PLEASANTON, CA, June 27, 2006. Today ICS Electronics announced a new Ethernet to Digital Interface Board for controlling digital devices over a company network or over the Internet. Called the Model 8013, this new Interface Board provides 128 digital IO lines that the user can control from any computer with a NIC interface or from a TCP/IP network. Typical applications for the 8013 are interfacing digital devices, controlling relay matrices or acting as the Ethernet interface for a test chassis or instruments. The Model 8013 is an Ethernet to Parallel Interface that provides 128 parallel I/O lines that can be configured as inputs or outputs in 8-bit bytes. Data transfer can be done by a combination of three methods depending upon the needs of the devices connected to the 8013. First is by transferring data directly to or from a specific byte, second by strings of data characters to or from multiple bytes, or third, by setting or reading individual bits in a byte. Handshake lines are provided for synchronizing the data transfers or for latching data into external devices. The 8013 can also monitor 15 input lines and generate VXI-11 Service Request messages when an enabled line changes state. The 8013 is an IEEE-488.2 compatible Interface that responds to the 488.2 common commands and uses SCPI commands to configure its digital interface. The user can customize the 8013's IDN message to integrate the 8013 into his system. All settings are saved in Flash memory. The Model 8013 is a VXI-11.3 compliant Interface. VXI-11 is a communication standard developed by the VISA consortium in 1995 in conjunction with the VISA Specification. VXI-11.3 is a sub-standard that covers TCP/IP-to-Instrument servers like the 8013. Communication with the 8013 is via VXI-11 RPC protocol over a TCP/IP network. The 8013 can be controlled several ways: The Model 8013's VXI-11 Service can be accessed by LabVIEW, VEE, Visual Basic and C language application programs that make VISA calls by selecting the 8013 as the TCP/IP resource. Both Agilent and National Instruments provide VXI-11.3 compliant VISA libraries. Linux, Unix and other programmers who do not want to use a VISA library can access the 8013's VXI-11 Service by RPC calls from the application program. The VXI-11 Standard includes the necessary RPCGen header files for adding RPC calls to any program. ICS provides a free VXI-11 Keyboard program which lets users with a WIN32 computer interactively control the 8013 and other VXI-11 Instruments without having to write a program. ICS's 8013 Ethernet-to-GPIB Controller has several unique features: First the 8013 is 100% VXI-11.3 compliant which is an open communication standard. The 8013 supports reverse channel Service Request messages to alert the client application when an event occurs. The 8013 also supports multiple clients as part of its standard firmware. The 8013 a RoHS compliant assembly for use in products aimed at the European market. The 8013 is physically interchangeable with ICS's 4813 GPIB and 2313 Serial to Parallel Interface cards. All three interface cards support the same command set so switching interfaces has minimal program impact. The Model 8013 ships with ICS's VXI-11 Keyboard utility program and Configuration Utility. The Configuration Utility lets the user set the 8013's IP Address mode, its IP Address, COMM Timeout, KeepAlive, and Interface Name. The VXI-11 Keyboard lets a user interactively control the 8013. Both utility programs run in a WIN32 PC. Pricing for the Model 8013 is $495 each is quantities of 1 to 4 units, FOB Pleasanton, California. Delivery is 4 to 5 weeks ARO. ICS Electronics is a pioneer and leader in the design and development of IEEE 488/GPIB, Serial, and VXI bus products. The 8013 is the first of ICS's GPIB Interfaces to be converted to a VXI-11 Interface. Size, L x W x H 7.0 x 5.5 x 0.55 inches (178 x 140 x 14 mm) Material PCB FR406 Fiberglass Components RoHS compatible Construction Lead Free Connector and Headers Digital I/O: 150-pin, 3 row male conn Ethernet: RJ-45 Temperature Operation -10° C to +70° C Storage -20° C to +85° C Humidity 0-90% RH without condensation Power +5 Vdc @ 500 mA (typ)
