PC / 104 cardPC / 104 is the bus standard primarily developed for embedded systems. PC 104 specifications ideally favor the embedded systems and applications. The standard provides 100% support and software, hardware, and architectural compatibility with PC bus. With PC / 104 – plus standard it is now possible to use fast PCI bus in embedded applications. PC / 104 modules first developed in 1987. The first official specifications of PC / 104 was published in 1992.

PC / 104 Advantage

PC / 104 offers a compact form factor reducing the size up to 3.6 / 3.8 inches. It reduces the power consumption as 1-2 watts per module. Being self-stacking bus, it reduces the cost and overhead of bulk backplanes. PC / 104 standard supports 40 and 64 male and female Pin and socket connectors. These connectors are rugged and suitable for industrial applications.

PC / 104 Applications

PC / 104 standard allows PCI bus to support PC / 104 form factor. PC / 104 modules are used in number of applications as controllers. These include medical equipment, communication devices, laboratory instruments, military equipment, and other such applications. There are two ways that PC / 104 modules can be used in embedded applications or designs. One is a standalone module stack and the other is component application.

Standalone Module Stacks

Their self-stacking nature allows PC / 104 to be used as ultra compact bus boards. This eliminates the need of backplanes or card cages. These standalone module stacks are kept only .6 inches apart. This allows functioning multiple modules in a same and confined location. This also allows the users to develop their own application specific PC / 104 modules.

Component Application

In a component like application a PC / 104 module serves a highly integrated component. This component is plugged into the application specific boards. The advantage of component like application is that it allows upgrades. It also facilitates temporary addition of Pc / 104 module to an application.

PC / 104 Products

PC / 104 the standard is being used in a variety of products since it was developed. There are many industrial and non industrial products including memory modules, interface adapter modules, modems, fax modules, power supplies, central processing unit module, serial and wireless communication modules, and network modules. PC / 104 Interface adapter allows connection between two non-compatible buses. It translates that data from one bus to PC / 104 or PC / 104 to other buses. PC / 104 memory modules are the boards that contain memory chips through PC / 104 bus. PC / 104 CPU modules are on board processors that support PC / 104 standards. A PC / 104 serial card adds serial ports to the host. These serial ports support PC /104 specifications only. PC / 104 powers supply module is a board containing power supply unit that works with PC / 104 standards.