Stephen St. Amant, PC/104 Consortium President
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PC/104: The small form factor doing big things
Writing about PC/104 can be challenging: If you're just talking about the form factor, there's not a whole lot of new material to cover. In fact, if you're reading this in a printed magazine, it's likely that you already know about PC/104. But for the sake of those who don't know - if you're a young engineer, or if you're the equivalent of that one person who hasn't seen that classic movie ("Wait... you've never seen XYZ??") - for the sake of the new folks, here's the recap:
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PC/104: the smart play
"It just doesn't go out of style." Is the blue blazer timeless? That's what I hear. What about PC/104? Absolutely. In the embedded market space, longevity is key. Embedded systems go through rigorous testing and qualification; the systems need to last. While new form factors and specifications sprout up continually, PC/104 is a solid, time-tested architecture that can be trusted in applications that require reliability, wide industry support, flexibility, and long-term sustainability. Systems built with the PC/104 stacking architecture are versatile. Based on their configuration, they can be tailored for any number of transportation, industrial, defense, mining, gaming, and aerospace needs.
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What's the latest?
What's notable at our member companies? Well, quite a bit! I asked our members to contribute some news blurbs, and here's what filled my inbox. As always, I encourage you to visit our member-company websites and to stop by their booths at the many trade shows where they exhibit. As for the Consortium, you can always keep up with us at www.pc104.org.
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PC/104: A fresh look in its 25th year
Let's take a moment to recall the significance of 1987 - thirty years ago. You may immediately think, "Yes. 1987. A fantastic year for the birth of tennis stars: Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, and Sara Errani were all born in '87." But I imagine your second thought is about PC/104, right? Well, it could be if you know your PC/104 history: 1987 marks the year that Ampro introduced the Little Board/PC single-board computer - one of the earliest seeds of the PC/104 ecosystem. Early collaborators such as Real Time Devices (now RTD Embedded Technologies) and Diamond Systems began developing compatible products as interest grew in the modular building block concept. By 1989, an innovative plug-in mezzanine concept was introduced; it was perhaps the first look at a stackable bus structure that could eliminate the need for a backplane. As the form and function of the 3.775-inch by 3.550-inch stackable PC architecture began to take shape, Ampro made the industry-changing decision to spin its proprietary form factor into an open standard. In 1992, twelve trailblazing companies would join together to establish the PC/104 specification and the consortium that bears its name. Stackable expansion buses, corner mounting holes, and a compact footprint proved to be a winning combination which quickly found popularity among embedded system designers. (Note: Many thanks to Rick Lehrbaum for his previous publications chronicling the early history of PC/104.)
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A go-to embedded solution
There was a time when I watched the cooking competition television show "Chopped" somewhat regularly. It's an intense ingredients-based culinary challenge that pushes chefs to their limits under strict time constraints. Amidst the nearly endless food combinations available to the contestants, it seems as though every episode I watched included one person (and sometimes two or three) who used mascarpone cheese. Often in the dessert round, the chef's storytelling voiceover (dripping with tension) would recount, "I ran to the pantry. I grabbed the mascarpone ... "
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PC/104 a presence at Embedded World 2016
PC/104 had a strong showing at the recent Embedded World 2016 trade show in Nuremberg, Germany. Slick PC/104 demonstrations showed robust graphics processing, industrial Internet of Things (IoT) gateways, innovative Ethernet switches, ARM/FPGA combinations, and military/industrial control applications. At the board level, PC/104 modules are easily recognized for their general shape, corner mounting holes, and stackable bus connectors, but the trade show floor held more than just board-level PC/104: It was at work inside all sorts of enclosure formats - from cubelike configurations housing a stack of modules, to low-profile flat configurations using PC/104 cards as mezzanines, to ultracompact palm-sized systems.
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PC/104 architecture: module, company, and marketplace compatibility
The physical benefits of the PC/104 architecture are promoted often. If you are a frequent PC/104 and Small Form Factors reader, then you know these benefits well: rugged stackable bus connectors, a small footprint with corner mounting holes, commercia...
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PC/104: Ready solutions
A dozen people sit around a large conference-room table. A few have visitor's badges. Everyone has a smart device of some sort. Many have engineering notebooks and pens. Business cards have been cordially exchanged, and cups of coffee are still too hot to drink. In the middle of the table sits an assortment of printed circuit board assemblies.
Stephen St. Amant, PC/104 Consortium President
Stephen St. Amant, PC/104 Consortium President
Stephen St. Amant, PC/104 Consortium President
Stephen St. Amant, PC/104 Consortium President