed to plug or unplug them could cause the embedded
computer module to be flexed.
Avoid cutting the PCM-C418
—Never use star washers or any fastening hardware that
cut into the PCM-C418.
Avoid over-tightening of mounting hardware
—Causing the area around the mounting
holes to compress could damage interlayer traces around the mounting holes.
Use appropriate tools
—Always use tools that are appropriate for working with small
hardware. Large tools can damage components around the mounting holes.
Avoid conductive surfaces
—Never allow the embedded computer module to be placed
on a conductive surface. Many embedded systems use a battery to back up the
clock-calendar and CMOS memory. A conductive surface such as a metal bench can
short the battery causing premature failure.
Adding PC/104 Boards to Your Stack
Be careful when adding PC/104 boards to your stack
—Never allow the power to be
turned on when a PC/104 board is improperly plugged into the stack. It is possible to
misalign the PC/104 card and leave a row of pins on the end or down the long side
hanging out of the connector. If power is applied with these pins misaligned, it causes
the I/O board to be damaged beyond repair.
Operations/Product Manuals
Every single board computer has an operations manual or product manual.
Periodic Updates
—Operations/product manuals are updated often. Periodically check
the WinSystems website (
http://www.winsystems.com
) for revisions.
Check Pinouts
—Always check the pinout and connector locations in the manual before
plugging in a cable. Many I/O modules have identical headers for different functions and
plugging a cable into the wrong header can have disastrous results.
Contact an Applications Engineer
—If a diagram or chart in a manual does not seem to
match your board, or if you have additional questions, contact a WinSystems
Applications Engineer.
