The following is a variety of questions that are frequently
asked by many of our customers over the past years. It is our intention to post
them here for the benefit of all users.
The Component side of the PCI card is the B side, and the solder side of the
card is the A side. If looking from the back of the system chassis, the B side
is on the right and the A side is on the left. The PCI bus has 5V, 3.3V, 12V,
-12V and VIO on the bus. The VIO is intended as the power to the PCI bus
interface controller ICs. The VIO could be either 5V or 3.3V, depending on the
motherboard PCI expansion slot design. The PCI expansion slot connector is
divided into two sections by a plastic divider called the "key". If
the key of the PCI expansion slot connector is located near the back of the
chassis then the VIO for that slot is 3.3V. If the key is located closer to the
center of the motherboard, then the VIO for that slot is 5V. Most of the 32 bit
PCI slots are designed to be VIO=5V. For the 64 bit PCI slot, an additional key
is placed between the 32 bit section and the 64 bit extension, dividing the
connector into 3 sections. However, the identification of the VIO for the 64 bit
slot is the same as the 32 bit slot. For a slower clock (33MHz) PCI 64 bit slot,
the VIO could be 5V. For a faster clock (66MHz - 133MHz) PCI 64 bit slot, the
VIO is usually 3.3V.
If the user's PCI board gold finger is cut for universal configuration (two
cuts for PCI-32, three cuts for PCI-64), then the board is not using the VIO
power for it's interface controller chip. The I/O board is using either the 3.3V
or the 5V directly off the PCI bus. However, since there is no universal PCI
connector, when placing an order for the extender with a universal key cut, the
user will still needs to specify the connector on the extender to be either a 5V
or a 3.3V connector. This way the appropriate connector will be used and the
keys on the gold finger will be cut in proper places. To order the PCI
extender with universal cut, we would recommend specifying the connector as
the slot connector on the motherboard.
Warning, due to the cuts on the goldfinger area, one could insert
the riser into the motherboard backwards. If that happens, the PCI card, the
riser and the motherboard could be damaged. Please click on the following drawings to enlarge and see the PCI keying configurations.
The PCITX4-1, PCITX4-2, PCITX8-1 and PCITX8-2 are designed to fit in the 2U
chassis. All the others, except the PCITX4-8 and the PCITX8-7, are the shorter
versions that can also be used in the 2U chassis. The PCITX4-5, PCITX4-6,
PCITX8-5 and the PCITX8-6 are currently the shortest right angle riser cards and
they are designed for the 1U chassis. Please see the following PCITX4 and PCITX8
comparison chart.
PCITX4 Extender Comparison Chart
P/N
WIDTH
OVERALL HEIGHT
CONN HEIGHT -A & -B
PCITX4-1
3.54"
1.28"
1.03"
PCITX4-2
3.54"
2.08"
1.83"
PCITX4-3
3.54"
1.10"
0.90"
PCITX4-4
3.54"
1.90"
1.70"
PCITX4-5
3.54"
0.75"
0.55"
PCITX4-6
3.54"
0.96"
0.76"
PCITX4-8
3.54"
2.64"
2.39"
PCITX4-9
3.54"
1.75"
1.50"
PCITX4-10
3.54"
1.60"
1.38"
PCITX8 Extender Comparison Chart
P/N
WIDTH
OVERALL HEIGHT
CONN HEIGHT -B
CONN HEIGHT -A
PCITX8-1*
5.24"
1.28"
1.03"
0.63"
PCITX8-2*
5.24"
2.08"
1.83"
1.43"
PCITX8-3*
5.32"
1.08"
0.88"
--
PCITX8-4**
5.24"
0.57"
--
0.43"
PCITX8-5
5.24"
0.75"
--
0.55"
PCITX8-6*
5.24"
0.96"
0.76"
--
PCITX8-7*
5.24"
2.58"
2.32"
1.92"
* Extender that supports the PCIX mode and allow VIO conversion.
The extenders can be used either to prolong the life of the connector, on
the motherboard or to prolong the gold finger of the I/O card. Therefore,
either the connector or the gold finger of the extender, will wear out. For
most of the straight extenders, the straddle mount connectors are
custom made, heavy duty connectors. The life cycle of these connectors are
about 1500 to 2000 insertion cycles. If the insertion and removal are aided by
mechanical fixtures, the life cycle could be 3000 to 4000 cycles and higher.
The gold finger on most of the extenders are plated with 30 micro inches
of hard gold, with minimum 150 micro inches of nickel underlayer. It is
designed to withstand 1500 to 2000 insertion cycles or more.
The Vendor ID (VID) is used to identify the manufacturer of the controller
IC, and the Board ID (BID) is used to identify the type of I/O function for the
controller IC (or board). The VID and BID numbers consist of 4 hexadecimal
digits (16 bits). These numbers are maintained by the PCI Special Interest
Group. The VID and the BID numbers are usually embedded in the first two
registers of every PCI board.
The following zipped file is an example of the necessary hardware
connection to a system's parallel port. The software is written in simple
debugger commands under DOS to turn the powers and signals on the extender to on
and off states. User can also use a digital output boards to achieve the same
IXCABLE.zip.
There are many ways to go about making a selection. One approach would be
to follow the below steps:
1. Put your I/O card into the desired chassis cutout, without a riser.
2. Measure the distance from the center of the I/O card's PCB to the top of
the motherboard.
3. Subtract that distance by 0.3" for PCI slot or 0.14" for PCI-Express slot. The result should be the proper
connector center height of a right angle riser card.
4. Select a riser card with a connector center height that is the closest
match to the calculated height (in step #3). One can use the riser comparison
chart for easier selections.
The following cable lengths have been tested to function reliably using
the flexible extenders. Longer cable lengths are not recommended or
guaranteed.
The slot spacing on the M/B is fixed to 0.8" apart. For convenience
and to allow tolerance on the cable, Sima typically uses 1" per slot
spacing to determine the needed cable length. For example, if a cable needs to
reach from slot 6 to slot 4, then the cable length would be 2". This
applies to the single ended flexible risers, as well as the wide cable used on
the combo risers. For the narrow cable on the combo risers, an additional 1"
increment needs to be added to the cable length, with one exception. The
PCITX3N1 riser would require the narrow cable length to be 1.5" longer, due
to the PCB design. However, to insure the reliability of the riser, the cable
length should not exceed the maximum cable length stated on TQ9 above. We
would further recommend the user to specify cable lengths, no longer than
necessary.
Some of the riser/extender cards offer a CSR option. The CSR (Current
Sensing Resistor) is used to measure the current consumption of the unit that
plugs into the riser/extender. The typical CSR has a value of 0.005 ohm, 1%
tolerance and rated at 1/2W (10amp). Under operation, the user will simply
measure the voltage drop across the CSR, then divide it by 0.005 to obtain the
current. I=V/R=V/0.005. A good DMM (Digital Multi-Meter) of 4 digit accuracy
is recommended. A DMM with 4 point probes would be excellent. Each CSR can
handle only one power rail. Some extenders have multiple CSRs to handle
multiple powers.
If you have a board that you wish to have repaired, you may contact us for an RMA (return merchandise authorization) number. Sima offers a repair service as a courtesy to our customers. The flat rate for repairs to bus isolation extenders is $30.00 per board. This does not include the cost for new connectors should they need to be replaced. If your board needs a new connector, the additional cost would be $15.00 each. If your board is damaged beyond repair or you have an older revision that you wish to upgrade, we will take your old board in on trade for a new board at half the list price.
You may return a board for credit or exchange it for a different board
within a 30 day period, provided the board has not been used. However, only one
exchange or return is allowed per order. If you receive a board that is
defective due to parts or labor, we will be happy to take the board back and
issue you a new one. All defected material must also be returned within 30 days.
We do not offer free board samples. However, we do offer our boards for a
30 day evaluation period. If you wish to return the board
within the 30 day period, we will not charge your purchasing department or
refund your credit card (shipping charges are not refundable).
