Ampro Corporation 486E User Manual

Little Board™/486e Computer

P/N 5001561 Revision A

4757 Hellyer Avenue, San Jose, CA 95138

Phone: 408 360-0200, FAX: 408 360-0222, Web: www.ampro.com

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ vii

Technical Support............................................................................................................................... vii

Introduction

General Description...........................................................................................................................1–1

Features .............................................................................................................................................1–1

CPU/Motherboard........................................................................................................................1–1

VL-Bus Flat Panel/CRT Display Controller................................................................................1–2

Enhanced Embedded-PC BIOS....................................................................................................1–2

Serial Ports ..................................................................................................................................1–3

Enhanced Parallel Port................................................................................................................1–3

Floppy Interface...........................................................................................................................1–3

IDE Interface ...............................................................................................................................1–3

Compact Flash Disk.....................................................................................................................1–3

Ethernet LAN Interface...............................................................................................................1–4

Byte-Wide Socket and Solid State Disk (SSD) ............................................................................1–4

Modular PC/104 Expansion Bus..................................................................................................1–5

Enhanced Reliability .........................................................................................................................1–5

HALT Testing ....................................................................................................................................1–6

Software .............................................................................................................................................1–7

Little Board Development Platform ..................................................................................................1–8

Product Reference

Overview ............................................................................................................................................2–1

Interface Connector Summary.....................................................................................................2–1

Jumper Configuration Options....................................................................................................2–4

System I/O Map ...........................................................................................................................2–4

DC Power ...........................................................................................................................................2–6

Power Requirements....................................................................................................................2–7

Backup Battery ............................................................................................................................2–7

Cooling Requirements..................................................................................................................2–7

Powerfail Monitor ........................................................................................................................2–8

DRAM.................................................................................................................................................2–9

System Memory Map ...................................................................................................................2–9

Expanded Memory and Extended Memory ...............................................................................2–10

Serial Ports (J11, J13) .....................................................................................................................2–11

RS-232C Serial Ports .................................................................................................................2–11

RS-485 Serial Port .....................................................................................................................2–11

iii

I/O Addresses.............................................................................................................................2–11

Interrupt Assignments ..............................................................................................................2–12

ROM-BIOS Installation of the Serial Ports...............................................................................2–13

Serial Port Connectors (J11, J13)..............................................................................................2–13

Configuring Serial 2 for RS-485 (J6, W5, W6) ..........................................................................2–15

RS-485 Twisted-Pair Cabling Using RJ11 Connectors .............................................................2–16

Using the RS-485 Interface .......................................................................................................2–17

Serial Console ............................................................................................................................2–18

Serial Booting and Serial Programming ...................................................................................2–20

Using a Serial Modem................................................................................................................2–20

Bi-Directional Parallel Port.............................................................................................................2–21

I/O Addresses.............................................................................................................................2–21

ROM-BIOS Installation of Parallel Ports..................................................................................2–22

Standard and General Purpose I/O Operation..........................................................................2–22

Parallel Port Interrupt ..............................................................................................................2–23

Parallel Port Connector (J15)....................................................................................................2–25

Floppy Disk Interface ......................................................................................................................2–27

Floppy Drive Considerations .....................................................................................................2–27

Floppy Interface Configuration .................................................................................................2–28

Floppy Interface Connector (J14) ..............................................................................................2–28

IDE Hard Disk Interface .................................................................................................................2–29

IDE Connector (J12) ..................................................................................................................2–29

IDE Interface Configuration......................................................................................................2–31

Compact Flash Solid-State Disk................................................................................................2–32

Flat Panel/CRT Video Controller ....................................................................................................2–33

Connecting a CRT (J5)...............................................................................................................2–33

Connecting a Flat Panel (J3) .....................................................................................................2–35

Selecting Vee Polarity................................................................................................................2–39

Attaching an External Contrast Control...................................................................................2–40

Ethernet Network Interface ............................................................................................................2–42

Network Terms ..........................................................................................................................2–42

Installing an Ethernet Boot PROM...........................................................................................2–43

Twisted Pair Interface (J7)........................................................................................................2–44

Twisted-Pair Installations.........................................................................................................2–44

Using Network Operating Systems (NOS) ................................................................................2–45

Network OS Drivers...................................................................................................................2–46

Controlling the Ethernet LAN Interface Directly.....................................................................2–46

Manufacturer’s Ethernet ID ......................................................................................................2–47

Byte-Wide Socket (S0) .....................................................................................................................2–48

Addressing the Byte-wide Socket ..............................................................................................2–49

Solid State Disk (SSD) Drives ...................................................................................................2–50

Accessing the Byte-Wide Socket................................................................................................2–50

Jumpering the Byte-Wide Socket ..............................................................................................2–52

Byte-Wide Socket Signals..........................................................................................................2–52

Using EPROMs ..........................................................................................................................2–53

FLASH EPROM Programming..................................................................................................2–53

Using SRAMs.............................................................................................................................2–54

Non-volatile RAM ......................................................................................................................2–54

Utility Connector (J16) ....................................................................................................................2–55

PC Speaker.................................................................................................................................2–57

LED Connection.........................................................................................................................2–57

Push Button Reset Connection..................................................................................................2–57

Keyboard Connections ...............................................................................................................2–57

External Battery Connections ...................................................................................................2–57

Battery-Backed Clock ......................................................................................................................2–58

Watchdog Timer...............................................................................................................................2–59

AT Expansion Bus ...........................................................................................................................2–62

Onboard MiniModule Expansion...............................................................................................2–63

Using Standard PC and AT Bus Cards .....................................................................................2–63

Bus Expansion Guidelines.........................................................................................................2–64

Expansion Bus Connector Pinouts ............................................................................................2–65

Interrupt and DMA Channel Usage ..........................................................................................2–70

SETUP Overview .............................................................................................................................2–72

SETUP Page 1—Standard (CMOS/EEPROM) Setup ......................................................................2–74

Date and Time ...........................................................................................................................2–75

Floppy Drives.............................................................................................................................2–75

IDE Hard Disk Drives ...............................................................................................................2–75

Video ..........................................................................................................................................2–77

DRAM Memory ..........................................................................................................................2–77

Error Halt ..................................................................................................................................2–77

System POST .............................................................................................................................2–77

SETUP Page 2—Options/Peripheral Configuration........................................................................2–78

Extended BIOS ..........................................................................................................................2–78

Serial Port..................................................................................................................................2–79

Parallel Port...............................................................................................................................2–79

Floppy Interface Enable ............................................................................................................2–80

IDE Interface Enable.................................................................................................................2–80

Hot Key Setup Enable ...............................................................................................................2–80

Video State.................................................................................................................................2–81

Blank Post Test..........................................................................................................................2–81

Byte-Wide Socket Configuration ...............................................................................................2–82

Serial Boot Loader Enable.........................................................................................................2–82

Watchdog Timer Configuration .................................................................................................2–82

Local Bus Video Display ............................................................................................................2–82

Flat Panel Display Type ............................................................................................................2–83

SETUP Page 3—Serial Console Configuration ...............................................................................2–84

The SETUP.COM Program..............................................................................................................2–86

Creating Configuration Files with SETUP.COM......................................................................2–86

Operation with DOS ........................................................................................................................2–87

Utility Software Overview...............................................................................................................2–88

Technical Specifications

Little Board™/486e CPU Specifications............................................................................................3–1

CPU/Motherboard........................................................................................................................3–1

Embedded-PC System Enhancements.........................................................................................3–1

Onboard Peripherals....................................................................................................................3–2

Support Software .........................................................................................................................3–6

Mechanical and Environmental Specifications ...........................................................................3–7

Index

Preface

Introduction

This manual is for designers of systems based on the Ampro Little Board™/486e single board

system. This manual contains information that permits users to create an embedded system

customized to specific requirements. Information includes:

Hardware requirements

Programming instructions

Details for integrating it with other equipment

Technical Support

The Ampro Virtual Technician is available 24 hours a day at http://www.ampro.com, the Ampro

Computers, Inc World Wide Web site. The Ampro Virtual Technician is a searchable database of

Frequently Asked Questions. Look here first for your technical solutions.

The Ampro Engineering University is also available at the Web Site. Ampro Engineering

University was created as a resource for embedded system developers to share Ampro's knowledge,

insight, and expertise gained from years of experience. This page contains links to White Papers,

Specifications, and additional technical information.

Ampro technical support is available from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Pacific Standard Time, Monday

through Friday. When calling for technical support, please have the product and it’s technical

manual available.

USA Technical Support Contact Information

Web Site

http://www.ampro.com

[email protected]

Telephone

FAX

800-966-5200 (USA), or 408 360-0200

408 360-0250

FTP

ftp://ftp.ampro.com

Std Mail

Ampro Computers, Incorporated, 4757 Hellyer Avenue, San Jose, CA 95138, USA

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viii

Chapter 1

Introduction

General Description

The Little Board™/486e CPU is an exceptionally high integration, high performance, 486DX-based

PC/AT compatible system in the EBX form factor. This rugged and high quality single-board

system contains all the component subsystems of a PC/AT motherboard plus the equivalent of six

PC/AT expansion boards.

Key functions included on the Little Board/486e CPU are:

CPU

RAM

Embedded-PC BIOS

Keyboard and speaker interfaces

Four buffered serial ports

Multimode parallel port

Floppy drive controller and local-bus IDE drive controllers

Flat panel/CRT display interface

Ethernet LAN interface

In addition, the Little Board/486e CPU includes a comprehensive set of system extensions and

enhancements that are specifically designed for embedded systems. It is designed to meet the size,

power consumption, temperature range, quality, and reliability demands of embedded applications.

Among the many embedded-PC enhancements that ensure fail-safe embedded system operation are

a watchdog timer, a powerful NMI generator, and an onboard bootable “solid state disk” (SSD)

capability. The unit requires a single +5 Volt power source and offers "green PC" power-saving

modes under support of Advanced Power Management (APM) BIOS functions (APM Release 1.2-

compliant).

Features

CPU/Motherboard

The Little Board/486e CPU implements a fully PC-compatible motherboard architecture, with an

80486 CPU running at 100 MHz or 133 MHz. The 486 CPU has an 8 Kbyte on-chip cache memory.

The board uses a standard 168-pin Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM™) memory module, and

supports up to 64M byte configurations. It has a full complement of standard PC/AT architectural

features, including DMA channels, interrupt controllers, real-time clock, and timer counters.

1–1

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

VL-Bus Flat Panel/CRT Display Controller

A powerful and flexible local bus video display controller interfaces with both flat panels and CRTs,

and offers full software compatibility with all popular PC video standards (VGA, Super VGA, and

VESA). All standard resolutions up to 1280 x 1024 pixels and 16 million colors (True Color, in 640 x

480 VGA) are supported. Refer to Tables 3-1 and 3-2 for video specifications. 2M byte of video

memory is standard. The display controller features:

High-speed VL-Bus Architecture. The video controller provides an optimized 32-bit path

between the CPU and video memory.

Graphical User Interface (GUI) Accelerator. This feature can dramatically boost the

performance of Windows^®, Windows^®9x, and many graphics-intensive applications.

Color Flat-Panel Support. Up to 16M colors can be displayed on TFT LCD flat panels and up

to 226,981 colors on STN LCD panels.

Display Centering and Stretching. A variety of automatic display centering and stretching

techniques can be employed when running lower resolution software on a higher resolution

display.

Color Simulation/Reduction. Color is automatically converted to gray-scale on most

monochrome LCD panels, using a Frame Rate Modulation (FRM) and dithering techniques.

Standard Panel Support in the VIDEO BIOS. The VIDEO BIOS supports a number of

standard flat-panel displays, selectable from the system SETUP menu.

An optional external adapter board can provide an adjustable LCD bias power supply and power

sequencing control.

Enhanced Embedded-PC BIOS

One of the most valuable features of the Little Board/486e CPU is its enhanced embedded-PC

BIOS. Its extensive function set meets the unique requirements of embedded system applications.

These enhancements include:

Watchdog timer—monitors the boot process and provides a watchdog function call for

applications

Fast boot operation—normal or accelerated POST, selectable by SETUP options

Configurable POST display—selects what displays at boot time

Fail-safe boot support—intelligently retries boot devices until successful

Battery-free boot support—saves system SETUP information in non-volatile EEPROM

Serial console option—lets you use a serial device as a console

Serial loader option—supports loading boot code from an external serial source

EEPROM access function—512 bits of EEPROM storage available to user; useful for

serialization, copy protection, and security

OEM customization hooks—can execute custom code before system boot through ROM

extensions; allows sophisticated system customization without BIOS modification

1–2

Introduction

Serial Ports

Four PC-compatible RS-232C serial ports are standard. Serial Port features include:

16C550-type UARTs

UARTs are equipped with 16-byte FIFO

Support for 115K baud rates

Onboard voltage converters provide the RS-232C voltage levels from the single 5 volt supply

COM2 can be jumper configured to conform with RS-485

Enhanced Parallel Port

One PC parallel port is standard. It can be used for the following applications:

Printer port

Channel for access to parallel port interfaced peripherals

Digital control (output) and sensing (input) lines

EEP, ECP, SPP, and BPP Selectable

The parallel port can be:

Set up as the primary or secondary parallel port using the BIOS SETUP function

Disabled to free its PC resources for other peripherals

Floppy Interface

An onboard floppy disk interface provides access to standard floppy drives. The interface supports

up to two 5.25 inch or 3.5 inch floppy drives in any combination.

IDE Interface

An onboard IDE interface provides high-speed hard disk and CD-ROM drive access. The interface

supports up to two drives. The BIOS supports hard drives up to 8.4G bytes through Logical Block

Addressing (LBA).

Compact Flash Disk

The Compact Flash interface allows you to substitute solid-state Flash memory for a conventional

rotating-media drive. Any DOS-based application, including the operating system, utilities, drivers,

and application programs, can easily be run from the Compact Flash device without modification

The Compact Flash disk is a solid-state disk system that emulates an IDE drive. It uses standard

Compact Flash disk media, similar to a PCMCIA memory card, but smaller. Insert the Compact

Flash disk media in the on-board Compact Flash socket, and use it in much the same way you

would use a removable-media hard drive. The Compact Flash drive is architecturally equivalent to

an IDE drive in your system. When installed, it becomes one of the two IDE drives supported by the

primary EIDE disk controller. It can be configured as either an IDE master or slave drive.

1–3

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Ethernet LAN Interface

The Ethernet LAN interface uses Carrier Sense, Multiple Access/Collision Detect (CSMA/CD) for

node access and operates at a 10M-bits/second data rate. The Ethernet interface has the following

features:

Contains the logic necessary to send and receive data packets

Controls CSMA/CD network access technology

Meets IEEE 802.3 (ANSI 8802-3) Ethernet standards

Supports the Ethernet twisted-pair standard (10BaseT)

Because Ethernet is preferred in many applications due to its high data rate and broad level of

compatibility, Ampro supplies the Little Board/486e CPU with drivers and utilities to ensure

compatibility with a wide range of popular operating systems and network operating systems. The

Ethernet interface is based on the SMC9000-series single-chip Ethernet controller. DOS software

drivers for ODI, NDIS, packet, and TCP/IP are supplied with the Little Board/486e Development

Kit. OS support includes QNX, UNIX, Windows^®9x, Windows NT^™, Windows CE and DOS.

The Ethernet interface provides boot PROM capability. When implemented, the embedded system

boots directly from the network, eliminating the need for a local floppy, hard drive, or SSD.

Byte-Wide Socket and Solid State Disk (SSD)

The byte-wide memory socket included with the Little Board/486e CPU allows you to install a

bootable “solid state disk” (SSD) for installation of embedded application software. The SSD

supports:

EPROM

FLASH EPROM

Battery-backed SRAMs

Using Ampro’s SSD Support Software, any DOS-based application, including the operating system,

utilities, drivers, and application programs, can be run from SSD without modification. SSD

operation is also supported by a number of real-time operating systems.

The board’s 32-pin byte-wide socket accepts 32-pin byte-wide memory devices. It accommodates

128K bytes to 1M byte devices and supports:

CMOS SRAM

SRAM non-volatile modules

EPROM

FLASH EPROM

1–4

Introduction

Modular PC/104 Expansion Bus

The Little Board/486e CPU provides a PC/104-compatible expansion bus for additional system

functions. This bus is a compact version of the standard PC ISA bus and offers compact, self-

stacking, modular expandability. The growing list of PC/104 modules available from Ampro and

other PC/104 vendors includes such functions as:

Communications interfaces

Video frame grabbers

Field bus interfaces

Digital signal processors (DSPs)

Data acquisition and control functions

Many specialized interfaces and controllers

In addition, customized, application-specific logic boards can be stacked on top of the

Little Board/486e CPU using the PC/104 expansion bus interface as a rugged and reliable

interconnect. The PC/104 bus is an embedded system version of the signal set provided on a

desktop PC’s ISA bus.

Enhanced Reliability

Ampro specializes in producing highly reliable embedded system computers and peripherals

capable of withstanding hostile, mission-critical environments without operator intervention.

Ampro’s system designs and a comprehensive testing program have evolved to ensure a reliable

and stable system for use in these harsh and demanding applications.

ISO 9001 Manufacturing. Ampro is a certified ISO 9001 vendor.

Regulatory testing. Knowing that many embedded systems must qualify under EMC emissions

susceptibility testing, Ampro designs boards with careful attention to EMI issues. Boards are

tested in standard enclosures to ensure that they can pass such emissions tests. Tests include the

following CE MARK European Union directives:

EN55022 and EN55011 (for EMC)

EN61000-4-2 (for ESD)

EN61000-4-6 (for RF Susceptibility)

EN61000-4-4 (For EFT)

Tests also include emissions testing at US voltages per FCC Part 15, Subpart J. The test levels are

CISPR Class A / VCCI1, Light Industrial.

Wide-range temperature testing. Ampro Engineering qualifies all of its designs by extensive

thermal and voltage margin testing.

3.3V CPU for greater high temperature tolerance. The board uses the latest low-voltage CPU

technology to extend its temperature range and reduce cooling requirements.

Shock and Vibration Testing. Boards intended for use in harsh environments are designed for

shock and vibration durability to MIL-STD 202F, Method 214A, Table 214I, Condition D at 5

minutes per axis for random vibration, and to MIL-STD 202F, Method 213B, Table 213-1,

Condition A for resistance to mechanical shock.

1–5

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

HALT Testing

The Little Board/486e CPU was subjected to Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT) as a part of its

Engineering Qualification. An independent firm using a standardized procedure performed testing.

HALT testing is used during the development of a product to identify its temperature and vibration

Operating Limits and Destruct Limits. The stresses applied during this testing greatly exceed

those expected during normal operation. The intent of the test is to subject the unit to progressively

greater extremes of temperature, rapid thermal transitions, vibration (in six axes), and combined

temperature stress and vibration until the unit fails, and then is ultimately destroyed.

The results of the test identify the elements of the design that are the weakest, and at what level of

environmental stress the elements fail or are destroyed. This information is then used to improve

the design of the product.

1–6

Introduction

Software

The Little Board/486e CPU can use most commercial and public-domain software developed for the

IBM PC and PC/AT. Software development tools such as editors, compilers, and debuggers can be

used to develop application code. System requirements can be quickly tailored to your needs using

these standard tools with the utilities and drivers supplied with each Little Board/486e CPU.

The board’s SETUP function can be used for all system configuration tasks. SETUP can be invoked

using the (CTRL-ALT-ESC) hot-key combination or by selecting the SETUP.COM utility program

from the DOS command line. SETUP.COM is available on the Common Utilities diskette. Table 1–1

summarizes the configuration parameters you can modify using SETUP.

Table 1–1. Summary of SETUP Options

Date and time in the battery-backed real-time clock

Floppy drive quantity and type

IDE Hard disk drive quantity and type

Video controller

Serial port enable/disable

Parallel port address/disable

Byte-wide socket

Serial console option

Video BIOS Shadow RAM enable

DOS hard disk map

Choice of default boot drive (hard disk or floppy)

Enable/Disable hot-key access to SETUP

Watchdog timer startup time-out

Serial loader enable/disable/port selection

POST speed options

POST screen display and blanking options

SETUP information is stored in both the battery-backed CMOS RAM-portion of the real-time clock,

and in a configuration EEPROM. A complete discussion of SETUP is provided in Chapter 2.

1–7

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Little Board Development Platform

Whatever your Little Board application, there is always a need for an engineering development

cycle. To help developers quickly assemble an embedded system, Ampro’s Little Board Development

Platform provides developers with tools to manage development and assembly for embedded system

components such as:

Power supplies

Floppy disk drive

Hard disk drive

Speaker

I/O connectors

Two-slot PC backplanes

The Development Platform provides a known good environment for your development work. You

can install the Little Board/486e CPU, MiniModules™ expansion products or conventional

expansion boards, keyboards, monitors, and I/O devices to quickly create a platform for your

hardware and software engineering needs. Often, Development Platforms are used in repair and

support facilities as well, and on the production floor for system test. Contact your Ampro sales

representative for additional information.

1–8

Chapter 2

Product Reference

Overview

This chapter contains the technical information required to install and configure the

Little Board™/486e CPU. The information includes:

Power Connector

DRAM memory

Serial Ports

Bi-directional parallel port

Floppy disk interface

IDE hard disk interface (Compact Flash)

Video Controller

32-pin byte-wide socket

Ethernet local area network interface

Utility connector (keyboard, PC speaker, reset button, external battery, PS/2 mouse)

Watchdog timer

Battery-backed clock

PC/104-compatible expansion bus

SETUP function

Interface Connector Summary

Refer to Figure 2–1 for the locations of the connectors (P1A/B, P2C/D, J2 – J7, J11 – J16) and

configuration jumpers (W1 – W14). Table 2–1 summarizes the use of the I/O connectors and Table

2–2 summarizes use of the configuration jumpers. Each interface is described in its own section,

showing connector pin outs, signal definitions, required mating connectors, and configuration

jumper options.

Many of the connectors have a key pin removed. This allows you to block the corresponding cable

connector socket to help prevent improper assembly and possible board damage. Table 2–1

indicates which pins are key pins, and Figure 2–1 shows their locations.

2–1

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Table 2–1. Connector Usage Summary

Connector

Function

PC/104 Expansion Bus

Compact Flash Card

Flat Panel Video

Size

64-Pin

40-pin

50-pin

12-pin

10-pin

2-pin

Key Pin

B10

P1A/B

P2C/D

C19

LCD Bias Supply Connector

CRT Video

3, 10

None

RS-485

Ethernet Twisted Pair

Power, +5V and +12V

RJ45

J10

4-pin

Molex

J11

J12

J13

J14

J15

J16

Serial 1 and Serial 2

IDE Hard Disk

20-pin

40-pin

20-pin

34-pin

26-pin

16-pin

Serial 3 and Serial 4

Floppy Interface

Parallel Port

Utility/Keyboard

Connectors

The I/O connectors are dual-row headers for use with insulation displacement connectors (IDC) and

flat ribbon cable.

A number of the connectors have key pins. Install a blocking key in the corresponding connector

socket on the mating ribbon cable to prevent misalignment.

You can design PC boards with female connectors in the same relative positions as the Little

Board’s connectors. This eliminates cables, meets packaging requirements, adds EMI filtering, or

customizes the installation in other ways.

The PC/104-compatible expansion bus is located on connectors P1A/B and P2C/D. The system can

be expanded using Ampro MiniModule expansion products or other PC/104-compliant expansion

modules. These modules can be attached by stacking them directly on the P1 and P2 connectors or

by using standard or custom expansion hardware; including solutions available from Ampro.

Contact your Ampro sales representative for information about alternatives offered by Ampro.

If you plan to use the on-board video controller with a flat-panel LCD that requires a Vee voltage,

you can install Ampro’s optional LCD Bias Supply board on connector J4, as shown in Figure 2-1.

This board can be jumpered to supply positive or negative Vee from ±15V to ±35V (adjustable).

2–2

Product Reference

J16 Utility/Keyboard

J12 IDE Hard Disk

W5 RS-232/RS-485 (RS-232)

J6 RS-485

J14 Floppy

W6 RS-485 Termination

(No Enable)

J10 Power

J13 Serial 3 & 4

J15 Parallel Port

J11 Serial 1 & 2

W3 Compact Flash

Master/Slave

J7 Ethernet

W13 Ethernet SEEP (Enable)

W2 Byte Wide Configuration (Flash ROM)

J2 Compact Flash Card

W9 Serial 4 IRQ (IRQ 11)

W7 Serial 3/4 IRQ Share (No Share)

W8 Serial 3 IRQ (IRQ 10)

W11/W12 Video Controller (Enable)

W1 Memory SWAP (Enable)

W10 LCD Power (5V)

PC/104 Expansion Bus

J4 LCD Bias Supply

J5 CRT Video

J3 Flat Panel Video

W4 Watchdog Timer (No Selection)

W14 Power Fail Monitor (No Enable)

Shaded connector pins indicate key pins. Default settings for jumpers are in parenthesis.)

Figure 2–1. Connector and Jumper Locations

2–3

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Jumper Configuration Options

Ampro installs optional jumpers in default positions so that the Little Board/486e CPU requires no

special jumpering for immediate operation. Jumper-pin arrays are designated W1, W2, and so

forth. Jumper pins have a 2mm pitch. A square solder pad identifies pin 1 of each jumper array.

Table 2–2 provides a summary of jumper use. In the Default column, two numbers separated by a

slash (for example, 1/2) means that pins 1 and 2 are shorted with a 2 mm jumper block.

Table 2–2. Configuration Jumper Summary

Jumper

Group

Function

Default

Memory SWAP

Byte-Wide S0 Configuration

(default is Flash EPROM)

1 /2, 4/5, 7/8, 6/9

Compact Flash Master/Slave Selector

OFF (Slave)

Watchdog Timer Output Select

(IOCHECK, Reset)

OFF (No Selection)

Serial 2 RS-232/RS-485 Select

RS-485 Termination Enable

Serial 3/4 IRQ Sharing

Serial 3 IRQ Selector

1/2 (RS-232)

OFF (No Enable)

2/3 (Non-sharing)

1/2 (IRQ 11)

Serial 4 IRQ Selector

1/2 (IRQ 10)

W10

W11/W12

W13

W14

LCD Power Selector

1/3 and 2/4 (+5V)

ON/ON (Enable)

OFF (Enable)

Video Controller Enable

Ethernet SEEP Enable

Power Fail Monitor NMI Enable

OFF (No Enable)

System I/O Map

Table 2–3 lists the I/O port assignments of the Little Board/486e CPU. The I/O port functions and

addresses are both hardware and software compatible for all standard PC applications.

The ROM BIOS typically provides all of the services needed to use the onboard and I/O port

connected devices. If you need to directly program the standard functions, refer to a programming

reference for the PC/AT.

2–4

Product Reference

Table 2–3. Little Board/486e I/O Map

I/O Address

3F8h - 3FFh

3F2h - 3F7h

Function

Primary serial port

Floppy disk controller ports

3F2: FDC Digital output register

3F4: FDC Main status register

3F5: FDC Data register

3F7: FDC Control register

3F0h - 3F1h

3E8h - 3EFh

3D0h - 3D7h, 3DA

3C0h - 3CFh

3B4, 3B5, 3BA

378h - 37Fh

320h - 32Fh

2F8h - 2FFh

2F0h - 2F3h

2E8h - 2EFh

278h - 27Fh

1F8h - 1FFh

1F0h - 1F7h

102

Ampro reserved

Third serial port

Video controller

Video controller (MDA Emulation)

Primary parallel printer port

Ethernet interface (default)

Secondary serial port

Ampro reserved

Fourth serial port

Secondary parallel printer port

Ampro reserved

IDE hard disk interface

Video Controller (Global Enable)

Reserved

0F0h - 0FFh

0C0h - 0DFh

0A0h - 0A1h

092h

DMA controller 2 (8237 equivalent)

Interrupt controller 2 (8359 equivalent)

Fast A20 gate and CPU reset

DMA page registers (74LS61 equivalent)

Real-time clock and NMI mask

Keyboard controller (8042 equivalent)

Programmable timer (8254 equivalent)

Interrupt controller 1 (8359 equivalent)

DMA controller 1 (8237 equivalent)

080h - 08Fh

070h - 071h

060h, 064h

040h - 043h

020h - 021h

000h - 00Fh

E0E0h - E0EFh

Ethernet disable address (full 16-bit address)

Note

All I/O ports below 100h are reserved for internal system functions

and should not be accessed.

2–5

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

DC Power

Power the module by connecting the DC power supply to the PC/104 expansion bus and connect the

voltages to J10. Refer to Table 2–4 for power connections and Table 2–5 for mating connector

information.

Table 2–4. J10 Power Connector

Connection

+12VDC ±5% input

Ground return

2, 3

+5VDC ±5% input

Table 2–5. J10 Mating Connectors

Connector Type

Mating Connector

Discrete Wire

AMP Housing 1-480424-0

AMP PIN 60619-1

Caution

Be sure the power plug is wired correctly before applying power to the

board. See Figure 2–2.

PowerConnector

Cable Connector Wiring

J10

LittleBoard/486e

+5V

GND

+12V

GND

+5V

Figure 2–2. Power Connector Wiring

2–6

Product Reference

Power Requirements

The Little Board/486e CPU operates on +5VDC (±5%). The ±9V RS-232 voltages are generated on

board. The exact power requirement of the Little Board/486e CPU system depends on several

factors such as:

Amount of installed DRAM

Number of installed byte-wide memory devices

Peripheral connections

MiniModule products (if installed)

Other expansion boards attached to the PC/104 bus

For example: AT keyboards draw power from the motherboard, and there can be some loading from

the serial and parallel ports. Consult the specifications in Chapter 3 for the basic power

requirements of your model.

If a switching power supply is used it must regulate properly with the system load. Some switching

power supplies do not regulate properly unless they are loaded to some minimum value. If this is

the case, consult the manufacturer for information regarding additional loading or use another

supply or another type of power source such as a linear supply, or batteries.

Backup Battery

With only the real-time clock drawing current, the backup battery on the Little Board/486e should

last 10 years. If it supplies only the clock, replace the battery every 10 years as a routine

maintenance procedure.

Cooling Requirements

Adequate airflow should be provided to maintain an ambient temperature at or below 70°C within

the case. For Extended Temperature Qualified products, the temperature must remain at or below

85°C. Little Board/486e CPU uses a 486DX/System Logic Chip rated at 3.3V to minimize power

drain. In addition a heat sink is provided for the CPU. The majority of the current draw and heat

generated come from the:

486 CPU

DRAM

video controller

486DX/System Logic Chip

2–7

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Powerfail Monitor

The Little Board/486e CPU has a built-in powerfail circuit that generates a clean reset signal if

power falls below 4.65V. It guarantees a minimum 140 mS reset signal, independent of how long

the power falls below the 4.65V threshold.

To enable the powerfail circuitry, short W14 with a jumper.

Non-maskable interrupt (NMI): When the supply voltage falls below (approximately) 4.7 volts,

the powerfail logic sends an NMI to the CPU. When the BIOS detects the NMI, it displays the

message “Power Fail NMI” on the screen. You have two options at this point (made by keyboard

selections). One is to mask the NMI and continue. The other is to reboot the system. This requires

operator intervention. If you want an automatic response to the NMI, you can provide an NMI

handler in your application, and patch the NMI interrupt vector address to point to your routine.

If you have configured the byte-wide socket S0 for battery backup, it will be write protected while

power is below 4.7 volts. (Its chip select is held to a logic 1.) This is to prevent writing bad data to

an SRAM in S0 when the voltage is low.

Hardware reset: If the supply voltage falls below (approximately) 4.40V, the powerfail logic

initiates a hardware reset (like pressing the RESET button). A “clean” reset during a low voltage

period prevents erratic operation or crashes. Reset is asserted for the duration of the low-voltage

period plus 100 mS after the voltage returns to above 4.40V.

2–8

Product Reference

DRAM

There is no DRAM soldered on board. The Little Board/486e CPU will support up to 64M byte of

system DRAM. A single vertical 168-pin DIMM socket supporting symmetrical EDO 3.3V modules

is used.

When the system boots, the BIOS measures the amount of memory installed and configures the

internal memory controller. No jumpering or manual configuration is required. The amount of

memory found can be displayed by running SETUP. Saving SETUP automatically stores this figure

in the Configuration Memory.

Note

If you change the amount of memory installed, you must run SETUP

again to save the new value in the Configuration Memory.

Onboard memory is allocated as follows (standard for the PC architecture):

The first 640K bytes of DRAM are assigned to the DOS region 00000h to 9FFFFh.

DRAM in the top 384K bytes of the first 1M byte is not available for user programs. DRAM is

mapped into the top 64K to shadow the ROM BIOS. DRAM can also be mapped into a portion of

this region to shadow a video BIOS (a SETUP option).

The remaining memory is mapped to extended memory starting at the 1M byte boundary.

System Memory Map

The Little Board/486e CPU address up to 64M bytes of memory. Table 2–6 shows how this memory

is used.

The first megabyte stores the following data starting at memory address 00000h:

DRAM

Byte-wide socket

ROM BIOS

2–9

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Table 2–6. Little Board/486e Memory Map

Memory Address

0100000h – 3FFFFFFh

00F0000h - 00FFFFFh

00D0000h - 00EFFFFh

00CC000h – 00CFFFFh

Function

Extended memory

64K ROM BIOS

Byte-wide socket S0, if enabled, otherwise, free

Onboard BIOS Expansion Flash device for Ethernet

boot PROM code

00C0000h - 00CBFFFh

00A0000h - 00BFFFFh

Video BIOS for onboard flat panel video controller

Normally contains video RAM, as follows:

CGA Video: B8000-BFFFFh

Monochrome: B0000-B7FFFh

EGA and VGA video: A0000-AFFFFh

000000h - 09FFFFh

Onboard DRAM

Expanded Memory and Extended Memory

Extended memory is a contiguous linear block of memory above 1M byte. Some programs require

that memory be available as expanded or EMS memory, which makes memory available as pages

rather than as a contiguous block. The procedure for accessing expanded memory is defined in the

EMS LIM 4.0 specification.

Expanded memory can be converted into EMS memory by using the EMS emulation utilities in

DOS. Current versions of DOS provide EMS emulation utilities, such as EMM386, that conform to

the LIM 4.0 specification. Refer to the DOS technical documentation for instructions for using the

EMS emulation utility.

2–10

Product Reference

Serial Ports (J11, J13)

Four RS-232C serial ports are included on the Little Board/486e CPU. Serial port 2 provides an

optional RS-485 serial interface. Both serial ports support software selectable standard baud rates

up to 115.2K baud, 5-8 data bits, and 1, 1.5, or 2 stop bits. The IEEE RS232C specification limits

the serial port to 19.2K baud on cables up to 50 feet in length. The serial ports are based on a

16550 UART-compatible controller. This is an advanced UART that has a 16-byte FIFO buffer to

improve throughput.

RS-232C Serial Ports

The Little Board/486e CPU can use 5BC sometimes as an alternate computer. Microprocessor

system provides four standard RS-232C serial ports at J11 and J13 for use with:

Printers

Modems

Terminals

Remote hosts

Touch input devices

Any RS-232C serial device

Many devices require handshaking in one or both directions. Consult the documentation for any

device(s) used for information about handshaking, cabling, and other interface considerations.

Information about serial port configuration using SETUP, is provided in this chapter.

RS-485 Serial Port

An RS-485 option is available for Serial Port 2 at J11. Use of the RS-485 option offers a low cost,

easy-to-use communications and networking multidrop interface that is ideally suited to a wide

variety of embedded applications requiring low-to-medium-speed data transfer between two or

more systems.

I/O Addresses

Serial port addresses are fixed and can not be changed. Each serial port, however, can be

independently disabled using the SETUP function, freeing its I/O addresses for use by other devices

installed on the PC/104 expansion bus. Port addresses are shown in Table 2–7.

Table 2–7. Serial Port I/O Addresses and Interrupts

Port

I/O Address

3F8h - 3FFh

2F8h - 2FFh

3E8h – 3EFh

2E8h – 2EFh

Interrupt

Serial 1

Serial 2

Serial 3

Serial 4

7 or 11

5 or 10

2–11

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Interrupt Assignments

Interrupt 4 (IRQ4) is assigned to Serial 1 and Interrupt 3 (IRQ3) to Serial 2. These assignments

can be disabled, but they cannot be changed. Serial 3 and Serial 4 can share their interrupts, using

a “wired-or” configuration, they can use independent IRQs, or they can be disabled and use no

interrupt at all. Jumper options are provided to independently select the wired-or configuration or

independent interrupts for Serial 3 and Serial 4. See Figure 2–3 through 2–5.

Shared

Non-Shared

Figure 2–3. Shared Wired-Or Configuration

IRQ11

IRQ7

Figure 2–4. Serial 3 Interrupt Configuration (W8)

IRQ10

IRQ5

Figure 2–5. Serial 4 Interrupt Configuration (W9)

When a serial port is disabled, its IRQ is available to other peripherals installed on the PC/104

expansion bus.

2–12

Product Reference

ROM-BIOS Installation of the Serial Ports

The ROM BIOS normally supports Serial 1 as the DOS COM1 device, Serial 2 as the DOS COM2

device, and so on. If a serial port is disabled and there is no substitute serial port in the system, the

ROM-BIOS assigns the COM designations as it finds the serial ports, starting from the primary

serial port and searching to the last one. For example, if Serial 1 is disabled, the ROM-BIOS

assigns COM1 to Serial 2 (unless another Serial 1 is discovered). The ROM BIOS scans I/O

addresses for serial ports in the following order: 3F8h, 2F8h, 3E8h, and 2E8h.

Serial Port Connectors (J11, J13)

Serial 1 and Serial 2 appears on connector J11. Serial 3 and Serial 4 appear on connector J13. Both

connectors are wired the same, J11 for serial 1 and 2, and J13 for serial 3 and 4. Table 2–8 details

the connector pinout and signal definitions for both ports. The table also identifies the pin numbers

where each signal must be wired for compatibility with standard DB25 and DB9 connectors. A flat

ribbon cable connects the header to a standard DB9 connector.

Note

PC serial ports are typically equipped with male DB9 connectors.

2–13

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Table 2–8. Serial Port Connectors (J11, J13)

Ports

Pin Signal

Name

Function

In/Out

DB25 DB9

Serial 1

(J11)

Serial 3

(J13)

DCD

DSR

RXD

RTS

TXD

CTS

DTR

Data Carrier Detect

Data Set Ready

Receive Data

Request To Send

Transmit Data

OUT

Clear to Send

Data Terminal Ready

Ring Indicator

OUT

GND

N/A

Signal Ground

No Connection

Serial 2

(J11)

Serial 4

(J13)

DCD*

DSR

RXD

RTS

TXD

CTS

DTR

Data Carrier Detect*

Data Set Ready

Receive Data

Request To Send

Transmit Data

Clear to Send

OUT

Data Terminal Ready

Ring Indicator

Signal Ground

Key Pin

OUT

GND

N/A

Table 2–9 shows the manufacturer’s part number for ribbon cable mating connectors to J11 and

J13.

Table 2–9. J11 and J13 Mating Connector

Connector Type

Ribbon

Mating Connector

3M 3421-7600

Discrete Wire

MOLEX Housing 22-55-2202

Pin 16-02-0103

2–14

Product Reference

Configuring Serial 2 for RS-485 (J6, W5, W6)

Serial 2 provides circuitry for both an RS-232C and RS-485 interface. The port can be configured to

support either interface using jumpers. The RS-232C interface appears on J11. The RS-485

interface appears on the two-pin connector, J6. Table 2–10 shows the pinout for J6. Table 2–11

shows the manufacturer’s part number for mating connectors to J6.

Table 2–10. RS-485 Serial Port 2 Connector (J6)

Signal Name

+I/O

-I/O

Table 2–11. J6 Mating Connector

Connector Type

Mating Connector

Discrete Wire

(Locking Connector)

MOLEX Housing 22-01-2027

Pin 08-55-0102

Figure 2–6 shows how to set W5 to select the output interface for Serial 2.

RS-232

RS-485

Figure 2–6. Serial 2 Interface Selection

Note

The RS-485 and RS-232C interfaces share the same circuitry. If you

configure Serial 2 for RS-485, do not connect a serial device to J11.

Similarly, if you configure Serial 2 for RS-232C, do not connect

anything to J6.

2–15

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

The RS-485 interface specification requires that both ends of the twisted-pair cable be terminated

with 100-ohm resistors. You can terminate the RS-485 interface on J6 with a resistor provided on

the Little Board/486e CPU. To terminate the line, install a jumper on W6, see Table 2–12.

Table 2–12. RS-485 Termination using W6

Result

Connects a 100 ohm termination resistor across J10

No termination

Off

RS-485 Twisted-Pair Cabling Using RJ11 Connectors

Connector J6 is used for an RS-485 twisted-pair connection. In RS-485 multidrop installations,

standard RJ11 modular telephone connector jacks are often used to attach standard twisted-pair

cables between systems.

RJ11 modular connectors have 6 available contact positions, but only 4 are populated. The 4 center

conductors are wired so that the two outside and the two inside conductors are connected together.

This eliminates any confusion about pin numbering conventions, as a reversal of connections has no

effect. In addition, the lines were chosen to minimize the possibility of circuit damage should the

unit be accidentally plugged into a standard telephone outlet. It sets the phone line to its offhook

state to prevent the phone from ringing.

The recommended wiring for a J6-to-RJ11 cable is shown in Table 2–13.

Table 2–13. J6/RJ11 Cable Wiring

RJ11

Signal

Standard

Wire Color

N/C

- I/O Signal

+ I/O Signal

- I/O Signal

N/C

Black

Red

Green

Yellow

When connecting the RS-485 port into a multidrop network, the devices at both ends of the network

should be terminated with a 100 ohm resistor. Installing a jumper on W6 connects a termination

resistor across the RS-485 line on the Little Board/486e CPU.

2–16

Product Reference

Using the RS-485 Interface

The RS-485 interface allows half-duplex operation using a 5 VDC differential interface. This

interface provides greater immunity against noise and interference than single-wire interfaces and

can drive cable lengths up to 4000 feet reliably at 57.6K bps. All communication, both transmission

and reception, occurs through a single pair of wires. There are no handshaking lines.

RS-485 supports multidrop operation, where more than two devices can be connected to the same

RS-485 balanced line. To prevent signal contention, only one transmitter is enabled at a time. The

Little Board/486e RS-485 transmitter is controlled by Serial 2’s RTS signal. At power up, RTS is in

its inactive state, ready to receive. When it is time to transmit, the RTS signal is made active,

enabling the transmitter. It is the responsibility of the user’s software to prevent two transmitters

from being enabled at the same time.

Figure 2–7 illustrates the Little Board/486e RS-485 interface wiring.

RS-232 RxD

Transmitter

J6-1 +I/O

Serial 2 TxD

J6-2 -I/O

Serial 2 RTS

Transmitter Enable

100

Ohms

Serial 2 RxD

RS-485

RxD

Receiver

Figure 2–7. RS-485 Interface Wiring

Interconnection Scheme Examples

The following interconnection scheme examples take advantage of the RS-485 serial connection:

One-way Broadcast

A single device uses an RS-485 signal pair to transmit data to many receiving devices. When the

RTS signal is turned on (True, High, and Active) and left on, the broadcast transmitter is enabled.

If the device is to be a receiver, RTS must be turned off and left off.

Simple Bi-Directional Communication

Two devices using a single RS-485 bi-directional pair for half-duplex provide two-way transmission

of data. The transceiver is placed in the send or receive mode under control of the network software

using either a simple alternation scheme or by messages contained within data packets.

2–17

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Multidrop Network

More than two devices share an RS-485 signal pair, for both transmission and reception of data.

Only one device is permitted to talk at any one time. As with simple bi-directional communication,

the board’s RS-485 transceiver is placed in receive mode unless it is the one permitted to transmit.

One popular way of managing who is the transmitter is by a “token” passing scheme. Each node is

assigned an ID number. Whoever transmits also sends the ID of the next node allowed to transmit.

If a node does not need to transmit, it just immediately sends the “token” to its next node. This

simple scheme is easy to implement and trouble free. Time-outs can be implemented in software to

prevent a lockup should a node fail to pass the token properly.

Serial Console

Ampro’s unique ROM BIOS support for a serial console consisting of a keyboard and display

replaces conventional video controllers, monitors, and keyboards. To use the serial console features,

connect the serial console device(s) to Serial 1 or Serial 2. Use SETUP to configure the

Little Board/486e CPU to use its serial console support feature. The configuration memory stores

serial console configuration parameters.

Caution

Be careful when changing the console configuration using SETUP. If

you specify “None” for console input and output, there is no console

access to the system. (You can recover from this state by removing the

serial console plug from the primary serial port connector and

shorting pins J11-7/8.)

SETUP provides separate configurations for serial console input and outputs (I/Os) so that either

input or output or both input and output are possible from any serial port and it’s attached serial

device.

To use an ASCII terminal as the console device for your system, set both the I/O parameters to

Serial Port 1 (or 2), and set the serial baud rate, data length, and stop bits to match the setting of

your terminal. For proper display of SETUP and POST messages from the BIOS, you must use an

IEEE-compatible terminal that implements the standard ASCII cursor commands. The required

commands and their hexadecimal codes are listed in Table 2–14.

Table 2–14. Required Commands

Hex

Command

Backspace

Line Feed

Vertical Tab

Non-destructive Space

Carriage Return

2–18

Product Reference

Note

Some programs that emulate an ASCII terminal do not properly

support the basic ASCII command functions shown in Table 2–14.

Ampro provides a suitable PC terminal emulator program, TVTERM,

on the Common Utilities diskette.

The keyboard and screen of the terminal become the system console after system boots. Programs

used this way must use ROM BIOS video functions rather than direct screen addressing for their

display I/O. Keyboard data from both the external serial device and the standard AT keyboard can

be entered.

Note

DOS programs that write directly to video RAM do not display

properly on a serial console device.

COM Port Table

When the system boots DOS initializes the serial ports to 9600 baud (typical). To preserve the

selected console port parameters stored in SETUP, the ROM BIOS can be instructed to delete the

selected console port from the internal COM port table, normally used by DOS to locate the serial

ports. With the port deleted from the COM port table, DOS cannot change its parameters. If you

use a serial console, be sure to select the option that deletes the console port from the COM port

table.

Serial Handshake

The serial console device data format and the Little Board/486e CPU serial port data format must

match for the devices to properly communicate. In addition, the hardware handshake behavior

must be compatible. Normally, a serial port’s Data Set Ready (DSR) and Clear To Send (CTS) input

handshake signals must be true (active) for the ROM BIOS to send data out. On the

Little Board/486e CPU, the hardware handshake can be enabled or disabled with SETUP. When

hardware handshaking is enabled, be sure to connect the DSR and CTS signals to appropriate

handshake signals on the external serial device’s interface connector. As an alternative, loop the

Little Board/486e CPU’s serial output handshake signals to its input signals as follows:

DTR (out) to DSR (in)

RTS (out) to CTS (in)

2–19

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Serial Booting and Serial Programming

Serial console functionality has been expanded to incorporate two additional features useful in

embedded applications.

The serial boot facility enables the Little Board/486e CPU to boot from code downloaded

through a serial port in a manner similar to booting from a local hard disk or from a network.

The serial programming facility permits updating FLASH memory devices installed in the byte-

wide socket over the serial port.

Refer to the Ampro Common Utilities manual for descriptions of Ampro’s SERLOAD and

SERPROG utilities used to support serial booting and serial programming.

Using a Serial Modem

Any RS-232C port can be used as a modem interface. Serial port initialization is not an issue since

most PC communications programs control the serial port hardware directly. If the program does

not handle serial port hardware in this manner, use the DOS MODE command to initialize the

port.

Connect the appropriate I/O handshake signals required by the communications software when

installing a modem. Standard PC-compatible, serial modem cables that connect all of the proper

signals correctly are commonly available.

Many powerful communications programs are available to control modem communications. Some of

these programs offer powerful script languages that allow you to generate complex automatically

functioning applications with little effort.

2–20

Product Reference

Bi-Directional Parallel Port

The Little Board/486e CPU incorporates a standard PC bi-directional parallel port at connector

J15. This port supports two modes of operation:

Standard PC/AT printer port (output only)

PS/2 compatible bi-directional parallel port (SPP)

Information about parallel port configuration using SETUP, is provided in this chapter. The low-

level software interface to the parallel port consists of three addressable registers. The address

map of these registers is shown in Table 2–15.

Table 2–15. Parallel Port Register Map

Address

Data Port

Primary Secondary

378h

379h

37Ah

278h

279h

27Ah

Status Port

Control Port

I/O Addresses

Four I/O ports control the parallel port functions. Enabling the base I/O address permits

configuration of the primary parallel port (typically LPT1), the secondary parallel port (typically

LPT2), or you can disable the port to free its hardware resources for other peripherals you install

on the PC/104 bus. Table 2–16 lists the resources used by the parallel port.

Table 2–16. Parallel Port Configuration

Selection

Primary

I/O Address

378h - 37Fh

278h - 27Fh

None

Interrupts

IRQ 7

Secondary

Disable

IRQ5

N/A

2–21

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

ROM-BIOS Installation of Parallel Ports

LPT1 is normally assigned to the primary parallel port by the BIOS, LPT2 to the secondary

parallel port if present, and so on. However, the BIOS scans the standard addresses for parallel

ports and assigns LPT designations in the order it finds them. Thus, a secondary parallel port (at

address 278h) can be assigned LPT1 if there is no primary port.

Note

The scan order is 3BCh, 378h, 278h.

Standard and General Purpose I/O Operation

The parallel port can be used as a standard output-only printer port or as a general-purpose digital

I/O data port (Table 2–17). The bi-directional mode can be very valuable in custom applications; it

might be used to control one of the following:

Parallel-connected external peripherals

An LCD display

Scan keyboards

Sense switches

Interface with optically isolated I/O modules

All data and interface control signals are TTL-compatible.

Table 2–17. Parallel Port Use

Signal Type Number of Lines

Function

Output Drive

Data

Control

Status

8 lines

4 lines

5 lines

Write Only

24 mA @ .5V

12 mA @ 2.4V

Read/Write

Read Only

12 mA @.5V

4.7K PU

The Bi-directional control register can be directly accessed without using the BIOS. The base

address is 37Ah when the port is configured as the primary parallel port, and 27Ah when the port

is configured as the secondary parallel port. Changing bit 5 can dynamically change the port

between input and output modes. A “1” in bit five sets the port to input; a “0” sets it to output. The

following example code dynamically changes the primary parallel port’s direction. The code

assumes that the port is in Extended Mode.

2–22

Product Reference

;----------------------------------------------------------

; Code to change the parallel port direction to input

;----------------------------------------------------------

MOV DX,37Ah

AL,DX

AL,20h

;set bit 5

OUT DX,AL

;

;----------------------------------------------------------

; Code to change the parallel port direction to output

;----------------------------------------------------------

MOV DX,37Ah

AL,DX

AND AL,0DFh

OUT DX,AL

;clear bit 5

Parallel Port Interrupt

The parallel port can be configured to generate an interrupt request upon a variety of conditions. In

most applications, the interrupt is not used. The standard parallel port interrupts are IRQ7 for the

primary port and IRQ5 for the secondary port. The IRQ channel assignments are standard and

cannot be changed. A bit in the parallel port's command registers enables or disables the port’s

connection to its interrupt line.

2–23

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Parallel Port Interrupt Enable

Bit 4 in the control register (see Table 2–18) enables the parallel port interrupt. If this bit is high,

then a rising edge on the -ACK (IRQ) line produces an interrupt on the interrupt IRQ7 (or IRQ5 if

configured as the secondary port). .

Table 2–18. Parallel Port Register Bits

Signal Name

or Function

In/Out

Active

High/Low

J15 DB25F

DATA

(378h)

Data 0

Data 1

Data 2

Data 3

Data 4

Data 5

Data 6

Data 7

I/O

High

STATUS

(379h)

---

Low

High

Low

High

---

-ERROR

SLCT

-ACK (IRQ)

BUSY

CONTROL

(37Ah)

-STROBE

-AUTOFD

-INIT

SLC

Out

---

Low

High

---

IRQE

PCD

---

2–24

Product Reference

Parallel Port Connector (J15)

Connection to the parallel port is through connector J15. Table 2–19 details the J15 pinout and

signal definitions. Use a flat ribbon cable between J15 and a female DB25 connector. The table

describes the connections from the header pins to the DB25 connector. Table 2–20 gives

manufacturer’s part numbers for mating connectors for J15.

Table 2–19. Parallel Port Connector

J15 Pin

Signal

Name

Function

In/Out DB25

-STROBE

Data 0

Data 1

Data 2

Data 3

Data 4

Data 5

Data 6

Data 7

-ACK

Output data strobe

LSB of printer data

OUT

I/O

MSB of printer data

Character accepted

Cannot receive data

Out of paper

BUSY

PAPER

OUT

Printer selected

SEL OUT

-AUTOFD

ERROR

-INIT

Autofeed

Printer error

Initialize printer

Selects printer

Key pin

OUT

SEL IN

N/A

10,12,14,

GROUND

Signal ground

N/A

18-25

16,18,20, 22,24

Table 2–20. J15 Mating Connector

Connector Type

Mating Connector

Ribbon

3M 3399-7600

Discrete Wire

MOLEX Housing 22-55-2262

Pin 16-02-0103

2–25

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Note

For maximum reliability, keep the cable between the board and the

device it drives to 10 feet or less in length.

Table 2–21 defines the register bits shown in the Signal Name or Function column of Table 2–19.

Table 2–21. Standard and PS/2 Mode Register Bit Definitions

Signal

Name

Full Name

Description

-ERR

SLCT

Error

Printer selected status

Paper end

Reflects the status of the -ERROR input. 0 means

an error has occurred.

Reflects the status of the SLCT input. 1 means a

printer is on-line.

Reflects the status of the PE input. 1 indicates

paper end.

-ACK

-BUSY

Acknowledge

Busy

Reflects the status of the ACK input. 0 indicates a

printer received a character.

Reflects the complement of the BUSY input. 0

indicates a printer is busy.

STROBE

AUTOFD

-INIT

Strobe

Auto feed

This bit is inverted and output to the -STROBE pin.

This bit is inverted and output to the -AUTOFD pin.

This bit is output to the -INIT pin.

Initiate output

Printer select input

SLC

This bit is inverted and output to the pin. It selects

a printer.

IRQE

PCD

Interrupt request enable

When set to 1, interrupts are enabled. An interrupt

is generated by the positive-going -ACK input.

Parallel control direction When set to 1, port is in input mode. In printer

mode, the printer is always in output mode

regardless of the state of this bit.

PD0-PD7

Parallel Data Bits

2–26

Product Reference

Floppy Disk Interface

The onboard floppy disk controller and ROM BIOS support one or two floppy disk drives in any of

the standard DOS formats shown in Table 2–22.

Table 2–22. Supported Floppy Formats

Capacity

360K

Drive Size

5-1/4 inch

3-1/2 inch

Tracks

Data Rate

250 kHz

1.2M

500 kHz

720K

250 kHz

1.44M

500 kHz

Floppy Drive Considerations

Nearly any type of soft-sectored, single or double-sided, 40 or 80 track, 5-1/4 inch or 3-1/2 inch

floppy disk drive is usable with this interface. Using higher quality drives improves system

reliability. Some considerations about the selection, configuration, and connection of floppy drives

to the Little Board/486e CPU include:

Drive Interface—The drives must be compatible with the board’s floppy disk connector signal

interface, as described below. Ampro recommends any standard PC-or AT-compatible 5-1/4 inch

or 3-1/2 inch floppy drive.

Drive Quality—High quality DC servo direct drive motor floppy disk drives must be used.

Drive Select Jumpering—Jumper both drives for the second drive select (standard on PC

drives).

Floppy Cable—For systems with two drives, a floppy cable with conductors 10-16 twisted

between the two drives must be used. This is standard practice for PC-compatible systems.

The Little Board/486e CPU has a 2mm floppy port connector. The development kit contains an

adapter board and a 2-mm cable that can connect the floppy drive to the Little Board/486e CPU.

The adapter board has an additional connector that can connect a second floppy drive.

Drive Termination—Resistive terminations should be installed only on the drive connected to

the last interface cable connector (farthest from the board). Near-end cable termination is

provided on the Little Board/486e CPU.

Head Load Jumpering—When using drives with a Head Load option, the drive must be

jumpered for head load with motor on rather than head load with drive select. This is the

default for PC-compatible drives.

Drive Mounting—If a floppy drive is mounted very close to the Little Board or another source

of electromagnetic interference (EMI), a thin metal shield may need to be placed between the

disk drive and the device to reduce the possibility of EMI.

2–27

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Floppy Interface Configuration

The floppy interface is configured using SETUP to set the number and type of floppy drives

connected to the system. Refer to the SETUP section later in this chapter for details.

If the floppy interface is not used, disable it in SETUP. This frees its I/O addresses (3F0h - 3F7h),

DMA2, and IRQ6 for use by other peripherals installed on the PC/104 bus.

Floppy Interface Connector (J14)

Table 2–23 shows the pinout and signal definitions of the floppy disk interface connector, J14. The

pinout of J14 meets the AT standard for floppy drive cables. Table 2–24 shows the manufacturer’s

part numbers for mating connectors.

Table 2–23. Floppy Disk Interface Connector (J14)

Signal Name

Function

In/Out

RPM/-RWC

N/A

Speed/Precomp

(Not used)

OUT

N/A

Key pin

-IDX

Index Pulse

Motor On 1

Drive Select 2

Drive Select 1

Motor On 2

Direction Select

Step

1-33

-MO1

-DS2

OUT

-DS1

-MO2

-DIRC

-STEP

-WD

Write Data

-WE

Write Enable

Track 0

-TRKO

-WP

Write Protect

Read Data

-RDD

-HS

Head Select

Disk Change

Signal grounds

OUT

-DCHG

(all odd)

N/A

Table 2–24. J14 Mating Connector

Connector Type

Mating Connector

Ribbon

3M 3414-7600

Discrete Wire

MOLEX Housing 22-55-2342

PIN 16-02-0103

2–28

Product Reference

IDE Hard Disk Interface

The Little Board/486e CPU provides an interface for one or two Integrated Device Electronics (IDE)

hard disk drives. IDE drives, the most popular and cost-effective type of hard drive currently

available, have an internal hard disk controller. There are also many CD-ROM drives designed to

use the IDE interface. If you attach a CD-ROM drive to the IDE port, you need a driver (supplied

by the CD-ROM drive manufacturer) to access the device.

IDE Connector (J12)

The IDE interface appears at connector J12 a 40-pin, dual-row connector. Table 2–25 shows the

interface signals and pin outs for the IDE interface connector. Table 2–26 shows manufacturer’s

part numbers for mating connectors to J12.

Note

For maximum reliability, keep IDE drive cables less than 18 inches

long.

2–29

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Table 2–25. IDE Drive Interface Connector (J12)

Signal Name

-HOST RESET

GND

Function

Reset signal from host

Ground

In/Out

OUT

I/O

HOST D7

HOST D8

HOST D6

HOST D9

HOST D5

HOST D10

HOST D4

HOST D11

HOST D3

HOST D12

HOST D2

HOST D13

HOST D1

HOST D14

HOST D0

HOST D15

GND

Data bit 7

Data bit 8

I/O

Data bit 6

I/O

Data bit 9

I/O

Data bit 5

I/O

Data bit 10

Data bit 4

I/O

Data bit 11

Data bit 3

I/O

Data bit 12

Data bit 2

I/O

Data bit 13

Data bit 1

I/O

Data bit 14

Data bit 0

I/O

Data bit 15

Ground

I/O

OUT

N/C

OUT

N/C

OUT

KEY

Keyed pin

Reserved

RSVD

GND

Ground

-HOST IOW

GND

Write strobe

Ground

-HOST IOR

GND

Read strobe

Ground

RSVD

Reserved

RSV

Reserved

RSVD

Reserved

GND

Ground

HOST IRQ14

Drive interrupt request

RSVD

Reserved

N/C

2–30

Product Reference

Table 2–25. IDE Drive Interface Connector (J12) (continued)

Signal Name

Function

In/Out

HOST A1

RSVD

Drive address 1

Reserved

OUT

N/C

HOST AD0

HOST AD2

-HOST CS0

-HOST CS1

-HOST SLV/ACT

GND

Drive address 0

Drive address 2

Chip select

OUT

Chip select

OUT

Drive active/drive slave

Ground

10K Pull-up

OUT

Table 2–26. J12 Mating Connector

Connector Type

Mating Connector

Ribbon

3M 3417-7600

Discrete Wire

MOLEX Housing 22-55-2402

PIN 16-02-0103

IDE Interface Configuration

Use SETUP to specify the IDE hard disk drive type. Refer to the SETUP section later in this

chapter for details.

If a drive type whose displayed parameters match the drive being used is not found use drive type 48 or 49. These

permit manual entry of the drive parameters described in the documentation provided by the drive’s manufacturer.

Use drive type AUTO for all IDE drives. AUTO automatically configures the drive type parameters from

information provided by the drive itself.

2–31

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Compact Flash Solid-State Disk

The Little Board/486e connector J2 supports a Compact Flash device, a solid-state IDE hard-disk

emulator. It acts as a removable hard-disk drive. You can format, read, and write the Compact

Flash device much as you would a standard IDE drive.

Enabling the Drive

The Compact Flash interface emulates an IDE drive to the operating system. To use this feature,

enable it using Setup. The Compact Flash interface takes up one of the positions of the primary

IDE drive controller. If you enable the Compact Flash interface, you can only add one additional

hard drive to the primary IDE controller.

Master/Slave Setting

The Compact Flash interface can be configured to emulate a master or slave IDE device in the

system.

To configure the drive as master, install a jumper on W3.

To configure the drive as slave, remove the jumper on W3.

An IDE drive attached to the primary IDE controller must have the opposite setting.

Solid-State Disk Preparation

To prepare Compact Flash device for use in the system, insert the device in connector J2. Boot the

system and prepare the drive just as you would a new IDE drive. That is, use the DOS FDISK

utility to set up one or more partitions, and then use the DOS FORMAT utility to format the drive.

A Compact Flash device, properly formatted and programmed, can be used as a boot drive. To do so,

you must configure the drive to be master by installing a jumper on W12. First FDISK the device

as a primary DOS partition, then format the drive using the /S option to include the DOS operating

system.

2–32

Product Reference

Flat Panel/CRT Video Controller

The Little Board/486e CPU provides an integrated high-performance super VGA video controller

that supports both CRT and flat panel displays. Table 2–27 provides a summary of the Video

Interface connectors and their specific use and features are described in the following sections.

It is possible to disable the on-board video controller by removing jumpers W11 and W12. This can

help developers recover from a misprogrammed video BIOS by allowing the installation of a second

display card. To re-enable the video controller, install W11 and W12 and reset the system.

Table 2–27. Video Connector Summary

Name Connector

Pins/Type

Description

Flat

50-pin Shrouded Provides connections for a broad array of standard

Panel

.100 Header

flat panel displays. Intended for standard 50-wire

ribbon cable.

LCD

Bias

Supply

Option

12-pin Shrouded Ampro provides a small add-on board that will supply

.100 Header

the Vee voltage for most common LCD flat panel

displays. It mounts to this connector. For details

about the Vee Supply Option, refer to it’s section,

below.

CRT

10-pin Shrouded Provides connections for a CRT display. To connect

.100 Header

to a standard CRT cable, use a short transition cable

to a DB-15 connector.

Connecting a CRT (J5)

Analog video signals from the video controller appear on 10-pin dual row header, J5. These signals

are compatible with the standard video monitors commonly used with desktop PCs. Specifications

for compatible monitors are provided in Chapter 3.

Normally, signals from J5 are connected to a standard DB-15 video connector by a transition cable

made from a ribbon cable connector and a short length of 10-wire ribbon cable. The transition cable

can connect the video signals to a bulkhead-mounted DB-15 or DB-9 connector, allowing any

standard CRT to be easily connected using a standard monitor video cable. Table 2–28 gives the

signal pinout of J5 and pin connections for a DB-15 connector. Pin connections for a DB-9

connector, used for some monitors are also provided. Table 2–29 26 shows manufacturer’s part

numbers for mating connectors to J5.

2–33

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Table 2–28. CRT Interface Connector (J5)

J5 Pin

Signal Name

Red

DB-15

DB-9

Ground

Green

Ground

Blue

Ground

Horizontal Sync.

Ground

Vertical Sync.

+5V Power with Fuse

Table 2–29. J5 Mating Connectors

Part Description

Ribbon

Mating Connector

3M 3473-7600

Discrete Wire

MOLEX Housing 22-55-2102

PIN 16-02-0103

2–34

Product Reference

Connecting a Flat Panel (J3)

Signals for a wide range of flat panel displays, both color and gray scale, appear on connector J3.

Although flat panels of a similar type use similar sets of signals from the video controller, they do

not share a standardized interface connector pin configuration. The names of panel control signals

vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Read the description of each signal carefully to

determine how each signal is used for the display you choose. Refer to the panel manufacturer’s

technical literature to determine how to wire a cable for the panel you choose for your application.

Cable diagrams for Ampro-supported panels can be found on the Utilities diskette.

Jumper W10 is a 6-pin header that allows for selecting the proper voltage required by a particular

panel, see Figure 2–8. Two jumper shunts are used to provide adequate current capacity. When

jumpered 1/3 and 2/4, +5V is selected to power the panel. When jumpered 3/5 and 4/6, +3.3V is

selected.

+3.3V

+5V

W10

Figure 2–8. LCD Power Selector Configuration (W10)

Caution

Make sure that both jumper shunts are connected as illustrated in

Figure 2–8 to avoid shorting the +5V and +3.3V power inputs.

Table 2–30 lists the signals available on connector J3. Table 2–31 shows manufacturer’s part

numbers for mating connectors to J3.

2–35

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Table 2–30. Flat Panel Video Connector (J3)

Signal

Name

Description

2, 34, 37

+5V

+12V

ShfClk

+5 Volt supply from the Little Board/486e CPU

+12 Volt supply from J10

Shift Clock. Pixel clock for flat panel data. Sometimes called

Video Clock.

M signal for panel AC drive control. Sometimes called ACDCLK

or AC Drive. May also be configured to be -BLANK or as Display

Enable (DE) for TFT panels.

Latch Pulse. Sometimes called Load Clock, Line Load, or Input

Data Latch, the flat panel equivalent of HSYNC.

FLM

First Line Marker. Also called Frame Sync or Scan Start-up. Flat

panel equivalent to VSYNC.

12 – 31

VD0 – VD19 Panel video data 0 through 19 (in order). For 8-, 9-, 12-, or 16-bit

flat panels.

ENABKL

ENAVEE

ENAVDD

Enable backlight. Power control for panel backlight. Active High,

same as ENAVEE.

Enable Vee. Power sequencing control for panel bias voltage.

Active high.

Enable Vdd. Power sequencing control for panel driver

electronics Vdd. Active high.

VD20

VD21

Video data 20

Video data 21

VD22

Video data 22

VDDSAFE

VD23

Swiched power supply to panel

Video data 23

VEE

Switched Vee supply to panel from LCD Bias Supply

External contrast adjustment to LCD Bias Supply

Switched +12V supply to panel

Ground

EXTCONT

+12VSAVE

Ground

1, 4, 6, 8,

40, 48, 49

11, 32, 33,

N/C

No connection

2–36

Product Reference

Table 2–31. J3 Mating Connectors

Part Description

Mating Connector

Ribbon

3M 4325-7600

Discrete Wire

MOLEX Housing 55-22-2502

PIN 16-02-0103

Power Sequencing

Some LCD panels can be damaged when the Vee bias supply is applied to the LCD substrate

without first enabling the control and data lines. This can result in damage to the panel or

reduction of its operational life. The video controller generates signals for sequencing the power in

the proper order to protect the panel from these effects. If an external power supply is connected,

special enabling signals ENVEE and ENVDD provided on the J3 connector must be used to enable

this supply.

As an option, Ampro provides a Vee bias supply board that will interface to the Little Board/486e

CPU through connector J4. This board contains circuitry to generate a Vee bias voltage that is

already properly sequenced.

Advanced Power Management

The same signals that support power sequencing also provide for power management. On-board

circuitry provides the following power management features in panel off mode:

CRT - OFF

FPD – OFF

VGA subsystem registers and display memory - ON

In standby mode, the following occurs:

CRT – OFF

FPD Interface – OFF

VGA Subsystem – OFF

Screen DRAM – Low power mode (only DRAM is refreshed)

2–37

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

BIOS Support of Non-Standard Panels

Ampro supplies flat panel BIOS images for many popular LCD panels. The chosen panel BIOS is

selected using SETUP. If an unsupported panel is desired, the standard video BIOS must be

modified to support the panel. Ampro can provide a BIOS modification kit to make these changes.

Contact an Ampro sales representative or Ampro Technical Support for information about the

Little Board/486e Flat Panel BIOS Modification Kit.

Once you have modified a BIOS, you must load it into the video BIOS section of an onboard Flash

EPROM device (already on the Little Board/486e CPU). Ampro provides a Flash programming

utility to do this.

To install a new video BIOS, follow this procedure:

1. Remove EMM386, HIMEM, and other extended memory managers from your CONFIG.SYS or

AUTOEXEC.BAT files. No extended memory managers can be loaded. (You must reboot the

system for these changes to take effect.) Alternately, boot the system from a floppy that has no

memory managers installed.

2. Remove the jumper on W1 to enable programming.

3. Enter the following command on the DOS command line:

PGMEBIOS VIDEO=filename

where filename is the name of the new video BIOS code file. (Frame the command so that

DOS accesses PGMEBIOS wherever it resides on your system.)

Leading and trailing spaces around the “=” are not allowed.

PGMEBIOS will return to the prompt indicating when programming is complete. DO NOT

REBOOT!

4. DO NOT remove power. Restore jumper W1.

5. Reboot the system and test the result.

2–38

Product Reference

LCD Bias Supply Option

The LCD Bias supply option is a small circuit board that supplies Vee power to an LCD display.

The board converts the +5V from the Little Board/486e CPU to the Vee voltage (between 15V –

35V) required by many LCD panels. This voltage is available on flat panel connector J3.

LCD displays are sensitive to the sequence order and timing that power supply and control signals

are applied to the display during power up and removed during power down cycles. LCD

manufactures warn OEMs that violating the sequence and timing specifications of these signals

can damage the display or reduce its service life. The LCD Bias supply option, in conjunction with

control signals from the Little Board/486e video controller automatically sequences the appropriate

signals to meet the requirements of virtually any LCD display

The Ampro LCD Bias Supply option mounts parallel to the Little Board/486e CPU connected to the

board via a 12-pin connector, J4. Secure the board to the Little Board/486e CPU using a .6 inch

standoff. Table 2–32 shows the connector pinout for J4, with a description of each signal. Some

signals also appear on flat panel connector J3.

Table 2–32. LCD Bias Supply Option Connector (J4)

J4 Pin

J3 Pin

Description

Ground

+5V to the Vee Supply Option Board

Ground

Enable Vee

TTL control signal driver by the VGA controller chip

Ground

Vee output, to panel

Contrast adjustment

Analog control signal

Selecting Vee Polarity

Most LCD displays require a Vee supply of between 15v – 35V. Some panels need a negative

supply, and some a positive supply. The LCD Bias Supply Option provides a jumper for selecting

the Vee output polarity. To select the polarity for the panel being used, set the jumper on W1 on

the LCD Bias Supply board, not on the Little Board/486e CPU, as shown in Figure 2–-9.

Selects Positive Vee

Selects Negative Vee

Figure 2–9. Vee Polarity Selection Jumper

2–39

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Note

Incorrect Vee polarity or voltage can damage an LCD panel. Set the

polarity and voltage on the Vee supply before connecting the LCD

panel.

Attaching an External Contrast Control

Vee controls the contrast of the LCD display. Do not confuse this with a backlight that illuminates

the screen using one or more fluorescent tubes. Backlights generally require a high voltage AC

supply.

An onboard control (R1) allows you to set the precise Vee voltage for the contrast you require.

However, you may want to provide a more accessible Vee control so that the user can set the

display contrast to accommodate various ambient lighting conditions. The board provides a jumper

and control signal to allow the attachment of a remote potentiometer.

To use the contrast potentiometer on the LCD Bias Supply board, install a jumper on W2 (on the

LCD Bias Supply board).

To use an external potentiometer, remove the jumper from W2, and attach the circuit shown in

Figure 2–10 between J3-47 and ground.

External Contrast

Control

Ground

J3-47

Figure 2–10. External Contrast Adjustment for LCD Panels

Select Ra and Rb to provide the appropriate voltage range adjustment for the LCD panel you are

using. Consult your panel’s technical literature for the range of voltages you need to supply for

contrast adjustment. Use the following formulae to calculate the resistor values (in K Ohms).

270

12 Rb

(Vee max / 1.5) -1

(Vee min / 1.5) -1

2–40

Product Reference

Example:

Suppose the following Vee values are shown in the panel’s data sheet:

Vee max = 24V

Vee min = 20V

Calculate the required resistor values as follows:

Ra = (270 / (24 / 1.5) –1) –12

Ra = 6K ohms

Rb = (270 / (20 / 1.5) –1) –12 –6

Rb = 3.9K ohms

2–41

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Ethernet Network Interface

This section discusses the hardware and software considerations when setting up a network using

the Ethernet LAN interface. Additional information on Ethernet standards is available from IEEE

Customer Service:

IEEE Customer Service

445 Hoes Lane

PO Box 1331

Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331 USA

Phone: (800) 678-IEEE (in the US and Canada)

(908) 981-0060 (outside the US and Canada)

FAX: (908) 981-9667

www.uncoverco.com/CUSTSR.HTM

There are no jumpers to set on the Ethernet interface, and no hardware configuration, other than

connecting the network cable to an appropriate connector. Software configuration of the Ethernet

interface is included in the utility disks.

Network Terms

The following are some of the terms used in this section:

Trunk or network segment—The cable over which network stations communicate. A segment

cable is usually made up of several cable lengths connected together. A segment is limited in its

total length and the number of network stations it can support. However, a network is not

limited to one segment.

Network trunk —The sum of all the segment cables. Several segments can be interconnected

with repeaters, routers, or bridges to form the network trunk cable.

Repeater, router, or bridge—Devices that extend the size of a network beyond the limitations

of one segment. These devices not only form a pathway for network signals traveling from one

trunk segment to another; they also regenerate and strengthen network signals.

Station—Any device that is connected to a network by means of a network interface card; e.g.,

the Little Board/486e CPU.

Node—Another term for a network station. Each node has its own network interface card.

Attachment Unit Interface—(AUI) One of the standard interfaces used to connect a node to

the net, often used between a network interface card and a hub or concentrator.

2–42

Product Reference

Installing an Ethernet Boot PROM

Most network interface cards provide a means for installing a boot PROM. The boot PROM code

enables the node to boot from a network server, much like the BIOS boots from a local hard disk or

floppy. Install this device in S0.

Boot PROM code varies from one network operating system to another. Boot PROM for the selected

network operating system must be compatible with the onboard LAN controller. Boot PROMs are

available from LanWorks for:

Novell Netware

Microsoft LAN Manager

QNX

Other popular network operating system providers.

Contact LanWorks at the following address for information about their bootware:

LanWorks Technologies Inc.

2425 Skymark Ave.

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Phone: 800-808-3000

905-238-5528

FAX: 905-2238-9407

E-mail: [email protected]

www.3com.com/lanworks

Addresses and phone numbers of companies providing compatible LAN drivers:

Novell, Inc.

1640-D Berryessa Rd.

San Jose, CA 95133

Phone: 408-729-6700

www.novell.com

Microsoft Corporation

One Microsoft Way

Redmond, WA 98052-6399

Phone: 800 426-9400

www.microsoft.com

QNX Software Systems

175 Terrence Matthews Cr.

Kanata, ON K2M 1W8

CANADA

Phone: 613-591-0931

FAX: 613-591-3579

www.qnx.com

2–43

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Installing a Boot PROM

The Little Board/486e CPU can be configured for a boot PROM by installing the boot PROM in

byte-wide socket S0.

Installing a Boot PROM in Byte-Wide Socket S0

Install a LAN boot PROM in byte-wide socket S0. The boot PROM code is run at boot time as a

BIOS extension.

To install a LAN boot PROM in byte-wide socket S0, follow these guidelines:

1. Either obtain a preprogrammed boot PROM device, or program a PROM or FLASH EPROM

with the boot PROM image. Use a 128K byte device, such as a 27C010, if possible.

2. Install the boot PROM device in S0.

3. In SETUP, set socket S0 for 64K bytes at D0000h and select S0 to be enabled at boot time.

Twisted Pair Interface (J7)

The twisted pair interface (10BaseT) appears on connector J7. It is a standard RJ45 telephone-type

modular connector, which is the normal connector used with standard twisted-pair cables. Table 2–

33 lists the signals and pin numbers of J7.

Table 2–33. RJ45 Twisted Pair Connector (J7)

J7 Pin

Function

+ Transmit Data

- Transmit Data

+ Receive Data

N/C

- Receive Data

Twisted-Pair Installations

This section discusses the guidelines for twisted-pair installations.

Connector jack—A standard RJ45-terminated cable can be plugged directly to the female RJ45

connector on the Little Board/486e CPU.

Connector plug—The RJ45 connector plugs attach to both ends of twisted-pair Ethernet cable

lengths. They are used to connect the Little Board/486e CPU to a hub or concentrator.

Terminators—There are no external termination devices required. Termination is handled

automatically by the hub devices.

Twisted-pair Ethernet cable is 22 or 24 gauge copper wire twisted together in pairs. Ethernet

twisted-pair uses two pairs (four wires), one for transmitting and one to receive. It is available from

2–44

Product Reference

many industry suppliers. Standard RJ45 connectors are used for all connections in a twisted-pair

cable network. Twisted-pair Ethernet cables must be 100 meters or less between any node and hub

or repeater.

Using Network Operating Systems (NOS)

The most common method of using the Little Board/486e Ethernet LAN interface is by means of a

NOS. The NOS can be either part of the computer’s OS; DOS and Windows 9x, or provided

separately.

Novel Netware’s NOS supports client server communication; a central computer that runs Netware

as its NOS provides file server and network services to the distributed systems connected to the

LAN. Each node on the network must also have a compatible NOS installed.

Modern network architectures are based on the Open Standards Interconnect (OSI) model that

defines:

Layers of software between the network hardware

Network operating system

Applications that use the network services

At the bottom level is the actual Ethernet cable and the hardware interface, in this case, the

Little Board/486e LAN interface. A driver talks directly with the hardware, masking any unique

differences in the hardware from the layers above it, including the NOSs. Several NOS drivers

compatible with the Little Board/486e’s LAN hardware are provided on the Utilities diskette that is

included with Little Board/486e Development Kit. New drivers or new versions of existing drivers

are made available on Ampro’s Technical Support bulletin board. The driver is the only unique

software needed to use the LAN interface. The supported NOSs provide the other layers in the OSI

model.

2–45

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Network OS Drivers

Ethernet drivers provided on the Utilities diskette are listed in Table 2–34. The table which driver

to use for various NOSs.

Driver installation procedures vary from one network operating system to another. No detailed

description can be given here. Follow the instructions that come with the network operating system

you choose for your system.

Table 2–34. Ethernet Drivers

Program Name

Vendor

Function

Driver Name

Netware 4.1 Server

Driver

Novell

ODI on server

SMC9000.LAN

Netware 3.11 Server

Driver

Novell

ODI on server

IPX on server

SMC9000.LAN

SMC9000.COM

SMC9000.SYS

Netware 2.2 Server

Driver

Netware ODI

Workstation Driver

ODI on workstation

NDIS for DOS

OS/2 ODI Workstation

Requester

LAN Manager

Microsoft

SMC9000.DOS

NDIS on Windows

for Workgroups

LAN Manager

Microsoft

NDIS for Windows

NT 3.1 and NT 3.5

SMC9000.SYS

SMC9000.OS2

NDIS for OS/2 on

server

Controlling the Ethernet LAN Interface Directly

Of course, you can create any application or software driver to directly control the SMC Ethernet

controller chip used on the Little Board/486e CPU. Ampro has designed the interface to conform to

the standards and recommendations set forth by the controller chip manufacturer. To develop a

custom driver, you need detailed information on the SMC9000-series controller chip, which is

available from SMC. Contact SMC at the following address:

SMC

80 Arkay Drive

Hauppauge, NY 11788

Phone: (516) 435-6000

FAX: (516) 231-6004

www.smc.ru

2–46

Product Reference

Manufacturer’s Ethernet ID

Ethernet network adapter and interface manufacturers are assigned a unique manufacturer’s ID by

the IEEE Standards Office. A network address consists of 48 bits. The upper 24 bits are the

manufacturer’s ID and the lower 24 bits are the board’s unique ID.

Developers creating network applications must know whether the manufacturer’s ID for network

adapters attached to the network are important or not.

Ampro’s 24-bit manufacturer’s ID for Ethernet controllers is displayed in hex as follows:

00 40 53

Ethernet IDs are sometimes displayed by diagnostic or network analysis programs in binary

format. Refer to your equipment manual for information on possible byte swapping in the display,

as shown in this example.

1010 1100 0010 0000 0000 0000

2–47

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Byte-Wide Socket (S0)

The Little Board/486e CPU has a 32-pin onboard byte-wide memory socket designated S0. This

socket supports 32-pin DIP JEDEC pin out memory devices, including EPROM, FLASH EPROM,

SRAM, and nonvolatile RAM (NOVRAM) devices.

A memory device installed in the byte-wide socket can be used for:

Simple program storage

BIOS extension

Solid State Disk (SDD)

Table 2–35 shows representative byte-wide memory devices that can be installed in the byte-wide

socket. The table gives examples of generic part numbers, the size of the device (K bytes), and the

DIP package pin count. It also lists the SSD device type, used by the Ampro Solid State Disk (SSD)

Support Software to identify memory devices.

Table 2–35. Typical Byte-wide Devices

SSD Device

Type

Size

Package

Pins

Generic

Part Number

EPROM

EPROM128

EPROM256

EPROM512

EPROM1024

128K byte

256K byte

512K byte

1024K byte

27C010

27C020

27C040

27C080

Flash EPROM

EPROM128

EPROM256

EPROM512

128K bytes

256K bytes

512K bytes

28F010

28F020

29F040

SRAM

SRAM128

SRAM512

128K bytes

512K bytes

62204

434000

2–48

Product Reference

Addressing the Byte-wide Socket

Use SETUP to specify the size and starting address of the byte-wide socket, and whether the BIOS

enables the socket upon system initialization. Table 2–36 lists the possible settings for sizes and

address ranges of the byte-wide socket.

Note

When the byte-wide socket is enabled, the memory address space it

uses is unavailable for other devices, even if no memory device is

installed in the socket. You must disable the byte-wide socket in

SETUP before you can use the memory space for other purposes.

Table 2–36. Window Size and Address Selection

Window

DISABLE

64K

Address

N/A

D0000-DFFFFh

E0000-EFFFFh

D0000-EFFFFh

64K

128K

A device used in the byte-wide socket must have access times of 250 nS or less.

If you install a device that is smaller than the selected window size, the contents of the device are

duplicated in the byte-wide socket’s memory space. For example, the software sees two copies of a

32K device in a 64K window, and 4 copies in a 128K window.

A16 is inverted so 128K devices programmed off board will have the halves swapped, for example,

the lower half will be in the E0000 segment.

ROM-BIOS Extensions

The system can be configured to run its application from the byte-wide socket instead of loading it

from a disk drive. This technique, known as a ROM BIOS extension, directly executes the

application during the Power-On Self Test (POST) instead of booting from floppy or hard disk. For

additional information regarding the ROM-BIOS extension concept and its practical

implementation, contact Ampro Technical Support.

2–49

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Performance Issues

Executing programs directly from the byte-wide socket can adversely affect system performance.

There are a number of factors that can contribute to the performance impact:

The byte-wide device is substantially slower than DRAM, as it is an 8-bit device instead of 32-

bit device.

The device is accessed from the PC expansion bus, which is much slower than the high-speed

processor memory bus.

Performance can be substantially improved by copying the contents of the byte-wide device into

RAM and executing directly from RAM.

Solid State Disk (SSD) Drives

Using the Ampro Solid State Disk (SSD) Support Software, you can configure EPROM, Flash

EPROM, or SRAM solid-state devices, installed in the byte-wide sockets, to act as one or more disk

drives. No custom programming is required. Regular DOS-compliant programs, including standard

DOS utilities, can be used without modification.

Ampro’s SSD support software creates data image files, based on your application programs and

operating system, which can be programmed into the devices you install in the byte-wide sockets.

The Ampro ROM-BIOS treats these devices like one or more disk drives, loading the programs into

DRAM for execution. The sockets can be combined to serve as a single drive, or each socket can be

used as a separate drive. You can use SSD drives in addition to, or instead of, normal floppy and

hard disk drives.

You can increase system SSD capacity by adding one or more of Ampro’s SSD expansion modules.

Accessing the Byte-Wide Socket

To access the byte-wide socket, it must be enabled. Using SETUP, either device can be enabled at

boot time. This places the contents of the enabled device at the address specified in SETUP and the

processor can access this memory in a normal fashion.

Here is a simple assembly language routine showing how to use an Ampro extended-BIOS call to

enable or disable the byte-wide memory socket, S0. This code selects the first 64K page on large

devices.

;----------------------------------------------------------

; Access control code for a byte-wide socket

;----------------------------------------------------------

MOV AH,0CDH

MOV AL,03h

MOV BL,nn

MOV BH,00

INT 13H

; AMPRO function call

; Use 03 for S0

; Use 01 to turn ON or 00 to turn OFF

; Selects page 0 of the device

Table 2–37 lists the segment addressing in large memory devices.

2–50

Product Reference

Table 2–37. Segment Addressing in Large Memory Devices

Device

Size

64KB

Segments

Segment Address

(Upper Nibble of BH)

128K

FIRST

SECOND

BH=00h

BH=10h

256K

FIRST

SECOND

THIRD

BH=00h

BH=10h

BH=20h

BH=30h

FOURTH

512K

FIRST

SECOND

THIRD

FOURTH

FIFTH

SIXTH

BH=00h

BH=10h

BH=20h

BH=30h

BH=40h

BH=50h

BH=60h

BH=70h

SEVENTH

EIGHTH

FIRST

SECOND

THIRD

FOURTH

FIFTH

SIXTH

SEVENTH

EIGHTH

NINTH

BH=00h

BH=10h

BH=20h

BH=30h

BH=40h

BH=50h

BH=60h

BH=70h

BH=80h

BH=90h

BH=A0h

BH=B0h

BH=C0h

TENTH

ELEVENTH

TWELFTH

THIRTEENTH

FOURTEENTH BH=D0h

FIFTEENTH

SIXTEENTH

BH=E0h

BH=F0h

Note: For a 128K byte window, use any of the odd

numbered values (for instance, FIRST or THIRD)

2–51

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Jumpering the Byte-Wide Socket

You must jumper the byte-wide socket for the devices you install. Jumper array W2 configures S0

for a particular device type. Table 2–38 shows how to install jumpers for supported memory

devices.

Table 2–38. EPROM Jumpering for S0 (W2)

EPROM

Pins

Jumper Diagram

Typical Devices

128K EPROM - 27C010

256K EPROM - 27C020

512K EPROM - 27C040

1M EPROM - 27C080

Byte-Wide Socket Signals

A jumper W2 for S0, configures the byte-wide sockets for specific memory devices. Table 2–39 lists

the signals that appear on the pins of W2.

Table 2–39. Byte-Wide Jumper Pin Signals (W2)

W14 Pin

Signal

Name

Description

A18

Pin 1

Address A18 (static)

Connection to pin 1 of the byte-wide socket

Address A19 (static)

A19

Pin 31

-SMEMW

Pin 29

A15

Connection to pin 31 of the byte-wide socket

Write strobe

Connection to pin 29 of the byte-wide socket

Address SA15 from the expansion bus

Connection to pin 3 of the byte-wide socket

Address SA14 from the expansion bus

Pin 3

A14

2–52

Product Reference

Using EPROMs

)If you install an EPROM in socket S0, make sure the jumper on W2 is set properly. Some EPROMs

draw current through their chip select lines (or other pins) when powered down. Table 2–40 lists

the Flash EPROM jumpering for S0.

Table 2–40. Flash EPROM Jumpering for S0

Flash EPROM

Pins

Jumper Diagram

Typical Devices

128K 5V Flash EPROM - 29F010

256K 5V Flash EPROM - 29F020

512K 5V Flash EPROM - 29F040

FLASH EPROM Programming

To program a Flash device in byte-wide socket S0, use the FlashWRI.EXE utility supplied on the

Common Utilities diskette. The Common Utilities manual describes its operation. Only devices

with 5V programming power are supported.

Custom Flash-programming routines can be developed using extended BIOS calls in the ROM

BIOS. Contact Ampro Technical Support for information about the extended BIOS call provided for

Flash programming power.

2–53

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Using SRAMs

The external battery power is combined with the internal battery using low forward voltage drop

Schottky diodes. Table 2–41 lists the SRAM and NOVRAM jumpering for S0.

Table 2–41. SRAM and NOVRAM Jumpering for S0

SRAM

Pins

Jumper Diagram

Typical Devices

128K SRAM - 628128

512K SRAM - 628512

Non-volatile RAM

Non-volatile RAM can be used as a means of dramatically storing and retrieving runtime

application data. NOVRAM has the following specifications:

32 pin

128K bytes maximum in segments D0000 and E0000

Must be programmed in place on the Little Board/486e CPU

NOVRAM offers some advantages over Flash EPROM including faster access speeds and

unlimited write operations.

2–54

Product Reference

Utility Connector (J16)

10 functions appear on the 16-pin connector at J16:

Auxiliary power connections

Power indicator LED

PC speaker

Push-button reset switch

Standard PC keyboard interface

External back-up battery for the real-time clock

Table 2–42 shows the pinout and signal definitions of the Utility Connector. Since there are

connections for diverse features on this single connector, a discrete-wire connector should typically

be selected rather than a ribbon cable connector, although this is not a requirement. Table 2–43

shows manufacturer’s part numbers for both types of mating connectors.

2–55

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Table 2–42. Utility Connector (J16)

Signal Name

Function

-12V power

Connect external –12V supply here for distribution to

expansion cards needing this voltage

Ground

Ground return

-5V power

Connect external –5V supply here for distribution to

expansion cards needing this voltage

Ground

LED Anode

EXSMI

Ground return

LED current source (+5V through 330 ohms)

External SMI

Speaker +

Ground

Reset

PC audio signal output

Ground

To one side of the manual reset button

No connection

N/C

Kbd Data

Kbd Clk

Ground

Kbd Power

BATV +

BATV-

Keyboard serial data

Keyboard Clock

Keyboard ground

Keyboard +5V power

External battery +

External battery -

Table 2–43. J16 Mating Connector

Connector Type

Mating Connector

Ribbon

3M 3452-7600

Discrete Wire

MOLEX Housing 22-55-2162

Pin 16-02-0103

2–56

Product Reference

PC Speaker

The Little Board’s motherboard logic includes a standard AT-compatible speaker port. The speaker

logic signal is buffered by a transistor amplifier, and provides about 100 mW on J16-9 to an

external 8-ohm speaker. Connect the other side of the speaker to ground, J16-10.

The audio output is based on two signals: the output of Timer 2; and the programming of two bits, 0

and 1, at I/O port 61h. Bit 1 of I/O port 61h is one term of a 2-input AND gate. The other term is

the output from Timer 2. Thus, setting bit 1 to logic 1 enables the output of Timer 2 to the speaker,

and logic 0 disables it. Disabling Timer 2 by setting bit 0 of port 61h to a 0 causes its output to go

high. Then, use bit 1 of port 61h to control the speaker directly.

LED Connection

To connect an external LED power-on indication lamp, connect the LED anode (-) to J16-7 and the

cathode (+) to ground. J16-7 provides +5V through a 300 ohm resistor.

Push Button Reset Connection

J16-1 provides a connection for an external normally open momentary switch to manually reset the

system. Connect the other side of the switch to ground. The reset signal is “de-bounced” on the

board.

Keyboard Connections

An AT (not PC) keyboard can be connected to the keyboard port. J16-13 through J16-16 provide

this function. Normally, AT keyboards include a cable that terminates in a male 5-pin DIN plug for

connection to an AT. Table 2–44 lists the keyboard connector pinout and signal definitions, and

includes corresponding pin numbers of a normal AT DIN keyboard connector.

Table 2–44. Keyboard Connector (J16)

J16 Pin

Signal Name

Keyboard Clock

Keyboard Data

No connection

Ground

DIN Pin

N/C

Keyboard power

External Battery Connections

To connect an external battery, connect its positive terminal to J16-17 and its negative terminal to

J16-18. Use a 3.6-volt lithium cell.

The battery is connected by a low-drop Schottky diode. Two blocking devices are in series with the

battery, complying with UL recommendations for lithium batteries.

2–57

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Battery-Backed Clock

An AT-compatible battery-backed real-time clock (with CMOS RAM) is standard on the

Little Board/486e CPU. A 3.6-volt Lithium battery connected to the Utility Connector, J16, can

power the clock. Battery drain for the clock is less than 1 uA. This battery will support the clock for

about 10 years.

Use the Ampro SETUP utility to set the current time and date in the real-time clock, as well as

SETUP information in the CMOS RAM portion of the clock chip (configuration memory).

The contents of the configuration memory are also stored in an onboard EEPROM. The ROM BIOS

reads the EEPROM to get configuration information if the CMOS RAM data is lost. This means

that the board functions without the battery. However, without a battery the real-time clock date

and time will not be correct.

2–58

Product Reference

Watchdog Timer

The purpose of a watchdog timer is to restart the system should some mishap occur. Possible

problems include:

A failure to boot properly

Application software losing control

Temporary power supply problems including spikes, surges, or interference

Failure of an interface device

Unexpected conditions on the bus

Other hardware or software malfunctions

The watchdog timer helps assure proper start-up after any interruption.

The Little Board/486e ROM BIOS supports the board’s watchdog timer function in two ways:

There is an initial watchdog timer setting, specified using SETUP, which determines whether

the watchdog timer is used to monitor the system boot, and if so, the length of the timeout. The

options are Disable, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, and 90 seconds.

There is a standard ROM-BIOS function that can be used by application software to start, stop,

and retrigger the watchdog timer function.

The initial time-out should be set using SETUP to be long enough to guarantee that the system can

boot and pass control to the application. Once the system is booted and the application is running,

the application must periodically retrigger the timer so that a watchdog timer time-out does not

occur. If the time-out does occur, the system responds in a manner determined by how the

watchdog timer jumper, W4, is set. See Figure 2–11.

Selects -IOCHK

Selects RESET

Figure 2–11. Watchdog Timer Response Jumper (W4)

The watchdog timer uses the standard alarm feature of the real-time clock. In a standard AT, the

alarm output is connected to IRQ8. On the Little Board/486e CPU you can also jumper the alarm

output to I/O Channel Check (-IOCHCK) or RESET with W4. I/O Channel Check is the bus signal

that triggers a non-maskable interrupt (NMI). RESET is a hard reset signal, the same as pressing

the Reset button. Watchdog timer responses are summarized in Table 2–45.

Table 2–45. Watchdog Timer Setup

Jumper W4

W4-1/2 Shorted

W4-2/3 Shorted

W4 Open

SETUP

Enabled

Disabled

WDT Response

I/O Channel Check (NMI)

Hardware Reset

IRQ8 turns off interrupt. System continues unaffected

No action

W4 Open

2–59

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Note

If you use the MS-DOS operating system, you cannot use the

watchdog timer to monitor the boot process. MS-DOS resets the alarm

clock in the real-time clock at boot time.

The following assembly language routine illustrates how to reset the watchdog timer using the

standard PC BIOS function call:

;----------------------------------------------------------

; Watchdog timer control program

;----------------------------------------------------------

MOV AH,0C3h

MOV AL,nn

; Watchdog Timer BIOS function

; Use “00” to disable; “01” to enable

; timer.

MOV BX,mm

INT 15h

; Selects time, in seconds

; (00-FFh; 1-255 seconds)

Ampro provides a simple DOS program that can be used from the command line or in a batch

program to manage the watchdog timer. It is called WATCHDOG, and is described in the Ampro

Common Utilities manual.

Note

Some versions of DOS turn off the real-time clock alarm at boot time.

If your DOS does this, make sure that your application program

enables the alarm function using this BIOS call.

If the output of the Watchdog Timer is jumpered to trigger a non-maskable interrupt (NMI), an

NMI IO Channel Check is asserted by the real-time clock alarm circuit when it times out. For the

system to respond to the NMI, the NMI circuit must be enabled. (In the PC architecture, the non-

maskable interrupt can be masked.) To enable (unmask) the NMI, execute the following code.

;-------------------------------------------------

; To enable NMI (IO channel check)

;-------------------------------------------------

AL,61H

AND AL,NOT 08H

OUT 61H,AL

;-------------------------------------------------

2–60

Product Reference

To use the NMI I/O Channel Check in a custom Watchdog Timer handler routine, the standard

NMI handler would have to be replaced with your custom code. If a customer supplied NMI

interrupt service routine is installed, it can test to see if the I/O Channel Check NMI occurred by

reading I/O port 61h, bit 6. Bit 6 is true (1) if the NMI occurred.

Note

Following the occurrence of an I/O Channel Check NMI, the function

must be disabled and then re-enabled before the next one can occur.

The Watchdog timer is not compatible with Windows or other operating systems.

2–61

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

AT Expansion Bus

The PC/AT expansion bus appears on a pair of header connectors at P1 and P2. P1 is a 64-pin

female dual-row header. P2 is a 40-pin female dual-row header. Pins from both headers extend

through the board, providing male connections for PC/104-compliant peripherals or other devices.

The PC-bus subset of the expansion bus connects to the first 62 positions of P1; the two additional

positions of P1 (A32 and B32) are added grounds to enhance system reliability. Connector P2

replaces the 36-pin edge card connector of a conventional ISA expansion bus. It has extra ground

positions at each end of the connector (C0, D0, and D19). (C19 is a key pin.) The extra grounds C0

and D0 are numbered “0” to keep the pin numbers of the remaining signals on the connector the

same as those on the standard ISA bus. The layout of signals on P1 and P2 is compliant with the

PC/104 bus specification. PC/104-compatible expansion modules can be installed on the

Little Board/486e expansion bus.

The buffered output signals to the expansion bus are standard TTL level signals. All inputs to the

Little Board/486e CPU operate at TTL levels and present a typical CMOS load to the expansion

bus. The current ratings for most output signals driving the AT expansion bus are shown in Table

2–46 through Table 2–49, and indicate how the signals are terminated on the Little Board/486e

CPU.

2–62

Product Reference

Onboard MiniModule Expansion

One or more Ampro MiniModule products or other PC/104 modules can be installed on the

Little Board/486e expansion connectors. When installed on P1 and P2, the expansion modules fit

within the Little Board/486e’s outline dimensions. Most Ampro MiniModule products have

stackthrough connectors compatible with the PC/104 Version 2.1 specification. Several modules can

be stacked on the Little Board/486e headers. Each additional module increases the thickness of the

package by 0.66 inches (15 mm). See Figure 2–12.

PC/104Module

4-40 nut

0.6 inchstandoff

PC/104Module

Stackthrough

Expansion

BusHeaders

0.6 inchstandoff

LittleBoard/486e

4-40 screw

Figure 2–12. Stacking PC/104 Modules with the Little Board/486e CPU

Using Standard PC and AT Bus Cards

Since the PC/104 bus is electrically identical to ISA, it is also possible to attach conventional 8-bit

and 16-bit ISA expansion cards to the Little Board/486e CPU. This requires some type of passive

adapter to perform the physical transition from PC/104 bus headers to standard ISA slots. Contact

Ampro to use conventional ISA expansion cards in Little Board/486e systems.

2–63

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Bus Expansion Guidelines

Expanding a Little Board/486e CPU can be accomplished by connecting short ribbon cables to the

header connectors. There are restrictions when attaching peripherals to the expansion bus with

ribbon cables. If cables are too long or improperly terminated, noise and cross talk introduced by

the ribbon cables can cause errors. Ampro strongly recommends conformance to the following

guidelines:

Cable Length and Quality—In general, the bus expansion cable must be as short as possible.

Long cables reduce system reliability.

For cables up to 6 inches, use a high quality standard cable, such as 3M 3365/64 (64 conductor)

and 3365/40 (40 conductor).

For cables between 6 and 12 inches long, use a high quality ground plane cable, such as 3M part

number 3353/64 (64 conductor) and 3353/40 (40 conductor).

Do not use cables over 12 inches long.

Backplane Quality—If a backplane can be connected to the Little Board/486e CPU, use a high

quality backplane that minimizes signal crosstalk. Use a backplane that has power and ground

planes between trace layers, and run guard traces between sensitive bus signals.

Eliminating Reset and TC Noise—Many cards have asynchronous TTL logic inputs that are

susceptible to noise and crosstalk. The active high RESET and TC bus lines are especially

vulnerable. These signals can be made more reliable by adding a 200 pF to 500-pF capacitor

between the signal and ground to prevent false triggering by filtering noise on the signals.

Bus Termination

Some backplanes include bus termination to improve system reliability by matching backplane

impedance to the rest of the system. The specification recommends the use of AC termination

sometimes called snubbers, rather than resistive termination. The recommended AC termination is

a 50 to 100 pF capacitor, in series with a 50 to 100 ohm resistor, from each signal to ground.

Caution

Do not use resistive bus termination! If the signal requires

termination, use AC termination only.

The actual requirements for signal termination depend on system configuration, interconnecting

bus cable and on the number and type of expansion modules used. It is the system engineer’s

responsibility to determine the need for termination.

2–64

Product Reference

Expansion Bus Connector Pinouts

Tables 2–34 through 2–37 show the pinout and signal functions on the PC/104-compliant expansion

bus connectors. The expansion bus pin numbers shown in the following tables correspond to the

scheme normally used on ISA expansion bus card sockets. Rather than numerical designations (1,

2, 3) they have alphanumeric designations (A1, A2…, B1, B2…, etc.).

The Little Board/486e CPU does not generate ±12VDC or -5VDC for the expansion bus. If devices

on the bus require these voltages, they can be supplied to the bus connector from the Power

Connector (J7).

2–65

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Table 2–46. AT Expansion Bus Connector, A1-A32 (P1)

Signal

Name

Function

In/Out

Current PU/PD/S *

IOCHCK*

SD7

bus NMI input

Data bit 7

I/O

N/A

4 mA

N/A

4.7K PU

1K PU

SD6

Data bit 6

SD5

Data bit 5

SD4

Data bit 4

SD3

Data bit 3

SD2

Data bit 2

SD1

Data bit 1

SD0

Data bit 0

A10

A11

A12

A13

A14

A15

A16

A17

A18

A19

A20

A21

A22

A23

A24

A25

A26

A27

A28

A29

A30

A31

A32

IOCHRDY

AEN

Processor Ready Ctrl

Address Enable

Address bit 19

Address bit 18

Address bit 17

Address bit 16

Address bit 15

Address bit 14

Address bit 13

Address bit 12

Address bit 11

Address bit 10

Address bit 9

Address bit 8

Address bit 7

Address bit 6

Address bit 5

Address bit 4

Address bit 3

Address bit 2

Address bit 1

Address bit 0

Ground

I/O

N/A

4 mA

12 mA

4 mA

N/A

SA19

SA18

SA17

SA16

SA15

SA14

SA13

SA12

SA11

SA10

SA9

SA8

SA7

SA6

SA5

SA4

SA3

SA2

SA1

SA0

GND

* PU = pull up; PD = pull down; S = resistance in series. All values in ohms.

2–66

Product Reference

Table 2–47. AT Expansion Bus Connector, B1-B32 (P1)

Signal

Name

Function

In/Out Current

PU/PD/S *

GND

RESETDRV

+5V

Ground

System reset signal

+5 Volt power

Interrupt request 9

To J7-5

N/A

OUT

N/A

4 mA

N/A

IRQ9

N/A

27K PU

2.2K PD

-5V

N/A

DRQ2

-12V

DMA request 2

To J7-6

N/A

ENDXFR*

+12V

Zero wait state

To J7-4

N/A

I/O

N/A

B10

B11

B12

B13

B14

B15

B16

B17

B18

B19

B20

B21

B22

B23

B24

B25

B26

B27

B28

B29

B30

B31

B32

Key

Key pin

N/A

SMEMW*

SMEMR*

IOW

Mem Write(lwr 1MB)

Mem Read(lwr 1MB)

I/O Write

4 mA

6 mA

N/A

22 S, 27K PU

22 S, 10K PU

22 S, 27K PU

I/O

IOR

I/O Read

I/O

DACK3*

DRQ3

DACK1*

DRQ1

REFRESH*

SYSCLK

IRQ7

DMA Acknowledge 3

DMA Request 3

DMA Acknowledge 1

DMA Request 1

Memory Refresh

Sys Clock

OUT

2.2K PD

OUT

6 mA

N/A

2.2K PD

I/O

4 mA

N/A

22 S,1K PU

OUT

Interrupt Request 7

Interrupt Request 6

Interrupt Request 5

Interrupt Request 4

Interrupt Request 3

DMA Acknowledge 2

DMA Terminal Count

Address latch enable

+5V power

27K PU

10K PU

IRQ6

N/A

IRQ5

N/A

IRQ4

N/A

IRQ3

N/A

DACK2*

OUT

N/A

OUT

N/A

6 mA

4 mA

N/A

BALE

+5V

OSC

14.3 MHz clock

Ground

6 mA

N/A

33 S

GND

Ground

N/A

* PU = pull up; PD = pull down; S = resistance in series. All values in ohms.

2–67

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Table 2–48. AT Expansion Bus Connector, C0-C19 (P2)

Signal

Name

Function

In/Out

Current

PU/PD/S *

GND

SBHE

LA23

LA22

LA21

LA20

LA19

LA18

LA17

MEMR*

MEMW*

SD8

Ground

Bus High Enable

Address bit 23

Address bit 22

Address bit 21

Address bit 20

Address bit 19

Address bit 18

Address bit 17

Memory Read

Memory Write

Data Bit 8

N/A

I/O

N/A

4 mA

12 mA

4 mA

N/A

27K PU

4.7K PU

C10

C11

C12

C13

C14

C15

C16

C17

C18

C19

SD9

Data Bit 9

SD10

SD11

SD12

SD13

SD14

SD15

Key

Data Bit 10

Data Bit 11

Data Bit 12

Data Bit 13

Data Bit 14

Data Bit 15

Key Pin

* PU = pull up; PD = pull down; S = resistance in series. All values in ohms.

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Product Reference

Table 2–49. AT Expansion Bus Connector, D0-D19 (P2)

Signal

Name

Function

In/Out

Current

PU/PD/S *

GND

MEMCS16*

IOCS16*

IRQ10

IRQ11

†

Ground

N/A

6mA

N/A

6mA

N/A

6mA

N/A

6mA

N/A

16-bit Mem Access

16-bit I/O Access

Interrupt Request 10

Interrupt Request 11

330 PU

27K PU

N/C

IRQ15

IRQ14

DACK0*

DRQ0

Interrupt Request 15

Interrupt Request 14

DMA Acknowledge 0

DMA Request 0

DMA Acknowledge 5

DMA Request 5

DMA Acknowledge 6

DMA Request 6

DMA Acknowledge 7

DMA Request 7

+5 Volt Power

27K PU

OUT

2.2K PD

330 PU

D10

D11

D12

D13

D14

D15

D16

D17

D18

D19

DACK5*

DRQ5

OUT

DACK6*

DRQ6

OUT

DACK7*

DRQ7

OUT

+5V

N/A

MASTER*

GND

Bus Master Assert

Ground

N/A

GND

Ground

* PU = pull up; PD = pull down; SER = resistance in series. All values in ohms.

† IRQ12 is not available.

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Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Interrupt and DMA Channel Usage

The AT bus provides several interrupt and DMA control signals. When the system is expanded with

MiniModule products or plug-in cards that require either interrupt or DMA support, interrupt or

DMA channels must be specifically selected. This typically involves setting switches or adding

jumpers on the module. In most cases, these are not shared resources. It is important to configure

the new module to use an interrupt or DMA channel not already in use. Table 2–50 and Table 2–51

provide a summary of the normal interrupt and DMA channel assignments on the Little Board/486e

CPU.

Table 2–50. Interrupt Channel Assignments

Interrupt

IRQ0*

IRQ1*

IRQ2*

IRQ3

Function

ROM BIOS clock tick function, from Timer 0

Keyboard interrupt

Cascade input for IRQ8-15

Serial 2

IRQ4

Serial 1

IRQ5

Secondary Parallel port (option) / Serial 4 (option)

Floppy controller

IRQ6

IRQ7

Primary Parallel port (option) / Serial 3 (option)

Reserved for battery-backed clock alarm

Ethernet interface default**

Serial 4 (option)

IRQ8*

IRQ9**

IRQ10

IRQ11

IRQ12

IRQ13*

IRQ14

IRQ15

Serial 3 (option)

Available

Reserved for coprocessor *

IDE hard disk controller

Available

* Unavailable on the PC/104 bus.

** Corresponds to IRQ2 on PC’s expansion bus.

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Product Reference

Table 2–51. DMA Channel Assignments

Channel

Function

Available for 8-bit transfers

(Multimode Parallel port)

Floppy controller

Available for 8-bit transfers

Cascade for channels 0-3

Available for 16-bit transfers

Table 2–52 summarizes the available interrupt assignments for all subsystems on the

Little Board/486e CPU. Use the table to plan which interrupts to use in your system. Factory

defaults are shown in gray.

Table 2–52. Summary of IRQ Options

IRQ

Function

Serial 1

Serial 2

Serial 3

Serial 4

Parallel

Floppy

IDE

Ethernet

Video

" " "

(None)

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Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

SETUP Overview

This section describes the SETUP function. It describes each option that can be set using SETUP.

Additional sections describe important options that can be set for each major functional block of the

board.

Note

The SETUP descriptions in the following section also contain much

useful information about each SETUP topic. Review these sections

even if you already know how to set the SETUP parameters.

This section assumes users are familiar with DOS. It does not attempt to describe the standard

DOS and ROM BIOS functions. Refer to the appropriate DOS and PC reference manuals for

information about DOS, its drivers and utilities, and about the software interface of the onboard

ROM-BIOS. Where Ampro has added to or modified standard functions, these will be described.

The Ampro Common Utilities manual contains detailed descriptions of the Ampro utility programs

supplied on the Utility diskette that is included with the Little Board/486e Quick Start Kit or

Development Platform Kit.

Many options provided on the Little Board/486e CPU are controlled by the SETUP function.

Activating the SETUP function can access these options. The parameters are displayed on four

screens. To configure the board, modify the fields on these screens and save the results in the

onboard configuration memory. Configuration memory consists of portions of the CMOS RAM in the

battery-backed real-time clock chip and an Ampro-unique configuration EEPROM. To enhance

embedded-system reliability, the contents of the EEPROM mirror the contents of the CMOS

memory. The EEPROM retains your configuration information even if the clock’s backup battery

should fail. If you choose to use the Little Board/486e CPU without a battery, the system takes its

SETUP parameters from the EEPROM, providing battery-free operation.

The SETUP information is retrieved from configuration memory when the board is powered up or

when it is rebooted with a CTL-ALT-DEL key pattern. Changes made to the SETUP parameters,

with the exception of the real-time clock time and date settings do not take effect until the board is

rebooted.

The SETUP function is located in the ROM BIOS. It can be accessed using CTRL-ALT-ESC while

the computer is in the Power-On Self Test (POST), just before booting up. This is called hot key

access. The screen displays a message indicating when you can enter CTRL-ALT-ESC. You can also

enter the SETUP function from the DOS command line using the SETUP.COM program provided

on the Ampro Common Utilities diskette.

Table 2–53 summarizes the choices found on each SETUP page.

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Product Reference

Table 2–53. Functions on Each SETUP Page

Page

Menu Name

Functions

Standard (CMOS/EEPROM) Set date and time

Configuration

Define floppy drives

Define IDE hard disks

Select video type

Display DRAM quantity

Set error halt conditions

Enable/disable video shadow RAM

Set POST display option

Options/Peripheral

Configuration

Enable/disable extended BIOS functions

Enable/disable serial ports

Enable/disable parallel port

Enable/disable floppy interface

Enable/disable IDE interface

Enable/disable hot key access to SETUP

Set video display state

Select POST display option

Configure byte-wide socket

Enable/disable serial boot loader

Enable/disable watchdog timer

Configure video display

Extended Serial Console

Configuration

Configure serial port parameters for serial

console output

Configure serial port output handshake option

Configure serial port parameters for serial

console input

Delete/include console port from DOS COM

table

* SETUP pages 3 and 4 are available when you enable Extended BIOS from SETUP

Note

Some SETUP options can put systems into an unrecoverable state; a

display option can be set preventing the SETUP screens from being

seen. Installing a jumper between J11-7 and J11-8 (Serial 1 DTR and

RI) temporarily sets all SETUP functions to their default state,

bypassing the SETUP parameters stored in the configuration memory

so that SETUP can be reentered and the problem corrected.

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Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

SETUP Page 1—Standard (CMOS/EEPROM) Setup

The first SETUP page contains the parameters normally saved in CMOS RAM plus some additional

parameters unique to the Little Board/486e CPU. The only parameters not auto saved in the

EEPROM memory are the real-time clock date and time. If no battery is used or if the battery fails,

the date and time will not be accurate. All other parameters are saved in the EEPROM.

Figure 2–13 shows what can be configured using SETUP page 1. Sections following the figure

describe each option.

Standard (CMOS/EEPROM) Setup

Date (mm/dd/yyyy) 00/00/0000

Time (hh:mm:ss) 00:00:00

1st Floppy

2nd Floppy

1.4M

None

Cyls.

Heads

Sectors

Precomp

ATA/IDE Disk 1

ATA/IDE Disk 2

Auto

None

Video

EGA/VGA

Base Memory

Extended Memory

640

3072

Error Halt

System POST

HALT ON ALL ERRORS

Normal

PGDN or (D)own for Extended Setup

[Enter] moves between items, + - Selects values

(E)xit to quit without change, or (S)ave to record changes

Figure 2–13. SETUP Page 1

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Product Reference

Date and Time

The time shown on the first SETUP screen is continuously updated and reflects the current state of

the hardware real-time clock. The new time and date entered is immediately written to the device.

Enter the date in the form mm/dd/yyyy. The year requires all 4 digits. Enter the time in 24-hour

format, in the form hh:mm:ss.

The ROM BIOS maintains the system real-time clock. It is incremented approximately 18.2 times

per second by an interrupt from timer/counter 0. The ROM BIOS automatically initializes the

system real-time clock from the hardware real-time clock upon system reset or power up. The

accuracy of the hardware real-time clock depends on connecting a battery to the appropriate

terminals on J5, the Utility connector. If a battery is not attached, the system time information

does not remain accurate after a power cycle.

Floppy Drives

The ROM BIOS supports all of the popular DOS-compatible floppy disk formats. This includes all

the 5-1/4 inch and 3-1/2 inch floppy formats—360K, 720K, 1.2M, and 1.44M byte. The ROM BIOS

also supports dual-capacity use of high density floppy drives, systems can be read and booted from

360K floppies in a 1.2M 5-1/4 inch drive, and from 720K floppies in a 1.44M 3-1/2 inch drive.

Drive Parameter Setup

Enter the number and type of floppy drives in the system. If the drives connected to the system do

not match the parameters in the configuration memory, POST displays an error message. To

eliminate the error message, set the drive parameters to match your floppy drives.

IDE Hard Disk Drives

The ROM BIOS supports one or two hard disk drives connected to the IDE interface. The IDE

SETUP parameters are used for setting the physical parameters of the drives you install in your

system. Physical drives can have one or more logical partitions. Up to eight logical drives or drive

partitions can be installed but only two physical drives can be used. Older versions of DOS may

limit the number of logical drives that can be installed.

No parameters are displayed for Auto detect hard disk. All IDE/ATA drives should be configured

for Auto. Manual entries are for legacy use only to support Western Digital and similar MFM AT

bus controllers.

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Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

To configure the system for one or two IDE drives, set the drive parameters with SETUP, as

outlined here:

Drive Types—The configuration memory contains a default list of parameters that specify the

physical format of each drive. Each type specifies the total number of cylinders, number of

heads, cylinder to begin pre-compensation, landing zone cylinder number, and the number of

sectors per cylinder. The drive manufacturer supplies these parameters. The list contains

legacy values, standard for PCs—a number of older (smaller) drives are defined.

1. Two special drive types, 48 and 49, let you enter drive parameters manually. If no built-in

drive type matches your drive, select drive type 48 or 49 and enter the drive parameters in

the fields provided.

2. Drive type AUTO selects Autoconfigure. Autoconfigure queries the drive for its

parameters. All IDE/ATA drives respond to the query, allowing the BIOS to set the drive

parameter values automatically. This option also provides Logical Block Addressing (LBA)

capability, which supports drives larger than 512M bytes.

Note

LBA uses a translation scheme to convert physical heads, sectors and

cylinders to logical block numbers. Due to differences in the

translation schemes used by different system BIOSes, LBA-

compatible drives that were formatted on Ampro systems may not

function properly in other systems that support LBA mode. However,

due to the intelligent translation algorithm in the Ampro BIOS,

drives formatted in other systems may be usable on the

Little Board/486e CPU.

Drive Selection—Besides specifying the physical characteristics of each IDE drive, how they

are to be used by the ROM BIOS must also be specified. Two factors control how they are used,

drive number jumper(s) and the DOS disk map.

1. An IDE drive can be jumpered as a master or slave. Each manufacturer’s drive is different.

Refer to the drive’s technical documentation to find out how to jumper the drives. Drives

default to master from the factory. If a system has only one IDE drive, it is generally

already set up properly.

2. Use the SETUP Extended Hard Disk Configuration menu (SETUP page 3) to enter the IDE

drive(s) in the DOS disk map. Disk 1 in the map is logged by DOS as drive C, Disk 2 as

drive D, and so on. See the description of SETUP page 3 for details.

Once the system’s configuration memory is set, the IDE drive(s) can be formatted and otherwise

prepared normally. Refer to the O/S and disk drive documentation for specific procedures and

requirements.

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Product Reference

Video

Specify the initial video mode by selecting one of the following:

Mono

Color40

Color80

EGA/VGA

If the video display card is VGA, super VGA, or any other high-resolution standard, specify

EGA/VGA regardless of how it is configured to initialize.

DRAM Memory

The ROM BIOS automatically sets the amount of memory it discovers during Power-On Self-Test

(POST) and stores the result when you save the configuration values when exiting SETUP. If the

amount of memory installed on the board is changed however, SETUP must be run and a save

performed before exiting. This updates the configuration memory to reflect the new memory size.

Until this procedure is accomplished, an error message appears during POST.

If an error message appears during POST and the amount of memory installed was not changed, it

indicates that at least part of the memory is not functioning properly.

Error Halt

Select which kinds of errors will halt the POST. If the module is used without a keyboard, set this

option to not halt on keyboard error.

System POST

At boot time, the BIOS runs a series of tests called the Power-On Self Test or POST. Options in the

Ampro BIOS allow the POST to be customized in order to control how fast the computer powers up.

It also controls what the user sees at power up time. The choices are:

Normal—Displays the results of all tests

Fast—Faster than Normal POST because it uses a shorter memory test

Express—Skips most tests and does not display POST test results on the screen

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Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

SETUP Page 2—Options/Peripheral Configuration

Use SETUP page 2 to enable or disable many of the functions and peripherals provided on the

Little Board/486e CPU. Figure 2–14 shows what can be configured on SETUP page 2, and the

sections that follow describe each parameter.

LB/486e Options/Peripheral Configuration

Little Board Extended BIOS...Enabled

Advanced Power Mgmt BIOS.....Disabled

Serial Port 1................Enabled

Serial Port 2................Enabled

Serial Port 3................Enabled

Serial Port 4................Enabled

Floppy Interface.............Enabled

IDE/ATA Interface............Enabled

Mono/Color Jumper............Color

OnBoard DIP Socket...........Disabled

Local Bus Video Display......CRT&FP

Flat Panel Display Type......8

Video State..................Enabled

Blank Post Test..............Disabled

Serial Boot Loader...........Disabled

Watchdog Timer...............Disabled

Hot Key Setup................Enabled

(S)ave to Record Extended Setup

[Enter] Moves Between Items,

+ - Selects Values

PgUp or (U)p for previous page, PgDn or (D)own for next page

Figure 2–14. SETUP Page 2

Extended BIOS

The Ampro Extended BIOS is normally enabled allowing access to SETUP pages three and four and

the features they define. If the BIOS extensions are not used they can be disabled with this

parameter. Some UNIX implementations or other operating systems may require disabling the

extended portion of the BIOS. Application Notes and other documentation describing the specific

Ampro extended BIOS services and how they are used are available from Ampro Technical Support.

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Product Reference

Serial Port

Use SETUP to independently enable or disable either of the two onboard serial ports. When SETUP

is used to enable or disable a port, the change does not take effect until the system is rebooted.

The I/O addresses and interrupt assignments (IRQs) for the serial ports cannot be changed. Table

2–54 lists the I/O addresses and IRQs of each port. These resources are freed for use by other

peripherals installed on the PC/104 bus when their respective ports are disabled.

Table 2–54. Serial Port Resources

Port

Address

3F8h – 3FFh

2F8h – 2FFh

3E8h – 3EFh

2E8h – 2EFh

Serial 1

Serial 2

Serial 3

Serial 4

The BIOS normally logs Serial 1 and Serial 2 as COM1 and COM2. COM1 and COM2 are logical

designations, not physical values. When the system boots, the BIOS scans the standard serial port

addresses and installs the first port it finds as COM1. If it finds a second port, it installs that one

as COM2, and so on. If you disable a serial port, the designations of all higher-numbered COM

ports changes. See the Serial Port section of this Chapter for more information.

Parallel Port

The Little Board/486e parallel port SETUP allows it to be enabled as the primary or secondary

port. The I/O ports and interrupt request channels are freed for use by other peripherals installed

on the PC/104 bus when the parallel port is disabled. Table 2–55 summarizes the resources that

can be used for the parallel port.

Table 2–55. Parallel Port Resources

Selection

Primary

I/O Address

0378h - 037Fh

0278h - 027Fh

None

Interrupt

IRQ7

Secondary

Disable

IRQ5

None

The BIOS normally logs the primary and secondary parallel ports as LPT1 and LPT2. LPT1 and

LPT2 are logical designations, not physical values. When the system boots, the BIOS scans the

standard parallel port addresses and installs the first port it finds as LPT1. If it finds a second

port, it installs that one as LPT2, and so on. If a parallel port is disabled, the designation of all

higher-numbered LPT ports change.

For further information about utilizing the parallel port, see the section on the bi-directional

Parallel Port.

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Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Floppy Interface Enable

Enable or disable the onboard floppy interface. When disabled, the I/O ports assigned to the floppy

controller become available, allowing them to be used by other devices installed on the expansion

bus. Table 2–56 lists the resources used by the floppy controller.

Table 2–56. Floppy Controller Resources

Selection

I/O Address

IRQ

DMA

Enabled

03F2h - Digital Output Register

03F4h - Main Status Register

03F5h - Data Register

IRQ6

DMA 2

03F7h - Control Register

Disable

None

IDE Interface Enable

Enable or disable the onboard IDE hard disk interface. When disabled, the I/O ports and IRQ

assigned to the IDE controller become available, allowing them to be used by other devices

installed on the expansion bus. Table 2–57 lists the resources used by the IDE interface.

Table 2–57. IDE Controller Resources

Selection

I/O Address

Interrupt

Enabled

01F0h - 01F7 Control and Data Registers

03F7h Shared with FDC

IRQ14

Disable

None

If an IDE drive is attached to J6, disabling the IDE interface does not free the IRQ14 interrupt

since it is connected directly to the drive. The cable must be disconnected.

Hot Key Setup Enable

In some embedded systems, end-users are not permitted to use the hot-key sequence (CTRL-ALT-

ESC) to enter SETUP. Hot key access to SETUP can be enabled or disabled using this parameter.

This also prevents “+++” from entering SETUP when using the serial console feature.

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Product Reference

Video State

Video State can be set to Enabled or Inhibited. Inhibited blanks the display until an application

program makes a call to the Video Restore State function in the video BIOS through INT10h. This

provides a means of controlling what appears on the screen when the system starts up. This option

can be used to inhibit the POST test display and everything else that DOS or an application would

display, until a call is made to the video BIOS.

The following is an example of code that reenables the display inhibited by this option:

;=====================================================================

init: mov ah,1ch

mov al,-1

mov bx,414Dh

mov cx,5052h

int 10h

;=====================================================================

Blank Post Test

The blank post test either enables or disables the POST display. If set to Disabled, the messages

from the POST is not be sent to the console. Video display is restored when POST is completed. To

inhibit display of a broader range of system and application messages, see Video State, above.

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Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Byte-Wide Socket Configuration

The byte-wide socket, S0 can be configured for its starting address and the size of the memory block

in which it appears to the processor, or it can be disabled. Whether or not the socket should be

enabled during the boot process can also be specified.

Table 2–58 lists the socket address configuration options that are available.

Table 2–58. Byte-Wide Socket Configuration

Size

Address

None

Disabled

64K bytes

128K bytes

D0000h – DFFFFh

E0000h – EFFFFh

D0000h – EFFFFh

Ampro provides several extended BIOS function calls that allow software control of the byte wide

socket state such as:

Enable/disable

Programming control for flash EPROMs

Contact Ampro Technical Support for additional information regarding these services.

Hardware jumpers can also be set to configure the byte-wide socket for any device installed in S0.

Jumper positions are provided earlier in this chapter.

The byte wide socket has no hardware provisions for paging large memory devices, and is not

recommended for SSD (64K byte maximum).

Serial Boot Loader Enable

This parameter enables or disables the Serial Boot Loader option in the Ampro ROM BIOS. The

serial boot loader allows booting from either of the onboard serial ports much in the same way you

would boot from a local hard disk or from a LAN. A description of the Serial Boot Loader is

provided in the Ampro Common Utilities manual (see SERLOAD and SERPROG). If the Serial Boot

Loader is used, set this parameter to Enabled.

Watchdog Timer Configuration

This parameter allows the time duration of the watchdog timer to be set for monitoring the boot

process. It can be set to 30, 60, or 90 seconds, or it can be disabled. A description of the related

WATCHDOG utility program can be found in the Ampro Common Utilities manual.

Local Bus Video Display

If you will be using a CRT display, select CRT. If you will be using a flat panel display, select FP. If

you will be using both types of display, select FP&CRT. If you select FP or FP&CRT, select a flat

panel display type (see below).

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Product Reference

Flat Panel Display Type

There are up to 8 pre-installed flat panel video BIOS configurations available from SETUP,

numbered 1 through 8. Select the panel you want by selecting its number. A list of supported

panels is provided on the Utilities diskette.

Installing a Modified BIOS to Support a New Panel

If you wish to use an unsupported panel for your application, you must modify the video BIOS to

support the new panel. Ampro provides a video BIOS modification kit to do this. Contact your

Ampro sales representative or Ampro Technical Support for information about the

Little Board/486e Flat Panel BIOS Modification Kit.

Once you have modified the video BIOS to support your new panel, you must install it on the

Little Board/486e CPU. Follow the instructions in “Developing a Custom BIOS for an Unsupported

Flat Panel,” earlier in this chapter.

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Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

SETUP Page 3—Serial Console Configuration

The ROM BIOS includes a unique set of features that allow full access to the system at any time

over standard RS-232 serial ports. An embedded system can take advantage of these remote access

capabilities using the serial console functions in the following ways:

Serial console—Use Serial 1 or Serial 2 as a console. Use a serial terminal to replace the

standard video monitor and keyboard.

Serial boot loader—Boot from a serial port in much the same manner as booting from a local

hard disk or from a network. This feature is enabled or disabled with the Serial Boot Loader

option on Page 2 of SETUP.

Serial programming—Automatically update system software, through a serial port. This

feature permits replacing code in a FLASH device installed in the byte-wide socket.

For more information about these serial console functions, see Serial Console Features, under

Serial Ports.

Figure 2–15 shows the options you can set for the serial console. Since DOS normally initializes the

serial ports during boot, you have the option to remove the serial console port from DOS’s COM

port table. By doing this, the values you set on SETUP screen 4 remain after you boot DOS.

Extended Serial Console Configuration

Console Output Device..........Video

Console Input Device...........Keyboard

Serial Console Output Setup

Data Length..................

Stop Bits....................

Parity.......................

Baud.........................

Delete from Com Port Table...

Console Output Handshake.......

Serial Console Input Setup

Date Length..................

Stop Bits....................

Parity.......................

Baud.........................

Delete from Com Port Table...

Figure 2–15. SETUP Page 3

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Product Reference

This section describes the SETUP parameters found on the Extended Serial Console Configuration

screen.

Console Output Device—Select the console output device, either Video, Serial 1, Serial 2, or

None.

Console Input Device—Select the console input device, either the PC Keyboard, Serial 1,

Serial 2, or None.

Serial Console Output Setup—Enter the communication parameters for your console output

serial port. Set the data length, stop bits, parity, and baud rate to match the serial output

device.

Console Output Handshake—Enable or disable hardware handshaking. If enabled, the DSR

and CTS signals control the data flow. Be sure to connect the DSR and CTS signals on the

serial port’s connector to the appropriate handshake signals on the external serial device’s

interface connector.

Serial Console Input Setup—Enter the communication parameters for the console input

serial port. Set the data length, stop bits, parity, and baud rate to match the serial input

device.

Delete from COM Port Table—When DOS boots, it initializes the system serial ports.

Different versions of DOS may set the ports to different default settings. Enabling this option

causes the BIOS not to include console serial device(s) in the COM port table. This prevents

DOS from changing the assigned port values entered in the SETUP screen.

Caution

Be careful when changing the console configuration. If None is

specified for console input and output, there is no console access to

the system. This state can be recovered by removing the serial console

plug from the primary serial port connector and shorting pins J11-7/8.

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Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

The SETUP.COM Program

The SETUP.COM utility can be used from the command line to access the same SETUP functions

as the hot key code, CTRL-ALT-ESC. SETUP.COM also adds additional functionality, such as the

ability to load and store configuration settings to a disk file. This same feature is used to store

OEM information in the configuration memory EEPROM. SETUP.COM is on the Ampro Common

Utilities diskette, included with the Little Board/486e Development Kit. See the Ampro Common

Utilities manual for more information regarding SETUP.COM usage.

Creating Configuration Files with SETUP.COM

The Ampro SETUP utility, SETUP.COM, offers the following options for command line entry:

SETUP [-switches] [ @file.ext | Wfile.ext ]

The supported switches and their meaning are shown in Table 2–59.

Table 2–59. SETUP.COM Command Switches

Switch

Function

Display a usage help screen

Set the (hardware) real-time clock time and date from the current

DOS time and date.

@file.ext

Writes the specified file to the board’s CMOS RAM and configuration

EEPROM. Drive and path are optional in the file name.

Wfile.ext

Write CMOS RAM and EEPROM contents to the file specified. The

file name may contain an optional drive and path.

You can save a copy of the current contents of the board’s configuration memory to a disk file by

using the W switch. The data saved includes the entire contents of the nonvolatile configuration

EEPROM. The first 512 bits are the SETUP information (excluding time and date), the next 512

bits are available for OEM storage. See Ampro Application Note AAN-8805 for a description of how

to use the OEM storage portion of the EEPROM.

The file you create with this menu option can be used as a source for programming the

configuration memory of a Little Board/486e CPU at a later time.

As an example, the following command initializes the EEPROM values with a previously saved

configuration:

C>SETUP @SYSTEM.A

Assuming you created the file SYSTEM.A with SETUP’s write option, SETUP will initialize the

EEPROM configuration memory using the contents of SYSTEM.A.

Using SETUP with the write and read parameters can be useful when many boards must be

initialized automatically, or when you want to change between several predefined system

configurations.

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Product Reference

Operation with DOS

The Little Board/486e CPU supports IBM’s PC-DOS or Microsoft’s MS-DOS, Version 3.3 or later, or

any version of Digital Research’s DR DOS as the disk operating system. Any differences between

these similar operating systems are noted in the text where applicable.

Caution

Sometimes MS-DOS is customized by a manufacturer for a specific

system and may not work on the Little Board/486e CPU. Use DR DOS

(supplied by Ampro), IBM PC-DOS (supplied by IBM), or the generic

version of MS-DOS (supplied by Microsoft on an OEM basis).

EMS Option—The Little Board/486e CPU can emulate the Lotus-Intel-Microsoft Expanded

Memory Specification Version 4.0 (LIM EMS 4.0), with the memory management capability of the

80486DX2/4 CPU, under control of a device driver. Such drivers are available with the newer

versions of DOS. With Microsoft MS-DOS, the driver is called EMM386.EXE.

Serial Ports—DOS normally supports the board’s four serial ports as COM1, COM2, COM3, and

COM4.

At boot time, DOS initializes the serial ports, assigning them their COM port designations and

their communication parameter settings. Although this might vary with different types and

versions of DOS, typical communication parameter settings are 2400 baud, even parity, 7 bits, and

1 stop bit.

Usually an application program that uses a serial port will access the port’s hardware and

reinitialize the communication parameters to other values, based on settings that the user has

entered when configuring the application program.

Parallel Port—The Parallel Printer port is normally the DOS LPT1 device. Most application

software uses LPT1 as the default printer port. If you enable the port, printing to it is automatic.

The following DOS commands can be used to test printing with the parallel printer:

A>COPY CONFIG.SYS LPT1

A>DIR >LPT1

Prints contents of CONFIG.SYS

Prints the directory

In addition, the <PrtSc> (Print Screen) key will print the contents of the video screen to the LPT1

device. Also, you can use the Printer Echo function to print all characters typed on the keyboard.

The command <Ctrl-P> enables the Printer Echo function. Entering <Ctrl-P> again disables

Printer Echo.

Disk Drives—Older versions of DOS require you to divide disk drives larger than 32M bytes into

more than one partition. More recent versions permit drives to be up to 2G bytes, though IDE

drives are BIOS limited to 512M bytes. Larger IDE drives typically provide a driver to get around

the BIOS limit.

2–87

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Utility Software Overview

The Little Board/486e Development Kit provides a number of software utilities on the Ampro

Common Utilities diskette. Some of the programs provided on this diskette are:

FLASHWRI—Flash PROM utility for writing program images to Flash devices in byte-wide

sockets.

SETUP—A utility used to access the ROM BIOS SETUP function from the DOS command line.

SERLOAD—A serial loader utility for downloading files from a remote host prior to system boot.

SERPROG—A utility to program Flash byte-wide devices from a serial port.

TVTERM—A Televideo 900-series terminal emulator.

WATCHDOG—Used to stop, start, or retrigger the watchdog timer function.

These utilities and others are described in the Ampro Common Utilities manual.

2–88

Chapter 3

Technical Specifications

Little Board™/486e CPU Specifications

The following section provides technical specifications for the Little Board™/486e CPU.

CPU/Motherboard

CPU: 3.3 V 100 MHz or 133 MHz 80486

System RAM:

Socket for 168-pin DIMM, FPM or EDO only

Supports up to 64M bytes total RAM

15 interrupt channels (8237-equivalent)

7 DMA channels (8259-equivalent)

3 programmable counter/timers (8253-equivalent)

Standard PC/AT keyboard port

Standard PC speaker port with .1 watt output drive

Battery-backed real-time clock and CMOS RAM

Up to 10 year battery life

Supports battery-free operation

Award ROM BIOS with Ampro embedded-system extensions

Embedded-PC System Enhancements

One 32-pin byte-wide memory socket:

Usable with 128K to 1M byte EPROMs, 128K to 512K byte FLASH EPROMs, 128K to 512K byte

SRAMs, or 128K to 512K byte NOVRAMs (Non-volatile RAMs)

Onboard programming of 5 V FLASH EPROMs

Configurable as 64K or 128K byte window, addressed in the range of D0000h to EFFFFh

Supported by Ampro SSD Support Software and many third-party operating systems

2K-bit configuration EEPROM:

Stores system SETUP parameters

Supports battery-free boot capability

512 bits are available for OEM use

Watchdog Timer:

Utilizes the onboard real-time clock alarm function

Timeout triggers a hardware reset or non-maskable interrupt

Powerfail NMI triggers when +5 Volt power drops below +4.65 Volts.

3–1

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Onboard Peripherals

This section describes standard peripherals found on every Little Board/486e CPU.

Four buffered serial ports with full handshaking:

Implemented with 16550-equivalent controllers with built-in 16-byte FIFO buffers

Onboard generation of ±9 Volts for RS-232C signal levels

Channel two supports either RS-232C (direct connection) or RS-485 Adapter

Logged as COM1, COM2, COM3, and COM4 by DOS.

PC-compatible Parallel Port:

Superset of standard LPT printer port.

Bi-directional data lines

Floppy Disk Controller:

Supports one or two drives

Reliable digital phase-locked loop circuit

Supports all standard PC/AT formats: 360K, 1.2M, 720K, 1.44M

IDE Disk Controller:

Standard PC-compatible IDE hard disk controller

Supports up to two hard disk drives

PCI Flat Panel/CRT Video Controller

Supports CRT, LCD, and EL displays

Uses the C&T 65550 High Performance Flat Panel/CRT VGA Controller

Onboard display RAM 2M bytes standard

Video modes and resolutions, see Table 3–1 and 3–2

Supports interlaced or non-interlaced displays in up to 1280 x 1024 resolution modes

Supports 24-bit True Color at 800 x 600 VGA resolution

GUI accelerator for enhanced performance

Video BIOS supports VESA super VGA modes

Software programmable flat panel interface. Flat panel video BIOS contained in an onboard

Flash EPROM device for easy customization

Optional LCD Bias Supply. Circuit board plugs on to connector on the Little Board/486e CPU

Supplies 15 V < Vee < 30 V DC, positive or negative polarity, at 30 mA (max)

Voltage level (LCD contrast control) adjustable with an onboard or external potentiometer

Sequences LCD power supplies to protect display

Implements advanced power management functions

3–2

Technical Specifications

Table 3–1. Supported CRT Video Modes—Standard VGA

Mode Display Colors

Mode

Text

Font

Pixels

Clock

(MHz)

Horiz Vert

(KHz) (Hz)

0+, 1+

Text

40x25

9x16

8x14

8x8

360x400

320x350

320x200

28.322

25.175

31.5

2+, 3+

Text

80x25

9x16

8x14

8x8

720x400

640x350

640x200

28.322

25.175

31.5

Graphics

Text

40x25

80x25

8x8

320x200

640x200

25.175

28.322

31.5

Mono

80x25

9x16

9x14

9x8

720x400

720x350

Planar

40x25

80x25

80x30

40x25

8x8

320x200

640x200

640x350

640x480

320x200

25.175

31.5

Mono

8x14

8x16

8x8

Packed

Pixel

256

CRT Support for Standard Video Modes

PS/2 fixed frequency analog CRT monitor or equivalent. 31.5/35.5 KHz horizontal frequency.

Multi-frequency CRT monitor. 37.5 KHz minimum horizontal frequency.

Multi-frequency high-performance CRT monitor. 48.5 KHz minimum horizontal frequency.

3–3

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Table 3–2. Supported CRT Video Modes—Extended Resolution

Mode Display Colors

Mode

VESA

Mode

Font

Pixels

Clock

(MHz)

Horiz

(KHz)

Vert

(Hz)

Mem.

Pack

Pixel

120

8x16

640x480

25.175

31.5

37.5

43.3

256K

Pack

Pixel

122

8x16

800x600

49.5

56025

35.1

37.9

46.9

53.7

256K

Pack

Pixel

124

1024x768

78.75

94.5

48.5

68.7

512K

24I

Pack

Pixel

124

128

8X16

8x16

1024X768

44.900

35.5

512K

Pack

Pixel

1280 x 1024

78.75

108

1024K

2A*

8x16

1600 x 1200

640x480

938

Pack

Pixel

256

101

25.175

31.5

37.5

43.3

512K

Pack

Pixel

256

100

103

8x16

640x400

800x600

25.175

31.5

256K

Pack

Pixel

49.5

56.25

35.1

37.9

46.9

53.7

512K

Pack

Pixel

256

105

107

8x16

1024x768

44.9

78.75

94.5

35.5

48.4

43(I)

1024K

68.7

Pack

Pixel

256

8x16

1280 x 1024

78.75

108

1280K

3A*

256

32K

8x16

1600 x 1200

640x480

1875K

Pack

Pixel

110

25.175

31.5

37.5

43.3

1024K

Pack

Pixel

64K

32K

111

113

8x16

640x480

800x600

25.175

31.5

37.5

43.3

1024K

Pack

Pixel

49.5

56.25

35.1

37.9

46.9

53.7

1024K

(The “I” in the Mode # column indicates “Interlaced.”)

(* Modes 2AH and 3AH are for flat panel only.)

3–4

Technical Specifications

Table 3–2. Supported CRT Video Modes—Extended Resolution (cont.)

Mode Display Colors

Mode

VESA

Mode

Font

Pixels

Clock

(MHz)

Horiz

(KHz)

Vert

(Hz)

Mem.

Pack

Pixel

64K

114

8x16

800x600

49.5

56.25

35.1

37.9

46.9

53.7

1024K

Pack

Pixel

32K

64K

16M

116

117

112

8x16

1024 x 768

640x480

44.9

35.5

48.4

43(I)

1536K

Pack

Pixel

44.9

35.5

48.4

43(I)

1536K

Pack

Pixel

25.175

31.5

37.5

43.3

1024K

Pack

Pixel

16m

115

102

8x16

800x600

35.1

37.9

1536K

Planar

49.5

56.25

35.1

37.8

46.9

53.7

256K

104

8x16

1024 x 768

44.9

78.75

94.5

35.5

48.4

43(I)

512K

68.7

106

101

8x16

1280 x 1024

640x480

78.75

108

768K

Pack

Pixel

256

25.175

31.5

37.5

43.3

512K

Pack

Pixel

256

100

103

8x16

640x400

800x600

25.175

31.5

256K

Pack

Pixel

49.5

56.25

35.1

37.9

46.9

53.7

512K

Pack

Pixel

256

105

107

8x16

1024x768

44.9

78.75

94.5

35.5

48.4

43(I)

1024K

68.7

Pack

Pixel

256

1280 x 1024

78.75

108

1280K

(The “I” in the Mode # column indicates “Interlaced.”)

(* Modes 2AH and 3AH are for flat panel only.)

3–5

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

Ethernet LAN Interface:

Complies with IEEE 802.3 (ANSI 8802-3)

Controller: SMC9000-series

Topology: Ethernet bus, using CSMA/CD

Media interface options: 10BaseT (twisted pair), through an onboard RJ45 connector

Data rate: 10M bits per second

Data buffer: 4608 byte RAM, accessed through I/O ports

I/O base address options: software selectable

Interrupt options: IRQ3, IRQ9 (default), IRQ10, IRQ11

DMA: not used

Boot ROM image can be installed in the board’s byte-wide socket, only in S0

Support Software

Enhanced Embedded-PC BIOS features:

Solid State Disk (SSD) support

Watchdog timer (WDT) support

Fast boot and blank POST options

Fail-safe boot logic

Battery-free boot

Serial console option

Serial loader option

EEPROM access function

Advanced Power Management (APM) support

BIOS OEM customization hooks

See the Ampro Embedded-PC BIOS data sheet for additional details about these features.

Software Utilities includes:

SETUP utility

Watchdog timer support

Power management support

Serial access and development support

Display controller support

Ethernet controller support

3–6

Technical Specifications

Mechanical and Environmental Specifications

Dimensions: 8.0 x 5.75 x 1.2 inches (146 x 203 x 30 mm.). Refer to Figure 3–1 for mounting

dimensions.

Provision for system expansion with one or more Ampro MiniModule products or other PC/104

expansion modules.

Power requirements (typical, with 16M byte DRAM):

100 MHz 80486DX4 CPU: 1.46 Amps at +5V ±5%

Operating environment:

Standard: 0° to 70° C (with adequate airflow)

Extended temperature range can be tested by special order. Contact Ampro for details.

5 to 95% relative humidity (non-condensing)

Storage temperature: -55° to +85° C

Weight: 1.54lbs with no DRAM installed

PC/104 expansion bus

Female (non-stackthrough) 16-bit bus connectors, for expansion through PC/104 Version 2

double-stackthrough (DST) modules

Four mounting holes

10-layer PCB using latest surface mount technology

3–7

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

J16 Utility/Keyboard

J12 IDE Hard Disk

5.800

7.600

7.500

W5 RS-232/RS-485 (RS-232)

J14 Floppy

7.100

W6 RS-485 Termination

(No Enable)

6.900

6.800

J10 Power

6.700

J6 RS-485

J15 Parallel Port

6.675

6.350

J13 Serial 3 & 4

W3 Compact Flash

Master/Slave

J11 Serial 1 & 2

J7 Ethernet

6.100

W13 Ethernet SEEP (Enable)

W2 Byte Wide Configuration (Flash ROM)

J2 Compact Flash Card

4.625

W9 Serial 4 IRQ (IRQ 11)

4.225

4.125

4.025

W7 Serial 3/4 IRQ Share (No Share)

W8 Serial 3 IRQ (IRQ 10)

3.475

3.375

3.275

W11/W12 Video Controller (Enable)

W1 Memory SWAP (Enable)

PC/104 Expansion Bus

3.075

W10 LCD Power (5V)

2.700

2.300

J4 LCD Bias Supply

J5 CRT Video

.450

J3 Flat Panel Video

W4 Watchdog Timer (No Selection)

W14 Power Fail Monitor (No Enable)

.100

.200

Figure 3–1. Mechanical Dimensions

3–8

Technical Specifications

3–9

Index

clock, 2-58, 2-75

COM port table, 2-19

Compact Flash

[email protected], vii

interface, 2-32

Compact Flash device, 2-32

Compact Flash disk, 3

configuration

10BaseT, 2-44

summary, 2-4

AAN-8805, EEPROM access, 2-86

AC termination, 2-64

advanced power management, 2-37

analog video, 2-33

AT bus, 2-62

Attachment Unit Interface (AUI), 2-42

configuration files, 2-86

configuration, byte-wide, 2-52

connectors, 2-2

contrast control, 2-40

cooling requirements, 2-7

CPU, 1

CPU/motherboard, 3-1

cursor commands, 2-18

customer support, Ampro, vii

backup battery, 2-7

balanced line, 2-17

battery, external, 2-57

battery-backed clock, 2-58

bi-directional communication, 2-17

bi-directional parallel port, 2-21

blank post test, 2-81

boot PROM

byte-wide socket, 2-44

installing, 2-43

bridge, 2-42

broadcast, 2-17

bus termination, 2-64

byte-wide

DC power, 2-6

DIN plug, keyboard, 2-57

disk, floppy, 2-27, 2-75

disk, IDE, 2-29, 2-75

DMA, 2-70

DOS, 2-87

MODE command, 2-20

DRAM, 2-9, 2-77

embedded-PC system enhancements, 3-1

EMS, 2-87

addressing, 2-49

configuration, 2-52, 2-82

serial programming, 2-84

socket, 2-48

enhanced embedded-PC BIOS, 2

enhanced parallel port, 3

enhanced reliability, 5

environmental specifications, 3-7

EPROMs, 2-53

socket signals, 2-52

byte-wide socket, 4

error halt, 2-77

Ethernet ID, 2-47

Ethernet interface, 2-42, 3-6

Ethernet LAN interface, 4

Ethernet network interface, 2-42

expanded memory, 2-10

cables

expansion bus, 2-64

IDE, 2-29

modem, 2-20

Index–1

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

expansion bus, 5, 2-62

expansion bus pinouts, 2-65

expansion bus, ribbon cables, 2-64

expansion cards, 2-63

LanWorks Technologies Inc., 2-43

large memory devices, 2-50

LCD Bias Supply option, 2-39

LED, power, 2-57

extended BIOS, 2-78

extended memory, 2-10

external battery, 2-57

LIM 4.0, 2-87

lithium battery, external, 2-57

Little Board development platform, 8

Little Board/486e CPU specifications, 3-1

local bus video display, 2-82

filtering, PC bus, 2-64

Flash EPROM programming, 2-53

flat panel

display type, 2-83

manufacturer ID, 2-47

mechanical specifications, 3-7

memory map, 2-9

Microsoft Corporation, 2-43

MiniModule installation, 2-63

modem, 2-20

flat panel BIOS support, 2-38

flat panel display, 2-35

flat panel/CRT video controller, 2-33

floppy drives, 2-27, 2-75

floppy interface, 3, 2-27, 2-80

configuration, 2-28

modified BIOS

connector, 2-28

FTP, Ampro, vii

new panel, 2-83

modular PC/104 bus, 5

motherboard, 1

multidrop, 2-17, 2-18

general description, 1

network operating systems, 2-45

network OS drivers, 2-46

network terms, 2-42

network trunk, 2-42

node, 2-42

half-duplex, 2-17

HALT testing, 6

hard drives, partitioning, 2-87

hot key setup, 2-80

non-volatile RAM, 2-54

Novell, Inc., 2-43

I/O map, 2-4

IDE hard drives, 2-75

IDE interface, 3, 2-29, 2-80

IDE interface configuration, 2-31

installation, MiniModules, 2-63

interface connector

onboard FLASH memory, 2-82

onboard peripherals, 3-2

OSI model, 2-45

overview, 2-1

summary, 2-1

interface, floppy disk, 2-27

interface, IDE, 2-29

interrupts, 2-70

parallel port, 2-79, 2-87

configuration, 2-21

I/O, 2-22

interrupt, 2-23

interrupt enable, 2-24

parallel port connector, 2-25

partioning hard drives, 2-87

performance, system, 2-50

jumpering, byte-wide, 2-52

jumpering, general information, 2-4

Index–2

Index

phone numbers, Ampro, vii

port, serial, 2-11

SETUP, 2-72

page 1, 2-74

ports, 2-87

page 2, 2-78

POST, SETUP, 2-77

power fail write protect, 2-8

power LED, 2-57

power requirements, 2-7

power sequencing, 2-37

power supplies, switching, 2-7

power, DC, 2-6

powerfail circuit, 2-8

printer port, 2-21

push button reset, 2-57

page 3, 2-84

page summary, 2-72

SETUP.COM, 2-86

SMC, 2-46

snubbers, 2-64

software, 7

software utilities, 2-88

solid state disk, 2-50

solid state disk (SSD), 4

speaker, 2-57

SRAMs, 2-54

SSD, 2-50

QNX Software Systems, 2-43

station, 2-42

support software, 3-6

support, Ampro, vii

switching power supplies, 2-7

real-time clock, 2-7, 2-58, 2-75

repeater, 2-42

reset, push button, 2-57

RJ11 modular connector, 2-16

RJ45, 2-44

technical support, Ampro, vii

temperature, 2-7

termination, 2-16

ROM BIOS, 2-87

termination, AT bus, 2-62

termination, floppy drives, 2-27

termination, PC bus, 2-64

terminators, 2-44

ROM BIOS, video functions, 2-19

ROM-BIOS, 2-13, 2-22

ROM-BIOS, extension, 2-49

router, 2-42

token passing, 2-18

RS-485

twisted pair interface, 2-44

twisted-pair, 2-44

configuration, 2-15

interface, 2-17

RS-485 serial port, 2-11

RS-485 twisted-pair, 2-16

utility connector, 2-55

utility software, 2-88

segment, 2-42

serial boot, 2-20

Vee polarity, 2-39

video, 2-19, 2-77

video option, 3-2

video state, 2-81

serial boot loader, 2-82

serial console, 2-18

serial console option, 2-19, 2-84

serial handshake, 2-19

serial port, 2-11, 2-79, 2-87

configuration, 2-11

connectors, 2-13

VL-bus flat panel/CRT display controller, 2

watchdog, 2-59

watchdog timer, 2-59, 2-82

website, Ampro, vii

write protect, 2-8

interrupt, 2-12

serial ports, 3

serial programming, 2-20

Index–3

Little Board™/486e Technical Manual

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