Experimental Physics and
Industrial Control System

[email protected] · Thu, 18 Aug 94 14:13:15 -0500

Again... sorry for any duplicates.

-- FYI --

Motorola has a mailing list that should be of interest to most of those
on this list.  They are concerned about sending into an exploder since
it is essentially a commercial use of email and they wish to keep a eye
on where THEY are sending things.

I have enclosed the first (only) note from this list below.  To
subscribe to the list, send a note to their listserver as described
below.

- --John Winans

Volume 1 Number 1
=================

*********************** MCG AboveBoard Newsletter ***********************

Hello MCG customers,

This is the first edition of the "MCG AboveBoard" customer newsletter.
The newsletter is a product of the Motorola Computer Group's Central
Area Sales organization and is directed towards MCG's VMEbus board level
customers.  With this newsletter we hope to:

	* Focus on technical content
	* Brief (1 to 2 pages) with no fancy Multi-Media Attachments
	* Monthly editions (maybe more?)
	* Provide archive & retrieval of past newsletters

For this first edition I've collected Email addresses from many of
our major customers.  By just sending THIS letter I feel guilty of
polluting your networks with electronic junk mail so I've set this
newsletter up so that it will be available on a subscription basis.
I already apologize if you're not interested.  

To continue getting updates updates you can send a mail message to 
"[email protected]" with the following message body.

	subscribe aboveboard <your_email_address>

						Regards,

						Bob Galbreath
						Systems Engineer
						Motorola Computer Group

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------

			*** Table of Contents ***

	1. VMEchip2 Problem
	2. MVME147 Ethernet Controller Change
	3. MVME162 Flash Memory Alert
	4. New versions of the MVME167 and MVME187
	5. New version of the MVME166
	6. Some End of Life Notifications
	7. MVME1603 & MVME1604 Announcements
	8. MCG Contacts

- -------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. VMEchip2 Problem

   A problem has been identified with the VMEchip2 and its interaction 
   with the VMEbus backplane. In heavily loaded VMEbus backplanes, 
   there may be a glitch at the end of Data Strobes (DS0*/DS1*) as the 
   Data Strobes are negated due to backplane reflection timing relative 
   to tri-state timing of onboard signal ABOUT (which controls the 
   DS0*/DS1* drivers). This signal glitch may cause problems with 
   boards that are sensitive to it. The fix required is to delay the 
   tri-state control signal ABOUT. For existing boards, a 1000PF SMD 
   capacitor will be added between ABOUT and Ground. For MVME162-0xx 
   (01-W3884BxxA), MVME162-2xx (01-W3866BxxA), MVME166-xxx 
   (01-W3834Bxxy), MVME167-xxxA (01-W3826Bxxy), and MVME187-xxxA 
   (01-W3827Bxxy) that use the 160G mask of VMEchip2 (51-W6280B02), the 
   easiest way to implement the fix is to add a 1000PF SMD capacitor 
   that can be added between Pin P2 and Pin N1 of the VMEchip2 on the 
   secondary side (back side).

   This fix has been implemented for new builds of product. Customer's 
   experiencing problems with the Data Strobe and need the fix added 
   to their boards should contact their local Systems Engineer or 
   Salesperson to make arrangements for the fix.  This is covered under
   warranty. 

   NOTE: Customer's who implement this fix themselves will
         void the warranty of their board.   

   Please note that this change effects only boards using 160G VMEchip2.

   We are also expediting the MVME166/167/187LGA (See Section 4 below)
   programs to phase out the current MVME167/167/187 boards. For respins, 
   we used spare 25NS delaylines instead of the 1000PF capacitor. The 
   delay will be added to both ABOUT (DS0*/DS1* tri-state control) and 
   STROBEN (AS* tri-statecontrol).

- -------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. MVME147 Ethernet Controller Change

   The AM7990JC LANCE Ethernet controller used on the MVME147 series has
   been discontinued.  It will be replaced the the AM79C90JC.  This part
   is downward compatible so there should be no hardware or software
   migration issues.  MVME147's with the new devices are expected to
   start shipment in July.

- -------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. MVME162 Flash Memory Alert

   The MVME162 family has been experiencing failures related to FLASH
   memory.  Most of these were due to over-erasure of the FLASH devices.
   The problem has been corrected with version 2.1 of the MVME162Bug.

- -------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. New versions of the MVME167 and MVME187

   An update has been made the MVME167 and MVME187 to upgrade the 
   VMEbus chip to a ball grid array version.  The die is still the
   same so there should be no functional change.  This does, however
   impact the look and feel of the board.  Because of that there
   are new marketing part numbers.  

	Old Number		New Number
	---------------		---------------
	MVME167-xxxA		MVME167-xxxB
		   = <--		   = <--
	MVME187-xxxA		MVME187-xxxB
		   = <--		   = <--

- -------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. New version of the MVME166

   An update has been made the MVME166 to upgrade the VMEbus chip to a 
   ball grid array version.  Also included is a VSB chip with new 
   packaging as well as the new 166Bug revision 2.2.

	Old Number		New Number
	---------------		---------------
	MVME166-xxx		MVME166-xxxA
					   = <--

- -------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. Some End of Life Notifications

   This is by no means a comprehensive list.  Please consult your 
   salesperson for a complete list as well as MCG's policies 
   regarding EOL'd equipment.

		LOE => Last Order Entry
		LCS => Last Customer Scheduled Ship
		LFS => Last Field Service Support

	Product		  LOE  	    LCS       LFS     Replaced by
	============	========  ========  ========  ============
	MVME167-xxxA	 9/31/94  12/31/94  12/31/99  MVME167-xxxB
	MVME187-xxxA	 9/31/94  12/31/94  12/31/99  MVME187-xxxB
	MVME166-xxx	 6/31/94   9/31/94   9/31/99  MVME166-xxxA

- ----------------------------------------------------------------------

7. MVME1603 & MVME1604 Announcements

   We recently announced our first two PowerPC-based VME boards.
   Please consult your MCG salesperson for price and availability

	* 66MHz PowerPC 603 or 100MHz PowerPC 604
	* 32-bit PCI local bus with PCI Mezzanine Card Extension
	* 8 to 128 MB DRAM replaceable modules
	* Ethernet
	* 16-bit SCSI-2
	* SVGA Graphics
	* Mouse and keyboard
	* Serial and Parallel I/O
	* VME64 Interface
	* 5 year warranty.

- -------------------------------------------------------------------------

8. MCG Contacts

	Ken Curran			Mike Mullany
	District Sales Manager		District Sales Manager
	(708) 576-8874			(708) 576-7831
	[email protected]		[email protected]

	Bob Galbreath			Steve Wesoloski
	Systems Engineer		Systems Engineer
	(708) 576-0356			(612) 932-1530
	[email protected]		[email protected]

Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System

Experimental Physics and
Industrial Control System